Three PBC Men’s Basketball Teams Receive NCAA Tournament Berths

INDIANAPOLIS, IND - -Three Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball teams learned that they will have the opportunity to compete for a national championship as the NCAA released the 64-team field from the national office in Indianapolis.  Montevallo will host the eight-team southeast regional and are the #1 seed for the tournament.  USC Aiken is the fourth seed and Columbus State the sixth seed.  The southeast regional will begin on Saturday, March 10.

Montevallo earned the top seed in the region after winning the Peach Belt Tournament for the first time in school history earlier on Sunday, beating Columbus State 70-57.  The Falcons (24-7) return to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year in their three years as a part of the Peach Belt Conference.  UM has won their first-round games in the previous two regionals and made it to the 2010 regional final.    The Falcons will face Barton in Saturday’s first round, Barton won the Conference Carolinas tournament and their automatic bid on Sunday.

USC Aiken is the second seed for the regional.  The Pacers (21-7) return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years and make their fifth overall appearance.  The PBC regular-season champions, the Pacers fell to Columbus State in double overtime in the PBC Tournament on Saturday, but have wins in four of their last five games.  USCA will face seventh-seeded Wingate who were the surprise winners of the South Atlantic Conference tournament on Sunday.

Columbus State makes their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006.  The Cougars reached the championship game of the PBC Tournament on Sunday after beating Lander and USC Aiken in the first two round, needing an overtime and double overtime to reach the final where they fell to Montevallo.  CSU (18-11) will make their seventh tournament appearance since becoming one of the founding members of the Peach Belt Conference.  The Cougars will face third-seeded Anderson in the first round of the regional; Anderson fell to Wingate in the SAC tournament final.

The regional will start with four quarterfinal games on Saturday followed by semifinals on Sunday, March 11.  Game times have yet to be announced.  The regional championship game will be held on Tuesday, March 11, in Montevallo, Ala.  The winners of the eight regional tournaments will convene at the Elite Eight, March 21-24, in Highland Heights, Ky.

2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball
Southeast Regional Tournament
Hosted by Montevallo

Saturday, March 10
#1 Montevallo vs. #8 Barton
#2 USC Aiken vs. #7 Wingate
#3 Anderson vs. #6 Columbus State
#4 Lincoln Memorial vs. #5 King