The Otago big man's University of Washington Huskies team has been selected for college basketball's National Invitational Tournament.
It will host Boise State University tomorrow at 3pm (NZ time) in its first-round match.
Made up of the 32 best teams to not make the NCAA tournament - the showpiece event of March Madness - the level of play at the NIT remains high.
The tournament bracket is divided into four sections, with teams in each section seeded one to eight.
Washington is a fifth seed, meaning if it wins it will probably cross paths with one of the top teams in the tournament in Saint Mary's College.
The season is a big improvement for the Huskies, who have a record of 20 wins and 12 losses, following last year's dismal 9-22.
It claimed several big wins, including against top 25-ranked opponents Arizona State and Arizona in back-to-back games.
Against Arizona, Timmins played against arguably the No1 prospect for this year's NBA draft in DeAndre Ayton.
The side also had an impressive win over the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks, a game in which Timmins had a strong showing.
He has had a slight boost in his numbers, going at 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
More so, though, he was a strong presence on defence at the back of Washington's zone.
Meanwhile, fellow Otago player Zoe Richards' season came to an end at the weekend.
Her Eckerd College team is out of the NCAA women's division two national tournament, after a first-round 57-54 loss to Embry-Riddle University.
The team trailed by 20 in the first half and was unable to overcome the deficit despite a furious fightback.
Richards finished the season averaging 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, with a field goal percentage of 59%.
Other New Zealanders in action in the men's division one tournament are Jack Salt (Virginia), Sam Waardenburg (Miami) and Matt Freeman (Oklahoma).
