Charleston, the CAA Men’s Basketball champion, has earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and will face No. 5 San Diego State on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.

The Cougars enter the NCAA Tournament tied for the nation’s best record at 31-3 and are the CAA’s highest-seeded team in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship since UNCW was a No. 12 seed in 2017. 

Charleston won 20 consecutive games from Nov. 14-Jan. 21, captured the Charleston Classic title and has been ranked or receiving votes in 15 consecutive AP polls prior to cutting down the net in Washington on Tuesday after a 63-58 victory over UNCW.

Pure Joy.#OurCity 🌴🏀 pic.twitter.com/91QwNIaeYZ

— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) March 8, 2023

San Diego State is 27-6 on the year and won the Mountain West Championship on Saturday in Las Vegas. 

The Aztecs went 15-3 in Mountain West play and are playing in their third straight NCAA Tournament.

Time and television information for Thursday’s game will be announced late Sunday night. 

The winner of the Thursday first-round game would play the winner of the game between No. 4 Virginia and No. 13 Furman on Saturday, also in Orlando.