SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) announced the pairings for the 2009 Division I men’s basketball championship Sunday evening. The Southern Conference representative, Chattanooga will face Connecticut in Philadelphia, Pa., Thursday (March 19) as part of the West region. The Mocs drew the No. 16 seed, while UConn earned the top seed in the region. In addition to the NCAA tournament pairings, the NCAA also announced the field for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The Davidson wildcats drew South Carolina and will face the Gamecocks Tuesday night (March 17) in Columbia, S.C.
The Mocs (18-16) won the Southern Conference Tournament championship last week to secure the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Chattanooga is making its tenth appearance in the NCAA tournament and owns a record of 3-9. The Mocs last participated in the Big Dance in 2005 when they lost to No. 2 seed Wake Forest, 70-54. The winner of of the Chattanooga-UConn first round game will face either BYU or Texas A&M Saturday.
The Southern Conference has made 62 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and owns an overall record of 31-66.
Davidson (26-7) is making its fifth appearance in the NIT. The Wildcats, who advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight last season, picked up wins over VCU (77-62) and Missouri (82-71) before falling to Maryland (78-63) in the third round of the NIT in their last appearance in 2005. Davidson earned the No. 6 seed in the San Diego State regional, while the Gamecocks earned the third seed. Davidson and South Carolina will tip off Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPN2. The winner of the Davidson versus South Carolina game will take either Saint Mary’s or Washington State in the second round.
The College of Charleston was selected to play in the 2009 College Basketball Invitational. The Cougars will travel to face Troy Wednesday, March 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET as part of the tournament's East Regional. It will be the second meeting all-time between the schools. The winner of Wednesday’s game will face either Richmond or St. John's on March 23.
The College Basketball Invitational is a single-elimination tournament, up until the "Best of Three" Championship Series, with all games being played at campus sites. Prior to the semifinals, the remaining teams will be re-seeded. The Championship Series is a "Best of Three" (home-away-home) in which the higher seeded team will host the first and last (if necessary) home games.
The Citadel will make its first postseason appearance this week when they head to Norfolk, Va. to face Old Dominion in the first round of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Bulldogs will battle the Monarchs on Wednesday, March 18 in the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
The Citadel finished the season with a 20-12 record after falling to Samford in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs recorded the program’s second 20-win season and won the most conference games in program history with 15.
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament features a field of 16 teams. It is a single-elimination tournament that consists of four rounds. The first three rounds will be played at an on-campus site based on seeding. The championship game will be played at an on-campus site as well, which will also be determined by seeding.