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(AP) -- Iowa State earned a No. 8 seed for the NCAA tournament and will play ninth-seeded Connecticut in Louisville on Thursday.

It's the first NCAA tournament bid in seven years for the Cyclones (22-10), who were knocked out of the Big 12 tournament by Texas.

The Cyclones have never faced Connecticut, which won the NCAA title last season.

The winner of that game would likely face top-seeded Kentucky on Saturday.

Iowa State celebrated its selection to the tournament with a watch party at Hilton Coliseum.

A crowd of roughly 1,500 cheered wildly when the Cyclones seed was shown on the scoreboard hanging over center court.

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