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Two teams are left vying for the 2012 NCAA national championship.
The No. 1 seed UC Irvine and the No. 2 seed USC both won their NCAA Tournament semifinal matches on Thursday to advance to the national championship match. Here is an initial look and historical information you need to know heading into the NCAA Tournament championship on Saturday at USC.
NCAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 seed UC Irvine (25-5, 17-5 MPSF) vs. No. 2 seed USC (24-5, 18-4 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles
Season series: UC Irvine leads 2-1 (UC Irvine won in four games in January; USC won in four games in April; UC Irvine won in five games in MPSF Tournament)
How they got here: UC Irvine defeated the No. 4 seed Penn State in four games in the NCAA Tournament semifinals. USC defeated the No. 3 seed Lewis in four games in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Last time in NCAA championship match: UC Irvine (2009); USC (2009)
Last NCAA championship: UC Irvine (2009); USC (1990)
Historical stats to know: UC Irvine has never lost in the NCAA Tournament championship match, including a five-game victory against USC in 2009 national championship match. The Trojans are 13-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when they win the opening game, but have only twice rallied to win a tournament match after losing the first game — with one of those times being in the 1988 NCAA championship match.