| Penguins Open Season Against Final-Four Participant UCLA |
| Wednesday, September 26 2007 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team will open the 2007-08 season against 11-time National Champion UCLA on Monday, Nov. 12, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, organizers of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic announced on Wednesday. The Penguins-Bruins contest is slated for 11 p.m. Eastern time and will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The other contest in the Los Angeles Regional features 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Weber State and 2007 NCAA Division II semifinalist UC-San Bernardino. The Wildcats finished the 2006-07 with a 20-12 mark losing to the Bruins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Coyotes were 26-6 on the Division II level reaching the national semifinals where they fell one-point shy of the title contest. The winners play for the regional title while the losers will play in the consolation matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The regional title game will be televised by ESPN2 as well. The Bruins, who reached the Final Four the past two seasons, are predicted by many to make a run at the national title again in 2007-08. Athlon's Magazine has tabbed UCLA as their National Champion while Lindy's has the Bruins ranked their preseason No. 1 team. UCLA finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 30-6 record. The Los Angeles Regional is by far the toughest of the four brackets. The four teams combined to post an impressive 90-41 mark last year for a .687 winning percentage. The Columbia (Missouri) Regional's teams were 80-46 (.635), the East Lansing (Michigan state) Regional's teams were 68-57 (.544) while the College Park Regional's four teams were 63-62 (.504). The contest is YSU's first against a Pacific-10 Conference team, first in the state of California and first on ESPN2 since playing for the Mid-Continent Conference title in March 1998. The winner of the four regionals advance to the Championship Round in Kansas City, Mo. Those games are set for Nov. 19-20 at the new Sprint Center. |