The 2012 NCAA Tournament field has been announced, and the Long Island Blackbirds will receive a No. 16 seed in the West Region. The Blackbirds' first opponent will be the No. 1 Michigan St. Spartans, and they will play on Friday. If the Blackbirds find a way to win their first matchup, they will face the winner of No. 8 Memphis Tigers and No. 9 Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday.
Long Island earned the No. 16 seed by capturing the Northeast Conference's automatic berth. The Blackbirds won the regular-season title and lived up to their top seed in the conference tournament, ousting No. 3 seed Robert Morris. 90-73. on Wednesday, March 7 to earn the crown.
Here's a look at the West Region of the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket (game times and TV schedule will be announced at a later time):
No. 1 Michigan St. Spartans vs. No. 16 Long Island U. Blackbirds, Friday
No. 8 Memphis Tigers vs. No. 9 Saint Louis Billikens, Friday
No. 5 New Mexico Lobos vs. No. 13 Long Beach St. 49ers, Thursday
No. 4 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 13 Davidson Wildcats, Thursday
No. 2 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 15 Norfolk St. Spartans, Friday
No. 7 Florida Gators vs. No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers, Friday
No. 3 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. No. 14 BYU Cougars/Iona Gaels, Thursday
No. 6 Murray St. Racers vs. No. 11 Colorado Buffaloes, Thursday
For more coverage of Long Island in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit SB Nation New York's StoryStream. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.