For a team that didn’t know if they would be on the list, the expectations were high.

The MSU men’s soccer team congregated at Trippers, 354 Frandor Ave. in Lansing, on Monday to watch the selection show for the NCAA Tournament.

And after a couple of brackets were announced to the silent room through the satellite feed, the Spartans saw what they wanted to see - their name on the screen.

“I was so nervous,” senior defenseman Paul Vance said. “To see a couple of teams like Akron get in and a couple of (low-ranked teams) get in, it was a little nerve-wracking.”

Southern Methodist received the No. 1 seed, as expected, but some of the other selections seemed a little out of place, senior midfielder Anders Kelto said.

“It’s a weird bracket,” he said. “I was confused by some of the pairings. The NCAA pays for the travel, so they try to keep teams as close as possible, so some of them were a little strange.”

Indiana will host the Spartans (12-5-1) when they play Butler on Friday in the first round.

With the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams, 12 teams receive byes in the first round of the tournament, Indiana being one of the 12.

Two other Big Ten schools - Penn State and Ohio State - received bids to the tournament. Penn State was the second Big Ten school to host games and also received a first round bye.

“All those teams put up some pretty good results,” head coach Joe Baum said.

The Bulldogs (11-8-0) boast a couple of high-pressure scorers that will put sophomore goalkeeper Mike Robinson to the test.

Forward Nick Pantazi averaged one goal per game in the Bulldogs’ 19-game season, and midfielder Michael Mariscalco contributed 13 goals.

But Vance said the team feels it will be a good matchup.

“Butler’s had some good results at the end of the season, and they beat some good teams,” he said.

MSU has not been involved in the tournament since 1969. Only one player, Kelto, has been in the tournament before.

The transfer from Brown saw postseason action three times with the Bears.

And, ironically, he had been recruited by Butler before his days at Brown.

“Butler was heavily recruiting me,” Kelto said. “The coach really wanted me to go there and I think he was disappointed when I didn’t go.”

If the Spartans make it past Butler, they will see Indiana (14-3-1) for the third time this season.

In the regular season, the Hoosiers shut out MSU 3-0 and the two teams rematched in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.

Indiana took that game as well, beating MSU 2-0, giving the Spartans plenty of reason to hope for one more chance at the Big Ten leaders.

“Our whole focus is on Butler right now,” Baum said. “But if we’re fortunate enough to play Indiana