UNCA (19-13) is the Big South champion. The Bulldogs are in the second-ever NCAA Tournament (2003 the other) and enter on a six-game winnings streak. They haven’t played since upsetting Coastal Carolina 60-47 in the Big South title game back on March 5. It was UNC-Asheville’s third Big South tournament title, after also winning the championship in 1989 and 2003. It’s the second play-in game for the school. In 2003 the Bulldogs defeated Texas Southern in Dayton before losing to top seed Texas. These Bulldogs are led by Big South Conference Championship MVP Matt Dickey. He is UNC Asheville’s leading scorer with a 15.3 ppg average and also paces the team in free-throw percentage and 3-pointers made.

Arkansas-Little Rock (19-16) won four games in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the fifth seed to earn a spot in the NCAAs. The Trojans beat North Texas 64-63 in the final on a 3-pointer by Solomon Bozeman, the Sun Belt Player of the Year, with 1.5 seconds remaining. Bozeman was the 2011 Sun Belt Player of the Year and SBC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, making him the first Sun Belt men's basketball player to claim both awards in the same season since Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus in 2001. UALR had entered that tournament on a three-game losing streak. Arkansas-Little Rock won its first Sun Belt tournament and earned its first NCAA tournament bid since 1990. The school was 8-22 just a year ago.

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