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The University of Utah men's basketball team has been selected as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 12 seeded Arizona (19-13) in Miami, Fla., on Friday, March 20. They are in the Midwest Region of the bracket.
If Utah wins, it would face the winner of No. 4 seed Wake Forest and No. 13 seed Cleveland State on Sunday, March 22.
Head coach Jim Boylen's comments following the announcement:
"This seed is an awesome accomplishment for this team. We are excited for the school and it's going to be a great ride. The biggest thing about this seed is that it speaks volumes about the schedule we have played and our non-conference strength of schedule. It put us in a position to earn a high seed and go to the tournament. We played well in the tournament and I think that really helped our seed. I am proud of our team and thankful to be a Ute."
Utah Basketball NCAA Facts
-2009 will mark Utah's 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament
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-The Utes are 35-29 (.547) all-time in NCAA Tournament games
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-Best Finishes:
Champion, 1944; Utah 42, Dartmouth 40 (OT)
Runner-up, 1998; Kentucky
4th: 1961
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-Last Appearance:
2005, No. 6 seed.
First/Second Rounds (Tucson, Ariz.)
Mar. 17 (6)Utah 60, (11) UTEP 54
Mar. 19 (6) Utah 67, (3) Oklahoma 58
Austin Regional (Austin, Texas)
Mar. 24 (2) Kentucky 62, (6) Utah 52
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Highest Seed: No. 2, 1999
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Utah's All-Time NCAA Seeds**
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Seed # of times Record No. 1 0 -- No. 2 2 (1997, 1999)
4-2 No. 3 2 (1981, 1998) 6-2 No. 4 3 (1991, 1995, 1996)
5-3 No. 5 0 -- No. 6 1 (2005) 2-1 No. 7 0 -- No. 8 3
(1979, 1993, 2000) 2-3 No. 9 1 (2003) 1-1 No. 10 1 (1983)
1-1 No. 11 1 (2004) 0-1 No. 12 1 (2002) 0-1 No. 13 0 No. 14 1 (1986) 0-1
No. 15 0 -- No. 16 0 -- Average Seed: 6.75 21-16 (.568)
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**The NCAA Tournament first introduced seeding in 1979</p>
