See where Transy, Centre, Berea are headed to open NCAA Tournament play this week
The Transylvania University and Centre College men’s basketball teams learned their first-round opponents and destinations on Monday for the Division III NCAA Tournament.
Transylvania, which earned an automatic berth into the 64-team field by winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday, will open against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Friday at 6 p.m. EST at Gregory Arena on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
Centre, which won the Southern Athletic Conference Tournament and claimed the league’s automatic NCAA berth, will also tip off its tournament run Friday. Centre will take on Pamona-Pitzer of Claremont, Calif., at 5 p.m. EST in the Woodruff PE Center at Emory University in Atlanta.
Coach Brian Lane’s Transylvania Pioneers (19-8) will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 when they go up against the defending national champions from Oshkosh (19-8).
The Transylvania-Oshkosh winner will face either North Central (21-5) or Adrian (Mich.) College (17-11) in the second round on Saturday night at 8 at Naperville.
Transy is led by Madison Southern graduate Michael Jefferson, a 6-foot-2 junior guard who had 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists in the Pioneers’ 49-48 win over Rose-Hulman in Sunday’s HCAC finals. Jefferson was named tournament MVP.
Centre, coached by Greg Mason, will be playing in its first NCAA tourney since 2014 when the Colonels (24-4) host Pamona-Pitzer (21-5).
The Centre-Pamona winner will take on either Emory (21-4) or Methodist University of Fayetteville, N.C. (18-10) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta.
Perry Ayers, a 6-4 senior guard from Bowling Green, was named SAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after scoring 23 points in the Colonels’ 72-69 come-from-behind win Sunday.
Women’s draw set
The Division III women’s NCAA Tournament also held its draw Monday afternoon, and Transylvania and Berea are the two schools from Kentucky in the 64-team bracket.
Transylvania (25-2) won the HCAC Tournament on Sunday to earn its automatic berth. The Pioneers, coached by Juli Fulks, will host Randolph-Macon College of Ashland, Va. (18-9) on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Beck Center.
Transylvania advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year before falling to eventual national champion Thomas More. The Saints are not in this year’s field because they’ve moved to the NAIA.
Berea (25-3) earned an automatic bid and its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth by winning the USA South Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers, coached by Trent Milby, will take on Illinois Wesleyan University of Bloomington, Ill. (19-8) on Friday at Hope College in Holland, Mich., at a time yet to be announced.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 3:50 PM.