NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament Returns to Evansville’s Ford Center This Month

Just days after wrapping another successful Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championship Tournament, the city of Evansville is ready to welcome more ballers to town. The Evansville Sports Corporation presents the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament to the Ford Center in downtown Evansville at the end of March.

Let me just drop a tiny bit of knowledge on you, in regards to this tournament. During the NCAA (Division I) Championship Tournament, the rounds are broken down by the round of 64, then the round of 32, then you have the Sweet 16, followed by the Elite Eight - all of these rounds are held in different cities (at least during a normal season). The Final Four and the Championship game are played in the same city during the same weekend (Sat & Mon). The Division II Tournament is done a little differently - the Elite Eight is it, the main event - it not only includes the Elite Eight, but also the Final Four and the DII Championship Game. So, one of the teams that come to town later this month will leave Evansville as the NCAA Division II National Champion. That is pretty friggin' sweet!

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Before we know which eight teams will come to the river city, we have to get through the regional tournament rounds, which begin this weekend. The University of Southern Indiana is actually hosting the games for the Midwest Region, also at the Ford Center. The Screaming Eagles are the #3 seed and will face off against Lewis this Friday night (3/13). The regional tourney runs March 13-16. How cool would it be if the Eagles could advance and become one of the eight teams competing for the top prize...in their home city!

We will get to see how it all plays out, March 24-27 at the Ford Center.