Indianapolis, Ind. – The Le Moyne College men's basketball team has been selected to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships for the 15th time and is the fifth seed in the NCAA Division II East Regional, as announced by the NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Committee on Sunday night on NCAA.com. The fifth-seeded Dolphins will face fourth-seeded Saint Anselm College in the regional quarterfinals on Saturday at a time to be determined at the University of Bridgeport's Hubbell Gym in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Le Moyne, which won the regional two years ago, is making its fourth consecutive regional appearance for the first time in the program's history. The Dolphins and Hawks, who won last year's regional and this year's Northeast-10 Conference Championship, have met 48 overall times, including twice in NCAA championship play. The Hawks hold a 29-19 advantage in the series history, including winning both NCAA games. The last NCAA meeting was on March 15, 2014, a 73-62 Saint Anselm win, which marked current head coach Nate Champion's final game as a student-athlete.
The remaining quarterfinal matchups in the East Region feature top-seeded Bridgeport facing eighth-seeded Daemen College, second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College taking on seventh-seeded Dominican College and third-seeded Jefferson University against sixth-seeded Stonehill College. Dominican won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship over regular season champion Jefferson and St. Thomas Aquinas claimed the East Coast Conference title by defeating regular season champion Bridgeport. The Le Moyne-Saint Anselm winner will face the Bridgeport-Daemen winner in the regional semifinals on Sunday, while the Saint Thomas Aquinas-Dominican winner and the Jefferson-Stonehill winner will square off in the other semifinal on Sunday. The semifinal winners will play for the regional championship on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Ticket and broadcast information will also be announced early in the week.
The Dolphins enter the tournament with a mark of 19-9 after winning the Southwest Division for the fourth straight season with a 15-4 mark in conference action and were the top seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships. The Dolphins have played three games against the other teams selected to the regional and were 1-2 in those matchups. The Dolphins defeated Saint Anselm on January 25, while falling to Stonehill (January 11) and Daemen (November 19).
2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Regional
1. University of Bridgeport (24-4)
2. St. Thomas Aquinas College (25-5) [ECC automatic berth]
3. Jefferson University (27-4)
4. Saint Anselm College (22-5) [NE10 automatic berth]
5. Le Moyne College (19-9)
6. Stonehill College (18-11)
7. Dominican College (25-6) [CACC automatic berth]
8. Daemen College (24-8)
Regional Schedule (all played at University of Bridgeport's Hubbell Gym, Bridgeport, Conn.)
March 14 – First Round games
Game No. 1
Game No. 2
Game No. 3
Game No. 4
March 15 – Regional Semifinals
Game No. 5. (Winner Game No. 1 vs. Winner Game No. 2)
Game No. 6. (Winner Game No. 3 vs. Winner Game No. 4)
March 17 – Regional Championship Game
7 p.m. Game No. 7. (Winner Game No. 5 vs. Winner Game No. 6)
National Schedule
March 26 – National Quarterfinals (Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana)
March 28 – National Semifinals (Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana)
April 5 – National Championship Game (Atlanta, Georgia)
Le Moyne NCAA Tournament History (7-18)
1958-59 – Williams – W, 72-66
1958-59 – St. Michael's – L, 70-71
1959-60 – St. Anselm – L, 75-88
1959-60 – Assumption – L, 68-94
1963-64 – Youngstown St. – W, 64-53 (at Akron)
1963-64 – Akron – L, 38-62 (at Akron)
1964-65 – Assumption – L, 58-76 (at Le Moyne)
1964-65 – Hartwick – L, 68-70 (at Le Moyne)
1965-66 – Philadelphia U. – L, 61-83
1965-66 – Potsdam St. – W, 86-63
1967-68 – Buffalo St. – L, 66-83 (at Rochester)
1967-68 – Northeastern – L, 54-67 (at Rochester)
1968-69 – Montclair St. – L, 77-81 (at Le Moyne)
1968-69 – Albany – L, 70-71 (at Le Moyne)
1987-88 – California (Pa.) – L, 88-91 (at Gannon)
1987-88 – Kutztown – W, 89-81 (at Gannon)
1995-96 – Franklin Pierce – L, 53-83 (hosted by Saint Rose at Siena)
1996-97 – Saint Rose – L, 76-92 (at Southern New Hampshire)
2013-14 – Saint Anselm – L, 62-73 (at Southern Connecticut State)
2016-17 – Merrimack – L, 68-72 OT (at Le Moyne)
2017-18 – Jefferson – W, 75-57 (at Le Moyne)
2017-18 – Saint Rose – W, 67-63 (at Le Moyne)
2017-18 – Bloomfield – W, 75-59 (at Le Moyne)
2017-18 – West Texas A&M – L, 73-87 (at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, S.D.)
2018-19 – St. Thomas Aquinas – L, 59-61 (at Saint Anselm, Manchester, N.H.)
