March 19, 2006

Washington, D.C. - The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee announced tonight game times for Friday's contests in the Washington, D.C. Regional of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

The 11th-seeded George Mason University Patriots and the seventh-seeded Wichita State University Shockers will meet in Friday's first game at the Verizon Center, with a tip off scheduled for 7:27 p.m. (ET). Friday's second game between the top-seeded University of Connecticut Huskies and fifth-seeded University of Washington Huskies will follow 30 minutes after the first game, at approximately 9:57 p.m. (ET).

All four teams will conduct practices at the Verizon Center on Thursday, beginning with George Mason University from noon to 12:50 p.m. The University of Washington will follow from 1 to 1:50 p.m. Wichita State University will practice from 2:10 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the University of Connecticut will conclude the practice session from 3:10 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Thursday's practices are free and open to the public.

George Mason, an at-large selection from the Colonial Athletic Association, advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 65-60 win over third-seeded North Carolina on Sunday in Dayton, Ohio. They advanced to face Wichita State in Friday's first game. The Patriots posted a 70-67 road win over the Shockers in the "Bracket Buster" on February 18. The Shockers reached the Regional after wins over Seton Hall (86-66) and No. 2 seed Tennessee (80-73).

In a matchup of Huskies in Friday night's second game, the University of Washington will face the University of Connecticut. Washington an at-large selection from the Pacific 10 Conference, reached the Sweet 16 with a 67-64 win over fourth-seeded Illinois on Saturday in San Diego. UConn, the bracket's No. 1 seed and co-BIG EAST Regular Season Champions, posted wins over Albany (72-59) and Kentucky (87-83) to advance.

Tickets for the Washington Regional are sold out.