Owls To Host South Atlantic Regional
After sweeping the Peach Belt Conference regular−season and tournament titles and earning a No. 1 ranking in the South Atlantic Region‚ the Kennesaw State University men's basketball team will host the 2004 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Championships this weekend at the Spec Landrum Centre.
Georgia
(Mar 9, 2004) — After sweeping the Peach Belt Conference regular−season and tournament titles and
earning a No. 1 ranking in the South Atlantic Region‚ the Kennesaw State University
men's basketball team will host the 2004 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional
Championships this weekend at the Spec Landrum Centre.
The Owls‚ ranked No. 6 nationally‚ clinched their first−ever Peach Belt tournament
crown Sunday with a 72−70 win over rival Columbus State. Terrence Hill‚ two−time Peach
Belt Player of the Year‚ hit a 12−foot jumper with less than a second remaining to
give the Owls (29−4) the automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
Kennesaw State will be making just its second appearance in the national tournament
and will host the regional round for the first time. The Owls traveled to Columbus‚
Ga. last year where they went 1−1 in the tournament‚ defeating Virginia Union in the
first round before losing to Bowie State in the second.
Bowie State and Virginia Union‚ both hailing from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference‚ are back in the big dance in 2004. Also sending two teams to Kennesaw
is the South Atlantic Conference‚ which will be represented by regular season co−champion
Lenoir−Rhyne (one of just four teams to beat KSU this season) and Cinderella tournament
winner Catawba.
Joining host Kennesaw State from the Peach Belt Conference will be Columbus State‚
Armstrong Atlantic and No. 5−ranked Francis Marion. The Peach Belt is the only conference
in the country to feature two teams ranked in the top six nationally.
The tournament tips off Saturday at noon with second−seeded Francis Marion battling
No. 7 Armstrong Atlantic. Next up will be last year's region champion‚ No. 3 seed
Bowie State‚ taking on No. 6 Lenoir−Rhyne.
The second session begins at 6 p.m. with top−seeded KSU facing off against No. 8 Catawba.
The first day of action closes out with No.5 seed Columbus State playing No. 4 Virginia
Union at 8:30 p.m.
The semifinals will take place Sunday beginning at 5 p.m. The championship game will
follow Tuesday‚ March 16 at 7 p.m.
The South Atlantic champion joins seven other regional winners at the NCAA Division
II Elite Eight beginning March 24 in Bakersfield‚ Calif. The national championship
game will be played Saturday‚ March 27‚ also in Bakersfield.
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its nearly 43,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.