ST. LOUIS (AP) - Johnny Dawkins is taking Stanford to the NCAA tournament for the first time.
The Cardinal (21-12) earned the 10th seed in the South Region and will open tournament play Friday in St. Louis against seventh-seeded New Mexico (27-6).
Stanford received its 17th NCAA berth but first since 2008, shortly before Dawkins was hired from Duke’s staff to replace Trent Johnson.
Stanford and New Mexico are playing for the first time since 2001-02 and the winner will face the Eastern Kentucky-Kansas winner.
The Cardinal were routed by UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals while New Mexico knocked off San Diego State to win its third straight Mountain West tournament title.
The Lobos - who were upset by Harvard last year - reached the tournament in coach Craig Neal’s first season.
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