After landing the No. 16 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the Lamar Cardinals will be playing 16th-seeded Vermont to kick things off in the first round. The winner will advance to take on No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday. The Cardinals received an automatic bid after winning the Southland Conference tournament.
Vermont knocked off Stony Brook in the American East Final to earn the trip to the Big Dance. The Catamounts finished 23-11 on the season and 13-3 in conference play. Vermont enters the tournament on a hot streak having won four straight and 14 of its last 15 games.
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