The Creighton men's basketball team will open the NCAA tournament Thursday in Cleveland against West Virginia, it was announced Sunday.

The 23-10 Jays, a 10th seed, face 21-10 West Virginia, a seventh seed, at the Wolstein Center.

Game time is set for approximately 8:40 p.m. Omaha time on Thursday.

"We don't know much about West Virginia.," said Creighton coach Dana Altman. "We'll find out more tonight (Sunday) and get ready to play them tomorrow." The winner of the Creighton-West Virginia game will play either Wake Forest or Chattanooga. Creighton beat Chattanooga 100-68 February 19th in Omaha.

Creighton will be making its sixth tournament appearance in the last seven years and 15th all-time. "No, it never gets old," said Altman. The Bluejays qualified for the big dance after defeating Southwest Missouri State 75-57 last Monday to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, their eighth straight win. The Jays started the season 7-0 and were 8-10 in between their streaks. "We had some ups and downs throughout the season," Altman told an estimated 1,500 Creighton fans who gathered Sunday at the Kiewit Fitness Center on campus for a party awaiting the NCAA announcement. "You kept coming and you kept supporting us." Altman thought the Bluejays rewarded their fans with "some good basketball down the stretch." "We were able to accomplish something a lot of people dream about," said Altman, who is 218-119 in his 11 years at Creighton.

Junior guard Nate Funk, who led the Bluejays in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (5), joined his teammates in signing aurographs for young fans. "We'll be ready to go." Jimmy Motz, who hit 10-for-14 on three-pointers in the three tournament victories, said it took an extra day for the team's success to sink in. "It didn't really sink in until we were driving home (from St. Louis) Tuesday, but I'm excited and this means more to me than the first two times." Motz said one of the things he's excited about is the reaction of alumni. "We've had a lot of former players calling, that means a lot to us." Senior guard Tyler McKinney figures more three-point success will be needed to beat West Virginia. "They're more athletic than us, but we've got a lot of players who can shoot the three and obviously we're goig to have to rely on our outside shooting."

Last year, Creighton was relegated to the NIT and had its NCAA tourney streak stopped at five. "We were disappointed that we stopped the run we had going last year," said McKinney. "It's the NCAA Tournament and anything can happen."

West Virginia is making its first NCAA appearance since advancing to the Sweet 16 in 1998. The Mountaineers reached the finals of the Big East Tournament over the weekend, falling to Syracuse 68-59 in the final.

Men's Opening Round

Tuesday, March 15th
UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Oakland (Mich.)(12-18) vs. Alabama A&M (18-13) 6 p.m.

Men's First Round

Syracuse Regional

Friday, March 18th
DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Connecticut (22-7) vs. Central Florida (24-8)
Charlotte (21-7) vs. North Carolina State (19-13)

Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
North Carolina (27-4) vs. Oakland (Mich.)-Alabama A&M winner
Minesota (21-10) vs. Iowa State (18-11)

Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
Florida (23-7) vs. Ohio (21-10)
Villanova (22-7) vs. New Mexico (26-6)

Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Kansas (23-6) vs. Bucknell (22-9)
Wisconsin (22-8) vs. Northern Iowa (21-10)

Chicago Regional

Thursday, March 17th
Wolstein Center, Cleveland
Boston College (24-4) vs. Pennsylvania (20-8)
Alabama (24-7) vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5)

RCA Dome, Indianapolis
Illinois (32-1) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (20-12)
Texas (20-10) vs. Nevada (24-6)

Taco Bell Arena, Boise
Arizona (27-6) vs. Utah State (24-7)
LSU (20-9) vs. Alabama-Birmingham (21-10)

Friday, March 18
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma State (24-6) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (24-8)
Southern Illinois (26-7) vs. Saint Mary's (Calif.)(25-8)

Austin Regional

Thursday, March 17th
RCA Dome, Indianapolis
Kentucky (25-5) vs. Eastern Kentucky (22-8)
Cincinnati (24-7) vs. Iowa (21-11)

McKale Center, Tucson
Oklahoma (24-7) vs. Niagara (20-9)
Utah (27-5) vs. Texas-El Paso (27-7)

Friday, March 18th
DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Syracuse (27-6) vs. Vermont (24-6)
Michigan State (22-6) vs. Old Dominion (28-5)

Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
Duke (25-5) vs. Delaware State (19-13)
Stanford (18-12) vs. Mississippi State (22-10)

Albuquerque Regional

Thursday, March 17
Wolstein Center, Cleveland
Wake Forest (26-5) vs. Chattanooga (20-10)
West Virginia (21-10) vs. Creighton (23-10)

Taco Bell Arena, Boise
Washington (27-5) vs. Montana (18-12)
Pacific (26-3) vs. Pittsburgh (20-8)

McKale Center, Tucson
Gonzaga (25-4) vs. Winthrop (27-5)
Texas Tech (20-10) vs. UCLA (18-10)

Friday, March 18th
Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
Louisville (29-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (20-10)
Georgia Tech (19-11) vs. George Washington (22-7)