Harvard Earns No. 12 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Play Fifth-Seeded Vanderbilt on Thursday

by Ricky Doyle on Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 8:32PM

Tommy Amaker‘s Harvard team has learned who it will be squaring off with in its NCAA tournament opener, and it’s another academically prestigious school.

Harvard earned a No. 12 seed on Selection Sunday, and will face No. 5 Vanderbilt on Thursday in an East Regional matchup.

That contest will take place in Albuquerque, N.M., and the winner will square off with the winner of the Montana-Wisconsin game. If Harvard is able to advance past its first two opponents, it would then return to Boston to play the next game at TD Garden, with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

That’s getting a little far ahead, though, especially considering Harvard enters its tournament opener as the underdog. Still, it’s an intriguing possibility.

For now, Harvard can at least be proud of what it has accomplished this season. The NCAA tournament bid marks the first time Harvard has been in the tourney since 1946, and it comes on the heels of the Crimson winning their first outright Ivy League championship.

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