The Hamilton College Continentals received an at-large bid and were chosen as one of the 16 early-round hosts for the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship when the 64-team field was announced on Monday afternoon.
Interactive bracket
Hamilton will host the men's basketball championship at Margaret Bundy Scott Field House for the first time since 2006. The Continentals will take on Penn State Behrend on Friday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. The other first-round matchup at Hamilton pits Keene State College against Moravian College. The winners of each game will meet in the second round, which is also at Scott Field House.
The Continentals (23-4 overall) tied for first place in the NESCAC regular season standings with a 7-3 conference record and advanced to the NESCAC championship final for the first time since they joined the conference for basketball in 2011-12. Hamilton won two games on the road in the 2018 NCAA tournament and played in the third round.
Penn State Behrend (23-4) went 14-4 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and captured the tournament title with a 67-65 victory at La Roche on Sunday night.
Keene State (20-7) finished 13-3 in the Little East Conference and edged Eastern Connecticut State 72-69 on Saturday for the tournament title. The Owls have won 12 games in a row, but fell 85-80 at Hamilton back on Jan. 3.
Moravian (19-8) ended up 10-4 in the Landmark Conference and earned an automatic bid to NCAAs with an 86-72 victory at Drew University in the conference tournament championship game on Sunday. The Greyhounds enter the national tournament with a three-game win streak.
