March 6, 2008

NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKETS ANNOUNCED SUNDAY EVENING

SMITHFIELD, RI -  The 2008 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championship brackets will be announced exclusively on Sunday, March 9 beginning at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time.  Audio and video streaming of both shows can be accessed by logging on to www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii or http://www.ncaa.com/.  Both 64-team brackets will be posted online at http://www.ncaasports.com/ immediately following the selection show.

The Bryant men (17-12) are currently ranked No. 5 in the Northeast Region while the women are ranked No. 8 in the Northeast Region.  The women's ranking doesn't reflect Bryant's conference quarterfinal win Tuesday night over Assumption College, the No. 4 team in the region.  

The Bryant women will face Franklin Pierce this Friday evening in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals (7 pm) in Rindge, NH with the winner of that game to advance to the conference championship Sunday against the winner of the Bentley/Stonehill semifinal.  This is the first conference semifinal appearance for the women since 1995-96.

The men's and women's Division II Championship consists of eight regional championships with eight teams participating in each region.  Automatic bids are awarded to champions of the Northeast-10, East Coast Conference and CACC Conferences and five at-large berths rounding out the remaining regional field.  

The men's Northeast Regional will take place March 15-18 while the women's regional scheduled for March 14-17.  Bentley (men) and Holy Family (women) are both ranked No. 1 regionally and will likely host the 2008 regional championships.  

The eight regional winners will advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the national quarterfinals, semifinals and championship Mar. 26-29 in Springfield, MA (men) and Kearney, NE (women).

NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL RANKINGS
March 5, 2008

MEN                                                  WOMEN                                          

1.      Bentley                                       1.      Holy Family

2.      Assumption                                2.      Stonehill

3.      Saint Rose                                  3.      Franklin Pierce

4.      C.W. Post                                   4.      Assumption

5.      BRYANT                                  5.      Bentley

6.      Philadelphia                                6.      American International

7.      Holy Family                                7.      Dominican (NY)

8.      Merrimack                                  8.      BRYANT

9.      Stonehill                                     9.      Wilmington, DE

10.    Adelphi                                       10.    New Haven