UW freshman guard Isaiah Thomas knew that the Huskies' Selection Sunday gathering at the Don James Center would be on national TV, so he decided to make a little nod to his hometown by wearing a Tacoma Rainiers cap.

"It was going to be on TV," he explained. "So, I’ve got to rep where I’m from."

Then he adapted a line he has used last week. Before playing in Staples Center for the first time he said he would "get his Kobe on" -- that is try to play like Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

Now that he's about to play in the Rose Garden, there was this -- "I’ll get my B-Roy on, now" -- a reference to former Husky/current Trail Blazer Brandon Roy.

A few other Thomas thoughts:

On what he knows about first-round opponent Mississippi State: "I really don’t know anything about them. They’re a good team, they made the NCAA tournament. I heard they got a shot-blocker in the middle."

On that big shot-blocker, 6-foot-9 center/forward Jarvis Varnado, whose 165 blocks this season broke the SEC record he previously shared with Shaquille O’Neal, formerly of LSU: "I’m never scared, so I’m gonna still do what I do."

On playing in Portland: "It’s kind of like home court advantage. That’s like an advantage on our side. We’ve just got to bring it and just play hard and play our game."

MISSISSIPPI STATE (23-12)

Men's basketbal website: Click here.
School location: Starkville, Miss.
Conference: Southeastern
Coach: Rick Stansbury. He is 225-127 in 11 seasons at MSU, making him the winningest basketball coach in school history. This is his sixth NCAA tournament team, and he has taken three others to the NIT. His teams have averaged 22 wins over the last six seasons. They won the outright SEC title in 2004, the SEC West in 2004 and 2008 and the SEC tournament in 2002 and 2009.
How the Bulldogs got here: After finishing third in the SEC West with a 9-7 record, they earned an automatic bid by winning the SEC tournament, capped with a 64-61 win over Tennessee in the championship game on Sunday.
Outlook: MSU has won six straight games. The Bulldogs are led by 6-foot-9 center/forward Jarvis Varnado who averages 13.1 points, 9 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. His 165 blocks this season broke the SEC record he previously shared with Shaquille O’Neal, formerly of LSU. Overall, MSU is second in the nation in blocked shots, averaging 7.6 per game. … UW won the only previous meeting, 82-80, decision in the 1968 Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. … This is MSU’s 11th NCAA tournament, with the Bulldogs holding an 11-9 all-time record. Last season, they defeated Oregon in the first round before being ousted in the second round by eventual national runner-up Memphis.

The gametimes for the Portland first-round games have been set:

11:30 a.m. Northern Iowa vs. Purdue
25 min. after finish Mississippi State vs. UW

4:25 p.m. Akron vs. Gonzaga
30 min. after finish W. Kentucky vs. Illinois

Figuring two hours per game, the Huskies will probably tipoff between 1:45 and 2 p.m. Thursday.

Washington caught no break with its opening opponent. But, after two seasons on the outside looking in, they seemed fully happy to take what they have been given.

The Huskies got the expected No. 4 seed, but they will open against No. 12 seed Mississippi State (23-12) at approximately 1:45 p.m. Thursday at the Rose Garden in Portland.

"We were hoping we could stay here close to home," coach Lorenzo Romar said. "We got that wish: We're going to Portland. We're going to play against a very good Mississippi State team -- they won their conference tournament in the SEC. We're looking forward to getting a chance to play in the NCAA tournament again. (Seniors Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon) haven't gotten that opportunity for two years; they did as freshmen, and I know that they're just dying to get back. We're looking forward to going out and competing."

The Bulldogs just won the Southeastern Conference tournament title with an overtime win over Tennessee. MSU got to the SEC title game by beating LSU, South Carolina and Georgia.

The winner of that game will go on to play the winner of No. 5 Purdue (25-9) and No. 13 Northern Iowa (23-10) on Saturday in Portland.

All of that is in the West region, so the advancing team goes on to the Sweet 16 at University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Ariz.

Here's a quick take from the Mississippi State website:

STARKVILLE, Miss. - After claiming the 2009 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament crown with a nailbiting 64-61 win over Tennessee Sunday afternoon, Mississippi State's men's basketball team learned soon after its opening-round plans for the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

The SEC Tourney champion Bulldogs (23-12), a No. 13 seed, will be headed to Portland, Oregon, and will meet Pac-10 champion and No. 4 seed Washington (25-8) there in the Rose Garden this Thursday, March 19. Game times for the tournament will be announced later this week.

MSU and UW have met on only one previous occasion in men's basketball, a 1968 matchup in the Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. The Huskies took a close 82-80 decision from State in that affair.

State will be making its 11th all-time appearance in the NCAA Championship, holding an 11-9 record in its previous 10 trips to the big dance. MSU's last trip was just last season, downing Oregon in the first round before falling to Memphis in the second in Little Rock, Ark.

The crowd at Don James Center cheered the UW selection, but didn't sound too happy when the opponent was announced.

The crowd also booed a bit when Arizona was named to its 25th straight tournament. And they booed again when Gonzaga got a fourth-seed assigned to Portland meeting Arkon in the South (Memphis) region.

In all, six Pac-10 teams made the tournament: UW, ASU, Arizona, UCLA, USC and Cal. WSU made the NIT. And Oregon State is already announced in the CBI.

I'm at the Don James center with a lot of purple-wearing Huskies fans, waiting for the Selection Sunday show on CBS.

The Huskies just walked in to a nice round of applause.

Isaiah Thomas is showing his Tacoma pride, wearing a Tacoma Rainiers cap.

Lorenzo Romar just addressed the gathering, asking for -- and getting nice another round of applause for his team. And he got his team up to take a bow.

Romar said he thinks there's an opportunity for the team to go to Boise or Portland, and the crowd indicated its preference for the Rose City. He added that although they would rather stay close to home, "If they send us to Alaska, we're going to be ready to go."

I'll be back with a post as soon as the pick is made.

We have lots of Selection Sunday preview coverage in today's paper.

Meanwhile, there have been some last-minute bracketology tweaks regarding the Huskies, although they still seem destined for a No. 4 seed in Portland.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi still has the Huskies as a No. 4 seed, starting in Portland against North Dakota State. However, they are now projected for a second-round match with the Florida State-Temple winner for the right to go on to the West regional in Glendale, Ariz.

However, Sports Illustrated's Andy Glockner now has the Huskies as a No. 4 seed starting in Portland against Akron, with the winner going on to meet the Clemson-Creighton winner to advance to the South regional in Memphis.

The speculation will end sometime after 3 p.m. when the official bracket is revealed on the NCAA selection show on CBS.

And if you like, you can join the Huskies, who will be watching at the Don James Center. Doors open at 2:30, Romar will address the crowd on 2:45. (You also can watch the watch party live online at GoHuskies.com.)

And naturally, I'll be blogging with the news and the reactions once the bracket is set.