COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team will host next weekend's NCAA Division II East Regional Championship while returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001, the NCAA announced on Sunday night. The Purple Knights were among 64 teams chosen for the national field, as the Vincent C. Ross Sports Center will serve as one of eight host venues for eight-team regionals.
 
Saint Michael's, which earned one of 41 at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament, is the top seed in the East Regional and will oppose Northeast-10 Conference counterpart No. 8 Southern Connecticut State University in a quarterfinal on Saturday at 5 p.m. The College last hosted a regional in 1960, at Burlington's historic Memorial Auditorium. This year's regional will be the first held at the Ross Sports Center, which opened in 1973.
 
Saturday will feature three other quarterfinal games: No. 3 Southern New Hampshire University and No. 6 Bloomfield College at 12 p.m., No. 2 Saint Thomas Aquinas College and No. 7 Post University at 2:30 p.m., and No. 4 Daemen University and No. 5 Jefferson University at 7:30 p.m. Winners of the first two contests meet in Sunday's 5 p.m. semifinal before the next semifinal begins at 7:30 p.m. The regional titlist will be determined on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The regional champion advances to the Elite Eight, which begins at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., on March 26. A national champion will be crowned on March 30.
 
Saint Michael's, which won its first NE10 regular-season title since 2000-01 after toting a 17-5 league mark, stands 22-8 heading into the NCAA Tournament, having totaled the fifth-highest win figure in program history. The Purple Knights are 13-4 all-time in the Ross Sports Center during postseason play. They went 2-0 against Southern Connecticut State this year, taking a 78-69 meeting in New Haven, Conn., on Jan. 6 before winning at home, 91-80, on Senior Day on Feb. 17. The teams have met only once in the postseason, an 81-79 victory by the Purple Knights on the Owls' home floor in a 2015 NE10 Championship quarterfinal.
 
The Purple Knights, who won the NE10 regular-season crown by three games, knocked off eight-seeded Assumption University, 70-67, during an NE10 Championship quarterfinal last Sunday before losing to No. 5 Southern New Hampshire, 97-65, in a Wednesday semifinal. The Penmen won the NE10 Championship on Saturday to sew up the league's automatic qualification.
 
Saint Michael's will make its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, having gone 19-15 since debuting with the 1956-57 tournament. The Purple Knights won regional titles in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965 and 1967, advancing as far as the national championship game in 1958. Saint Michael's last qualified for an NCAA Tournament in 2001, when it advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished as the Northeast Region runner-up.
 
Under fifth-year head coach Eric Eaton, who was named NE10 Coach of the Year earlier this week, the Purple Knights have more wins this season than the last two years combined (19). Saint Michael's set a school record for three-pointers (320) and sits top 10 in the NCAA East Region in eight statistical categories, including fewest turnovers per game (11.3), three-pointers made per game (10.7) and field goal percentage defense (43.3%).
 
Senior Romar Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Woodstock Academy/Manhattan) leads the way in scoring (16.6) while turning in 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals, and sophomore Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass./Brooks School) averages 15.4 points behind 40.3% three-point shooting with 3.9 helpers and 1.8 steals. The duo combined for 42 points against Southern New Hampshire, with Reid netting 27, and both earned a spot on the NE10 All-Conference second team. Yepdo was also chosen for the NE10 All-Defensive Team.
 
Junior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School) turns in 12.1 points as the NE10's highest-scoring reserve, burying 2.4 threes per game while adding 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals. Sophomore Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago) turns in 10.0 points on 55.5% shooting with 7.2 boards, 2.8 offensive rebounds and 1.0 block.
 
Sophomore Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy) notches 8.2 points on 37.8% three-point shooting with 5.0 rebounds, junior reserve Jhamyl Fricas (Lawrence, Mass./Worcester Academy/Connors State) adds 8.3 points on 41.9% shooting, and classmate Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy) collects 7.3 points on 39.6% accuracy from distance and 6.2 rebounds.
 
Saint Michael's will host three two-game sessions over the weekend, with the first two quarterfinals and the second two quarterfinals on Saturday and both of Sunday's semifinals each one session. Ticket prices for all sessions and Tuesday's title game are $10 for adults, $5 for children (5-17), seniors (65+) and for students with a valid ID, and free for children younger than 5.
 
NCAA Digital has partnered with Hudl to utilize the Hudl platform to stream all regionals games and the Elite Eight. Contests will be webcast on NCAA.com, the Hudl platform and an OTT app - "NCAA Championships Pass". Fans have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $29.95 for all Division II Men's Basketball Championship games excluding the semifinals and championship game, and $49.95 for all Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championship games, excluding the semifinals and championship games. The semifinals and finals of the DII Men's Basketball Championship will be carried on CBS Sports Network and CBS, respectively.