Tournament Information
Game Notes (PDF)
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – No. 13 William Paterson (24-3, 11-2 NJAC) will host the opening two rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, at the Recreation Center. The Pioneers will face Becker (23-4, 16-0 NECC) in the first round Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The other first-round game will pit Messiah (20-6, 12-2 Commonwealth) against Scranton (20-7, 11-3 Landmark) at 5:30 p.m. The winners will advance to the second round March 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Live statistics and
live video will be available for all three games. All WP students are encouraged to "Wear Orange to the Game," and WP students with valid ID will be admitted for free, courtesy of Student Development, Administration and Finance, Residence Life and Institutional Advancement.
Ticket prices are $6.00 general admission, $3.00 for students, senior citizens and children. The doors to the Recreation Center will open 60 minutes prior to tip-off on each day.
The Pioneers won their 11th conference title (1972, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012) with a 67-63 victory at Richard Stockton (19-8) Feb. 25 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament championship game. The regular-season champions of the NJAC's North Division, William Paterson was ranked 13th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll released Feb. 21.
The Pioneers are making their 15th NCAA Tournament appearance overall (1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012) and their eighth trip under the direction of 17th-year head coach and 2012 NJAC Coach of the Year
Jose Rebimbas, including spots in the 2001 national championship game, the 1999 Final Four and the 2006 Elite Eight.
A member of the All-NJAC First Team and the NJ Hoops December Player of the Month, junior 6-2 guard
Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) leads WP with 19.4 points (second in league, 33rd in Division III), 4.3 assists (fifth in NJAC) and 2.6 steals (first in conference, 14th in Division III) per game. Junior 6-4 guard/forward
Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic), the NJAC Player of the Year, leads the conference with 9.5 rebounds and is fourth with 19.0 points per contest. His 11 double-doubles rate 27th in Division III. Freshman 6-3 guard
Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) is adding 7.9 tallies and 5.7 boards per game, and junior 5-11 guard
Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) is averaging 7.7 points per contest while shooting .392 from three-point range (seventh in NJAC).
In addition to the Pioneer men, the William Paterson women also will participate in the NCAA Tournament, as the No. 9/11 Pioneers (25-2, 12-1 NJAC) will play Salve Regina (19-9, 13-5 CCC) in the first round Friday, March 2, at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The winner will advance to the second round Saturday, March 3, in Wilkes-Barre, and will face the winner of the King's (22-5, 13-1 Freedom) vs. Oneonta State (19-8, 14-4 SUNYAC) first-round contest to be played March 2.
