PSAC Men's Basketball Weekly Release - March 24
Host Site
Springfield, Mass. - Riding a 12-game winning streak, the Gannon Golden Knights will represent the PSAC at the NCAA Elite Eight, which begins on Wednesday night with the national quarterfinals. Gannon will face Central Missouri State in the round of eight as the Golden Knights look to win its first game at the Elite Eight since the 1986-87 season.
The Golden Knights made it a year to remember in their first year in the PSAC, as they captured the PSAC West, PSAC Tournament and NCAA Atlantic Region titles this year. In addition to their current 12-game winning streak, Gannon has won 19 of its last 20 games, with a road setback at Slippery Rock being their lone loss since February 1.
Wednesday night's game will begin at 6:00 p.m. If victorious, Gannon would face the winner of the Findlay-C.W. Post game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Both Findlay and C.W. Post enter their quarterfinal game undefeated. Both semifinal games on Thursday will be televised live by CBS College Sports, while Saturday's national championship game will air live on CBS at 1:00 p.m. Augusta State, Christian Brothers, Cal Poly-Pomona and Southwest Minnesota State make up the other side of the bracket.
PSAC Team Notes
Gannon Golden Knights
The Gannon men's basketball won the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional last week, capturing its first regional title since 1990 when it won the NCAA Division II East Regional ... the Golden Knights have set a school record for victories (30) ... Gannon has won 12 consecutive games for the first time since the 2001-02 team opened the season 13-0 ... the Golden Knights have won 19 consecutive home playoff games ... Gannon's last home loss in the post-season was a 71-67 overtime loss to Le Moyne in the 1988 MECC championship game ... last week's Atlantic Regional was the first time Gannon hosted an eight-team regional ... it also marked the first time Gannon hosted a regional since the NCAA started awarding the regional to the No. 1 seed and not through a bid process ... senior Kyle Goldcamp was named NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional MVP, recording double-doubles in all three games ... Goldcamp averaged 18.3 points, 13 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and one block during three tournament games ... senior Tyler Stoczynski joined Goldcamp on the all-tournament team ... Stoczynski averaged 14.7 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block while shooting 65-percent (17-226) from the field during the regional ... Gannon was ranked No. 5 in the final NABC/Division II regular-season poll, extending its streak to consecutive weeks in the top 10 to a school-record 15 ... The No. 5 position is the highest final ranking in school history ... Head coach John T. Reilly was named NABC Atlantic Region Coach of the Year ... Gannon is 1-3 all-time in the national quarterfinals, winning only in 1986-87 during the program's march to the national championship game.
Past PSAC Elite Eight Results
2008 Alaska-Anchorage 55, California (Pa.) 52 (quarterfinals)
2002 Metro State 82, IUP 52 (semifinals)
IUP 78, Northwest Missouri State 72 (quarterfinals)
2000 Kentucky Wesleyan 84, IUP 68 (quarterfinals)
1996 Fort Hays State 76, California (Pa.) 56 (semifinals)
California (Pa.) 95, Alabama A&M 85 (quarterfinals)
1995 UC-Riverside 73, IUP 69 (semifinals)
IUP 90, Central Missouri State 79 (quarterfinals)
1994 Cal State-Bakersfield 87, IUP 69 (quarterfinals)
1992 Bridgeport 76, California (Pa.) 75 (semifinals)
California (Pa.) 84, South Dakota State 73 (quarterfinals)
1989 UC-Riverside 92, Millersville 86 (quarterfinals)
1986 Southeast Missouri State 90, Cheyney 81 (semifinals)
Cheyney 78, Wright State 75 (quarterfinals)
1983 Wright State 73, Bloomsburg 53 (quarterfinals)
1982 Dist. of Columbia 72, Cheyney 69 (quarterfinals)
1979 Wisconsin-Green Bay 46, Cheyney 45 (semifinals)
Cheyney 65, UMBC 62 (quarterfinals)
1978 Cheyney 47, Wisconsin-Green Bay 40 (championship)
Cheyney 79, Florida Tech 63 (semifinals)
Cheyney 59, Sacred Heart 57 (quarterfinals)
1977 Randolph-Macon 65, Cheyney 63 (quarterfinals)
1976 Old Dominion 90, Cheyney 85 (quarterfinals)
1974 Morgan State 71, Bloomsburg 57 (quarterfinals)
1971 Kentucky Wesleyan 89, Cheyney 83 (quarterfinals)
1968 Ashland 45, Cheyney 30 (quarterfinals)
1967 Kentucky Wesleyan 66, Cheyney 53 (quarterfinals)
NCAA Tournament Quick Hits
- This marks the second straight year that a PSAC team has represented the region in the NCAA Elite Eight. California (Pa.) dropped a three-point game to Alaska-Anchorage in the national quarterfinals last year.
- Gannon is making this appearance in its first year in the PSAC.
- The last PSAC team to win a game in the Elite Eight and advance to the semifinals was IUP in 2002, when it topped another team from the Show-Me State, Northwest Missouri State.
- This will be the second time in history that a PSAC team will match up with Central Missouri State in the NCAA Elite Eight, as CMSU was defeated by IUP in the quarterfinal round in 1995
- The PSAC has had one national champion in its history, Cheyney in 1978. That also marked the last and only time a PSAC team has appeared in the national championship game.
Past PSAC Regional Champions
2009 Gannon
2008 California (Pa.)
2002 IUP
2000 IUP
1996 California (Pa.)
1995 IUP
1994 IUP
1992 California (Pa.)
1989 Millersville
1986 Cheyney
1983 Bloomsburg
1982 Cheyney
1979 Cheyney
1978 Cheyney
1977 Cheyney
1976 Cheyney
1974 Bloomsburg
1971 Cheyney
1968 Cheyney
1967 Cheyney