San Diego St.-Texas Preview

Published Mar. 20, 2010 6:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sixth seed Texas (22-10) plays No. 11 seed San Diego State (21-10) in a matchup of teams with some recent history. San Diego State beat Texas last season when the Longhorns were riding an 11-game winning streak and ranked No. 4.

But that regular-season game was in California. The stakes are higher this time and will be on Texas' home floor.

``I remember it,'' Texas forward Kathleen Nash said. ``But I don't think we really think back to that point because we were a much different team back then and we've come a long ways. You can slightly compare it, but it's a whole different road now.''

Texas, in the tournament for the third straight year, is one of seven Big 12 teams to make the tournament. San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference to get the league's automatic bid.

Texas has hosted seven previous first-round games, losing just one. The Longhorns averaged 5,024 fans at home this season.

San Diego State's players said they don't mind opening the tournament on Texas' home court and certainly don't sound intimidated.

``I'm excited,'' senior guard Jene Morris said, the Mountain West's two-time defensive player of the year who also leads the Aztecs in scoring with 16.4 points per game.

``Whether for you or against you, it's always great to play in that kind of atmosphere, the noise and intensity. It's going to be a great game,'' Morris said.