ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College men's basketball team (23-5) will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship in seven years, and the Bombers will face off against No. 25 Babson College (20-6) in the opening round. Ithaca is set to travel to No. 1 Swarthmore College (26-1) in Swarthmore, Pa. and the host Garnet will take on Brooklyn College in the first round.

GAME TIMES:
Round 1 (Friday, March 6)
No. 25 Babson (20-6) vs. Ithaca (23-5) – 5 p.m.
No. 1 Swarthmore (26-1) vs. Brooklyn College (13-15) – 7:30 p.m.

Round 2 (Saturday, March 7)
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS:
TBA

ITHACA VS. REGIONAL FIELD: The Bombers are 2-1 all-time against the regional pod. IC has never played against Babson. Ithaca is 1-0 against Swarthmore and 1-1 against Brooklyn.

ITHACA VS. THE 2020 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: Ithaca went 3-3 against the NCAA Tournament field this season – all Liberty League games. The Bombers were 2-1 against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and 1-2 against Hobart.

ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are making their 13th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship and first since 2012-13. Ithaca is 5-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 1963-64. IC's first tournament win came back in 1972 against Buffalo State, 70-58, and the Bombers prevailed again in 1982 against Buffalo, 74-73. The next victory came in 1993 by a 71-56 score against Fredonia. In 2012-13, Ithaca defeated Springfield, 89-77, and Rochester, 70-68, to advance to the Round of 16.

THE 2020 CHAMPIONSHIP: The Division III Championship provides for a 64-team, single elimination playoff field. The 64 teams include 43 winners of conferences whose champions have been awarded automatic bids and 21 teams who received at-large bids. A total of 16 schools are hosting regionals this weekend. The Round of 16 games will be played on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. Winners of that round will advance Elite Eight and Final Four on March 20-21 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The national championship game will be played on Sunday, April 5 in Atlanta, Ga.

A full preview on the upcoming weekend of games will be posted later this week.