UNLV Lady Rebels to compete at first round of NCAA championship against Michigan

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Lady Rebels are the No. 11 seed in the Greenville 2 Region. They will play 6-seed Michigan in the NCAA Championship First Round Friday, March 17, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

UNLV learned its tournament destination during the ESPN Selection Special Sunday night. The team and more than 250 fans gathered inside the Strip View Pavilion at the Thomas & Mack Center to watch the bracket reveal.

"It's extremely exciting," UNLV Head Coach Lindy La Rocque said. "The anticipation of today is really what it's all about. It's going to be an excellent experience for our team. It's going to be my first time visiting Louisiana. We're excited to get to work."

UNLV earned the Mountain West Conference's automatic bid for the second straight season, ensuring consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since going to three straight between 1989 and 1991. Last year, the then-13-seed Lady Rebels played 4-seed and defending national champions Arizona to a 5-point loss in Tucson.

"Our experience from last year is going to be huge in preparation for this year's tournament."

UNLV is 0-2 all-time versus Michigan. The Lady Rebels fell 45-43 to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Dec. 6, 2004. Michigan won 68-58 in a visit to Las Vegas on Nov. 18, 2006.

"You think you know how it going to shape out because of bracketology, but there are always curveballs. I'm excited about this curveball and playing a team out of our region."

UNLV is 2-5 in the NCAA Tournament's first round and 3-9 overall.

Host and No. 3-seed LSU plays 14-seed Hawaii in the site's other first-round matchup.

Information was provided by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.