Queens University of Charlotte gets No. 2 seed in NCAA Division II basketball tournament
Two-time defending regional champion Queens University of Charlotte has drawn the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball South Atlantic Regional that opens Saturday.
Among other teams in the eight-team field are third-seeded UNC Pembroke, sixth-seeded Catawba and eighth-seeded Belmont Abbey.
Top-seeded Lincoln Memorial, the nation’s No. 2-ranked Division 2 team, will host the South Atlantic Regional in Harrogate, Tenn.
Queens (24-7) finished second to Lincoln Memorial (32-1) in the South Atlantic Conference, losing twice in the regular season and again Sunday in the conference tournament finals. The Royals are ranked 25th nationally.
The Royals open regional play at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against seventh-seeded Southern Wesleyan (20-11).
Catawba (20-10) faces UNC Pembroke (24-6), ranked No. 17 in the nation, in the regional opener at noon.
Belmont Abbey (21-10) opens against Lincoln Memorial at 6 p.m., followed by an 8:30 quarterfinal between fourth seed August (21-8) and fifth-seeded Lander (23-8).
Semifinals are Saturday and the finals next Tuesday.
For the past two years, Queens has been the region’s Elite 8 qualifier. Lincoln Memorial won that honor the previous two years. The Royals lost in the Elite 8 round last year and in the semifinals in 2018.
Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey is the fifth seed in the women’s Division 2 South Atlantic Regional, to be hosted by top seed Lander in Greenwood, S.C.
Regional winners advance to the Elite 8 national championships.
Women’s regional play opens Friday. Belmont Abbey (27-3), ranked 17th nationally, faces fourth-seeded Tusculum (24-7) at 7:30 p.m.
Other first-round games: No. 3 seed Anderson (26-5) vs. No. 6 seed Carson-Newman (22-8) at noon; No. 2 seed North Georgia (26-5) vs. No. 7 seed Clayton State (20-10) at 2:30; and top seed Lander (26-5) vs. No. 8 seed Limestone (23-8) at 5 p.m.
Women’s semifinals are Saturday, with the finals Monday.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle