HBCUs send ten to Division II Playoffs
March 6, 2006
Five automatic bids and five at-large designations have resulted
in ten HBCUs participating in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Three upsets in conference tournaments helped extend the number
of HBCUs in the 64-team field.
Virginia Union's men and Shaw's women won titles in the CIAA,
captured top seeds in the South Atlantic Region and will host
first, second and third round games. VUU will be joined by
Johnson C. Smith in Richmond. Women's teams from North Carolina
Central and Johnson C. Smith are included in the field for
regional action in Raleigh.
Upsets in the SIAC tournament created two berths that may
have gone to other teams had Benedict's men and Fort Valley
State's women won their conference tournament. Both teams received
at-large bids as a result of their regional rankings before
the tournament. Stillman's men and Paine's women got the SIAC's
automatic bid by winning SIAC titles, Sunday afternoon in Birmingham.
All the SIAC teams will be in the South region. Benedict,
seeded #7, and Stillman, ranked #8, will travel to Cleveland,
MS for the men's regional hosted by Delta State.
Fort Valley State, who suffered just their second loss of
the season in the SIAC women's championship game, is seeded
third in the South Region. Paine will join the Lady Wildcats
in Arkadelphia, AR for the women's regional hosted by Henderson
State.
The tenth HBCU participant in the playoffs is West Virginia
State who won the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(WVIAC) title and picked up the automatic bid to the playoffs.
The Yellow Jackets knocked off top-seeded Alderson-Broddus
in the semifinals, then completed their title run with a thrilling
69-67 victory over second-seeded Salem International in the
WVIAC Men's Tournament finale, Saturday evening in Charleston,
WV.
WVSC will travel to Wilson, NC for the East Regional Tournament
hosted by Barton College.
Winners from the regional tournaments will advance to the
NCAA's Elite-Eight National Championship.
The Women's Elite Eight will be March 22, 23 and 25 at Summit
Arena in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
The eight men's quarterfinalists will advance to the finals
at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, March
22, 23 and 25.
Virginia Union is the defending men's national champion.
Games involving HBCUs in Division II Playoffs
March 10, 2006
South Atlantic Women's Regional in Raleigh, NC
#1-Shaw vs. #8 Newberry
#4- NC Central vs. #5-Ga College and State Univ#6
#6-Johnson C. Smith vs. #3-Clayton State
South
Women's Regional in Arkadelphia, AR
#3-Fort Valley State vs. #6-West Florida
#7-Paine vs. #2-Henderson State
March 11, 2006
South Atlantic Men's Regional in Richmond,
VA
#1 - Virginia Union vs. #8 - Wingate
#3 - Johnson C. Smith vs. #4 - Columbus (Ga) State
South Men's Regional in Cleveland, MS
#7 - Benedict vs. #2 - Montevallo
#8 - Stillman vs. #1 - Delta State
East Men's Regional in Wilson, NC
#2 - West Virginia State vs. #7 - Edinboro
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