March 10, 1987 — The University of Arizona basketball team received the 10th seed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament Sunday afternoon, to the surprise of several players.

“”I feel fortunate to have the seed we have,”” said junior guard Craig McMillian after nearly three hours of practice yesterday.

“”I’m not surprised we received a bid,”” said sophomore Sean Elliott, adding, “”I didn’t think we would be seeded so high.””

After the Wildcats’ 72-63 loss to Oregon on Friday night in the Pacific 10 Conference tournament, it appeared that the wildcats would have a difficult time just getting into the tournament at all.

“”I thought we would be one of the last teams to get in,”” Elliott said.

Being the No. 10 seed earned the Wildcats a contest with the University of Texas-El Paso Miners on Friday afternoon at 2:37 in McKale Center.

“”We thought we would play a top-10 team,”” center-forward Brain David said. “”Not that El Paso is a bad team, they just aren’t a top-10 school.””

In each of the last two seasons, the Wildcats have been eliminated in the first round by the Southeast Conference powerhouses, Alabama and Auburn.

“”We have a lot better chance this year,”” Elliott said. “”We didn’t match up well with Auburn. Ty were physical bangers. UTEP plays our style.””

The Miners are fundamentally sound team that traditionally has a strong man-to-man defensive squad.

“”They are capable of beating us,”” said junior Tom Tolbert. “”A lot of teams have shown they are capable of beating us. “”

If the Wildcats do get past UTEP, then Iowa, who plays Santa Clara the same day, could be waiting in the wings.

“”We can’t look ahead of anyone,”” Elliott said. “”We looked ahead of Oregon and look what happened.””

When the bids were announced, the players were scattered across the West, with some players in Los Angeles, and others in Tucson.                                               

“”I was in California with my parents,”” Tobert said. “”I figured we would get the bid.””