STOCKTON, CA - The University of the Pacific Tigers are off to Austin, Texas where they'll play the University of the Miami on Friday in Round 1 of the NCAA tournament.
The team, coaches and fans left on a charter from the Stockton airport late Wednesday.
Miami is a 2nd seed, but could have been ranked higher. Still, fans Nicholas and Bing Kirk aren't impressed.
"I picked UOP beating Miami and winning the Final 4," said 12-year-old Nicholas Kirk.
"Miami should be a 1 seed. They won their league and their tournament, but they're a 2," Bing Kirk said. "We'll show them, we're gonna whoop them."
Coach Bob Thomason is in his 25th and final year as UOP coach. Though Miami is a huge challenge, he likes the way his team has been playing.
"We know one thing. If we don't play well, we don't have a chance," Thomason said. "We have to play well. We've won 7 in a row and we're playing good ball. No reason we can't play a great game."
It's been several years since UOP made the NCAA tournament. They earned a trip this year by winning it's league tournament last weekend in Anaheim.
By Tim Daly, tdaly@news10.net
News10/KXTV