Whitworth gets at-large bid to NCAA tournament, will play in Dallas
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates are dancing again in 2020 after Whitworth received one of 20 pool C (at-large) bids to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament. The Pirates will take on LeTourneau University (Texas) in the first round game at UT-Dallas on Friday.
Whitworth (21-6) is making its 14th NCAA Division III tournament appearance since 2003, and 13th in the last 14 years. The Bucs saw a 13-year tournament streak come to an end in 2019.
The Pirates finished the regular season as co-champions of the Northwest Conference. Whitworth fell to Whitman in the championship game of the NWC tournament, which meant the Bucs had to rely on a coveted pool C slot.
LeTourneau (23-5) was the runner up to UT-Dallas in the American Southwest Conference East division standings, but earned the ASC’s automatic bid to the Division III tournament by defeating East Texas Baptist 82-79 in the conference championship game.
Whitworth and LeTourneau have never played in men’s basketball.
UT-Dallas (21-6) is also an at-large selection after the Comets finished atop the ASC East standings, but fell to ETBU in the conference tournament semifinals. UT-Dallas will host Centenary (La.) in the other first round game. The Gents (18-9) are champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference.
Game times will be announced later. Click here for an interactive bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-men/d3/2020
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