WINTHROP, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) finished the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season undefeated once again and claimed the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Saint Joseph's College (16-9, 12-2 GNAC) has earned the #3 seed and will host #6 Emmanuel College (12-13, 8-6 GNAC) in a GNAC quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. Led by third-year Head Coach Tyler Ackley, the Monks capped the regular season on Saturday with a 106-68 triumph at Dean College and go into the tourney having won nine-consecutive games. Since starting the season with a 3-8 record while playing the 12th most difficult schedule in the country, Saint Joseph's has won 13 of the last 14 games, with the team's only setback being an overtime loss to #2 seed Albertus Magnus College on January 13th.
The Blue Jays have not lost a conference game since 2018-19 and will be looking to return to the top of the conference after falling the championship game last year. They finished the regular-season with a perfect 14-0 GNAC (21-4 overall) record.
Defending GNAC Men's Basketball Champion Albertus Magnus will be looking to extend its streak of GNAC Championship appearances to an even dozen this year as the No. 2 seed. The Falcons went 13-1 in conference play (21-4 overall).
The Blue Jays and Falcons won't know their GNAC Quarterfinal opponents until after the Play-In Round of the GNAC Tournament, which is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 19. No. 7 seed Regis (8-6 GNAC, 13-12 overall) and No. 8 seed Rivier (6-8 GNAC, 14-11 overall) will serve as the hosts for those Play-In Round games. The Pride will entertain No. 10 seed Dean (5-9 GNAC, 9-16 overall), while No. 9 seed Colby-Sawyer (5-9 GNAC, 9-16 overall) will visit the Raiders.
In addition to USJ and Albertus, the four other GNAC Tournament competitors will also advance directly into the quarterfinal round, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 20. No. 3 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (12-2 GNAC, 16-9 overall) will host No. 6 seed Emmanuel (8-6 GNAC, 12-13 overall) in one of those matchups, while No. 4 seed Lasell (10-4 GNAC, 16-9 overall) welcomes No. 5 seed Norwich (9-5 GNAC, 17-8 overall).
There were two ties in the conference standings that required the league's tiebreaking procedure to determine seeding. Emmanuel's head-to-head win over Regis gave the Saints the edge in the 8-6 deadlock, while Colby-Sawyer's victory over Dean granted it the higher seed in the tie at 5-9.
Following the quarterfinal round, the four remaining teams will compete in the GNAC Semifinals, which are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 22. The two semifinal winners will then faceoff for the GNAC title in the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24. The winner of the GNAC Championship game will be named the 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule
Play-In – Monday, Feb. 19 (Hosted by higher seeds)
#10 Dean at #7 Regis, 3:30 p.m.
#9 Colby-Sawyer at #8 Rivier, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 20 (Hosted by higher seeds)
#8/9 Winner at #1 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 7 p.m.
#7/10 Winner at #2 Albertus Magnus, 7:30 p.m.
#6 Emmanuel at #3 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 7 p.m.
#5 Norwich at #4 Lasell, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 22 (Hosted by higher seeds)
#1/8/9 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD
#2/7/10 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 24
Semifinal winners, TBD
THANKS IN LARGE PART TO THE GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
