Skyhawks seeded sixth in East Region, face No. 3 Jefferson
NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament Announcement
NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament Interactive Bracket
EASTON, Mass. (March 8, 2020) – The Stonehill College men's basketball program is back in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in four years and 15th time in program history overall, earning an at large bid and the No. 6 seed for the East Regional, which will be hosted by the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, March 14-17.
Stonehill (18-11, 13-6 NE10) earns its 15th NCAA Tournament bid in program history and third under head coach Chris Kraus, '06, in his seventh season at the helm. The Skyhawks received an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the East Region and will face third-seeded Jefferson University (27-4, 18-1 CACC), the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference South Division Champions, in a regional quarterfinal at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Bridgeport on Saturday, March 14. Game times are expected to be announced on Monday, but the No. 3/6 game is traditionally the opening game of the day on day one of the regional.
The University of Bridgeport (24-4, 15-1 ECC), the East Coast Conference regular season champions, received the top seed and will host the East Regional. The remaining East region NCAA bids went to No. 2 Saint Thomas Aquinas College (25-5, 13-3 ECC), the ECC Tournament Champions, No. 4 Saint Anselm College (21-8, 14-5 NE10), the NE10 Tournament and Northeast Division Champions, No. 5 Le Moyne College (19-9, 15-4 NE10), the NE10 Southwest Division Champions, No. 7 Dominican (N.Y.) College (25-6, 15-4 CACC), the CACC Tournament and North Division Champions, and No. 8 Daemen College (24-8, 12-4 ECC).
The winner of Saturday's Stonehill/Jefferson quarterfinal will face the winner of an opening round matchup between No. 2 Saint Thomas Aquinas and No. 7 Dominican on Sunday night. The regional championship is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15. The winner of the men's East Region will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held March 26-28 at The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, with the National Championship being held Final Four weekend at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, April 5.
Stonehill is one of three Northeast-10 members to receive NCAA Tournament bids. The Skyhawks played five of the other seven teams competing at the East Regional, posting a 3-3 record in those games, and played the third-toughest schedule in the region this season with their opponents recording a combined winning percentage of .557 – good for 28th nationally. Stonehill returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016, when it captured its third East Regional Championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to advance to the Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas.
COMPETING TEAMS IN 2020 NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL
1-Seed ... University of Bridgeport (24-4, 15-1 ECC) .. ECC regular season champions (at-large bid)
2-Seed ... Saint Thomas Aquinas (25-5, 13-3 ECC) … ECC Tournament Champions (automatic bid)
3-Seed ... Jefferson University (27-4, 18-1 CACC) … CACC South Division Champions (at-large bid)
4-Seed … Saint Anselm College (21-8, 14-5 NE10) … NE10 Tournament & Northeast Division Champions (automatic bid)
5-Seed ... Le Moyne College (19-9, 15-4 NE10) … NE-10 Southwest Division Champions (at-large bid)
6-Seed … Stonehill College (18-11, 15-6 NE10) … NE10 (at-large bid)
7-Seed … Dominican (N.Y.) College (25-6, 15-4 CACC) … CACC Tournament & North Division Champions (automatic bid)
8-Seed … Daemen College (24-8, 12-4 ECC) … ECC (at-large bid)
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