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Sooners showdown in the Sunshine State
UWM faces Oklahoma in the tourney
By Jimmy Lemke
All week, people had been speculating. Everyone had their opinions.
Where will Milwaukee end up? What team will they face? Will they make another run like last year?
On Sunday night, the Gasthaus was full of people who were tired of discussing the possiblities. Sunday night, it was time for an answer.
After several tense minutes of watching teams get picked, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's number finally came up.
In the Minneapolis regional, Milwaukee will face Oklahoma University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Seeded 11th in the regional, the Panthers are the underdogs to the sixth-seeded Sooners from the Big 12 conference.
The 11th seed is the highest of all three tournaments in which UWM has participated. In its previous two tournaments in 2003 and 2005, UWM played from the 12 spot.
Inevitably, this year's NCAA team has drawn comparisons to last year's squad, the tournament darling that fought its way to the Sweet 16. The Panthers were quick to remind everyone that 2005 is in the past.
"Last year is last year," said Joah Tucker at the Gasthaus selection party on Sunday, March 12. "We have to go about our business and take each game one by one."
Tip-off for the game is set for 11:25 a.m. on Thursday, March 16. The game will be played in Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Televised on CBS nationally, and WDJT in the Milwaukee area, the contest is the first of the day.
The winner of the UWM-Oklahoma game will face the winner of the South Alabama-Florida game on Saturday, March 18.
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