VUU Panthers left out of NCAA Division II regionals
Fred Jeter | 3/10/2022, 6 p.m.
Virginia Union University’s outstanding basketball season is over too soon.
The Panthers are all dressed up with no place to go after failing to make the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional at Indiana University in Pennsylvania.
The eight-team field was announced Sunday night and will include CIAA Tournament champion Fayetteville State University. The Broncos, seeded eighth, will play host to top seed Indiana University on Saturday, March 12. The semifinals are Sunday, March 13, with the title game on Tuesday, March 15.
VUU finished 23-7 under Coach Jay Butler and were the CIAA Northern Division champs.
The Panthers defeated Bowie State and Winston-Salem State universities at the CIAA Tournament in Baltimore before losing 65-62 to Fayetteville State in the final. It was a costly setback.
The Panthers proved they could play with the best. On Dec. 19, VUU took Nova Southeastern University into overtime in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before falling 92-88. Nova Southeastern is now undefeated and ranked No. 1 nationally.
VUU should have a strong lineup returning next season, with All-CIAA Robert Osborne the headliner. The Panthers will lose their other All-CIAA selection, Jordan Peebles, who played this past season as a graduate student.
