Charlotte, NC – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) released its 2019 Women’s and Men’s Championship Brackets on Saturday. The single-elimination tournament will be held in two venues again this year: Bojangles’ Coliseum February 25-27 and Spectrum Center February 28-March 2. Championship Saturday will tipoff at 1:00 p.m. for the women followed by the men at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.
The Virginia Union University Panthers solidified the women’s Northern Division title with a win over Elizabeth City State University on Wednesday. The Panthers finished the regular season with a 9-1 division record followed by the No. 2 Lady Bulldogs of Bowie State University, who finished with a 7-3 division record with today’s victory over Elizabeth City State University. The Vikings finish the season at No. 6 in the North Division at 2-8 after today’s loss while the women of Lincoln University (PA) finished 3rd in the North with a 6-4 mark in the division.
By virtue of the head-to-head point differential tiebreaker, Chowan University finishes ahead of Virginia State University at No. 4 in the Northern Division as both teams finish the regular season with a 3-7 record. As a reminder, the conference’s tiebreaker record is as follows: head-to-head competition, head-to-head point differential, conference record, and a coin toss.
In the women’s Southern Division, Fayetteville State University clinched the title with an 11-1 regular season division record. Johnson C. Smith University finishes in the No. 2 spot at 9-3 while Winston-Salem State University lands at No.3, falling to 8-4 in the division, after being upset earlier today by Livingstone, who finishes at No. 4.
The Lady Panthers of Claflin University finish their first season in the CIAA at No. 5 while Saint Augustine’s University (2-10 in the South) and Shaw University (1-11 in the South) finish at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
The Women’s Tournament will tip off Monday at 6:00 p.m. with Elizabeth City State vs. Shaw. Tuesday’s contests are as follows: 10:00 a.m. Chowan vs. Claflin, 12:10 p.m. Lincoln (PA) vs. Saint Augustine’s, 2:20 p.m. Livingstone vs. Virginia State, and 4:30 p.m. Winston-Salem State vs. the winner of Elizabeth City State/Shaw. In the quarterfinals, Fayetteville State will await the winner between Chowan and Claflin for a 2:20 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday while Virginia Union will await the winner of Livingstone and Virginia State for their 4:30 p.m. contest. On Thursday, Bowie State will play Winston-Salem State or the winner between Elizabeth City State and Shaw at 1:00 p.m. and the winner between Lincoln (PA) and Saint Augustine’s will advance to face Johnson C. Smith at 3:00 p.m.
The men’s Northern Division was clinched by the Trojans of Virginia State University, who marked a 9-1 record in the regular season. The Trojans are followed by No. 2 Virginia Union, & No. 3 Bowie State who close at 7-3 and 6-4, respectively. Despite their identical 3-7 record in division play, Lincoln (PA) finishes No. 4 after a pair of regular season wins over Elizabeth City State to take the head-to-head tie-breaker while Chowan will enter the bracket at No. 6.
The Southern Division title belongs to Shaw University, who finish at 9-3 in the South, after their victory earlier today over Johnson C. Smith, who fall to 4-8 in the division. The Golden Bulls will be the No. 7 seed after losing head-to-head tie-breaker to Fayetteville State, who finishes at No. 6. Yet another tie formulated as Claflin and Livingstone both close out the regular season with a 7-5 division record. The Blue Bears secured the No. 2 seed thanks to their regular season sweep of the Panthers while the No. 4 spot belongs to Winston-Salem State followed by Saint Augustine’s at No. 5.
The Men’s Tournament will tip off Monday at 8:00 p.m. with Chowan vs. Johnson C. Smith. Tuesday’s contests are as follows: 6:40 p.m. Lincoln vs. Saint Augustine’s and Winston-Salem State vs. Saint Augustine’s at 8:50 p.m. Men’s quarterfinal action will tip off on Wednesday morning with Claflin taking on the winner of Monday’s contest between Chowan vs. Johnson C. Smith 10:00 a.m., Bowie State vs. Fayetteville State at 12:10 p.m. while Virginia State will play the winner of Winston-Salem State vs. Elizabeth City State 6:40 p.m. and Shaw will face the winner of Lincoln vs. Saint Augustine’s at 8:50 p.m. The quarterfinals will continue on Thursday as Virginia State takes on either Claflin or the winner of Chowan vs. Johnson C. Smith at 7 p.m. while Livingstone takes on the winner of Bowie State and Fayetteville State at 9 p.m.
CIAA Men’s Tournament Bracket
CIAA Women’s Tournament Bracket
Courtesy: CIAA
