ITHACA, N.Y. -- Surrounded by a couple thousand of its closest fans and a camera crew from CBS on Sunday afternoon, the Ivy League champion Cornell men's basketball team found out its first round opponent for next weekend's NCAA tournament. The Big Red will meet Temple on Friday, March 19 in Jacksonville, Fla., as the No. 12 seed in the East Region. Game time is expected to be announced on Monday.

It is Cornell's third straight NCAA tournament appearance, but its highest seed in the 65-team tournament. The winner of the Cornell-Temple game will meet the winner of the Wisconsin-Woffard contest on Sunday, March 21.

Cornell brings a 27-4 record into the NCAA tournament, winning the Ivy League's automatic bid by virtue of its 13-1 mark in conference. The Big Red enters the tourney having won 15 of its last 16 contests overall and 16 games away from home on the season, tied for the most in Division I. Ivy League Player of the Year Ryan Wittman (17.5 ppg., 4.0 rpg.) leads a group of eight seniors who are already the winningest in school history. He is joined by fellow first-team All-Ivy picks Louis Dale and Jeff Foote, the two-time league Defensive Player of the Year.

The fifth-seeded Owls won both the Atlantic 10 regular season title, as well as the A-10 Tournament.

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