ONEONTA, NY- The Hartwick men's basketball team learned who and where it will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks will face the SUNY Purchase Panthers on Friday night in Purchase, NY. Game time will be announced at a later time. Joining 'Wick and Purchase in the four-team pod will be Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Albertus Magnus.
Hartwick earned a spot in the 62-team field for the 18th time in program history. This is its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years after earning the automatic bid by virtue of winning the Empire 8 Championship game on Saturday against Nazareth, 67-62.
The Panthers (24-2), ranked 19th in the latest top 25 poll, won their second straight Skyline Championship and fourth in the last five years with a 100-82 victory over Mount Saint Mary. They are making their fourth NCAA appearance.
Hartwick has a history with its opponent. The Hawks and Panthers last played on November 16, 2012 at the Regis Tip-Off Tournament where Purchase won 84-77. 'Wick and Purchase have met once before in the NCAA Tournament back on March 4, 2011. The two teams played on the campus of Cabrini College with the Panthers winning over the Hawks, 79-69.
WPI (22-4) which is 11
th in the top 25, lost to MIT in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals and secured an at-large bid. It the Engineers' eighth appearance in the last 10 years in the NCAA Tournament. Albertus Magnus (26-2), ranked 14th overall, won its third straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference title with a 84-49 victory over St. Joseph's College of Maine.
The full NCAA Division III bracket is located at:
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-men/d3/2014.