BALTIMORE, MD (February 24, 2024) — The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the nation’s oldest Historically Black Athletic Conference, announces the brackets for its 2024 Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournament. The single-elimination tournament will be held in CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD on February 26 – March 2nd. Championship games will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. for the women followed by the men at 9:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26th. Each bracket is seeded based on Division record. If division records are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results followed by point differential.
In the Men’s field, Lincoln University (PA) solidified the top seed in the Northern Division squeaking out a +5 point differential tiebreaker against Virginia Union. Led by Head Coach Jason Armstrong, the Lions finished the regular season with a 12-4 record in CIAA action. After falling short in last year’s tournament championship, the Lions will be looking for redemption in Baltimore. The No. 2 seed goes to Virginia Union. Under the guidance of head coach Jay Butler, the Panthers finished regular season play with an 8-9 conference record closing out with a big win against Virginia State. With a 3-way tie for the No. 3 seed, the Trojans of Virginia State secured their spot with two regular season wins against Bowie State and a +4 point differential against Elizabeth City State. With the Trojans at the No. 3 seed, Bowie State edges out Elizabeth City State with two head-to-head regular season wins and take the No.4 seed. Elizabeth City State will sit at the No.5 seed with Bluefield State at No. 6.
Men’s Northern Division:
1) Lincoln University (PA)
2) Virginia Union University
3) Virginia State University
4) Bowie State University
5) Elizabeth City State University
6) Bluefield State University
In the Men’s Southern Division, Fayetteville State takes the top spot for the 3rd straight season. Edging out Claflin with a +4 point differential the two teams split with a win a piece during the regular season, but the Broncos take the tiebreaker. Under the leadership of Head Coach Luke D’Alessio, the Broncos will look to make a deep run in the tournament. With a tough tiebreaker outcome, Claflin claims the No. 2 seed. Defending champion, Winston-Salem State slides into the No. 3 seed with a 7-5 division record. Shaw overcomes a 3-way tie for the No. 4 seed beating out both Johnson C. Smith and Livingstone in head-to-head regular season competition. Livingstone secures the No. 5 seed having beaten Johnson C. Smith, landing the Golden Bulls at the No. 6 seed and St. Augustine’s at the No. 7 seed.
Men’s Southern Division:
1) Fayetteville State University
2) Claflin University
3) Winston-Salem State University
4) Shaw University
5) Livingstone College
6) Johnson C. Smith University
7) St. Augustine’s University
The first men’s game of the 2024 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Monday at 9:00 p.m. with St. Augustine’s taking on Bluefield State. The full bracket can be found here.
In the Women’s Northern Division, the defending champions of Elizabeth City State take the undisputed No. 1 seed with an 8-2 divisional record and a 10-7 conference record. Under the guidance of Head Coach Tynesha Lewis the Vikings will look to repeat at this year’s tournament. Virginia State takes the No. 2 seed with a 7-3 divisional record and a 13-4 conference record, they concluded regular season play with a big win against Virginia Union. With a 5-5 divisional record, Virgina Union lands middle of the pack with the No. 3 seed. Bluefield State and Lincoln University (PA) tied for the No. 4 seed, however, the tiebreaker leans in favor of Bluefield State with a +2 point differential, pushing Lincoln to the No. 5 seed. Bowie State closes out the Northern Division at No. 6.
Women’s Northern Division:
1) Elizabeth City State University
2) Virginia State University
3) Virginia Union University
4) Bluefield State University
5) Lincoln University (PA)
6) Bowie State University
In the Women’s Southern Division, Fayetteville State University, under the guidance of Interim Head Coach Tyreece Brown clinched the Southern Division earning them the No. 1 seed. The Broncos head into the tournament with conference’s best overall record of 24-2, with only 1 divisional loss to Johnson C. Smith on January 20th. The No. 2 seed goes to Claflin with a 9-3 divisional record. Under the leadership of Head Coach Terrence Jenkins, the Panthers look to be in position to redeem themselves from last year’s early exit. Locked in at the No. 3 seed, Johnson C. Smith closed out the regular season with a big win against Claflin. St. Augustine’s takes the No. 4 seed with a 5-7 divisonal record. At the No. 5 seed, thanks to two regular season wins against Shaw, Livingstone wins the head-to-head tie breaker. Shaw will sit at the No. 6 seed with Winston-Salem State at the No. 7 seed.
Women’s Southern Division:
1) Fayetteville State University
2) Claflin University
3) Johnson C. Smith University
4) St. Augustine’s University
5) Livingstone College
6) Shaw University
7) Winston-Salem State University
The first women’s game of the 2024 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Monday at 7:00 p.m. with Bowie State taking on Winston-Salem State. The full bracket can be found here.
All 24 games will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ (https://plus.espn.com/) with the championship games also being shown on ESPNU.
For the latest information on the 2024 CIAA Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournament, visit ciaatournament.org or download the CIAA mobile app via the Apple Store or Google Play. You can also follow the CIAA on Twitter (@CIAAforLife), Instagram (@CIAASports), and Facebook (The CIAA), or search #CIAATourney23, #CreatingNewLegacies, or #CIAAHoops on all platforms.