The NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament bracket has been revealed and a total of five HBCU programs — three from the CIAA alone — will compete for a national title.
CIAA champion Virginia State will be joined in the Atlantic Region by Fayetteville State and Bluefield State University. SIAC champion Savannah State will carry the flag for its HBCU conference. And Lincoln (Missouri) will represent from the GLVC.
Virginia State (21-8) was slotted third in the Atlantic Region. It will take on no. 3 seed West Chester (PA) of the PSAC. VSU is making its first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament since 2019. It was selected to play in the 2020 tournament that was cut short by COVID-19.
Fayetteville State was awarded an at-large bid, earning no. 4 in the Atlantic Region. It will take on Fairmont State (27-4) of the Mountain East Conference. CIAA foe Virginia Union defeated Fairmont State handily earlier this season. This is Fayetteville State’s first NCAA bid since winning the CIAA in 2022.
Rounding out the CIAA trio is newcomer Bluefield State. BSU went 19-11 in its second season as a member of the CIAA, more than doubling its season win total and going to the CIAA Championship Game for the first time in history before losing to Virginia State. It will take on no. 1 seed and regional host West Liberty which finished 27-4, including a two-point win over Bluefield State early in the season.
This marks the first time the CIAA has claimed three bids to the tournament since 2013 when Bowie State, Livingstone College and Winston-Salem State all made it in to an Atlantic Regional hosted at West Liberty.
Savannah State, meanwhile, is the lone representative for the SIAC. SSU was 10-11 after 21 games this season but got red hot just in time, winning eight in a row to claim the league title and the no.8 spot. It will face off against Nova Southeastern, host of the Southern Regional.
Lincoln (MO) is headed back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1981 after winning the GLVC and finishing with a 23-8 record. LUMO will play Lake Superior State in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
Five HBCU basketball teams in the NCAA Division II tournament isn’t unpresedented, but it has been quite a while.
HBCU women
The NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament bracket has been revealed and a total of three HBCU programs — two from the CIAA — will compete for a national title.
CIAA champion Fayetteville State will be joined in the Atlantic Region by Virginia State. SIAC champion Miles College will carry the flag for its HBCU conference.
Virginia State, CIAA runner-up, received an at-large bid, slotted no. 8 in the Atlantic Region. It will take on no. 1 seed Edinboro of the PSAC, the host of the tournament.
Fayetteville State, the back-to-back CIAA champion, earned the no.7 bid in the Atlantic Region. It will take on Fairmont State (27-4) of the Mountain East Conference. This marks the return of FSU to the NCAA Tournament after making a multiple-game run last season.
Miles College, meanwhile, is the lone representative for the SIAC. It will take on no. 1 Union.