INDIANAPOLIS – North Carolina Central University will make its second-straight appearance in the First Four and will face Texas Southern on Wednesday, March 14 at 6:40 p.m. at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
 
NCCU (19-15) went to the First Four last season to face UC Davis, and were narrowly defeated, 67-63.  This year, the Eagles will face Texas Southern (15-19) for the first time in program history.
 
This is the Eagles' third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history during the Division-I era, all within the past five years.  NCCU's first NCAA Tournament appearance was after the 2013-14 season when the Eagles were MEAC regular season and tournament champions.  NCCU also made an NIT appearance against Miami after the 2014-15 season where the Eagles also won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship.
 
Texas Southern are the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and defeated top-seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the championship game, 84-69.
 
The winner of this game will move on to play No. 1 seed Xavier in the West Region in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, March 16.