 | |||||
| Teams | 64 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana | ||||
| Canceled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| |||||
The2021 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was to have been thetournament hosted by theNCAA to determine the national champion ofDivision III men'scollegiate basketball in theUnited States for the2021–22 NCAA Division III men's basketball season.[1] However, the tournament was cancelled due to an insufficient number of teams participating in Division III. Only 48.6% of schools participated in men's basketball when 60% was required as schools were in the midst of reopening after theCOVID-19 pandemic the previous March.
The championship rounds were scheduled to be played at theAllen County War Memorial Coliseum inFort Wayne, Indiana.
Despite not having an official championship, D3Sports.com organised a weekly poll for the eight weeks of play, similar to theAP Poll andCoaches Poll in Division I. On March 13, 2021, theTrine Thunder (17-0), which was No. 2 in the D3sports.com poll, traveled to theRandolph-Macon Yellow Jackets (11-0), No. 1 in the same poll, for a game billed as a "postseason bowl game" by organisers. Trine won theMichigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships, and Randolph-Macon only played three games in theOld Dominion Athletic Conference regular season, but won the tournament championship.
The two teams agreed to the game, which Brooks Miller, head coach of Trine said in a statement, "We are extremely excited about this opportunity for our student-athletes to continue our season by competing against the #1 team in the country. I want to thank Coach Merkel at Randolph Macon College for agreeing to make a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup possible to help determine aD3hoops.com poll champion as well as our leadership here at Trine.”
Randolph-Macon won the game, 69-55, and finished as the D3hoops.com final poll's top-ranked team, effectively making Randolph-Macon the winners of the D3hoops.com national championship for the season when they finished first in the final poll.[2]
March 14, 2021 2:30 pm |
| Trine Thunder 55,Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets69 | ||
| Scoring by half: 24-36, 31-33 | ||
| Pts: Nick Bowman 15 Rebs: Connor Jones 6 Asts: Aiden Warzecha 5 | Pts: Miles Mallory 16 Rebs: Miles Mallory, Buzz Anthony, Josh Talbery 6 Asts: Josh Talbert 6 | |
Crenshaw Gymnasium,Ashland, Virginia Randolph-Macon College Attendance: Behind Closed Doors Referees: Matt Oblas, Scott Arbogast, Scott Bennett |
The following season, Randolph-Macon repeated their title in 2022, but this time as an official national champion.
D3Sports only ranked 15 teams because fewer teams played in 2020-21. Eighteen coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country ranked teams. For this season only, teams could be ranked only if they played countable games.
| Pos | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randolph-Macon (15) | 12-0 | 267 |
| 2 | St. Thomas (3) | 7-0 | 235 |
| 3 | Yeshiva | 7-0 | 225 |
| 4 | Illinois Wesleyan | 8-1 | 206 |
| 5 | Marietta | 12-1 | 196 |
| 6 | Trine | 17-1 | 187 |
| 7 | Dubuque | 14-0 | 164 |
| 8 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 12-1 | 147 |
| 9 | UW-Platteville | 8-2 | 129 |
| 10 | DePauw | 12-1 | 96 |
| 11 | Berry | 13-1 | 74 |
| 12 | UW-Oshkosh | 5-2 | 69 |
| 13 | UW-La Crosse | 8-3 | 51 |
| 14 | Whitworth | 12-5 | 27 |
| 15 | New Jersey City | 7-1 | 17 |