First up: First Four vs. Texas Southern

Two days before the bracket for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was unveiled, Damian Chong Qui insisted he was not worried whom he and his Mount St. Mary’s teammates would meet in their first game.

“On Selection Sunday, I don’t care who they put us against,” the junior point guard said Friday. “I like my guys over anybody. I know we’re going to fight no matter who we’re playing against.”

Chong Qui, a Baltimore resident and McDonogh graduate, stood by his comments even after the Mountaineers (12-10), the Northeast Conference champions, learned they would meet Texas Southern (16-8), the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titlist, in a No. 16 seed play-in Thursday for a chance to meet the Big Ten’s Michigan (20-4), the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Mountaineers and Tigers, which sent associate head coach Will Holland and assistant coaches Matt Miller and Matt Graves scrambling to find film of

NCAA First Four

NO. 16 SEED MOUNT ST. MARY’S VS. NO. 16 SEED TEXAS SOUTHERN Indianapolis

Thursday (Tipoff time and location TBD)

Texas Southern even before the NCAA selection show on television had ended.

“We are locking in on Texas Southern,” coach Dan Engelstad said minutes after the selection show had ended. “This is a team we don’t know much about yet. So for us, our focus completely goes to, how are we going to guard Texas Southern? How are we going to attack them? How are we going to put a plan together in a short amount of time?

“There won’t be a whole lot of sleep here the next couple nights, but that’s the best part for coaches. We love this. We love to find out ways that we can win a game against another champion.”

Mount St. Mary’s is 2-5 in five previous trips to the NCAA postseason with both wins occurring in opening-round or First Four stages. Chong Qui said he didn’t take any offense to being routed to another First Four game and potentially clashing with Michigan with fewer days of rest and preparation.

“I didn’t really care where we were or when we played or who we played,” he said. “I’m just ready to play. We’re here to win games. So whatever we need to do, we’re going to be ready and we’re going to be well prepared.”

Engelstad said he and his staff had braced for the possibility of being placed in the First Four games and agreed with his point guard that he was not offended by the selection committee’s decision.

“That’s the thing with 68 — we’re in the play-in game, but everybody in here is either one of the best teams in the country or a champion,” he said. “So we’re going to have our hands full.”

Texas Southern is riding a nine-game winning streak that began after a 77-75 loss to Prairie View A&M on Feb. 21. It leads the SWAC in scoring at 74.8 points per game and rebounding at 41.5.