2016 CIAA Tournament Pairings Announced

Charlotte, N.C. (Feb. 21, 2016) –  The pairings for the 2016 CIAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been released by the league office, it was announced Sunday morning.

The men’s tournament will get underway on Tuesday, Feb. 23 with two first round games.  Tuesday’s first game will pit the South’s sixth-seeded Winston-Salem State Rams against the North’s fifth-seeded team, the Lincoln Lions.  That game will tip at 6:40 p.m. with FSU and ECSU following at approximately 8:50 p.m.

Fresh off a 102-92 win over Shaw that clinched the Southern Division title, the Golden Bulls will get the benefit of a bye, as JCSU will begin tournament play on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m.  JCSU will play the winner of the game that features the South’s fourth seed Livingstone and the WSSU-Lincoln winner.

Should JCSU advance, they would participate in the Friday night semifinal that starts at 9:00 p.m.  Saturday’s Championship game will begin at 7:00 p.m.

On the women’s side, the tournament will also begin on Tuesday with four first round games.  JCSU will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed from the South and will be taking on the North’s fifth-seeded Elizabeth City State Vikings at 2:20 p.m.  The winner of the JCSU-ECSU game will advance to take on the Northern Division champion Virginia Union at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

Complete brackets for the 2016 CIAA Basketball Tournament can be found at ciaatournament.org and theciaa.com