Men’s Basketball Earns #8 Seed East Region in 2023 NCAA Division II Championship

INDIANAPOLIS Ind.- The Caldwell University men’s basketball team earned the #8 seed in the East Region of the 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship. The Cougars make their third trip to the NCAA D2 Tournament in the program’s history. Caldwell won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship on Sunday afternoon, securing the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

As the #8 seed, Caldwell will face top seed and host Saint Anselm College on Saturday, March 11 at 5 pm. The winner of this game will face the winner of the #4 University of New Haven and #5 Pace University East Region Quarterfinal game.

Saint Anselm will serve as the host site for three rounds of the men’s basketball East Region and will host the Regional Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship game. The full schedule is posted below with times.

The remainder of the East Region features the #2 seed Bentley University against #7 Dominican University of New York. Southern New Hampshire University secures the #3 seed in the region and will take on #6 Saint Thomas Aquinas College in the opening round.

The Cougars, under the direction of first-year Head Coach and CACC Coach of the Year Dean Johnson, has guided the program to a 21-9 record this season. Caldwell was the top overall seed in the CACC Tournament, posting wins over Wilmington University in the quarterfinals, Chestnut Hill College in the semifinals and Thomas Jefferson University in the championship final to capture the conference title.

Freshman and CACC Rookie of the Year/First Team selection Darnell Evans (Deer Park, N.Y.) leads the Cougars with 19.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while draining 35 three-pointers. CACC Third Team selection sophomore Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) is posting 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest, while connecting on a team-best 58 three-pointers. Sophomore and CACC Tournament MVP Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) is adding 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while CACC Defensive Player of the Year and Third Team selection Jarnel Rancy (Middle Island, N.Y.) is contributing 6.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game.

The 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball East Region Championship begins on Saturday, March 11. Here’s the complete schedule for this week’s tournament.

2023 NCAA Division II East Region Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule
Host: Saint Anselm College, Manchester, N.H.

Saturday, March 11
East Region Quarterfinals
Game 1: #3 Southern New Hampshire vs. #6 St. Thomas Aquinas – 12 p.m.
Game 2: #2 Bentley vs. #7 Dominican – 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: #1 Saint Anselm vs. #8 Caldwell – 5 p.m.
Game 4: #4 New Haven vs. #5 Pace – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 12
East Region Semifinals
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner

Tuesday, March 14
East Region Title Game
Game 5 winner vs Game 6 winner