Story By: Brayden George
MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo men’s basketball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament as a No. 5 seed in the south region.
The selection marks the first time since the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons that the Falcons have made consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
The round one match-up for the Falcons will be against No.4 seed, Florida Southern College on Saturday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m CDT.
The journey to the tourney
The Falcons enter the tournament following a 21-7 record in the regular season, their best regular-season record since the 2014-15 season.
Senior forward Derek Moore led the Falcons through the regular season, averaging 18.3 points and 61.5 percent shooting over 26 games. Moore’s senior campaign was capped off by being named Gulf South Conference Player of the Year.
Moore was also named First Team All-GSC, junior guard Brandon Fussell also earned first-team honors. Senior forward Jaylen Curry rounded out the GSC honors by being named Third Team All-GSC.
The Falcons also ended the season 17-5 in GSC play, earning a No. 2 seed in the GSC tournament hosting a first-round matchup. Their stay in the GSC tournament was cut short following a round-one loss to Lee University 69-65.
Falcons in the Big Dance
Sunday night, the Falcons team watched the NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Selection Show together to learn their fate.
The Falcons received an at-large bid, earning the No. 5 seed of the south region. They will face the fourth-seeded Florida Southern Moccasins who also received an at-large bid after falling to Palm Beach Atlantic in the semi-finals of the Sunshine State Conference tournament.
Familiar foes in round one
The round-one matchup with Florida Southern presents a strong sense of déjà vu for the teams, who met each other in the first round of last year’s NCAA DII tournament in Fort Lauderdale.
In that game, the Falcons entered as the No. 6 seed playing the then three-seeded Mocs. Florida Southern won that matchup 86-83, ending the Falcons postseason run after only one game following a half-court buzzer-beater missed from Brandon Fussell.
Florida Southern is 2-0 all-time against the Falcons, with neutral-site wins in 2008 and 2025.
The game will tip at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Saturday, March 14, at Rick Case Arena on the campus of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
NCAA tournament games will be aired for free on ncaa.com.
If the Falcons win the round-one matchup, they would take on either No. 1 seed Nova Southeastern (27-1) or No. 8 Morehouse College (22-9) in the round of 32.
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