HPU basketball is tipping off this week in the NCAA Tournament: Here’s everything you need to know about HPU’s games this week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The High Point University men’s and women’s basketball teams will compete on Thursday, March 20 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament as both earned automatic bids from its victories in the Big South Conference tournament. It will be the first tournament appearance for the HPU men’s and the second for the HPU women’s in program history.

 

This past Sunday, the NCAA Tournament selection committee awarded the HPU men’s terrific 29-5 record season with a No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region of the tournament bracket. The Panthers were matched up with No. 4 seed Purdue University out of the Big Ten Conference.

 

Tip-off is set for 12:40 p.m. in Providence, R.I. at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The game will also be aired on truTV.

 

The Purdue Boilermakers finished its season with a 22-11 overall record and a 13-7 Big Ten Conference record which was tied for the fourth best record in its conference. Purdue is led by 6’9” junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn who leads the team in points at 20.2 a game, which is also 14th in the entire nation, and in rebounds at 6.2 a game. The Boilermakers are also led by 6’0” junior guard Braden Smith who leads the team in assists at a staggering 8.7 a game, which is second in the country, steals with 2.2 a game, and is second on the team in points at 16.1 a game.

 

An NCAA Tournament appearance is nothing new for Purdue as the Boilermakers were the national runner-up in the NCAA Tournament last year as they advanced all the way to the championship game, squaring off against the University of Connecticut in a game that resulted in the Huskies winning, 75-60.

 

The HPU men’s team will be looking to knock off the national runner-up from last year and advance to the Round of 32 on Saturday, March 20 against the winner of the No. 5 Clemson University versus No. 12 McNeese State University game.

 

On the women’s side, HPU was awarded a No. 16 seed in the Regional 3 - Birmingham. The 21-11 record lady Panthers will face off against another No. 16 seed, William & Mary, in the First Four game.

 

A First Four game is a play-in game for the NCAA Tournament as the winner of the game will advance to the first round of March Madness.

 

Tip-off for the First Four game versus William & Mary is at 9 p.m. as they both travel to Austin, Texas to battle in the Moody Center. The game is also set to air on ESPN2.

 

William & Mary finished its season with an overall record of 15-18 and a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record of 8-10. William & Mary shocked many fans by winning the CAA tournament as a No. 9 seed, thus earning an automatic NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in school history.

 

William & Mary is led by 5’8” senior guard Bella Nascimento who is coming off a monster 33-point and 11-rebound performance in the CAA championship game against Campbell. Nascimento leads the team in points at 16.3 per game and steals with 1.6 a contest.

 

If the Panthers win the First Four game against William & Mary on Thursday night, they will have a quick turnaround as they would clash on Saturday, March 22 at 9:45 p.m. against the mighty No. 1 seed, the University of Texas at Austin, in the first round.

 

HPU has only ever been to the NCAA Tournament once (2021) prior to this season. The Panthers were in a similar situation in that 2021 season as they were also a No. 16 seed and had to play against the dominant Connecticut Huskies in the first round. It was not a pretty outcome for HPU when the final buzzer sounded as the Huskies won, 102-59.

 

The Panthers are hoping for a different outcome this tournament, but they will have to handle business against William & Mary on Thursday night before HPU can worry about Texas and the rest of the rounds in the NCAA Tournament.