Winona, MN-
Rochester Community & Technical College heads into Friday, March 13 with the opporunity to win a NJCAA National Championship in men's basketball, while St. Cloud Technical & Community College concludes a record-setting year which included some Minnesota College Athletic Conference regular-season hardware.
The #4 seed Yellowjackets had a first-round bye as the 2020 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship tipped off on Wednesday. Rochester defeated the Richland Community College Thunderducks, 90-83 last night to advance in the 2020 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship.
The Yellowjackets will play today, Friday, March 13 in the semi-finals against top-seeded Sandhills at 11am. Should RCTC defeat the #1 seed, head coach Brian LaPlante and his squad would take the court again at 6pm against the winner of Mohawk Valley / Eastfield in the national championship game.
The double-header format is a result of modifications made to the 2020 NJCAA DIII Men's and Women's Basketball Championships by the NJCAA National Office earlier this week. The complete NJCAA press release is below.
Also last evening, #11 seed SCTCC fell to #3 Eastfield, 96-63. The Cyclones upset #6 Hostos on Wednesday, 106-101 to advance to the quarterfinal round; head coach Andy Cone and his team earned one of the four first-ever At Large selections to the expanded, 12-team tournament. SCTCC finishes the 2019-20 season as MCAC Southern Division Regular Season Champions, the NJCAA North Plains District Tournament Runner-Up and owners of a 1-1 record at the 2020 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship.
NJCAA MBB Semi-Finals:
11am - #4 Rochester CTC vs. #1 Sandhills
1pm - #2 Mohawk Valley vs. #3 Eastfield
NJCAA Division Championship Game:
6pm - Semi-final Winners
2020 NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship Central
Real time scores and game results as they happen here.
Watch Live on NJCAA Championship TV at this link.
Click here for the complete tournament bracket.
For more on MCAC Men's Basketball, please go to: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/mbkb/index
NJCAA Men's Basketball information, including all of the NJCAA National Top 15 Poll and Player-of-the-Week releases can be found at: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/index
The NJCAA National Office announced on Thursday significant changes to the 2019-20 NJCAA Division III Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. These preventive measures included canceling all consolation contests and shortening both men's and women's Division III tournaments by one day.
Read below the complete statement issued by Dr. Chris Parker, NJCAA CEO on the NJCAA Division Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, including Division III.
Updated NJCAA Statement Regarding Men's & Women's Basketball Tournaments
Charlotte, NC – In light of recent developments regarding COVID-19, the NJCAA has made the decision to postpone national championship events for the upcoming DI and DII men's and women's basketball tournaments. DIII men's and women's basketball championships, currently underway, will work with an expedited schedule that will conclude on Friday, March 13.
Originally scheduled to begin the week of March 16, the four upcoming national championship events – DI men, DI women, DII men, and DII women will aim for a tentative start date of Monday, April 20.
The DIII men's and women's national championships, currently underway, will cancel all consolation games and will move semifinal and championship games to Friday, March 13. Effective immediately, spectators will be restricted from the remaining contests for both DIII championships in Rockford, IL and Rochester, MN.
Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President & CEO expressed his sentiments regarding the situation. "Due to the concerns surrounding the safety and security of our student-athletes and those involved with Division I and Division II NJCAA championships, we are postponing the tournaments and maintaining a fluid mentality to see these tournaments take place with a tentative start date.
We have two main objectives in this situation - first and foremost is to protect the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, college personnel, and fans. Second is to make sure our student-athletes receive the national championship experience that they have worked so hard for."
Start dates for each of the respective tournaments are tentative and the NJCAA will continue to follow all state and local mandates, restrictions, and regulations as it impacts its member institutions and national championship events.
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.
Be sure to follow our MCAC Facebook and Twitter feeds @MCACSports
OUR PURPOSE
The Marine Corps defends the people of the United States at home and abroad. To do that, we make Marines who win our Nation's battles and return as quality citizens.
Our Mission
To be the best Sports Company in the World.
YOUR SPORTING GOODS PARTNER
When you want your team to look as good as they play, trust the experts at Nicklasson Athletic Company. With more than 80 years of combines sales expertise, NAC is on your team with the latest, most innovative apparel and products to help your team, school, corporation or organization look and play their best. When you look great, you play great.