Twenty-four teams to challenge for 2014 Division I FCS Football Championship

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The field of 24 teams competing for the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced Sunday by the Division I Football Championship Committee. The top eight national seeds will play host to winners from the first-round matchups.

Interactive Bracket      Printable Bracket

New Hampshire (10-1) tops the bracket as the No. 1 seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Colonial Athletic Association. The Wildcats are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the championship and 13th overall.

Three-time defending national champion North Dakota State (11-1) is the No. 2 seed, earning the automatic qualifying berth from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the championship.

Jacksonville State (10-1), which is making its fifth overall tournament appearance, is the No. 3 seed. The Gamecocks captured the Ohio Valley Conference automatic berth.

Eastern Washington (10-2) is the No. 4 seed, garnering the Big Sky Conference automatic berth. The 2010 national champion Eagles are making their 11th appearance in the championship.

The No. 5 seed is Illinois State (10-1). The Redbirds tied for the Missouri Valley Football Conference title and are making their fifth overall appearance.

Villanova (10-2), the 2009 national champion, will be the No. 6 seed. The Wildcats are making their 11th championship appearance.

Coastal Carolina (11-1) will be the seventh seed. This will be the fifth appearance for the Chanticleers.

The eighth and final seeded team will be Chattanooga. The Mocs will be making their second appearance in the championship and first since 1984.

The 2014 championship field consists of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large qualifiers:

Automatic Qualifiers
• Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington (10-2)
• Big South Conference – Liberty (8-4)
• Colonial Athletic Association – New Hampshire (10-1)
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Morgan State (7-5)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State (11-1)
• Northeast Conference – Sacred Heart (9-2)
• Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State (10-1)
• Patriot League – Fordham (10-2)
• Pioneer Football League – San Diego (9-2)
• Southern Conference – Chattanooga (9-3)
• Southland Conference – Sam Houston State (8-4)

At-Large
• Big Sky Conference – Montana (8-4)
• Big Sky Conference – Montana State (8-4)
• Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina (11-1)
• Colonial Athletic Association – James Madison (9-3)
• Colonial Athletic Association – Richmond (8-4)
• Colonial Athletic Association – Villanova (10-2)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference – Illinois State (10-1)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference – Indiana State (7-5)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference – South Dakota State (8-4)
• Missouri Valley Football Conference – Northern Iowa (8-4)
• Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky (9-3)
• Southland Conference – Southeastern Louisiana (9-3)
• Southland Conference – Stephen F. Austin (8-4)

COURTESY NCAA.COM

WSSU beats USC Aiken 80-76

AIKEN, South Carolina – Winston-Salem State fought back from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat USC Aiken 80-76 on Saturday night.

The Rams (2-1) rebounded nicely from Friday’s loss to Columbus State thanks to C.J. Ford’s steady hand and his solid free-throw shooting. Ford, who had 20 points, made four free throws in the final 30.8 seconds to secure the win.

Coach James Wilhelmi said in the first half the Rams figured out how to work against the Pacers’ 2-3 zone but got away from it early in the second half.

“We were able to figure it out for the most part and you have to drive and get into the middle of it and I thought Stacy Caroway did a nice job of that in the first half,” Wilhelmi said.

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Norfolk State Spartans Down Texas Southern, 76-66

NORFOLK, Virginia -- A 28-point effort by Chris Thomas went for naught for Texas Southern, which was doomed by a long scoring drought in the second half. That cold spell became the difference as the Norfolk State men's basketball team earned a 76-66 victory over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.

NSU got a solid outing from the duo of senior Malik Thomas and junior D'Shon Taylor to rebound after a loss to Boston University earlier in the week. For the second game in a row, Thomas surpassed his career high in points, pouring in 20 on 7-of-12 shooting against the Tigers. He also added a game-high 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

Taylor, meanwhile, broke out of a slump with a 19-point effort. He shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-4 from long range, and also added four rebounds to help NSU improve to 2-2 overall.

Chris Thomas shot 9-of-21 for Texas Southern (0-4), including 8-of-11 from the free throw line, to lead all scorers with 28 points, including 17 in the first half.



The Spartans overcame an early three-point deficit a few minutes into the game and never trailed the rest of the way. The Tigers made it interesting, at least for few moments, in the second half.

NSU had taken a four-point lead into the break and went up by as much as six early in the second stanza on a layup by Taylor. The teams went back and forth before Tonnie Collier completed a four-point play with 14:35 on the clock to tie the score at 47-47.

Junior RaShid Gaston and TSU's Thomas traded buckets before the Spartans slowly pulled away. In a little less than three minutes, the Spartans turned the score thanks to an 11-2 run. Thomas had six points during that spurt and ended it with a pair of free throws at the 10:36 mark for a 60-51 edge.

NSU eventually extended that 11-2 run into a nine-minute, 19-6 run, capped by a 3-pointer by junior Jeff Short with just 4:20 left. The Spartans led by as much as nine the rest of way.

TSU shot a respectable 22-of-48 (45.8 percent) from the field but just 6-of-19 from 3-point range. NSU, on the other hand, connected on 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) from the floor and also broke out of a slump from 3-point range, hitting 7-of-13.

Gaston added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting with six boards off the bench after sitting out the previous two games with a sore knee. Short joined him in double figures with 10.

Senior Jamel Fuentes tied his career high with 11 assists, his third career game in double figures, while also finishing with zero turnovers. As a team, NSU totaled just nine giveaways on the night.

Texas Southern led four minutes into the game by a 7-4 margin before Taylor tied it up on the next possession with a trey. The Tigers never led again, but the Spartans also never led by more than six throughout the first half. That came with 7:45 left when Taylor threw a dunk down for a 24-18 edge.

Deverell Biggs tied it up for TSU with a trey of his own with exactly five minutes left, but freshman Malik Gray went 1-of-2 from the line with 1:02 on the clock for the final scoring of the half and a 37-33 NSU lead.

NSU held the rebounding edge, 37-31, and also outscored the Tigers 36-24 in points in the paint.

The Spartans will hit the road for four straight games, beginning with a Tuesday night matchup at Vanderbilt. Game time in 8 p.m. EST.

By Mike Bello, Asst. SID
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SC State Sends Seniors Out With A Win, Share MEAC Crown

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- South Carolina State claimed a share of its sixth league crown under head coach Buddy Pough, with a 30-20 victory over Norfolk State Saturday at O.C. Dawson Stadium.

The Bulldogs close out the season at 8-4 overall, 6-2 in the MEAC, while the Spartans finished 4-8 overall, 4-4 in the league.

Pough's message was not lost on his players who rode the momentum of an 11-play, 99-yard drive to a 30-20 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over the Spartans during Senior Day, in which 20 Bulldogs seniors were honored in a special pregame ceremony. SC State also celebrated Faculty and Staff Appreciation and High School Band Day.

The victory, which was marred by a 25-minute interruption in play following a fight between the teams early in the final quarter, sent the SC State seniors out winners, and coupled with NC Central's 21-14 triumph over league leader North Carolina A&T, gave Pough's team a share of the 2014 MEAC crown, marking the sixth time the Bulldogs have won on shared the league title during Pough's 13-years tenure.





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Talladega Tornadoes Rallies Past UAPB for 70-66 Win

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- Nautica Smith nails a three pointers with six seconds left to give Talladega College the lead as the Lady Tornadoes held on to defeat the University of Arkansas at Pine Women's Basketball team, 70-66 here Saturday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.

Jazmyne Victorian gave the Lady Lions a 62-52 lead with a made free throw with 4:07 left in the game.

TC took a 65-64 lead with 38 seconds left in the contest on a Thomesha Smith field goal, capping a 13-2 run by the Lady Tornadoes.

UAPB reclaimed the lead on a Carlisha Walker layup with 20 seconds left in the contest giving the Lady Lions a 66-65 lead.

In the first half, the Lady Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Destiny Ham field goal with 15:37 left in the first.

A Shami Goodman made three pointer gave the Lady Lions a 17-7 lead with 12:30 left in the first.

TC cut the UAPB's lead to 26-22 on a pair of Tajanee Wells free throws with 5:48 left in the first, capping 15-9 run by the Lady Tornadoes.

UAPB finished the first half shooting 40 percent (16-of-40) from the field, while TC shot 35.3 percent (12-of-34) as the Lady Lions went into the break with a 38-33 lead at the half.

The Lady Lions opened the second stanza with a 9-6 run to take a 47-39 lead on a Goodman layup with 13:30 left in the contest.

UAPB posted a 10 point lead on a pair of Richardson free throws with 11:55 left in the half, giving the Lady Lions a 51-41 lead.

The Lady Lions finished the contest shooting 35.1 percent (27-of-77), while the Lady Tornadoes shot 32.9 percent (24-of-73).

UAPB (1-3) was paced by Victorian as she finished the contest with 13 points and 18 rebounds, followed by Cassidy Wright with 11 and Richardson with 10.

TC (5-3) was led by Wells with 21 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Smith with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Shakeena Benton with 16.

UAPB will return to action on Saturday, November 29 as they will travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on Lane College.

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COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF SPORTS INFORMATION

Fans turn out for Florida Classic despite rain

ORLANDO, Florida -- The decades-long rivalry between the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and Florida A&M Rattlers was once again evident Saturday during the 35th annual Florida Classic at the newly renovated Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

"I've been coming to the Classic since it was in Tampa," said Bonnie Stevenson of Daytona.

Stevenson wore B-CU maroon pants and a black shirt with gold B-CU letters across the front as she tailgated with friends in the stadium's parking lot.

She became a Wildcat fan because her daughter graduated from the school in 1991.

"This is age-old, we do this every year," she said. "We don't know what we would do on this weekend if we didn't do this."

For FAMU fans, they remain hopeful that the school can overcome years of problems.

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2014 Florida Blue Florida Classic Battle of the Bands: B-CU Wildcats vs. FAMU Marching 100