NCAA Bracket
Three teams will represent the Centennial Conference in the NCAA Divisioon III Men's Basketball Tournament for just the second time in conference history as Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall will each hit the road later this week to compete in the national postseason tournament. The only other season that the CC qualified three teams for the tournament was in 2018 (Swarthmore, Hopkins and F&M).
CC-champion Gettysburg will travel to Wesleyan (Conn.) in Middletown, Conn., for the first and second rounds, beginning on Friday. The Bullets (18-9) earned an automatic bid into the field of 64 with its fourth Centennial Conference (CC) title, defeating Johns Hopkins 51-47 on Sunday in Gettysburg. It was the first conference title for the Orange and Blue since 2009.
Gettysburg is making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance and second straight. The Bullets will take on New York University (17-8) in Friday's first-round game at 3:45 p.m. The host Cardinals (21-6) will play Lehman (21-6) in the second game at 6:15 p.m. The winners will meet in Saturday's second round at 6:15 p.m.
Johns Hopkins (20-7) earned an at-large bid and will take on NJAC champion TCNJ (21-6) in the first round on Friday, March 6. The Johns Hopkins-TCNJ game is one of two games that will take place at top-ranked Randolph-Macon with the host Yellow Jackets (25-3) taking on NC Wesleyan (21-6) in the other matchup. The winners of Friday's first round games will meet on Saturday, March 7 for a spot in the round of 16. Hopkins and TCNJ will tip-off at 4:15 pm with Randolph-Macon and NC Wesleyan set to tip at 6:45 pm. Saturday's game is set for a 6:45 pm tip.
Hopkins is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023 and 16th overall. The Blue Jays are coming off their eighth straight trip to the Centennial Conference championship game. Hopkins is 12-15 all-time in the tournament with a trio of Sweet 16 appearances. This will be the first-ever meeting between Hopkins and TCNJ on the hardwood.
F&M (22-5) earned an at-large bid and will match up agaiinst Cortland (23-4) on Friday, March 6 at 4 p.m. at the Endicott Regional. The Diplomats will be making their second straight and 27th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Host and 13th-ranked Endicott (26-1) will face Neumann (19-9) in the other first round matchup at 6:30 p.m. The two winners will then face off on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
