Elite Eight Bound! PBC Basketball Rises to the Top

Its seems only fitting somehow that following the most exciting and successful year of men’s and women’s basketball in league history, there are only Peach Belt teams left to compete for the regional championships. In Hickory, N.C., tonight (Monday), Francis Marion will battle Clayton State for the right to go to San Antonio, Texas, and compete in the Elite Eight while on Tuesday night rivals Augusta State and USC Aiken will play for a trip to Springfield, Mass., for the men’s Elite Eight.

No matter how those two games turn out, history has already been made in the Peach Belt as, for the first time, the league will send a men’s and women’s team to the Elite Eight in the same season.

Heading into Monday night’s women’s championship, only one other conference in the nation is assured of that level of success. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) has members California (Pa.) and Gannon competing for a women’s regional title while Gannon and Kutztown will play for the men’s.

On the women’s side, the Great Northwest, Gulf South and Northeast 10 have both combatants in the regional championships while the MIAA and Northern Sun have both teams in men’s regionals.

The PBC has a long history of sending women’s teams to the Elite Eight, including both Francis Marion and Clayton State, who compete tonight. Kennesaw State became the first to advance, breaking the barrier in 1997. Francis Marion made their only appearance to date in 1998, reaching the Final Four. Kennesaw State returned in 1999 while Columbus State reached the Final Four in 2000 and 2001. North Florida made the trip in 2003 while Augusta State followed in 2004. Clayton State was the most recent team to reach the national finals, going in 2007 and reaching the Final Four.

PBC men’s teams have also made an impact in the Elite Eight. Lander became the first conference team to advance in 1999, followed by Georgia College & State University in 2000. Kennesaw State reached the pinnacle of DII basketball in 2004, winning the PBC’s only basketball national championship. Augusta State came close to repeating that feat in 2008 when they reached the national championship game.

The 2008-09 season has been one for the ages as the phrase ‘for the first time ever’ has been used again and again. For instance; For the First Time Ever:
- More than 3,000 fans attended three different PBC games. On Jan. 5, USCA visited ASU in front of 3,109. 3,569 attended the rematch in Aiken, the largest crowd to ever see two PBC teams play one another. 3,035 showed up in Aiken to see USCA play AASU on Jan. 31.
- More than 3,000 fans saw the PBC Tournament Championship game between ASU and USCA as 3.273 packed the Convocation Center.
- Four PBC men’s basketball teams were ranked in the top 25 at the same time. This first happened on Jan. 27 when ASU, USCA, GCSU and AASU were nationally ranked. It happened again on Feb. 3 and March 3.
- The PBC had two top-25 games on the same day. On Jan. 31, just after the Jan. 27 poll, GCSU played ASU while AASU visited USCA.
- Three PBC women’s basketball teams earned national rankings. Although not in the same poll at the same time, Francis Marion, USC Aiken and Clayton State were all ranked in the WBCA Top 25 during the year.

For the women’s regional, two PBC teams will meet for the championship for the sixth time. Ironically, Clayton State, in their only Elite Eight appearance to date, defeated GCSU 66-65 in overtime in the 2007 final.

On the men’s side, the ASU/USCA matchup will be the fourth between two PBC teams playing for an Elite Eight spot. ASU defeated Clayton State last year 89-72 to earn their first trip.

Tonight’s women’s Regional Championship begins at 7:00 in Hickory, N.C. Fans can follow the action through the following:
Live Stats
Live Video Stream (no play-by-play)

The men’s Regional Championship is set for 7:00 on Tuesday night and fans can watch all the action in the high-bitrate stream from Penn Atlantic and PeachBeltSports.tv. There is no charge to watch the game and there will be no cap on the number of viewers.
PeachBeltSports.tv