GAME: No. 14 Princeton (20-7) vs. No. 3 Texas (23-7).
REGIONAL: Atlanta, First Round.
TIME: Thursday, 7:20 p.m. EST.
SITE: Pepsi Center; Denver.
Texas may not be a No. 1 seed this season, but it still thinks it has what it takes to win a national championship.
The third-seeded Longhorns begin their quest for their first title when they meet No. 14 Princeton in the first round.
Texas was a No. 1 seed last season, and behind the play of T.J. Ford, advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1947 before losing to eventual champion Syracuse.
Ford left early for the NBA, but the Longhorns were still one of the top teams in the country this season and they feel like they can get back to the Final Four even without him.
"Our experience will definitely help us," Longhorns guard Brandon Mouton said.
Texas struggled down the stretch, losing three of its last five, including a 65-49 defeat to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game on Sunday. In their two wins over that span, the Longhorns had to rally from deficits of 12 and 11 points to come away with victories.
"We got a good seed. Coming in here, I thought we'd get a No. 3 seed, no more, no less," Texas guard Royal Ivey said. "So we got what we deserved."
Senior forward Brian Boddicker said it doesn't matter what seed the Longhorns have because anyone can win in the tournament on any given day.
"I'm looking forward to getting into the tournament," said Boddicker, who averages 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. "All the games are tough and the teams are all good. I think once the tournament starts, you can throw the seeds out the window because every team can play and you have to play hard at all times.
"We can't look ahead, we have a game against Princeton to worry about."
Princeton won the Ivy League title to get back into the tournament for the first time since 2001, and comes into this first-round matchup on a nine-game winning streak.
The Tigers are feeling good about their chances after playing the Longhorns tough during the 2002-03 regular season. Texas won 57-54, but the game featured 11 ties and nine lead changes.
"We should have beaten them," Princeton guard Ed Persia said. "Even though we didn't, we played very, very well against them and they lost an All-American player in T.J. Ford from that team."
The NCAA appearance will be the second for Princeton under coach John Thompson. The Tigers qualified three years ago after a 16-11 season, and were eliminated in the first round by North Carolina.
Thompson, however, says the Tigers are approaching this year with a different mindset.
"Our team is much better," he said. "(In 2001) we needed a special permit to win the league. We were an undermanned team. This year's group is different. We have a different attitude. We have shown we can play with anyone."
Princeton's last win in the NCAA Tournament was 1998 when it beat UNLV 69-57 before losing to Michigan State 63-56.
The winner of this game will face either No. 6 North Carolina or No. 11 Air Force in the second round on Saturday.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Princeton - F Andre Logan (8.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg), F Will Venable (10.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), C Judson Wallace (15.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg), G Max Schafer (2.6 ppg, 1.1 apg), G Scott Greenman (8.1 ppg, 1.7 apg). Texas - F Brad Buckman (5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg), C Jason Klotz (7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg), G Kenton Paulino (4.8 ppg, 1.9 apg), G Mouton (13.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg), G Ivey (9.0 ppg, 4.2 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Princeton - Automatic bid, Ivy League champion. Texas - At-large berth.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Princeton - 13-26, 22 years. Texas - 23-24, 21 years.
