Championship Central
Johns Hopkins completed just the third perfect conference regular season in Centennial history to clinch the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament for the fourth straight season. The unbeaten Blue Jays (24-0, 14-0 CC) closed out the regular season with a 71-54 win at Dickinson, earning a first round bye and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The previous two unblemished CC regular season marks came from Hopkins in 1997 (14-0) and Muhlenberg in 2009 (18-0).
Gettysburg (19-6, 12-2 CC) claimed the second seed for the fourth straight season, downing Bryn Mawr 66-29 in the regular season finale. The Bullets will host a semifinal game on Friday aong with JHU.
Five of the six playoff spots were secured heading into Saturday's final day of the regular season, with the final spot coming down to the Washington College vs. Ursinus matchup. Washington College (13-12, 8-7 CC) needed a win to clinch the sixth and final bid, and pulled off a 58-55 triumph over the Bears to knock Franklin & Marshall (14-11, 7-7 CC) out of playoff contention. Despite the loss, Ursinus (15-10, 9-6 CC) earned the No. 3 seed and will host the Shorewomen in Tuesday's opening round.
Tuesday's other first round matchup will feature fourth-seeded Dickinson (14-11, 8-6 CC) against fifth-seeded McDaniel (19-6, 8-6 CC). Tied in the conference standings with a split head-to-head record, the tiebreaker for seeding came down to the Red Devils winning their regular season matchup vs. Washington College, while the Green Terror fell to the Shorewomen.
This marks the second straight year that these six teams qualified for the postseason and the fourth season in which the Centennial has used a six-team format for the conference tournament. The higher seeds will host each round of the tournament. The champion will earn the CC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
All game times have yet to be determined. Check back to Centennial.org for updates.
FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Feb. 24 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#6 Washington College at #3 Ursinus, time TBA
#5 McDaniel at #4 Dickinson, time TBA
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Feb. 27 | at #1 & #2 seeds
Higher seeded first round winner at #2 Gettysburg, time TBA
Lower seeded first round winner at #1 Johns Hopkins, time TBA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, March 1 | at highest remaining seed
Semifinal winners, time TBA
