As it turns out, the Hampden-Sydney Tigers won’t have far to go for their NCAA Division 3 Sweet 16 matchup against Rowan University. For the second straight weekend, Prince Edward County will host part of the NCAA Division III Tournament. It’ll be a home game Friday for the Tigers, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at Kirby Field House. 

“What an honor to be hosting again this weekend,” said Tigers Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough. “There is nothing like a packed house in Kirby and we can’t wait until Friday night.”

Ticket information for Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be released later this week. 

Breaking down NCAA Division 3 Sweet 16

Hampden-Sydney College will host one of four NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Sectional Championships on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9. In addition to the Tigers and the Rowan Profs, Kirby Field House will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Nebraska Wesleyan University. 

CMS and NWU tip off Friday at 4 p.m., while the No. 1 ranked Tigers will play Rowan on Friday at 7 p.m. The two winners will play on Saturday, March 9, at 7 p.m. for a trip to the Final Four in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Hampden-Sydney has a record of 28-2 and was one of sixteen sites hosting first and second round competition this past weekend, advancing to the Sectional with a first-round win past La Roche (PA) 98-61 and a second-round win past Farmingdale State (NY) 72-51. The 2024 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament champions have nine-straight wins and 23 wins in their last 24 games overall.

In addition, Hampden-Sydney won its record-11th ODAC Tournament title on Feb. 25, while playing in its record-16th ODAC championship. The Tigers attained their 17th 20-win season in program history, and second consecutive 20-win campaign, marking the first time since 2002-03 (28-4) and 2003-04 (25-5) with back-to-back 20-win seasons.

Their opponent on Friday, Rowan University, comes in at 21-7, having staged an upset to make the Sweet 16. They knocked off the No. 14 team in the nation, Catholic, beating them 89-85. 

For the fourth time this year, Rowan senior guard Marcellus Ross scored more than 30 points, finishing with 31 points and seven rebounds. He was one of three Rowan players to finish with 20 points or more. Junior Khalif Meares had 23 points, while 6’6 senior forward Ja’Zere Noel added 20 points and 11 rebounds, his 16th double-double on the season. 

Looking ahead 

As for the rest of the field for this sectional, CMS has a record of 23-6 and advanced with wins against St. Thomas (TX) (78-71) and Whitworth (WA) (69-67) in Thousand Oaks, California. No. 19 NWU has a record of 25-4 and advanced to the Sectionals with wins against Centenary (LA) (58-41) and UT Dallas (77-63) in San Antonio, Texas.

Winners of the four sectional championship games will advance to the semifinals and finals on March 14 and 16. All games, except the semifinals and finals, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The semifinals and finals will take place at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.