Three UAA women's teams and three UAA men's teams were selected to participate in the 2017 NCAA Division III Basketball Championship tournaments.
WOMEN
Washington University
The No. 7-ranked Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team was selected to host the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament First and Second Rounds Friday-Saturday in the WU Field House. The Bears will open the Tournament against St. Norbert College in the First Round on Friday.
The Bears will also host Wheaton (Ill.) College and Rose-Hulman Institute during the First Round on Friday. Ticket prices and times have yet to be determined for games but will be announced when available. The winner of Friday's contests will meet in the Second Round on Saturday.
WashU finished the regular-season 23-2 overall record, including a University Athletic Association (UAA) leading 12-2 mark for the conference title. The Bears are making their 29thoverall and 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under 31-year head coach Nancy Fahey. WashU owns a Division III-best 68-25 record in its previous 28 appearances, including 10 Final Fours and five National Championships. This marks the 20th time in school history the Bears have hosted a first-round game, and the third year in a row.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago women's basketball team was selected to the NCAA Division III Championship field for the sixth time in program history on Monday afternoon.
The Maroons compiled a season record of 18-7 and finished second in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with a league mark of 11-3. They were one of 21 at-large qualifiers this year in the 64-team bracket. UChicago previously reached the NCAA postseason in 1995, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
University of St. Thomas (Minn.) will serve as the host of the four-team regional. UChicago begins first-round action versus Wartburg College (25-2). The other matchup will feature St. Thomas (27-0) versus University of Wisconsin-Superior (23-4).
University of Rochester
A rugged schedule paid handsome rewards for the women's basketball team at the University of Rochester this season. The Yellowjackets have been selected to compete in the 64-team field in the NCAA Division III playoffs which begin this weekend.
Rochester, which fashioned a 17-8 regular season mark, will play at 5 pm on Friday against Keene State University in the first game of a doubleheader at SUNY Geneseo. The second game of the twinbill at 7 pm matches Geneseo against Muhlenberg College. Winners from Friday evening will play at 7 pm Friday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
This is Rochester's 14th NCAA playoff appearance and its second in a row. The Yellowjackets reached the national quarterfinals last season (a.k.a. 'Elite 8'). They posted a 23-6 overall mark. Rochester is making its 11th NCAA playoff appearance under Jim Scheible. He is finishing his 18th season on the River Campus with a composite record of 343-149 at Rochester, 484-220 overall. This is his 26th year as a head women's basketball coach.
MEN
Washington University
The No. 5-ranked Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team gained an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Championship and will take on Ripon College in the First Round Friday, March 3 in Holland, Mich.
Hope College will serve as host of the NCAA First and Second Rounds, set for Friday-Saturday, March 3-4. The Bears will play their first road game in the NCAA Tournament since 2009
No. 18 Hope and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will also meet Friday in the First Round. The winners of Friday's games will meet Saturday for a berth into the Sectional Semifinals. Game times will be announced Tuesday.
WashU (20-5, 12-2 UAA) won their 14th University Athletic Association (UAA) championship this season to earn the league's automatic bid. The Bears are making their 20th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, and 23rd overall. WashU sports a 32-17 (.653) all-time postseason record in Division III play, and a 36-20 (.643) overall mark in postseason play.
The Bears made three-straight Final Four appearances from 2007-09, and captured the 2008 and 2009 Division III National Championships.
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester will host a four-team group in the opening rounds of the NCAA Division III men's basketball championships this weekend. Rochester is one of 16 schools designated as a host of the first and second rounds.
On Friday, the opening game at 5:30 pm matches Wesleyan University of Connecticut against Union College of New York. Wesleyan earned an at-large bid to the tournament (Pool C) from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). The Cardinals are 19-6 heading into Friday's tip-off. Union is the champion of the Liberty League (Pool A). The Dutchmen defeated Hobart College in the Liberty League title game last Saturday. Union has a 16-10 record as Friday approaches.
At 7:30 pm, Rochester will host Albertus Magnus, champion of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Falcons boast one of the high-scoring teams in Division III. They average 89 points a game and are ranked 12th in scoring average. Albertus Magnus defeated Lasell College in the title game of the GNAC playoffs, 101-83, to secure the bid. Albertus Magnus has topped 100 points in a game five times this year (the Falcons are 23-4) with a high point total of 112 vs. Newbury College.
Rochester finished the regular season at 21-4, 10-4 in the University Athletic Association. The Yellowjackets lost their season finale, 63-62, to Emory University on Saturday. This is Rochester's 19th appearance in the NCAA basketball playoffs, its 15th such appearance in the Division III tournament. It is Rochester's third appearance in the NCAA playoffs in the last seven years.
Emory University
The Emory men's basketball team has earned the program's fifth consecutive bid to the NCAA Division Tournament. Pairings for this year's 64-team field were announced Monday afternoon. The Eagles of head coach Jason Zimmerman will venture to the campus of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, for a Friday (Mar. 3) match-up against Texas Lutheran University starting at 5:30 pm (CST). Following the Emory-TLU contest, Hardin-Simmons will square off against LaGrange College at 7:30 pm. The winners of those two games will meet on Saturday in a 7:00 pm (CST) tip. All games will be held at the Mabee Complex on the HSU campus.
This year's postseason appearance will be the sixth ever in the history of the program. Emory landed an at-large berth after wrapping up the regular season with an overall record of 18-7, 9-5 in the University Athletic Association which was good for third place.