2021 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament

The 2021 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. The championship games were held March 24–27, 2021 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, without fans.[1]

2021 NCAA Division II
men's basketball tournament
Teams48
Finals siteFord Center
Evansville, Indiana
ChampionsNorthwest Missouri State Bearcats (3rd title)
Runner-upWest Texas A&M Buffaloes (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachBen McCollum (3rd title)
MOPRyan Hawkins (NW Missouri State)
NCAA Division II men's tournaments
«2020 2022»

Defending champions Northwest Missouri State defeated West Texas A&M in the championship game, 80–54, to claim the Bearcats' second consecutive and third overall Division II national title.

Biola, Flagler, Fresno Pacific, Lee, Malone, Northwest Nazarene, Nyack, Oklahoma Baptist, and Southern Arkansas qualified for the Division II tournament for the first time.

2021 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Albany
Albany
Valdosta
Valdosta
Evansville
Evansville
West Liberty
West Liberty
2021 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
Lubbock
Lubbock
Golden
Golden
Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Harrogate
Harrogate
2021 NCAA Division II Men's sites - regionals (cyan) Elite Eight (red)

Qualification

edit

A total of 48 bids were available for the tournament: 16 automatic (awarded to the champions of the sixteen Division II conferences that crowned a basketball champion after the end of the regular season) and 32 at-large.

The field size was temporarily reduced for just the 2021 championship to account for teams and conferences that chose to not compete during the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams from four conferences (CCAA, CIAA, Northeast-10, and Sunshine State) did not participate in the regular season or the tournament.

The remaining bids were allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West). Some conferences, however, were shifted from their traditional region to ensure an even distribution of teams across all eight regions.[2] Each region consisted of two automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and at-large bids.

Bracket

edit

Atlantic Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 Hillsdale 67
4 Mercyhurst 62 4 Mercyhurst 48
5 Fairmont State 58 1 Hillsdale 61
3 West Liberty 78
2 Charleston (WV) 63
3 West Liberty 94 3 West Liberty 82
6 Malone 89

Central Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 Northern State 77
4 Wayne State (NE) 72 5 MSU Moorhead 65
5 MSU Moorhead 84 1 Northern State 86
2 NW Missouri State 91*
2 NW Missouri State 85
3 Washburn 72 3 Washburn 44
6 Missouri Western 46

East Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 St. Thomas Aquinas 95
4 Dominican (NY) 62 5 Caldwell 72
5 Caldwell 65 1 St. Thomas Aquinas 70
2 Daemen 71
2 Daemen 81
3 Bloomfield 71 3 Bloomfield 69
6 Nyack 58

Midwest Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 Truman 82
4 Wayne State (MI) 61 5 Ashland 63
5 Ashland 76 1 Truman 65
2 Michigan Tech 62
2 Michigan Tech 81
3 Southern Indiana 62 3 Southern Indiana 69
6 Lewis 60

South Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 Flagler 69
4 Valdosta State 75 5 West Georgia 53
5 West Georgia 79 1 Flagler 89
2 Alabama Huntsville 75
2 Alabama Huntsville 73
3 Lee 72 3 Lee 66
6 Georgia Southwestern 69

Southeast Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 Belmont Abbey 53
4 Emmanuel 80 4 Emmanuel 76
5 Queens (NC) 78 4 Emmanuel 67
2 Lincoln Memorial 103
2 Lincoln Memorial 80
3 Carson-Newman 63 6 Tusculum 66
6 Tusculum 65*

South Central Regional

edit
First round
March 13, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 14, 2021
Regional Finals
March 16, 2021
1 West Texas A&M 82
4 Southern Arkansas 61 5 Dallas Baptist 65
5 Dallas Baptist 83 1 West Texas A&M 101
2 Lubbock Christian 92
2 Lubbock Christian 79
3 Arkansas–Monticello 57 6 Oklahoma Baptist 55
6 Oklahoma Baptist 76

West Regional

edit
First round
March 12, 2021
Regional semifinals
March 13, 2021
Regional Finals
March 15, 2021
1 Colorado Mesa 54
4 Point Loma 73 5 Northwest Nazarene 74
5 Northwest Nazarene 85 5 Northwest Nazarene 52
2 Colorado Mines 84
2 Colorado Mines 83
3 Biola 76 3 Biola 52
6 Fresno Pacific 74

Elite Eight

edit
Elite Eight
March 24, 2021
Final Four
March 25, 2021
National championship
March 27, 2021
         
1 West Texas A&M 97
8 Daemen 83
1 West Texas A&M 87
4 Lincoln Memorial 86
5 Colorado Mines 76
4 Lincoln Memorial 90
1 West Texas A&M 54
2 NW Missouri State 80
3 Flagler 70
6 Truman 69
2 NW Missouri State 77
3 Flagler 46
7 West Liberty 77
2 NW Missouri State 98

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Cavadi, Wayne (August 6, 2019). "2019–2022 future DII NCAA Championship sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "Report Of The NCAA Division II Men's And Women's Basketball Committees January 28, 2021, Videoconference" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 5, 2021.