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Press Release
Pace Men’s Basketball Returns To NCAA Championship
The Pace University Men’s Basketball Team earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship for the second-straight year.
The Madness of March returns to Pace University once again: For the first time in school history the Pace University Men's Basketball team earns back-to-back NCAA championship berths as the Setters heard their name called in Sunday night's Selection Show on NCAA.com. Pace received the No. 5 seed in the East Region and will face No. 4 seed and fellow Northeast-10 Conference foe University of New Haven.
The first-round games will be played on Saturday, March 11 at Saint Anselm, the No. 1 seed in the East Region. Game time between the Pace and New Haven is set for 7:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game live.
The Setters (20-10) and Chargers (20-8) met once this season with New Haven besting Pace by just six points, 56-50, on January 21 in New Haven, Conn. New Haven was runner-up in the NE10 Championship.
Head coach Matt Healing and the Setters have had another tremendous season, earning 20-plus wins for the second consecutive year. Healing's squads have boasted winning records in the last four seasons. The last time Pace recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons was 1989-1992.
Pace ranked second in the NE10 in field goal percentage defense (40.4) which ranked 18th nationally. In scoring defense, the Setters ranked 26th nationally (65.5), third in the NE10. The Blue and Gold finished seventh in the NE10 with an 11-9 record. In the conference championships, the Setters defeated No. 10 seed Adelphi, 72-51; but lost on the road at No. 2 seed Saint Anselm, 78-70.
The Pace men's basketball program has appeared in the NCAA championship just five times prior: 1992, 1999, 2002, 2007 and 2022.
Last season, the Setters earned the fifth seed in the East Regional and defeated fourth-seeded Dominican 77-64. It was the first NCAA win since 2002.
With a win on Saturday, Pace will advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinals which is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. A win in the semifinals will send the Setters to the regional championship, set for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14.
Click here for all the NCAA Regional Information.
About Pace University Athletics
Pace University Athletics is a member of NCAA Division II, competing within the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10). Pace Athletics sponsors 15 intercollegiate sports, along with cheer and dance teams and a Pep Band. Known as the Setters, Pace’s official mascot is known as T-Bone. In 2021-22, Pace student-athletes posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.33. Additionally, a total of 562 Setters were selected to the NE10’s Academic Honor Roll with 69 student-athletes earning Academic Excellence with 4.0 semester GPAs. Twenty two student-athletes earned NE10 President’s Award for Academic Excellence, recognizing graduating student-athletes who have attained Magna Cum Laude at their institution, have participated in at least two seasons of NE10 competition and are current student-athletes at the time of graduation.
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