Sixteen of the 24 National Tournament Spots have been filled

by · Published · Updated

April 10, 2021

Three District Champs were crowned Friday night, earning automatic berths in the National Tournament to be held, April 19-24 in Hutchinson, KS. Thirteen others received their boarding passes yesterday. Eight additional national at-large bids will be announced on Sunday, April 11, at 7:00 PM EDT, during the live selection show on NJCAATV.

Out of this year’s automatic qualifiers, only seven were ranked in most recent Top 25 poll. Which means the other nine were either not ranked, or in the small group of “those receiving votes.” As a result, at least through me calculations, there are about 13 teams fighting for the eight at-large slots. I do not envy those on the selection committee this year. In a season of unprecedented and unconventional adjustments, why would we expect the selection process to be easy?

Several fresh faces have found their way back into the field, one team is making their first ever appearance in the national tournament. Four teams are repeat entries from last year, although the tournament was cancelled due to covid concerns.

There are two entries with championship pedigrees, both College of Southern Idaho and Kilgore College have won titles. CSI with three (1976, 1987, 2011). The Golden Eagles also have four runners-up trophies. Kilgore has won two championships (1956 & 1958) and a 2nd place. Four teams have lost in the finals. Chipola twice, Cowley and Southwest Tennessee one each, and Ranger in 2019. The at-large field should include several teams with tournament hardware in their trophy cases too.

Just on a side note, I find the collection of mascots at this years tourney to be somewhat unique. We will have some Dolphins for the first time since Gardner-Webb JC (NC) and their 7’2″ future NBA superstar HOF’er Artis Gilmore visited the Sports Arena in the late 60’s. Also, we have some featherd friends in the mix, three to be exact (Hawks, Eagles, and Cardinals), two tribes (Indians and Apaches), two bands of Buccaneers, two troups of Rangers (both from Texas), a couple of canines (Bulldogs and Saluqis), a feline (Tiger), and three groups of free spirited individualist in the Mavericks, Volunteers and Plainsmen. I can’t wait to see who is represented with the at-large teams. I’m getting ahead of myself, but wouldn’t it be neat if any two from a group were to meet for the Championship? Especially those who share the same mascot.

Here is a short rundown of all the 2021 auto-qualifiers (Note; NR=not ranked, RV=receiving votes):

Brunswick CC – Supply, NC – Dolphins – Region 10 – (15-3) – RV – Beat Caldwell CC&T, NC (10-7) 98-89 in Atlantic District Championship – Second trip to Hutch – Last in 2010.

Chipola College – Marianna, FL – Indians – Region 8 – (21-4) – #9 – Beat #17 Indian River State College, FL (18-3) 88-75 in South Atlantic District – 17th trip to Hutch – Last in 2014

Cochise College – Douglas AZ – Apaches – Region 1 – (11-2) – NR – Beat Arizona Western College (11-3) 83-62 in West District Championship – Fourth trip to Hutch – Last in 2015.

College of Southern Idaho – Twin Falls, ID – Golden Eagles – Region 18 – (21-3) – Beat #13 Salt Lake CC, UT (20-4) 94-84 in Rocky Mountain District – 26th time in Hutch – Last in 2018 – 3 time Champs.

Cowley College – Arkansas City, KS – Tigers – Region 6 – (21-4) – #15 – Beat Hutchinson CC, KS (18-6) 116-107 in Plains District Championship – Sixth appearance at Hutch – Last in 2020.

Dawson CC – Glendive, MT – Buccaneers – Region 13 – (23-2) – RV – Beat #6 Indian Hills CC, IA (21-3) 68-67 in North Central District Championship – 1st appearance in Hutch.

Holmes CC – Goodman, MS – Bulldogs – Region 23 – (15-3) – NR – Beat Northeast Mississippi CC (15-4) 81-56 in Gulf District Championship – 3rd trip to Hutch – Last in 2018.

John A. Logan College – Carterville, IL – Volunteers – Region 24 – (18-4) – #12 – Beat #20 Vincennes University, IN (17-6) 77-68 in Central District Championship – Fourth time at Hutch – Last in 2020.

Kilgore College – Kilgore, TX – Rangers – Region 14 – (18-5) – NR – Beat #8 Trinity Valley CC, TX (22-2) 68-67 in the Mid-South District Championship – 6th appearance in Hutch – Last in 2013.

Mineral Area College – Park Hills, MO – Cardinals – Region 16 – (23-0) – #2 – Beat #18 Triton College, IL (20-4) 73-56 in the Midwest District Championship – 4th trip to Hutch – Last in 2015.

Northeastern JC – Sterling, CO – Plainsmen – Region 9 – (15-5) – RV – Beat McCook CC, NE (14-11) 89-71 in the Northwest Plains District – Ninth time in Hutch – Last in 2014.

Northern Oklahoma College – Tonkawa, OK – Mavericks – Region 2 – (23-1) – #7 – Beat Northern Oklahoma – Enid (17-5) 66-64 in South Central District Championship – Third appearance at Hutch – Last in 2000.

Ranger College – Ranger, TX – Rangers – Region 5 – (19-4) – RV – Beat Western Texas College (15-8) 90-65 in Southwest District Championship – Trip #5 to Hutch – Last in 2020.

Shelton State CC – Tuscaloosa, AL – Buccaneers – Region 22 – (23-1) – #4 – Beat Wallace CC-Selma, AL (18-4) 71-55 in South District Championship – Appearing for the tenth time in Hutch – Last time 2020 – 3rd consecutive trip.

South Georgia State College – Douglas, GA – Hawks – Region 17 – (22-3) – RV – Beat East Georgia State (9-15) 75-69 in Southeast District Championship – Second time in Hutch – Last in 2011 as Waycross College.

Southwest Tennessee CC – Memphis, TN – Saluqis – Region 7 – (11-4) – NR – Beat Cleveland State CC, TN (11-7) 70-59 in Appalachian District Championship – 12th trip to Hutch – Last in 2016.

Eight teams will be added as at-large entries. Those names will be released at 7:00 PM Sunday night, live on NJCAATV. Information on those teams will be included once they are revealed.

You may also like...