Guilford Ready to Host NCAA Division III Sectional Tournament

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro Coliseum is not the only venue to host high-quality college basketball this weekend as Guilford College welcomes three of the nation’s top-17 NCAA Division III men’s basketball teams to its Ragan-Brown Field House.

While the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament takes place a few miles away, Guilford hosts one of four sectional pods of the Division III playoffs this Friday and Saturday. For the first time in school history, the Quakers are hosting three sectional games among four teams competing for a spot in the Division III semifinals.

Sectional play begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. when Eastern Mennonite University (24-4) plays Whitworth University (26-2). Guilford (28-2) meets the College of Wooster (25-5) at 8:00 p.m. Friday‘s winners play in Saturday’s sectional final at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets cost $7, $4 for children, seniors and students and are on sale on Guilford’s campus in 101 Alumni Gym until noon Thursday. Any remaining tickets will be sold Friday at the door. Tickets for Saturday’s sectional final will go on sale at the conclusion of Friday’s games.

The Quakers, champions of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), reached the sectional round for the third time in four years after weekend home victories over Christopher Newport University (83-59) and John Carroll University (85-82). Guilford is ranked third in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and has won nine straight games since losing to Eastern Mennonite at home Feb. 10. The Quakers placed third in the 2009 Division III tournament.

Wooster, of Wooster, Ohio, qualified for its 19th Division III tournament by virtue of its sixth straight North Coast Athletic Conference title. The Fighting Scots dropped three of their first five games to strong competition before reeling off 23 wins in their next 25 games. The Fighting Scots posted wins over Grove City College (63-52) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (87-78) to reach the round of 16 for the sixth time in 12 years. Wooster is ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and qualified for the national semifinals in 2003 and 2007.

Eastern Mennonite hails from Harrisonburg, Va., and captured the ODAC regular-season crown by virtue of the aforementioned win over Guilford. The Royals, ranked 10th by D3hoops.com, are enjoying their most successful season in school history and making their first national tournament appearance. Eastern Mennonite uses great team chemistry and high-pressure, up-tempo basketball to score 88.6 points per game, second only to Grinnell College in this week’s Division III rankings. The Royals advanced last weekend with home wins over Centre College (63-53) and Wilmington (Ohio) College (85-71).

Whitworth, from Spokane, Wash., is making its second sectional appearance in the last three years in its fifth trip to the Division III tournament. The fourth-ranked Pirates improved to 26-2 with Saturday’s second-round victory over visiting Chapman University and are riding a school-record 25-game winning streak. Whitworth has tied the school record for victories in a season and captured the Northwest Conference regular-season and tournament crowns. The Pirates earned one of three first-round byes in the NCAA and defeated Chapman, 77-56, to reach the sectional round.

Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Mary’s College of Maryland are the other three sectional hosts. Each sectional champion advances to the national semifinals and finals, which will be held March 19-20 in Salem, Va.

Fans unable to attend games this weekend can follow all of the action with live video webcasts that can be seen from Guilford’s sectional tournament Web site at: http://www.guilford.edu/sports/Mbasketball/NCAA-2010/index-1.htm.

One thought on “Guilford Ready to Host NCAA Division III Sectional Tournament

  1. Is that a typo or is Guilford College actually hosting a second set of Fighting Scots? Wasn’t that the Maryville mascot as well. Mascot…. scots scots everywhere!

    Still gonna try to go. Have to keep the average fan age down yoy know. Unless students are back. Will Dave Odom be in the house?

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