Stetson men’s basketball to enter March Madness for 1st time after conference championship

The Stetson Hatters men’s basketball team has been at the NCAA Division 1 level since the 1979-1980 season and, at the start of this year, was among the programs that have never made the tournament.

That was until Sunday, when the team won the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. The Hatters topped Austin Peay, 94-91, to pick up the automatic berth and its 22nd win of the season. Stetson was down three points at halftime but scored 58 points in the second half to win the game.

Stetson guard Jalen Blackmon scored 43 points on 12 of 22 from the field. He made five 3-pointers and made 14 free throws. He also collected five rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steal.

Stephen Swenson and Aubin Gateretse each had 13 points. Alec Oglesby scored 10 points.

The Hatters held off Governors forward Sai Witt, who led Austin Peay with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Dezi Jones scored 17 points and DeMarcus Sharp had 16 points off the bench.

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Stetson entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Hatters beat No. 10 Jacksonville in the semifinals to advance to the championship game.

Stetson made the NCAA Tournament when it was in Division II and went to the Elite Eight in 1970.

Since moving to the Division 1 level, the program has only made the College Basketball Invitational. The Hatters made it to the semis in 2021 and lost in the first round in 2023.

Next week, they will hear their names called on Selection Sunday.

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