Stonehill Named Top Seed and Host
of NCAA East Regional
NE-10 regular season
champion Skyhawks earn tenth NCAA bid,
open regional Saturday against CACC champions Felician
EASTON, Mass. (March 7, 2010) - Northeast-10 Conference regular season champions Stonehill College, ranked 16th in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, has been named the top seed and host of the 2010 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament's East Regional tonight.
Stonehill, which has earned its tenth NCAA bid in program history, will host the East Regional at Merkert Gymnasium for the second time having also served as host of the 2006 event. The regional will open with quarterfinal round action on Saturday, March 13, followed by regional semifinals on Sunday, March 14, and the regional championship on Tuesday, March 16.
Stonehill (23-5, 20-2 NE-10) will open the regional with a quarterfinal battle against eighth-seeded Felician College (24-6, 14-4 CACC) who won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) automatic bid with its CACC tournament championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Skyhawks are making their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and third in five years, with their at-large bid. While Stonehill was defeated in the opening round last year, the Skyhawks captured its first regional championship in 2006 while serving as regional host for the first time in program history.
The other first round matchups at Merkert Gym on Saturday include: Second-seeded and 19th-ranked Bentley University (22-6, 17-5 NE-10), earning an at-large bid from the NE-10, against seventh-seeded University of Bridgeport (23-8, 18-3 ECC), tournament and regular season co-champions from the East Coast Conference (ECC). Third-seeded Merrimack College (20-8, 16-6 NE-10), earning an at-large bid from the NE-10, against sixth-seeded University of Massachusetts Lowell (20-11, 13-9 NE-10), automatic qualifiers as NE-10 tournament champions. Fourth-seeded Philadelphia University (25-7, 16-1 CACC), regular season champions of the CACC, will battle fifth-seeded Saint Anselm College (20-10, 14-8 NE-10), earning the final at-large bid from the NE-10.
The winner of the East Region will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held March 24-27 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
MATCHUPS IN 2010 NCAA DIVISION II
EAST REGIONAL
Saturday, March 13 (Quarterfinals)
#3 Merrimack (20-8) vs. #6 UMass Lowell (20-11), Noon
#2 Bentley (22-6) vs. #7 Bridgeport (23-8), 2:30 p.m.
#1 Stonehill (23-5) vs. #8 Felician (24-6), 6 p.m.
#4 Philadelphia (25-7) vs. #5 Saint Anselm (20-10), 8:30
p.m.
Sunday, March 14 (Semifinals)
Bentley/Bridgeport winner vs. Merrimack/UMass Lowell winner, 5
p.m.
Stonehill/Felician winner vs. Philadelphia/Saint Anselm winner,
7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16 (Championship)
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
