Let's mess with Texas

It was a roller coaster affair Sunday evening at World Cafe Live - a far cry from the last two years, when Penn's seeding in the NCAA Tournament was quick and painless, over within a few minutes.

This time, there were more than a few teams that Greg Gumbel called that got very different reactions from the assembled crowd, as the Quakers were among the last teams placed in the field of 65.

In the end, Penn got a 14-seed in the South region, drawing a very tough matchup with No. 9 Texas A&M; in a game to be played Thursday afternoon in Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

There were cheers for fellow Big 5 school Villanova, announced early as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest. There were anxious breaths as each 13 and 14 seed was

announced - where Penn could have been slotted - and then boos or cheers after the Quakers did not receive the potential matchups.

The second-biggest applause of the night came when Texas was sent to Spokane, Wash., the second team seeded fourth or better there. Penn, which played the Longhorns in the first round last year, and therefore cannot play them in the first round this year, would not have to trek 2,500 miles.

After a few gasps when it became clear that next-door neighbor Drexel would not make the dance, and an angry outburst when Penn was not announced as the South's 13 seed against Virginia, the biggest cheers were reserved for the final announcement of the Quakers' next game.

Then came the reality of having to play a first-round contest against the No. 9 team in the nation.

Immediately, head coach Glen Miller was given a folder on the Aggies by his assistants, but he seemed a little stunned by the draw.

"Texas A&M; for some reason didn't enter my mind," Miller said when asked about potential opponents. However, Miller knew the Quakers "would play a really good team."

Miller, however, was not at all surprised by the Quakers' seeding.

"I thought we'd probably be a 14, maybe an outside chance at a 13 but more likely a 14," he said.

Athletic director Steve Bilsky was a little more critical of his colleague, Princeton athletic director Gary Walters, who chairs the NCAA's selection committee.

"I think 14 was probably a deserving seed, until I saw some of the schools that were higher and some of the schools that were lower," Bilsky said.

He thought Penn should have been higher than Midwest No. 13 Albany, which won the America East tournament over Vermont to sneak into the field.

Texas A&M; (25-6) finished 13-3 in the Big 12 regular season. However, they lost a chance at a national No. 2 seed when they fell in the conference quarterfinals to Oklahoma State, 57-56.

The Aggies boast an All-America candidate in senior guard Acie Law, and has the best three-point shooting percentage of any team in the Tournament at 42.2 percent.

Senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber said he was not disappointed, but quickly turned to his comedy routine.

"They have a guy named Law, maybe, or something like that," Jaaber said. "He's a lefty, 6-3 guard, that's it. Somebody just told me that."

But later, Jaaber was all business when it came down to discussing his team's chances to avoid a third straight first-round exit, which would be the eighth in a row overall for Penn.

"We just gotta make sure everybody knows that we're going here to win," Jaaber said.

Jaaber was at least excited that the selection show was more interesting than others.

"It's been pretty boring the last few years," he said.

Bilsky said that he was more relaxed than a previous year when he was the athletic director of a George Washington team that literally waited until the last team to find out that they got into the tournament.

"Here it was a little more interesting," Bilsky said.

Penn hopes to keep it interesting for a little longer in two days.

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