Auburn women earn NCAA bid, face Arizona in First Four

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Auburn women earn NCAA bid, face Arizona in First FourAuburn women earn NCAA bid, face Arizona in First Four
Grayson Belanger/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's basketball team is getting on its dancing shoes for the first time in five years as the Tigers earned a berth in the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, the NCAA announced Sunday night.
 
The Tigers (20-11) are headed to Storrs, Connecticut, where they will meet Arizona (17-15) in a First Four game on Thursday, March 21, at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on ESPN2.
 
"We're excited to be in," Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. "We'll start preparing to play that play-in game, and that's just another opportunity to play. It's never been easy for us, so we don't expect that, but I expect our team to come out ready to play."
 
Auburn, seeded 11th in the Portland 3 Regional, will be making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2019. It will be the first time for the Tigers to participate in the First Four, which was added to the NCAA Women's Tournament beginning with the 2022 season.
 
The winner of that game will face sixth-seeded Syracuse in the first round on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET. Third-seeded and host Connecticut faces 14-seed Jackson State in the other first-round matchup.
 
The Tigers will be facing Arizona for the second time in program history. The teams previously met Dec. 19, 2000, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the Tigers won 69-66.
 
Auburn is making its second visit to Storrs for postseason play. The Tigers faced Connecticut on its home court in the Sweet 16 in 1994.
 
For the latest on Auburn women's basketball in the postseason, follow @AuburnWBB on all social media channels.