Men's Basketball Playoffs Set to Tip Tuesday
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2019 PSUAC men's basketball playoff field is set and will tip-off Tuesday evening as eight teams vie for conference supremacy. Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Penn State Mont Alto have earned the top seeds in their division as everyone battles to reach the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus for Championship Sunday.
Since the conference returned to divisional play in 2018-19, the playoff format has been revamped to correspond with those changes. Four teams from each division qualify and compete within their own division during the quarterfinal round. Semifinals will see cross-divisional play with reseeding on Friday, Feb. 22nd, with the winners advancing to the championship game in the BJC on Sunday, Feb. 24th.
Wilkes-Barre has gone 17-1 in conference play, with one game remaining, but clinched the number one seed in the East over a week ago. Their only conference loss came on the road against the West's number one seed, Mont Alto, who finished 16-3 in the PSUAC.
Wilkes-Barre will host Penn State Hazleton in an I-81 rivalry game, as the campuses sit just 35 miles apart. Wilkes-Barre swept the season series, winning by 20 and 18 points during the regular season. Joining them in the East are Penn State York, the two-seed, and defending conference champion Penn State Brandywine. York also swept the regular season over Brandywine, taking an eight point victory on the road before eeking by with a one-point win at home just over a week ago.
In the West, Mont Alto will play host to Penn State Beaver, who finished fourth. Beaver was a game away from creating a three-way tie for second in a strong pack of contenders, but fell short over the weekend to fall into the final playoff spot. Beaver gave Mont Alto one of their three conference losses, as the teams split their two games--interestly enough, each team won on the road. On the other side of the bracket, conference newcomer Penn State Shenango won a tiebreaker with Penn State Greater Allegheny to secure the two-seed and earn a home game in their first season of competition. Shenango swept Greater Allegheny during the regular season to pick up the tiebreaker.
Full conference playoff information can be found on the Men's Basketball Championship page.
2019 PSUAC Men's Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Game 1: East #4 PSU Hazleton at East #1 PSU Wilkes-Barre
Game 2: East #3 PSU Brandywine at East #2 PSU York
Game 3: West #4 PSU Beaver at West #1 PSU Mont Alto
Game 4: West #3 PSU Greater Allegheny at West #2 PSU Shenango
Semifinals
Friday, February 22, 2019
Game 5: Lowest Remaining West Seed at Highest Remaining East Seed
Game 6: Lowest Remaining East Seed at Highest Remaining West Seed
Championship
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa.
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
4:00 p.m.