12 black college teams shoot for Div. II titles
Seven black college men's teams in three regions, and five women's teams in those same regions take to the court this weekend with the goal of winning their respective NCAA Div. II national basketball championships.The expanded 64-team fields for the national tournaments were selected Sunday. Eight teams were selected from the nation's eight regions, up from six from each region and the 48-team field that had previously determined the champions.
The Lady Bears of Shaw (28-2), two-time
CIAA tournament champions, are the only team of the 12 to get a
top seed and will host the women's South Atlantic Regional at their
on-campus facility, Spaulding Gymnasium, Friday through Monday (March 12-13, 15)
in Raleigh, N.C.
Head coach Jacques Curtis's troops, who made it to the regional finals last year before losing to North Florida, will open Friday at 6 p.m. against eighth-seeded Augusta State (21-7) of the Peach Belt Conference.
They will be joined in Raleigh by the team they defeated for the CIAA title, Virginia Union (23-6), who will come in as the sixth-seeded team. Moses Golatt will lead the Lady Panthers against third-seeded Lander (24-5) in the 1 p.m. opener Friday.
The men's and women's Elite Eights are scheduled for March 24, 25 and 27. The men's final three rounds will be held at Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, Ca., and be hosted by Cal State-Bakersfield. The women's Elite Eight will be hosted by Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Mo., and will be played at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
CIAA men's tournament champion, Virginia Union, will be joined by conference rival Bowie State in the men's South Atlantic Regional to be played on the campus of top-seeded Kennesaw (Ga.) State on March 14, 15, and 17.
Dave Robbins's fourth-seeded VUU Panthers (25-4) will face fifth-seeded Columbus State (21-8) in an 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal game Saturday. Robbins won Div. II national titles with the Panthers in 1980 and 1992.
CIAA tournament favorite Bowie State (22-5), seeded third, plays Lenoir-Rhyne (19-8) at 2:30 p.m. Luke D'Alessio's Bulldogs won last year's South Atlantic Regional and advanced to the Elite Eight, where they lost in the national semifinals against Kentucky Wesleyan. The Bulldogs stumbled two weekends ago, losing in the quarterfinals of the CIAA tournament an event they also won last year.
Benedict's men and women were upset winners of their respective SIAC tournament titles to earn automatic bids to the South Regionals.
The Lady Tigers (16-13), under Maurice Bailey, got an eighth seed and will face the top seed and host, Rollins (27-3), on its home floor in Winter Park, Fl., Friday at 6 p.m.
Fort Valley State received an at-large bid and is ranked third in the region. Lonnie Bartley will lead the Lady Wildcats (23-6) into the regional for the sixth straight time, and 12th overall, taking on sixth-seeded and defending regional champ, Central Arkansas (21-10) at 3 p.m.
The men's South Regional will be held at the home of Valdosta (Ga.) State (25-3), the region's top seed, beginning Saturday with the finals on Tuesday. Benedict (20-8) is seeded seventh and begins its quest for the title against Rollins (24-5), the second seed, in the 1:30 p.m. opener. Fred Watson leads the Tigers.
SIAC tournament runner-up Morehouse (24-6), under head man Grady Brewer, is seeded fourth and faces fifth-seeded Henderson State (22-6) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Three black college men's teams are in the East Region men's field to be played on the campus of the top seed, Pfeiffer College in Misenheimer, N. C.
The University of the District of Columbia returns to the tournament for the first time since 1987. UDC won the Div. II national title in 1982 with stars Earl Jones and Michael Britt and made a return trip to the finals in 1983. They were then coached by Wil Jones.
The Firebirds, 18-9 this season under Mike McLeese, are seeded sixth and will face West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference runner-up, West Virginia State (24-5), the third seed at 12 noon Saturday. Bryan Poore coaches the Yellow Jackets
Cheyney (22-7) of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference is seeded fifth and faces conference-rival California (Pa.) (23-6), the third seed at 6 p.m. Cheyney is coached by Cleo Hill, Jr.
West Virginia State is the lone black college team in the women's East Regional hosted by California (Pa.). The Lady Yellow Jackets (22-8) are seeded seventh and will face second seed Glenville State (27-3) at 3 p.m. WVSC is coached by Will Heasley.
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