NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The 2015 USCAA Basketball National Championships field has been finalized. The championship returns to the Laurel Highlands area for a seventh straight year, featuring 34 teams in four divisions playing 39 games. The tournament will run from March 3rd-7th at the Penn State Fayette Main Arena and Maltho Gymnasium.
The Men’s Division I field is highlighted by a familiar face. Daemen College, last year’s number one seed, enters the tournament as the division favorite. The Wildcats fell last year to eventual National Champion Washington Adventist University. In its first year as a member of the USCAA, Berea College secured the second seed and enters coming off one of their best regular seasons in school history. Rochester College, the 2013 National Champions and a tournament mainstay, is back as the third seed. Rounding out the bracket are Concordia College Alabama, Florida National University, St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn, Iowa Wesleyan College, and Indiana University-South Bend, also in its first year as a USCAA member.
As the only returning National Champion, and coming into the tournament on a 23 game winning streak, the Concordia College Alabama Lady Hornets appear to be the team to beat in the Women’s Division I field. Last year’s top seed, Iowa Wesleyan College, returns as the second seed in the bracket after being upset in the first round by Concordia last season. Berea College earned the third seed after winning six of seven games down the stretch. Rounding out the field are The Apprentice School, Daemen College, St. Mary of the Woods College, Alfred State College, and St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn.
Southern Maine Community College secured the number one seed in the Men’s Division II field after completing a perfect regular season in the Yankee Conference, before falling in the conference championship game to College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont, the six seed. Joining those Yankee rivals in the bracket are perennial powers Berkeley College NY and Central Penn College, the second and third seed respectively. Making their first trip to Uniontown, Johnson and Wales-Charlotte checks in as the four seed. Penn State University Athletic Conference champion Penn State York is fifth in the bracket, followed by College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont, University of Maine-Machias, Warren Wilson College, Penn State Mont Alto, and host Penn State Fayette.
The top seed in the Women’s Division II bracket is Yankee Conference champion College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont, a team with only two losses since mid-November. Seeded second is Penn State Beaver, the Penn State Athletic Conference champion. The Lady Lions were knocked out of last year’s tournament in a late night overtime thriller against Berkeley College NY, who they’ll face again this year in a first round matchup. Penn State Lehigh Valley makes their first appearance in the tournament as the third seed. Women’s Division II power Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences enters as the four seed, with Penn State Hazleton, Southern Maine Community College, Berkeley College NY, and host Penn State Fayette rounding out the field.
The USCAA Basketball National Championships kick off with the Skills Competition at the Penn State Fayette Main Arena on March 3rd at 12:00 PM, followed by the All-American Banquet at 6:00 PM at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Tickets for the tournament and banquet are available at uscaa.ticketleap.com. Play begins on March 4th with championship games being held on March 7th.
If you would like more information on USCAA basketball or the 2015 USCAA Basketball National Championships please visit the Tournament Website.
Men’s Division I Tournament Participants
#1 Daemen College
#2 Berea College
#3 Rochester College
#4 Concordia College Alabama
#5 Florida National University
#6 St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn
#7 Iowa Wesleyan College
#8 Indiana University-South Bend
Link to Men’s Division I Bracket
Women’s Division I Tournament Participants
#1 Concordia College Alabama
#2 Iowa Wesleyan College
#3 Berea College
#4 The Apprentice School
#5 Daemen College
#6 St. Mary of the Woods College
#7 Alfred State College
#8 St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn
Link to Women’s Division I Bracket
Men’s Division II Tournament Participants
#1 Southern Maine Community College
#2 Berkeley College NY
#3 Central Penn College
#4 Johnson & Wales-Charlotte
#5 Penn State York
#6 College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont
#7 University of Maine-Machias
#8 Warren Wilson College
#9 Penn State Mont Alto
#10 Penn State Fayette
Link to Men’s Division II Bracket
Women’s Division II Tournament Participants
#1 College of St. Joseph’s-Vermont
#2 Penn State Beaver
#3 Penn State Lehigh Valley
#4 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
#5 Penn State Hazleton
#6 Southern Maine Community College
#7 Berkeley College-NY
#8 Penn State Fayette
Link to Women’s Division II Bracket