The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team, seeded #6, takes on #3 Southern Connecticut State University in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament at Holy Family University at noon on Saturday, March 12. Here's a preview of Saturday's East Region Quarter-Final tilt.
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Click Here for NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
The Match-Up - The Spartans come in with a 26-4 overall record, having won 20 consecutive games, including their first-ever East Coast Conference championship with last Sunday's victory over Daemen College. Southern Connecticut captured the Southwest Division Championship in the Northeast-10 conference during the regular season, but fell in the conference quarter-finals in overtime to eventual tournament champ Southern New Hampshire University.
Prior Meetings - These teams did not meet this time and have only met twice before, with SCSU winning both. The most recent showing was a 78-57 Owls victory in Connecticut on December 30, 2010..
What's at Stake? - Only 64 teams remain in the running for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. Eight teams in each of the eight regions will play beginning this Saturday, with each regional host site staging the first three rounds. The winners of Saturday's regional quarter-finals will advance to the regional semis on Sunday (the winner of STAC vs SCSU plays at 5:00 against the winner of #2 St. Anselm's vs #7 Philadelphia U). Semi-final victors square off Tuesday night at 7:00 pm for the East Regional Championship.
Each of the regional champs will advance to the Elite Eight, which will take place in Frisco, Texas, from March 23-26.
Players to Watch - Michael Mallory and Desmond Williams present one of the best one-two combos in the region, with each averaging 22.8 points pre contest, while Williams - the NE-10 Player of the Year - adds a team-leading 9.9 caroms per game. His counterpart, ECC Player of the Year Justin Reyes (17.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg), and 1st Team All-Conference selection Chaz Watler 15.0 ppg) join conference Rookie of the Year Jon Lawton (50% 3pt pct) in leading a deep Spartan attack. Watler was named Most Outstanding Player in the ECC Tourney, while Reyes sparkled with 19 points and 17 rebounds in the title clincher over Daemen.
Elsewhere in the East - #2 St. Anselm's College will host #7 Philadelphia University in the 2:30 start on Saturday, while the top seeded hosts from Holy Family University (CACC Champs) will start the second session hosting #8 Southern New Hampshire University (NE-10 Tournament Champs) at 5:00 pm. The day wraps up with a pair of NE-10 schools squaring off, with #4 Stonehill squares off with Bentley University at 7:30.
Sunday's semis will be played at 5:00 and 7:30, with Tuesday's final set for 7:00 pm.