SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s basketball team was invited to play in the WBIT, the NCAA announced Sunday evening. The Aztecs will host UC Irvine Thursday at 6 p.m. at the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. Viejas Arena is unavailable due to hosting the first two rounds of the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.
The Aztecs are 25-5, won the Mountain West regular season with a 19-1 record and have now made the postseason in three of the last four seasons. SDSU has already set a school record for three-pointers and is on pace to have a program best assist-to-turnover ratio.
UC Irvine is 26-6 and won the Big West regular season championship with a 17-3 record. The Anteaters lost to Hawai’i in overtime in the Big West Tournament semifinals. The Aztecs are 21-9 all-time vs. UC Irvine and last met in the 2023 WNIT, which the Anteaters won.
Thursday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+, and if the Aztecs win, they play the winner of No. 1 seed Texas A&M and McNeese State. If SDSU and McNeese State both win, then the Aztecs would host McNeese State Sunday at 2 p.m., also at the University of San Diego. Tickets for Thursday’s first round game will go on sale on Monday.
The WBIT is a 32-team postseason invitational tournament that is owned and funded by the NCAA that was launched in 2024. The first three games are held at campus sites, and the semifinals and finals are held in Wichita, Kansas.
The WBIT selection committee seeded only the top half of the 32-team field. The remaining 16 teams were placed in the bracket by the committee as close to their area of natural interest as possible.
WBIT Schedule
March 19 – First Round (vs. UC Irvine at 6 p.m.)
March 22 – Second Round (vs. winner of No. 1 Texas A&M and McNeese State)
March 26 – Quarterfinals
March 30 – Semifinals (at Charles Koch Arena – Wichita, Kansas)
April 1 – Finals (at Charles Koch Arena – Wichita, Kansas)