Dancing into March

By: KJ Cardinal

It’s been an impressive season for college basketball around the Granite State with success at all levels of NCAA play and many teams are still competing.

The Keene State University men are ranked fifth in the nation and have advanced to the Division III Sweet 16. The Southern New Hampshire University men and women both received at-large bids to their respective Division II East Regionals and the St. Anselm College men are hosting that D-II regional right here in Manchester. The University of New Hampshire men are playing in the America East semifinals tonight down at UMass Lowell. 

Let’s take a look at who’s still playing and where they’ll be in action next…

DIVISION I: UNH MEN

The University of New Hampshire men’s team (15-14, 9-7 AE) is the No. 3 seed for the America East Playoffs and defeated No. 6 Bryant 67-60 on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. The Wildcats are looking to advance to their first-ever league title game as they hit the road tonight to take on #2 UMass Lowell at the Costello Athletic Center. The Riverhawks are an impressive 16-0 at home and boast a 25-7 mark, 11-5 in America East.

You can watch tonight’s semifinal on ESPN+.


DIVISION III: KEENE STATE MEN

On Saturday, Keene State (28-1) advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Division III NCAA Tournament with a 77-72 win over Tufts. The Owls are ranked fifth in the nation and will head to Pennsylvania to take on No. 7 Swarthmore on Friday at 7:15 pm with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. These two met in the postseason last year with the Owls pulling off the 84-83 upset road win over the Garnet in the D-III first round.

Check out the full NCAA Men’s Division III bracket


DIVISION II:

SAINT ANSELM MEN

The second-seeded Saint Anselm College men (22-7, 15-5 NE10) were crowned Northeast-10 Conference champions on Saturday with a 65-54 win over No. 4 New Haven. As a result, the Hawks have garnered the top seed for the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball East Regional and will play host to the eight-team regional at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. Saint Anselm opens play with No. 8 Caldwell on Saturday (game time TBA).

SNHU MEN

The Southern New Hampshire men (20-8, 16-4 NE10) were upended in the Northeast-10 semifinal by New Haven, 59-42, last week, but the Penmen were awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA D-II tourney on Sunday night. SNHU is the No. 3 seed in the East Region and will take on No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on Saturday (game time TBA).

Check out the full NCAA Men’s Division II bracket

SNHU WOMEN

The SNHU women (21-7, 15-5 NE10) were the top-seed for the NE-10 tourney, but were tripped up in the title game by No. 4 Bentley, 61-49, on Sunday afternoon. Later Sunday evening, SNHU was awarded an at-large to the NCAA Division II East Regional as the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas at Assumption University in Worcester on Friday at 2:30 pm. 

Check out the full NCAA Women’s Division II bracket