Four PBC Men’s Teams to Play in NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, IND – Four Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball teams received bids to play in the NCAA Southeast Regional as the full 64-team field was released by the national office on Sunday night. Augusta State, USC Aiken, Georgia College & State University and Armstrong Atlantic State will all compete for the national championship. The regional will be hosted by Augusta State at Christenberry Fieldhouse for the third year in a row starting on Saturday, March 14.

Augusta State will be the top seed and host and will face #8 Tusculum in the first round. The Jaguars won the 2009 PBC Tournament championship earlier on Sunday 64-63 over USC Aiken. ASU is making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to the national championship game in 2008.

USC Aiken won a grueling four-overtime game against Armstrong Atlantic in the PBC semifinals and fell to ASU in the final on Sunday and will be the #2 seed at the NCAA regional. The Pacers make their second straight trip to the tournament and third overall in the Peach Belt era. The Pacers will face #7 Lenoir-Rhyne in the first round.

Armstrong Atlantic State came within a bucket of beating USCA in that four-OT game and will be the #3 seed in the NCAA regional. The bid is the fourth for the Pirates in the last six seasons and the eighth overall for AASU men's basketball. The No. 3 seed is the second-highest for the Pirates in the Peach Belt era - AASU was the No. 2 seed in the then-South Atlantic Regional in 2006. AASU faces #6 Catawba in their first game.

Georgia College & State University make their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first since 2006 after reaching the semifinals of the PBC Tournament on Saturday. The Bobcats reached the Elite Eight in 2000 and will face fifth-seeded Barton in the first round.

Game times will be announced by the NCAA on Monday.