Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate Advance To NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The South Atlantic Conference has three representatives in the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, with tournament champion Catawba College and regular-season co-champions Lenoir-Rhyne College and Wingate University all earning postseason bids.

The number three seed Wingate University men's basketball team (23-6 overall) will face number six seed Catawba College (19-11 overall) in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament in Augusta, Ga. Saturday (March 15). The three-day event will be hosted by Augusta State University and played at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs, who advanced to the Elite Eight in 2007, received an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Division II national championship tournament.

Catawba claimed the South Atlantic Conference automatic bid with its tournament championship victory over Mars Hill and are making its fourth regional appearance in the past five years. The Indians have won eight of their last nine games and are 19-11 on the season.

First-round games will be played on Saturday, March 15, with the semifinals on Sunday, March 16 and the championship game on Tuesday, March 18.

Lenoir-Rhyne (22-6) is the fifth seed in the eight-team regional tournament and will face fourth-seeded Virginia Union University (22-7) on Saturday

The Bears and the Panthers will be meeting for the first time in school history.

Lenoir-Rhyne, the 2007-08 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Champion, will be making its fourth trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs in school history and its first appearance since 2004.

The South Atlantic Regional Champion will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., at the MassMutual Center on March 26, 27 and 29.

Game times, ticket information and other important details will be announced on later today. For more information, visit the NCAA web site at www.ncaa.com.

South Atlantic Region tournament website, including live video streaming is available here

2008 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament
Augusta, Ga. - Christenberry Fieldhouse

Saturday, March 15
No. 1 USC Aiken (27-3) vs. No. 8 Clayton State (17-14), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Virginia Union (22-7) vs. No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne (22-6), 8:30 p.m.
No. 3 Wingate (23-6) vs. No. 6 Catawba (19-11), Noon
No. 2 Augusta State (22-6)* vs. No. 7 Johnson C. Smith (21-9), 2:30 p.m.
* - denotes host institution

Sunday, March 16
USC Aiken/Clayton State winner vs. Virginia Union/Lenoir-Rhyne winner, 7:30 p.m.
Wingate/Johnson C. Smith winner vs. Catawba/Augusta State winner, 5 p.m

Tuesday, March 18
Regional Championship, 7 p.m.

Download printable bracket here