Fans fill Pit for NCAA selection show

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Nearly 7,000 fans packed the Pit today to find out when, where, and what seed the University of New Mexico Men’s Basketball team will be in the NCAA tournament.

It started early for many fans, some tailgated while others waited nearly three hours in line to get a seat in the arena.

"I'm a Lobo alumni as most of us are and we need to come out here and show our support. Selection Sunday is something I look forward to every year so it's nice to see the Lobo's have an opportunity at a high seed in this tournament," Matt Rivera said at his tailgate in the Pit’s parking lot.

"We ran in, as soon as the doors opened, we’ve been camped out since one o'clock so there was a mad dash with about 5,000 people outside and we got down here first, luckily," Jonathan Kirschman said from his front-row seat directly behind the team.

The arena opened its doors at three in the afternoon. For over an hour fans sat and waited patiently while the band played and cheerleaders led cheers.

At 4:30 p.m. it was announced that the Lobo’s would be a three seed, playing Montana in San Jose on Thursday.

The Pit sounded like a home game. Even a CBS commentator made a point to acknowledge the massive crowd.

"To have nearly seven thousand people in here to watch a 30 minute selection show, speaks volumes about what this place is about," UNM Head Basketball Coach Steve Alford said.

Sunday was the last time this season the team and crowd will be together in the Pit.

"The fans are great, really amazing atmosphere and something I'll never forget," Roman Martinez, the only senior on the Lobo’s team, said.