The Lamar Cardinals were able to secure their first bid into the NCAA tournament under the reigns of head coach Pat Knight on Saturday, and their reward could be a first (second) round matchup against the Michigan State Spartans in Columbus, Ohio based off Chris Dobbertan's latest bracketology update.

That matchup is pending the result of the Big Ten tournament final between the Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday. If Michigan State wins the conference tournament, then their No. 1 seed is likely secured. If they lose, then teams like Missouri, Ohio State and Duke could leapfrog Michigan State and secure the final No. 1 seed.

Give Lamar some credit, as they have scheduled some heavy hitters in their non-conference schedule. The Cardinals faced the Big East tournament champion Louisville Cardinals, the regular season Big Ten champion Buckeyes and the No. 1 overall team in the country Kentucky Wildcats. Lamar lost all three contests by 20+ points.

It doesn't seem likely that Lamar will be able to budge off the No. 16 spot, so a matchup with a No. 1 seed is inevitable. However, although Lamar lost all three, its safe to say that these Cardinals won't be scared of whoever they face when March Madness begins.

For more March Madness news and analysis head on over to SB Nation's College Basketball page.