AUGUSTA, Ga. -- With its second-winningest season in school history in tow, Augusta State departs for Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon in preparation for its first-ever Elite Eight appearance. ASU has a 5:30 p.m., scheduled charter flight out of Augusta Regional Airport, and is expected to arrive in Hartford, Conn., shortly after 7:30 p.m.

The 10th-ranked Jaguars captured the South Atlantic Regional championship on Tuesday, March 18 with an 89-72 victory over Clayton State in front of a near-capacity crowd of 2,136 fans at Christenberry Fieldhouse. They will face 21st-ranked Central Oklahoma on Wednesday, March 26 at 12 noon in the MassMutual Center in the opening game of the Elite Eight.

ASU (25-6) is 5-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and has never faced Central Oklahoma in the 43-year history of the Jaguar program. The Bronchos (prounounced Broncos) clinched the South Central Regional title with a 77-76 victory over Tarleton State (Texas) as the No. 3 seed and enter the Elite Eight with a 28-5 record.

The Jaguars, who have tied the school record for most wins in consecutive years with 49 victories, are led by senior All-American forward AJ Bowman, junior center Garret Siler and sophomore forward Ben Madgen.

Bowman was named the Peach Belt Conference’s Player-of-the-Year for the second consecutive year and is the second-leading scorer in the history of ASU and the PBC with 1,761 points. Siler leads the NCAA among all divisions in field goal percentage (.766) and ranks 10th in the nation in blocked shots (2.7 bpg.), while Madgen is the squad’s second-leading scorer at 16.1 ppg. and is a two-time all-conference selection.

All seven games of the Elite Eight are scheduled to be webcast live and at no charge. Live stats will also be available. For more information, visit www.ncaa.com. 

NCAA Elite Eight
MassMutual Center -- Springfield, Mass.
Hosted by American International College and
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
March 26-29, 2008

Wednesday, March 26 (Quarterfinals)
Augusta State vs. Central Oklahoma 12:00 noon
Alaska Anchorage vs. California (Pa) 2:30 p.m.
Grand Valley State vs. Winona State 6:00 p.m.
Bentley vs. North Alabama 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 27 (Semifinals)
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 6:00 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner 8:30 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)

Saturday, March 29 (National Championship)
National Championship Game 2:30 p.m. (CBS)