The 2022 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.
The championship rounds were held from March 22 to 26, 2022 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The tournament returned to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic field of sixty-four teams.
Defending champions Northwest Missouri State defeated Augusta in the championship game, 67–58, to win their fourth Division II national men's title. The Bearcats became the first to win three consecutive Division II titles, although including that the 2020 tournament was not held.
Seven teams participated in the tournament for the first time: Academy of Art, Black Hills State, Cal State San Marcos, Cedarville, Davenport, Embry-Riddle, and Savannah State, though Embry-Riddle had qualified for the 2020 tournament that was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tournament schedule and venues
Regionals First-, second-, and third-round games, which comprise each regional championship, will take place on campus sites on March 11, 12, and 14. With the exception of the West Regional, the top-seeded team in each regional will serve as host.
These eight locations were chosen to host regional games for the 2022 tournament: Atlantic: Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania Central: Sanford Pentagon, Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota East: Bentley Arena, Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts Midwest: Cecchini Center, Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio South: Rick Case Arena, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida South Central: Rip Griffin Center, Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, Texas Southeast: Christenberry Fieldhouse, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia West: Coussoulis Arena, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California
Elite Eight The national quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals were held on March 22, 24, and 26 at a pre-determined site, the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Qualification A total of sixty-four bids are available for the tournament: 23 automatic bids (awarded to the champions of the twenty-three Division II conferences) and 41 at-large bids.
The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), each of which contains either two or three of the 23 Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball (after the Heartland Conference disbanded in 2019, the South Central Region now features only two conferences). Each region consists of two or three automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and either five or six at-large bids, awarded regardless of conference affiliation.
Automatic bids (23) Automatic bids Region (Bids) Conference School Record (Conf.) Appearance Last bidAtlantic (3)CIAAFayetteville State21–83rd1993Mountain EastWest Liberty29–212th2021PSACIndiana (PA)29–217th2019Central (3)Great AmericanSouthwestern Oklahoma State14–162nd2005MIAANorthwest Missouri State28–521st2021Northern SunMinnesota State-Moorhead19–117th2021East (3)CACCFelician19–92nd2010East CoastSt. Thomas Aquinas26–46th2021Northeast-10Bentley22–46th2021Midwest (3)GLIACDavenport17–131stNeverGLVCMissouri–St. Louis24–63rd1988G-MACWalsh23–62nd2019South (3)Gulf SouthAlabama–Huntsville22–1014th2021SIACSavannah State15–131stNeverSunshine StateNova Southeastern (1st)28–02nd2019South Central (2)Lone StarWest Texas A&M27–618th2021RMACBlack Hills State22–71stNeverSoutheast (3)CarolinasBelmont Abbey22–98th2021Peach BeltAugusta28–313th2019South AtlanticQueens (NC)28–313th2021West (3)CCAACal State San Marcos20–41stNeverGNACAlaska12–146th2006PacWestAcademy of Art20–111stNever
At-large bids (41) At-large bids Region (Bids) School Conference Record (Conf.) Appearance Last bidAtlantic (5)California (PA)PSAC21–914th2008Fairmont StateMountain East23–712th2021MercyhurstPSAC24–65th2021MillersvillePSAC25–611th2008West Virginia StateMountain East23–76th2010Central (5)Augustana (SD)NSIC24–315th2017Central OklahomaMIAA24–613th2011Minnesota DuluthNSIC25–56th2003Upper IowaNSIC25–53rd2017WashburnMIAA21–1016th2021East (5)Dominican (NY)CACC21–74th2021Franklin PierceNE-1018–107th2014New HavenNE-1017–89th2019PaceNE-1019–95th2007Saint AnselmNE-1017–1023rd2019Midwest (5)CedarvilleG-MAC19–121stNeverFerris StateGLIAC21–814th2018FindlayG-MAC19–1015th2019HillsdaleG-MAC20–77th2021Truman StateGLVC20–910th2021South (5)BarrySunshine State20–89th2018Embry-RiddleSunshine State22–91stNeverMilesSIAC24–43rd2019Union (TN)Gulf South23–84th2016West AlabamaGulf South24–66th2019South Central (6)Angelo StateLone Star20–98th2019Colorado MesaRMAC24–97th2021Dallas BaptistLone Star17–116th2021Lubbock ChristianLone Star26–34th2021Texas A&M–CommerceLone Star17–89th2019Texas A&M–KingsvilleLone Star18–106th2017Southeast (5)Columbus StatePeach Belt20–1014th2017FlaglerPeach Belt23–72nd2021Georgia CollegePeach Belt21–77th2010Lincoln MemorialSAC25–49th2021UNC PembrokeCarolinas26–37th2019West (5)Azusa PacificPacWest20–94th2018Cal State San BernardinoCCAA23–314th2014Cal Poly PomonaCCAA13–916th2019Chico StateCCAA19–415th2017Point Loma NazarenePacWest21–94th2021
Regionals
Atlantic Regional Site: Indiana, Pennsylvania (IUP)
* – Denotes overtime period
Central Regional Site: Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Augustana (SD))
East Regional Site: Waltham, Massachusetts (Bentley)
Midwest Regional Site: North Canton, Ohio (Walsh)
South Regional Site: Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Nova Southeastern)
South Central Regional Site: Lubbock, Texas (Lubbock Christian)
Southeast Regional Site: Augusta, Georgia (Augusta)
West Regional Site: San Bernardino, California (Cal State San Bernardino)
* – Denotes overtime period
Elite Eight Site: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
* – Denotes overtime period
All-tournament team Trevor Hudgins, Northwest Missouri Tyshaun Crawford, Augusta Ja'Queze Kirby, Augusta Joel Scott, Black Hills State Luke Waters, Northwest Missouri
See also 2022 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2022 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2022 NAIA men's basketball tournament
References