First-round bound to Oneonta
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CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men's basketball
(2009 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Tournament pairings)
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Once the top four seeds were doled out, Fredonia State learned it would travel to Oneonta for a first-round game at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Blue Devils (16-8, 10-6 SUNYAC) enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed. Oneonta is No. 4 after finishing in a four-way tie for first place.
In other first-round games Tuesday, top-seeded Geneseo plays host to Brockport, No. 2 Buffalo State entertains Cortland, and No. 3 Oswego is home to Potsdam. Tuesday's winners advance to the semifinal round next Friday on the home floor of the highest remaining seed. The championship game is Saturday.
Fredonia State enters the tournament as hot as any of the eight teams. The Blue Devils have won their last three games, including victories over the top two seeds -- 82-62 at Buffalo State last Tuesday, and 64-59 over Geneseo on Friday.
It is the second straight season the Blue Devils have closed out the regular season with three straight conference wins. Last year, they needed all three wins just to make the SUNYAC field. Playing as the No. 8 seed, the Blue Devils were eliminated in the first round by Plattsburgh, the eventual conference champ, 72-62.
This year, the Blue Devils went into the final weekend knowing they were already in the tournament, even if they would have to wait to find out who they would be playing. As it turned out, the top four teams all finished 11-5 in the conference - one game ahead of the Blue Devils - which necessitated the use of tiebreakers to determine the seeds.
The Fredonia State at Oneonta pairing is a rematch of a Dec. 6 game which the Red Dragons won, 75-65. The Blue Devils started poorly that night and trailed 26-4 midway through the first half. They never got closer than the final 10-point margin.