INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time since 2005-06, the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) earned two berths into the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament as the 64-team field was announced on Monday afternoon during the NCAA.com Selection Show. Both CCC Championship contenders, Nichols and Endicott, make appearances in this year’s bracket and will both travel to Neumann in Aston, Pa. for their First Round contests.
The 2017 CCC Tournament Champion Bison will play the host No. 15 Neumann, while the CCC Tournament runner-up Gulls will match up against No. 20 Salisbury. The first round gets underway on Friday, March 3. Game times will be announced at a later time.
Nichols, led by was the conference’s’ automatic qualifier into this year’s national championship after winning the CCC Tournament Championship on Saturday (Feb. 25). After finishing 15-3 in the CCC (23-5 Overall), the Bison earned a split the CCC Regular-Season Championship with the Gulls. Nichols was awarded the top-seed due to the league’s tie-breaking procedure. After besting the University of New England and Wentworth in the early rounds of the CCC Tournament, they completed a late-game rally to defeat the Gulls, 67-64, for the conference title.
Endicott was the No. 2 seed in the Conference Tournament after finishing with an identical 15-3 CCC record (22-6 Overall). The Gulls path to the CCC title game went through Salve Regina and Eastern Nazarene. They took the loss in the Conference Championship, but were granted one of 21 Pool C at-large berths into the Tournament thanks to a strong regular season.
The winners of the two first round games will meet in the second round on Saturday, March 4.
Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional-round sites March 10-11. Winners of the four sectional games will advance to the semifinals and finals March 17 and 18. All games, except the semifinals and finals, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The semifinals and finals will be conducted at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
