Men's Basketball Earns At-Large Bid To NCAA Division II Tournament

Daemen Earns No. 4 Seed In The East Region; Highest Seed In Program History

3/10/2024 11:44:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - For the fourth time since gaining full NCAA membership, the Daemen University men's basketball team will compete for a national championship. The Wildcats have earned an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, which gets underway next weekend with regional tournaments across the country. The full 64-team NCAA tournament bracket was announced late this evening in a selection show broadcast on NCAA.com.

The tournament field is broken down into eight regions, consisting of eight teams each. Each of the 23 conference champions earns an automatic qualifying bid to the tournament. The Division II Men's Basketball Committee selects the remaining 41 at-large bids.

The East Regional will take place in Colchester, Vt. and will be hosted by Saint Michael's College. Daemen (24-8) is the No. 4 seed in the East Region, which ranks as the highest seed ever for the program. Daemen will square off against No. 5 seed Jefferson University (23-8) in the opening round Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. The top portion of the bracket also features No. 1 seed Saint Michael's (22-8) against No. 8 Southern Connecticut State University (22-10) at 5 p.m.. Additional first-round matchups include No. 2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas College, champions of the East Coast Conference, taking on No. 7 Post University (20-9) at 2:30 p.m., as well as No. 3 seed Southern New Hampshire University (21-10) facing No. 6 seed Bloomfield College (22-9) at 12 p.m.. SNHU claimed the Northeast-10 Conference tournament crown.

Daemen previously competed in the NCAA tournament in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The Wildcats narrowly missed earning an at-large bid the past two seasons.

Ticket information for the East Regional will be announced later this week.

Daemen has gone 12-2 since suffering a 92-82 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas back on Jan. 19. Daemen advanced to the ECC Tournament title game, but suffered a 77-66 loss at top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas. Daemen has featured a balanced scoring attack and solid defense thus far. Six players are averaging in double figures and the Wildcats lead the ECC in fewest points allowed per game (71.4). Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) averaged 21.3 points during the ECC Tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. He is averaging a team-high 17.4 points overall with 63 three-pointers. Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), the ECC Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. A five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he ranks third among the ECC leaders in both blocks (52) and steals (50). Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging 11.9 points and 3.4 assists with 50 three-pointers. Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) is averaging 10.7 points, while senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) is also contributing 10.7 points with a team-high 79 three-pointers. Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) is producing 10.5 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Jefferson. Jefferson is making its 38th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rams captured the CACC Tournament championship this weekend and they bring a region-best 11 game winning streak into the regional. The Rams knocked off second-seeded Post (70-58) in the CACC semifinals and top-seeded Bloomfield (89-69) in the tournament title game to earn the CACC crown. Junior guard Erik Timko has earned CACC Player of the Year the last two seasons and is averaging 20.0 points per game with 89 three-pointers.

A full opening-round preview will be posted on the Daemen athletics website later this week.

Winners of the eight regional tournaments will advance to the Elite Eight which is slated for March 26-30 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

NCAA Digital has partnered with Hudl to utilize the Hudl platform to stream all regional games and the Elite Eight. Contests will be webcast on NCAA.com, the Hudl platform and an OTT app - "NCAA Championships Pass". Fans have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $29.95 for all Division II Men's Basketball Championship games excluding the semifinals and championship game, and $49.95 for all Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championship games, excluding the semifinals and championship games. The semifinals and finals of the DII Men's Basketball Championship will be carried on CBS Sports Network and CBS, respectively.

Regional Schedule (all games played at Vincent C. Ross Sports Center, Colchester, Vt.)
Saturday, March 16 – First Round games
12 p.m.            Game No. 1. – No. 3 Southern New Hampshire (21-10) vs. No. 6 Bloomfield (22-9)
2:30 p.m.         Game No. 2 – No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (25-5) vs. No. 7 Post (20-9)
5 p.m.              Game No. 3 – No. 1 Saint Michael's (22-8) vs. No.8 Southern Connecticut (22-10)
7:30 p.m.         Game No. 4 – No. 4 Daemen (24-8) vs. No. 5 Jefferson (23-8)

Sunday, March 17 – Regional Semifinals
5 p.m.              Game No. 5. (Winner Game No. 1 vs. Winner Game No. 2)
7:30 p.m.         Game No. 6. (Winner Game No. 3 vs. Winner Game No. 4)

Tuesday, March 19 – Regional Championship Game
7 p.m.              Game No. 7. (Winner Game No. 5 vs. Winner Game No. 6)

National Schedule
Tuesday, March 26 – National Quarterfinals (at Ford Center, Evansville, Ind.)
Thursday, March 28 – National Semifinals (at Ford Center, Evansville, Ind.)
Saturday, March 30 – National Championship Game (at Ford Center, Evansville, Ind.)

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