Five conference champions and four at-large selectees give HBCUs nine representatives in the 2010 NCAA Division II Basketball Playoffs.
Automatic bids allowed men’s teams from St. Augustine’s (CIAA), Tuskegee (SIAC) and West Virginia State (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) to earn playoff bids while women’s teams from Fayetteville State (CIAA) and Benedict (SIAC) got playoff nods.
Clark Atlanta‘s men, Fort Valley State‘s women, Virginia State’s women and Central State‘s men round out the slate of HBCU moving on to Division II’s version of the Big Dance.
Men
CIAA Champ St. Augustine’s (25-4) is seeded third in the Atlantic Region and will face No. 6 seed Kutztown (Pa.) University (23-7) in first round action in West Liberty, WVa., Saturday, March 13. A game time will be announced later. The Falcons were the only CIAA men’s team to make the playoff field.
WVIAC Champion West Virginia State (28-3) is seeded fourth in the Atlantic Region and will meet #5 seed East Stroudsburg (21-5) in Indiana, PA.
SIAC tournament champion Tuskegee University (20-10) received the No. 8 seed in the NCAA South Region and will square off against the No. 1 seed and regional host the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech (25-1).
SIAC regular season champion Clark Atlanta (24-6) received the No. 5 seed in the region and will face No. 4 seed Valdosta State (20-4) of the Gulf South Conference.
Central State (OH) University (17-5) will be making its first appearance in the playoffs since transitioning from NAIA to Division II. The Marauders are seeded #7 in the Midwest Region will meet #2 seed Bellarmine (21-7) at 2:30pm on Saturday, March 13 in Owensboro, Ky.
Women
CIAA Champ Fayetteville State (20-9) will be making its second straight playoff appearance. The No. 4 seeded Lady Broncos are slated to take on the No. 5 seed Seton Hill (22-7) on Friday, March 12 at the Hammermill Center on the campus of Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
FSU will be joined by Virginia State (22-6) in the regional playoffs. The seventh seeded Lady Trojans will play regional host and second-seeded California (Pa.) (23-7) in the opening round on March 12. This is VSU’s first playoff appearance since 2002.
The Lady Tigers of Benedict College (20-8) received the No. 8 seed by virtual of winning the SIAC Championship, and will take on the No. 1 seeded Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech (26-2) in the South Regional.
The SIAC regular season champions Fort Valley State (26-2) received the No. 3 seed and will face the No. 6 seed Valdosta State Lady Blazers (18-8).
The NCAA South Region Tournament dates have been changed to allow Arkansas Tech to host both regionals. The men’s first round will take place on Saturday, March 13 with the semifinals set for Sunday, March 14, and the South Region championship game slated for Tuesday, March 16. The winner advances to the Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.
On the women’s side the first round will take place on Friday, March 12 with the semifinals set for Sunday, March 14, and the championship game set to be played on Tuesday, March 16. The winner advances to the Division II Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo.