The 2018
NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament is the 62nd annual
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
to determine the national champion of men's
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division II college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Featuring sixty-four teams, it began on March 9, and concluded with the
championship game on March 24.
The eight regional winners met in the Elite Eight for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. For the second consecutive year, the Elite Eight was held at the
Sanford Pentagon
The Sanford Pentagon (colloquially known as The Pentagon) is an indoor arena located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Pentagon opened in September 2013 and has a seating capacity of 3,250 spectators. It hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA ...
in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...
.
Ferris State defeated
Northern State, 71–69, to win the first national championship in the school's history.
Qualification
A total of 64 bids are available for each tournament: 24 automatic bids (awarded to the champions of the twenty-two Division II conferences) and 40 at-large bids.
The sixty-four bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), each of which contains three of the twenty-four Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. Each region consists of three automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and five at-large bids (which are awarded regardless of conference affiliation).
Six teams qualified for their first NCAA Division II tournament in 2018:
Lees–McRae,
Ohio Dominican,
Point Loma Nazarene,
Saint Martin's,
Southern Nazarene, and
West Florida
West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...
.
Regionals
Atlantic –
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...
Location: VSU Multi-Purpose Center
Central –
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home ...
Location:
Bearcat Arena
East –
DeWitt, New York
DeWitt is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,074. The town is named after major Moses DeWitt, a judge and soldier. An eastern suburb of Syracuse, DeWitt also is the site of most o ...
Location:
Le Moyne Events Center
Midwest –
Big Rapids, Michigan
Big Rapids is a city and the seat of government of Mecosta County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,727 at the 2020 census, down from 10,601 in 2010. The city is surrounded by Big Rapids Charter Township but they are completely s ...
Location: Jim Wink Arena
South –
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
Location:
Forbes Arena
* – Denotes overtime period
Southeast –
Harrogate, Tennessee
Harrogate is the largest city in Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. It is adjacent to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
The community has been known as "Harrogate" since the 19th century, but did not incorporate by that name un ...
Location: B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena
South Central –
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in and the county seat of Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area ...
Location:
First United Bank Center
* – Denotes overtime period
West –
Monmouth, Oregon
Monmouth () is a city in Polk County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population is 11,110 at the 2020 Census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...
Location: WOU Physical Education Building
Elite Eight – Sioux Falls, South Dakota
References
{{NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament navbox
NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
NCAA Division II basketball tournament
NCAA Division II basketball tournament
Basketball in Canyon, Texas