NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament

The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament (officially styled by the NCAA as a "Championship" instead of a "Tournament") is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of schools in the United States (plus one school in Canada) that are generally smaller than the higher-profile institutions grouped in Division I. The tournament, originally known as the NCAA College Division Basketball Championship, was established in 1957, immediately after the NCAA subdivided its member schools into the University Division (today's Division I) and College Division. It became the Division II championship in 1974, when the NCAA split the College Division into the limited-scholarship Division II and the non-scholarship Division III, and added the "Men's" designation in 1982 when the NCAA began sponsoring a Division II women's championship.

NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
SportBasketball
Founded1957
No. of teams64
(reduced to 48 for 2021 only)
CountryNCAA Division II (USA)
Most recent
champion(s)
Nova Southeastern
(1st title)
Most titlesKentucky Wesleyan (8 titles)
TV partner(s)CBS (Finals)
CBS Sports Network (Semifinals)
Official websiteNCAA.com

Like all other NCAA basketball divisions for men and women, the champion is decided in a single-elimination tournament. The Division II tournament normally involves 64 teams. The Division II tournaments for men and women differ in a major respect from those in Divisions I and III. The finals of both Division II tournaments consist of eight teams, instead of the four in the other two divisions. The eight survivors of regional play meet in the Elite Eight at a predetermined site.

Qualification edit

A total of 64 bids are normally available for each tournament: 23 automatic bids (awarded to the champion of each Division II all-sports conference) and 41 at-large bids. Due to COVID-19 issues, the 2020 tournament was canceled, and the 2021 tournament was reduced to 48 teams when nine all-sports conferences chose not to compete in men's basketball in 2020–21.

The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), all but one of which contain three of the 23 Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. The South Central region contains only two conferences. Each regional tournament involves an appropriate number of automatic qualifiers (teams that won their respective conference tournaments), with the remaining participants entering via at-large bids (which are awarded regardless of conference affiliation).

Conference tournaments edit

Schools in italics are, as of the current 2023–24 Division II basketball season, no longer members of that specific conference.

Region Conference Tournament Debut Most Championships Current Champion (2024)
Atlantic[a] CIAA Tournament 1946 Virginia Union (17)
Mountain East Tournament 2014 West Liberty (4) Charleston (2nd)
PSAC Tournament 1981 Cheyney (15) Gannon (3rd)
Central Great American Tournament 2012 Arkansas Tech (3) Arkansas Tech (3rd)
MIAA Tournament 1981 NW Missouri State (10)
NSIC Tournament 2010 Northern State (SD) (6) Minnesota State (3rd)
East CACC Tournament 2002 Bloomfield (6)
Jefferson (6)
Jefferson (6th)
East Coast Tournament 1990 St. Thomas Aquinas (8) St. Thomas Aquinas (8th)
Northeast-10 Tournament 1981 Saint Anselm (10) Southern New Hampshire (3rd)
Midwest GLIAC Tournament 1991 Findlay (8) Ferris State (6th)
GLVC Tournament 1981 Bellarmine (5)
Kentucky Wesleyan (5)
William Jewell (1st)
G-MAC Tournament 2013 Walsh (4) Walsh (4)
South[b] Gulf South Tournament 1981 Delta State (6)
North Alabama (6)
West Georgia (4th)
SIAC Tournament 1934 Florida A&M (12) Clark Atlanta (6th)
Sunshine State Tournament 1978 Florida Southern (25) Nova Southeastern (3rd)
South Central Lone Star Tournament 1975 West Texas A&M (12) Eastern New Mexico (2nd)
RMAC Tournament 1993 Metro State (11) Fort Lewis (6th)
Southeast Carolinas Tournament 1936 High Point (12) UNC Pembroke (6th)
Peach Belt Tournament 1992 Augusta (7) North Georgia (1st)
SAC Tournament 1992 Catawba (9) Catawba (9th)
West CCAA Tournament 1986 Cal State Bakersfield (5)
UC San Diego (5)
Cal State Los Angeles (1st)
GNAC Tournament 2011 Seattle Pacific (4) Central Washington (2nd)
Pacific West Tournament 2013 Point Loma Nazarene (3) Azusa Pacific (1st)

Results edit

NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship
Year Finals Site Host Arena # Teams Championship Game Tournament MVP/MOP Ref
Winner Score Runner-up
1957 Evansville, IN Roberts Municipal Stadium 32 Wheaton 89–65 Kentucky Wesleyan Mel Peterson
(Wheaton)
1958 32 South Dakota 75–53 St. Michael's Ed Smallwood
(Evansville)
1959 32 Evansville 83–67 Southwest Missouri State Hugh Ahlering
(Evansville)
1960 32 Evansville
(2)
90–69 Chapman Ed Smallwood
(Evansville)
1961 32 Wittenberg 42–38 Southeast Missouri State Don Jacobson
(South Dakota State)
1962 32 Mount St. Mary's 58–57
(OT)
Sacramento State Ron Rohrer
(Sacramento State)
1963 32 South Dakota State 44–42 Wittenberg Wayne Rasmussen
(South Dakota State)
1964 32 Evansville
(3)
72–59 Akron Jerry Sloan
(Evansville)
1965 32 Evansville
(4)
85–82
(OT)
Southern Illinois Jerry Sloan
(Evansville)
1966 36 Kentucky Wesleyan 54–51 Southern Illinois Sam Smith
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
1967 36 Winston-Salem State 77–74 Southwest Missouri State Earl Monroe
(Winston-Salem State)
1968 36 Kentucky Wesleyan
(2)
63–52 Indiana State Jerry Newsom
(Indiana State)
1969 32 Kentucky Wesleyan
(3)
75–71 Southwest Missouri State George Tinsley
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
1970 32 Philadelphia Textile 76–65 Tennessee State Ted McClain
(Tennessee State)
1971 32 Evansville
(5)
97–82 Old Dominion Don Buse
(Evansville)
1972 36 Roanoke 84–72 Akron Hal Johnston
(Roanoke)
1973 42 Kentucky Wesleyan
(4)
78–76 Tennessee State Mike Williams
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
1974 44 Morgan State 67–52 Southwest Missouri State Marvin Webster
(Morgan State)
1975 32 Old Dominion 76–74 New Orleans Wilson Washington
(Old Dominion)
1976 32 Puget Sound 83–74 Chattanooga Curt Peterson
(Puget Sound)
1977 Springfield, MA Springfield Civic Center 32 Chattanooga 71–62 Randolph-Macon Wayne Golden
(Chattanooga)
1978 Springfield, MO Hammons Student Center 32 Cheyney State 47–40 Wisconsin–Green Bay Andrew Fields
(Cheyney)
1979 32 North Alabama 64–50 Wisconsin-Green Bay Perry Oden
(North Alabama)
1980 Springfield, MA Springfield Civic Center 32 Virginia Union 80–74 New York Tech Keith Valentine
(Virginia Union)
1981 32 Florida Southern 73–68 Mount St. Mary's John Ebeling
(Florida Southern)
1982 32 District of Columbia 73–63 Florida Southern Michael Britt
(District of Columbia)
1983 32 Wright State 92–73 District of Columbia Gary Monroe
(Wright State)
1984 32 Central Missouri State 81–77 St. Augustine's Ron Nunnelly
(Central Missouri)
1985 32 Jacksonville State 74–73 South Dakota State Mark Tetzlaff
(South Dakota State)
1986 32 Sacred Heart 93–87 Southeast Missouri State Roger Younger
(Sacred Heart)
1987 32 Kentucky Wesleyan
(5)
92–74 Gannon Sam Smith
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
1988 32 Lowell 75–72 Alaska–Anchorage Leo Parent
(Lowell)
1989 32 North Carolina Central 73–46 Southeast Missouri State Miles Clarke
(North Carolina Central)
1990 32 Kentucky Wesleyan
(6)
93–79 CSU Bakersfield Wade Green
(CSU Bakersfield)
1991 32 North Alabama
(2)
79–72 Bridgeport Lambert Shell
(Bridgeport)
1992 32 Virginia Union
(2)
100–75 Bridgeport Derrick Johnson
(Virginia Union)
1993 32 CSU Bakersfield 85–72 Troy State Tyrone Davis
(CSU Bakersfield)
1994 48 CSU Bakersfield
(2)
92–86 Southern Indiana Stan Gouard
(Southern Indiana)
1995 Louisville, KY Commonwealth Convention Center 48 Southern Indiana 71–63 UC Riverside William Wilson
(UC Riverside)
1996 48 Fort Hays State 70–63 Northern Kentucky Sherick Simpson
(Fort Hays State)
1997 48 CSU Bakersfield
(3)
57–56 Northern Kentucky Kebu Stewart
(CSU Bakersfield)
1998 48 UC Davis 83–77 Kentucky Wesleyan Antonio Garcia
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
1999 48 Kentucky Wesleyan
(7)
75–60 Metro State Antonio Garcia
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
2000 48 Metro State 97–79 Kentucky Wesleyan DeMarcos Anzures
(Metro State)
2001 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Arena 48 Kentucky Wesleyan
(8)
72–63 Washburn Lorio Duncan
(Kentucky Wesleyan)
2002 Evansville, IN Roberts Municipal Stadium 48 Metro State
(2)
80–72 Kentucky Wesleyan Patrick Mutombo
(Metro State)
2003 Lakeland, FL Lakeland Center 64 Northeastern State 75–64 Kentucky Wesleyan[n 1] Darnell Hinson
(Northeastern State)
2004 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Arena 64 Kennesaw State 84–59 Southern Indiana Terrence Hill
(Kennesaw State)
2005 Grand Forks, ND Ralph Engelstad Arena 64 Virginia Union
(3)
63–58 Bryant Antwan Walton
(Virginia Union)
2006 Springfield, MA MassMutual Center 64 Winona State 73–61 Virginia Union John Smith
(Winona State)
2007 64 Barton 77–75 Winona State Anthony Atkinson
(Barton)
2008 64 Winona State
(2)
87–76 Augusta State Jonte Flowers
(Winona State)
2009 64 Findlay 56–53
(OT)
Cal Poly Pomona Josh Bostic
(Findlay)
2010 64 Cal Poly Pomona 65–53 Indiana (PA) Austin Swift
(Cal Poly Pomona)
2011 64 Bellarmine 71–68 BYU–Hawaii Jet Chang
(BYU–Hawaii)
[2]
2012 Highland Heights, KY The Bank of Kentucky Center 64 Western Washington 72–65 Montevallo D. J. Rivera
(Montevallo)
2013 Atlanta, GA[n 2] Philips Arena 64 Drury 74–73 Metro State Alex Hall
(Drury)
[3]
2014 Evansville, IN Ford Center 64 Central Missouri
(2)
84–77 West Liberty Daylen Robinson
(Central Missouri)
2015 64 Florida Southern
(2)
77–62 Indiana (PA) Kevin Capers
(Florida Southern)
[4]
2016 Frisco, TX Dr Pepper Arena 64 Augustana (SD) 90–81 Lincoln Memorial Alex Richter
(Augustana (SD))
[5]
2017 Sioux Falls, SD Sanford Pentagon 64 Northwest Missouri State 71–61 Fairmont State Justin Pitts
(Northwest Missouri State)
[6]
2018 64 Ferris State 71–69 Northern State Zach Hankins
(Ferris State)
[7]
2019 Evansville, IN Ford Center 64 Northwest Missouri State
(2)
64–58 Point Loma Trevor Hudgins
(Northwest Missouri State)
2020 Atlanta, GA[n 3] State Farm Arena 64 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Evansville, IN Ford Center 48 Northwest Missouri State
(3)
80–54 West Texas A&M Ryan Hawkins
(Northwest Missouri State)
2022 64 Northwest Missouri State
(4)
67–58 Augusta Trevor Hudgins
(Northwest Missouri State)
2023 64 Nova Southeastern 111–101 West Liberty Will Yoakum & RJ Sunahara
(Nova Southeastern)
2024
2025
2026 Pittsburgh, PA UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse
  1. ^ Kentucky Wesleyan subsequently forfeited its 2003 runner-up status after it was revealed they had let two ineligible transfer players play.[1]
  2. ^ Philips Arena in Atlanta, now known as State Farm Arena, was the site of the championship game only. The rest of the Elite Eight was played at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
  3. ^ State Farm Arena was scheduled as the site of the championship game only. The Elite Eight quarterfinals and semifinals would have been played at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Records and statistics edit

Championships by school edit

School Titles Years
Kentucky Wesleyan 8 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001
Evansville 5 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1971
NW Missouri State 4 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
Virginia Union 3 1980, 1992, 2005
Cal State Bakersfield 3 1993, 1994, 1997
Florida Southern 2 1981, 2015
Central Missouri 2 1984, 2014
Winona State 2 2006, 2008
Metropolitan State 2 2000, 2002
North Alabama 2 1979, 1991
Nova Southeastern 1 2023
Ferris State 1 2018
Augustana (SD) 1 2016
Drury 1 2013
Western Washington 1 2012
Bellarmine 1 2011
Cal Poly Pomona 1 2010
Findlay 1 2009
Barton 1 2007
Kennesaw State 1 2004
Northeastern State 1 2003
UC Davis 1 1998
Fort Hays State 1 1996
Southern Indiana 1 1995
North Carolina Central 1 1989
UMass Lowell [a 1] 1 1988
Sacred Heart 1 1986
Jacksonville State 1 1985
Wright State 1 1983
District of Columbia 1 1982
Cheyney 1 1978
Chattanooga [a 2] 1 1977
Puget Sound 1 1976
Old Dominion 1 1975
Morgan State 1 1974
Roanoke 1 1972
Jefferson [a 3] 1 1970
Winston-Salem State 1 1967
South Dakota State 1 1963
Mount Saint Mary's 1 1962
Wittenberg 1 1961
South Dakota 1 1958
Wheaton 1 1957
  1. ^ Championship won as Lowell.
  2. ^ Championship won as Tennessee–Chattanooga.
  3. ^ Championship won as Philadelphia Textile.

Team appearances edit

 
WWU
Puget
Sound
UC Davis
Cal Poly Pomona
Augustana
SDSU
South Dakota
FHSU
Northeastern
State
KSU
JSU
Chatt.
Barton
NCCU
WSSU
Findlay
ODU
Ferris
State
Drury
Wheaton
UMass
Lowell
SHU
Jefferson
Cheyney
UDC
Morgan
Roa.
MSMU
So. Ind.
Wright
Witt.
Bell.
Florida Southern
Nova Southeastern
CMU
Winona
State
Metro
State
No. Ala.
VUU
CSUB
NW Missouri
Evans.
Ky. Wes.
Schools that have won the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship
  8,   5,   4,   3,   2,   1

Former Division II champions now in other classes edit

Division I edit

Source:[10]

School Championship(s) Year moved Current Conference
South Dakota 1958 2006 The Summit League
Evansville 1959 • 1960 • 1964 • 1965 • 1971 1977 Missouri Valley Conference
Mount St. Mary's 1962 1989 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
South Dakota State 1963 2005 The Summit League
Morgan State 1974 1985 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 1975 1976 Sun Belt Conference
Chattanooga 1977 1977 Southern Conference
North Alabama 1979 • 1991 2018 Atlantic Sun Conference
Wright State 1983 1988 Horizon League
Jacksonville State 1985 1996 Conference USA
Sacred Heart 1986 1999 Northeast Conference
UMass Lowell 1988 2013 America East Conference
North Carolina Central 1989 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bakersfield 1993 • 1994 • 1997 2007 Big West Conference
Southern Indiana 1995 2022 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Davis 1998 2004 Big West Conference
Kennesaw State 2004 2006 Atlantic Sun Conference
(Conference USA in 2024–25)
Bellarmine 2011 2020 Atlantic Sun Conference

Division III edit

Source:[11]

School Championship(s) Year moved Current Conference
Wheaton (IL) 1957 1974 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
Wittenberg 1961 1974 North Coast Athletic Conference
Roanoke 1972 1976 Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Puget Sound 1976 1996 Northwest Conference

Statistical Leaders edit

Broadcasting edit

CBS Sports holds rights to the semi-final and final rounds of the Division II tournament, with the semi-final games broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the final on CBS (covered as part of the NCAA March Madness package). In 2015, CBS Sports reached a long-term deal to continue broadcasting the Division II men's semi-final on CBS Sports Network through 2024.[12]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Kentucky Wesleyan Forfeits an Honor". The New York Times. August 7, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  2. ^ "Ballarmine wins national championship". The Courier-Journal. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  3. ^ "Calm, cool and collected". April 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013.
  4. ^ Bowker, Paul D. (March 28, 2015). "Gutsy championship". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "Augustana wins 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball championship". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "DII basketball: Northwest Missouri State handles Fairmont State to win first championship". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "DII men's basketball championship: Ferris State wins program's first title in thriller over Northern State". ncaa.com. NCAA. March 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Division II Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). NCAA.
  9. ^ "Men's Basketball DII History - NCAA.com". NCAA.com.
  10. ^ "Division I Men's Basketball Institutions". NCAA Directory.
  11. ^ "Division III Men's Basketball Institutions". NCAA Directory.
  12. ^ "CBS Sports Network to televise Division II basketball semifinals through 2024". NCAA. October 22, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2017.

External links edit