Parts of this release courtesy of ncaa.com and the Hillsdale College and University of Findlay Media Relations Departments
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee announced Sunday the field of 64 teams that will compete in the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship. Hillsdale College is the No. 3 seed in the region and Findlay University will be No. 5 seed.
Click here for more tournament coverage
Hillsdale qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. The Chargers enter this year's Midwest Regional Tournament as the #3 seed and will face sixth-seeded University of Indianapolis Saturday at Bellarmine University. Bellarmine is located in Louisville, Kentucky.
Findlay, fresh off of their sixth Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament title in the past nine years, enter the event with a 23-6 record. They are riding a seven-game winning streak and will face Northern Kentucky University who lost 60-56 to the University of Southern Indiana in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament.
The Oilers have appeared in the NCAA Division II National Tournament ten times in the past 11 years. They sport a 15-8 record in tournament play and won the 2009 national title with a perfect 36-0 record. They also appeared in the Elite Eight during the 2005 season and reached the Sweet 16 in the 2008 campaign.
Twenty-two conferences have been awarded automatic qualification. The remaining 42 teams were selected at large by the committee.
Seven of the regional tournaments, consisting of eight teams each, will be conducted March 10, 11 and 13 at regional sites. The West regional will be conducted March 9, 10 and 12. The eight regional champions will advance to the quarterfinals in conjunction with the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s quarterfinals at the Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights, Ky. The quarterfinals will be conducted March 21, 22 and 24.
