Third-seeded Jeffs to face Emerson/WNEC winner at home on Thursday night
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Amherst College
men's basketball team, thanks to Saturday's dramatic 95-79 win
at Connecticut College, received the three seed in the Northeast
Region of the 2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
on Sunday night, earning a first-round home game against the winner
of Monday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship
game between Emerson College and Western New England College.
The Jeffs (18-5), who have won seven games
in a row, including Saturday's victory over the Camels, then the
top-ranked team in New England, will play in their first NCAA
Tournament since the 1996-97 season, when this year's senior trio
of Jackson Collins (Brooklyn, NY) and Co-captains Hugh
Quattlebaum (Andover, MA) and Chris Smith (Swarthmore,
PA) were freshmen. Then, the Jeffs received the four seed
in the Northeast, falling in the second round to arch-rival Williams
College. The Jeffs have been to one other NCAA Tournament, a cinderella
1993-94 run to the Elite Eight, when they became the first Amherst
team ever to reach the quarterfinals of an NCAA Tournament.
The Jeffs could face their arch-rivals in the
NCAA Tournament again, as Saturday's win over Conn guaranteed
Williams the first-ever NESCAC title, and the automatic bid that
goes along with it. The Ephs (20-3) received the number-one seed
in the Northeast, and have a first-round bye before hosting the
winner of Thursday night's other first-round game in the region,
where Eastern Connecticut State University heads to Springfield
to battle the Springfield College Pride. The winner of Thursday's
first round game between the Jeffs and the GNAC champions advances
to Saturday's second round, where the second-seeded Vikings of
Salem State College, champions of the MASCAC, await.
The GNAC championship, originally scheduled
for Sunday afternoon, was postponed due to a power failure on
Saturday, which forced the postponement of the semifinals to Sunday,
and the finals to Monday night. Western New England, the top seed
in the GNAC tournament, has already played the Jeffs this season,
falling to Amherst in Springfield, 80-64 on Dec. 7. The Jeffs
last faced Emerson College on March 4, 1998 in the quarterfinals
of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament,
where the Lions fell to Amherst, 122-86.
The start time for Thursday night's game is
not set yet, but will be determined early in the week, and will
be announced along with ticket prices.
Northeast Region:
Thursday, March 2, 2000
#5 Eastern Connecticut State University (17-10) at
#4 Springfield College (19-8)
#6 GNAC Winner (Emerson College/Western New England
College) at
#3 Amherst College (18-5)
Saturday, March 4, 2000
Eastern Conn./Springfield Winner at
#1 Williams College (20-3)
GNAC Champ./Amherst Winner at
#2 Salem State College (23-4)