2023 NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament Central
The Hillsdale College men's basketball team accomplished something unprecdented in program history when the field for the 2023 NCAA DII Tournament was announced on Sunday night.
After a 23-6 campaign, the Chargers earned an at-large bid into the NCAA DII Tournament field, securing the fourth seed in the Midwest Regional hosted by top-seeded University of Indianapolis this coming weekend, with quarterfinal matchups beginning on Saturday, March 11.
It's the third consecutive year Hillsdale will play in the NCAA DII Tournament, the longest-such streak in program history. The Chargers will play fifth seeded Northern Michigan in a 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup on Saturday to begin their 2023 NCAA Tournament run.
While Hillsdale is seeded fourth, they enter the tournament as the defending Midwest Regional champions, having won the 2022 title to advance to the Elite Eight, and will be looking to extend their streak of Sweet 16 appearances to three as well. A chaotic conference tournament weekend leading into the NCAA Tournament selection in the Midwest Region where none of the three top seeds in the GLVC, G-MAC or GLIAC advanced past the semifinals round has the region looking wide open, with all eight teams entering Saturday's quarterfinal round with a realistic shot at taking the crown with a strong weekend of play.
The Chargers are one of two teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, joined by third-seeded Ashland, which earned the conference's automatic bid by winning the G-MAC Tournament title on Saturday. The Eagles will play GLIAC foe and sixth-seeded Ferris State in a Saturday quarterfinal, while top-seeded Indianapolis plays GLVC Tournament champion McKendree in the 1-8 matchup. The final quarterfinal will pit GLVC squad Missouri-St. Louis against GLIAC regular season champion Wisconsin-Parkside in the 2-7 matchup.
This is Hillsdale's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance since becoming a NCAA DII member in 1990, and the fourth in six seasons for the Chargers. Hillsdale returns 12 of 15 players from last year's Midwest Regional championship team that beat Missouri-St. Louis 73-63 in the regional final at Walsh to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, including three starters -- 2022 Midwest Regional All-Tournament team honoree Jack Gohlke, as well as guards Kyle Goessler and Cole Nau.
Look for a full preview of the regional tournament and Hillsdale's quarterfinal matchup, with game times, streaming, live stats and ticket links later this week on hillsdalechargers.com.