PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Division III NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments begin this week and there are several local squads taking part.
DelVal returns to the dance
On the men's side, Delaware Valley University (15-12) captured an automatic bid by winning the MAC Freedom conference and the Aggies will take on 26-1 Wesleyan in Middletown, Connecticut on Friday at 7pm.
DelVal is in the tourney for the first time since 2016 and head coach Muhamadou Kaba said taking care of the ball is the key to the team’s success.
"We don't want to turn the ball over, especially against a really good defensive team. That allows them to get out in transition and score some easy points,” he said.
Kaba also said the key to the team’s offense is getting touches in the paint. On defense, Kaba spoke confidently of the team’s ability to remain stalwart as it has all season.
“Clean it up on the glass and not give them any second chance points, making sure we know personnel, who's a shooter, who's a non-shooter, and if we do that, we always give ourselves a chance in the game," he said.
Bryn Athyn blazes a new path
For the first time in program history, Bryn Athyn College is headed to the tourney after winning the United East Conference Championship. The Lions are 20-8 and they will visit Hampden-Sydney College (21-5) down in Virginia in the first round on Friday at 6:40 p.m.
Bryn Athyn is coached by Sean Westerlund and he said his team is aware of the path they are blazing.
"They wanted to be the team to help put Bryn Athyn on the map and to hang banners and to have our names etched in stone and so there's a high level of awareness and they're hungry for more and to continue to strive and push this program forward," said Westerlund.
Neumann goes dancing as champs
Neumann University out of Aston won the Atlantic East Conference Tournament title to earn an automatic bid into the field and the 20-7 Knights will visit Trinity College in the first round in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday at 7:10 p.m.
Neumann head coach Jim Rullo said his team earned this opportunity.
"We're playing a fun brand of basketball right now. We're confident and we're gonna go after it and see what we have," he said.
Stockton’s fourth-straight tournament wasn’t easy
Stockton University is tournament bound for the fourth-straight year. The 19-8 Ospreys earned an at-large berth and open play against Ithaca College on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The game will be played on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
Stockton's head coach Scott Bittner said getting to the postseason came after a lot of adversity.
"Our season's been filled with a lot of adversity in terms of injuries and what not, so it was just great to be rewarded for being able to handle that," he said.
The Mighty Macs’ ‘fun ride’ continues
The one local women's team to earn an NCAA Tournament berth was Immaculata University. The Mighty Macs are the champions of the Atlantic East Conference and they will take on Ohio Wesleyan University in the first round on Friday in Delaware, Ohio.
Immaculata is 22-3 and head coach Brittany Whalen said “it’s been a fun ride” throughout the whole season.
"We are thrilled to be here and in this moment and just to experience this opportunity," she said.
Immaculata's game with Ohio Wesleyan will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.