FDU gets NCAA automobile quote due to D-I shift rule
Fairleigh Dickinson became the first team to punch its ticket to the 2023 NCAA tournament on Saturday– and the Knights did it without winning their conference tournament.Merrimack, the 1-seed in the
Northeast Conference competition, is still in the midst of its four-year reclassification procedure from Division II to Division I and is therefore ineligible for the NCAA competition. However, the NEC announced last summer it would permit Merrimack to participate in the conference tournament this season. Merrimack winning the regular-season title meant the national championship runner-up would advance to the NCAA tournament ought to the Warriors make it to the title game.That scenario played out on Saturday. With Merrimack beating Sacred Heart in the first semifinal
on Saturday, it indicated the winner of the 2nd semifinal in between Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis(Pa. )would make the league’s automated quote to the NCAA tournament.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Fairleigh Dickinson, the 2-seed in the competition, knocked off 3-seed St. Francis 70-50. Demetre Roberts led the way with
18 points and 5 assists, and Ansley Almonor (15 points)and Grant Singleton(12 points)likewise scored in double figures.Merrimack and Fairleigh Dickinson will still deal with each other in the NEC competition title game on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN2). It’s a big accomplishment for first-year head coach Tobin Anderson, who took control of a Fairleigh Dickinson group that finished 4-22 last season. Anderson, who had actually been the head coach at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas given that 2013 prior to taking control of at FDU, guided the Knights to a 15-win improvement.The NEC’s situation resembles what took place in the ASUN competition last season, with Bellarmine winning the conference tournament regardless of being disqualified for the NCAA competition due to its reclassification status. Jacksonville State was the regular-season champion, so the Gamecocks made the automatic bid despite the fact that they lost to Jacksonville in the conference tournament semifinals.