2023 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament

The 2023 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the single-elimination tournament to determine the annual national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.

2023 NCAA Division II
men's basketball tournament
Teams64
Finals siteFord Center
Evansville, Indiana
ChampionsNova Southeastern Sharks (1st title)
Runner-upWest Liberty Hilltoppers (2nd title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJim Crutchfield (1st title)
MOPWill Yoakum & RJ Sunahara (Nova Southeastern)
NCAA Division II men's tournaments
«2022 2024»

The championship rounds were held from March 21–25, 2023 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Nova Southeastern won their first ever national championship, beating West Liberty 111–101 in the championship game.[1] The Sharks also completed a perfect 36–0 season, the first team to do so since Northwest Missouri State in 2019.

McKendree and North Georgia participated in the tournament for the first time, with both winning tournament games, and the former making it to the Regional Final.

Tournament schedule and venues

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Indiana, PA
Maryville
Manchester
Indianapolis
Davie
Canyon
Augusta
San Diego
Evansville
2023 NCAA Division II Men's sites - regionals (cyan) Elite Eight (red)

Regionals

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First, second, and third-round games (the last of which doubles as a regional championship), will take place on campus sites from March 11–14, 2023. The top-seeded team in each regional serves as host.

Elite Eight

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The national quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be held at a predetermined site, the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, from March 21–25, 2023.

Qualifying

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A total of sixty-four bids are available for the tournament: 23 automatic bids (awarded to the champions of the twenty-three Division II conferences) and 41 at-large bids.

The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), each of which contains either two or three of the twenty-three Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. Each region consists of two or three automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and either five or six at-large bids, awarded regardless of conference affiliation.

Automatic bids (23)

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Automatic bids
Region (Bids) Conference School Record (Conf.) Appearance Last bid
Atlantic (3) CIAA Winston–Salem State 21–8 16th 2020
Mountain East West Liberty 28–3 15th 2022
PSAC Indiana (PA) 30–1 19th 2022
Central (3) Great American Southern Arkansas 22–9 2nd 2021
MIAA Northwest Missouri State 30–2 23rd 2022
Northern Sun Minnesota State–Moorhead 25–6 8th 2022
East (3) CACC Caldwell 21–9 3rd 2021
East Coast St. Thomas Aquinas 26–4 8th 2022
Northeast–10 Saint Anselm 22–7 25th 2022
Midwest (3) GLIAC Northern Michigan 24–7 9th 2000
GLVC McKendree 18–12 1st Never
Great Midwest Ashland 22–9 11th 2021
South (3) Gulf South West Alabama 26–5 7th 2022
SIAC Miles 23–6 5th 2022
Sunshine State Nova Southeastern 30–0 4th 2022
South Central (2) Lone Star West Texas A&M 25–6 20th 2022
RMAC Fort Lewis 28–3 12th 2018
Southeast (3) Carolinas Emmanuel (GA) 23–7 3rd 2021
Peach Belt Augusta 26–5 15th 2022
South Atlantic Catawba 23–7 12th 2020
West (3) CCAA Cal State San Bernardino 27–3 16th 2022
Great Northwest Northwest Nazarene 15–14 2nd 2021
PacWest Point Loma 27–3 6th 2022

At-large bids (41)

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At-large bids
Region (Bids) School Conference Record (Conf.) Appearance Last bid
Atlantic (5) East Stroudsburg PSAC 23–8 8th 2019
Fairmont State Mountain East 24–7 14th 2022
Mercyhurst PSAC 24–5 7th 2022
Pittsburgh–Johnstown PSAC 20–10 5th 2009
Virginia Union CIAA 23–7 30th 2018
Central (5) Central Oklahoma MIAA 26–5 14th 2022
Emporia State MIAA 22–8 3rd 2007
Minnesota–Duluth Northern Sun 23–9 7th 2022
Northern State Northern Sun 24–6 15th 2021
Southern Nazarene Great American 25–4 4th 2020
East (5) Bentley Northeast–10 21–6 20th 2022
Dominican (NY) CACC 21–8 6th 2022
New Haven Northeast–10 20–10 10th 2022
Pace Northeast–10 20–10 6th 2022
Southern New Hampshire Northeast–10 20–8 21st 2017
Midwest (5) Ferris State GLIAC 23–8 16th 2022
Hillsdale Great Midwest 23–6 8th 2022
Indianapolis GLVC 26–4 13th 2020
UMSL GLVC 21–10 5th 2022
Wisconsin–Parkside GLIAC 21–8 7th 2017
South (5) Alabama–Huntsville Gulf South 25–7 15th 2022
Embry–Riddle Sunshine State 19–11 3rd 2022
Lee Gulf South 20–7 3rd 2021
Tuskegee SIAC 20–8 5th 2014
West Georgia Gulf South 20–8 18th 2021
South Central (6) Angelo State Lone Star 25–6 10th 2022
Black Hills State RMAC 25–5 2nd 2022
Colorado Mesa RMAC 25–5 10th 2022
Colorado Mines RMAC 26–5 12th 2021
Lubbock Christian Lone Star 19–11 5th 2022
Texas A&M–Kingsville Lone Star 22–10 8th 2022
Southeast (5) Lander Peach Belt 22–9 6th 2020
Lincoln Memorial South Atlantic 27–4 12th 2022
North Georgia Peach Belt 20–7 1st Never
UNC Pembroke Carolinas 26–3 9th 2022
USC Aiken Peach Belt 22–8 9th 2019
West (5) Academy of Art PacWest 21–9 2nd 2022
Azusa Pacific PacWest 22–7 6th 2022
Cal State San Marcos CCAA 19–10 2nd 2022
Montana State Billings Great Northwest 20–9 11th 2012
St. Martin's Great Northwest 24–6 3rd 2019

Regionals

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Atlantic

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 Indiana (PA) 52
8 Winston–Salem State 50
1 Indiana (PA) 60
4 Virginia Union 45
5 Fairmont State 64
4 Virginia Union 66
1 Indiana (PA) 53
2 West Liberty 70
3 Mercyhurst 72
6 East Stroudsburg 66
3 Mercyhurst 72
2 West Liberty 86
7 Pittsburgh–Johnstown 88
2 West Liberty 112

Central

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 Northwest Missouri State 94
8 Southern Arkansas 69
1 Northwest Missouri State 57
5 Southern Nazarene 61
5 Southern Nazarene 67*
4 Minnesota State–Moorhead 64
5 Southern Nazarene 52
6 Minnesota–Duluth 62
3 Central Oklahoma 56
6 Minnesota–Duluth 62
6 Minnesota–Duluth 84
7 Emporia State 79
7 Emporia State 72
2 Northern State 51

* – Denotes overtime period

East

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 St. Anselm 71
8 Caldwell 80
8 Caldwell 56
4 New Haven 77
5 Pace 57
4 New Haven 83
4 New Haven 69
2 Bentley 60
3 Southern New Hampshire 78
6 St. Thomas Aquinas 64
3 Southern New Hampshire 46
2 Bentley 73
7 Dominican (NY) 67
2 Bentley 77

Midwest

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 Indianapolis 63
8 McKendree 77
8 McKendree 93
5 Northern Michigan 83
5 Northern Michigan 86
4 Hillsdale 81
8 McKendree 60
2 Missouri–St. Louis 62
3 Ashland 70
6 Ferris State 71
6 Ferris State 68
2 Missouri–St. Louis 82
7 Wisconsin–Parkside 60
2 Missouri–St. Louis 85

South

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 Nova Southeastern 97
8 Miles 55
1 Nova Southeastern 105
5 West Georgia 74
5 West Georgia 74
4 Lee 61
1 Nova Southeastern 87
3 Alabama–Huntsville 62
3 Alabama–Huntsville 76
6 Embry–Riddle 69
3 Alabama–Huntsville 72
2 West Alabama 56
7 Tuskegee 64
2 West Alabama 70

South Central

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 West Texas A&M 78
8 Texas A&M–Kingsville 56
1 West Texas A&M 69
4 Angelo State 59
5 Colorado Mesa 57
4 Angelo State 72
1 West Texas A&M 67
6 Black Hills State 68
3 Colorado School of Mines 48
6 Black Hills State 68
6 Black Hills State 81
2 Fort Lewis 66
7 Lubbock Christian 65
2 Fort Lewis 97

Southeast

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First round
March 11
Regional semifinals
March 12
Regional Finals
March 14
         
1 Augusta 83
8 Emmanuel (GA) 74
1 Augusta 77
4 South Carolina–Aiken 84
5 Catawba 79
4 South Carolina–Aiken 88
4 South Carolina–Aiken 83
3 Lincoln Memorial 89
3 Lincoln Memorial 76
6 Lander 63
3 Lincoln Memorial 84
7 North Georgia 74
7 North Georgia 76
2 UNC Pembroke 58

West

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First round
March 10
Regional semifinals
March 11
Regional Finals
March 13
         
1 Point Loma 78
8 Northwest Nazarene 64
1 Point Loma 83
5 Academy of Art 70
5 Academy of Art 93*
4 St. Martin's 89
1 Point Loma 83
2 Cal State San Bernardino 89
3 Azusa Pacific 62
6 Cal State San Marcos 72
6 Cal State San Marcos 61
2 Cal State San Bernardino 67
7 Montana State Billings 57
2 Cal State San Bernardino 63

* – Denotes overtime period

Elite Eight

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Elite Eight
March 21, 2023
Final Four
March 23, 2023
National championship
March 25, 2023
         
1 Nova Southeastern 82
8 Missouri–St. Louis 75
1 Nova Southeastern 94
4 Cal State San Bernardino 87
4 Cal State San Bernardino 88
5 Lincoln Memorial 70
1 Nova Southeastern 111
2 West Liberty 101
2 West Liberty 95
7 New Haven 58
2 West Liberty 87
3 Black Hills State 82
3 Black Hills State 86
6 Minnesota–Duluth 68

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Villa, Walter (March 25, 2023). "Nova Southeastern men's basketball stays perfect, wins Division II national title". Miami Herald. Retrieved February 13, 2024.