AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State will play host to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament this weekend when the Jaguars tip off play in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

ASU, the Peach Belt Conference’s regular-season champion and tournament champion, is making its fifth trip to the Big Dance in the last nine years. The Jags finished the regular season with a 23-4 regular-season record and then claimed three straight wins in the league tourney to capture the program’s first PBC tournament title since 2002.

The fifth-ranked Jags (26-4) will open tourney play as the regional’s No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 Tusculum on Saturday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. The Pioneers (20-10) were the South Atlantic Conference Tournament runnerup after falling 63-61 to Catawba in the SAC tourney championship game.

The Southeast Regional will consist of four sessions and include seven games over a four-day stretch. Armstrong Atlantic State (23-6), the No. 3 seed, and sixth-seeded Catawba (21-9) will tip off quarterfinal play at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. At 2:30 p.m., second-seeded USC Aiken (23-7) and No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne (18-10) will meet in the second game of session one.

The top-seeded Jags (26-4) and No. 8 Tusculum (20-10) will tangle in the first game of the second session at 6 p.m. before No. 4 Georgia College & State (22-6) and No. 5 seed Barton (24-6) wrap up the first day’s play at 8:30 p.m.

All tickets for the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional are $10 and are available for purchase online at the official website of ASU Athletics -- www.aug.edu/athletics -- and will be available for purchase at the Christenberry Fieldhouse box office beginning at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.

Advance tickets will be available for purchase on Thursday and Friday, March 12-13 in the ASU Ticket Office from 3-5:00 p.m. Children ages two and under will be admitted free.

For more information on the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional, call the ASU Athletics Office at 706-737-1626 or visit www.aug.edu/athletics. 

NCAA Southeast Regional
March 14, 15 & 17, 2009
Augusta, Ga.  v Christenberry Fieldhouse 

Saturday, March 14 -- Quarterfinals 

Session One
12:00 p.m. -- No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State (23-6) vs. No. 6 Catawba (21-9) 
2:30 p.m. -- No. 2 USC Aiken (23-7) vs. No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne (18-10) 

Session Two

6:00 p.m. -- No. 1 Augusta State (26-4) vs. No. 8 Tusculum (20-10) 
8:30 p.m. -- No. 4 Georgia College & State (22-6) vs. No. 5 Barton (24-6) 

Sunday, March 15 -- Semifinals

Session Three

5:00 p.m. 
No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State-No. 6 Catawba WINNER vs. No. 2 USC Aiken-No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne WINNER

7:30 p.m.
No. 1 Augusta State-No. 8 Tusculum WINNER vs. No. 4 Georgia College & State-No. 5 Barton WINNER

Tuesday, March 17 -- Championship

Session Four

7:00 p.m.
No. 2 USC Aiken-No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne-No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State-No. 6 Catawba WINNER
vs.
No. 1 Augusta State-No. 8 Tusculum -No. 4 Georgia College & State-No. 5 Barton WINNER