Charlotte, NC- February is CIAA! As the 2023-24 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Regular Season comes to an end, teams are fighting for final divisional positions. With Saturday being the final tip-off for teams, they are ready to throw down before Monday’s start of the 2024 Food Lion CIAA Basketball Tournament. Saturday’s contests have major implications affecting not only divisional standings but tournament seeding as well. Here’s how the divisional races are shaping up.

Men's North
Lincoln (PA):
A win over Bowie would solidify Lincoln at the #1 spot. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s contest, Lincoln would lock in the #1 position.

Virginia Union:
If VUU loses to VSU, both teams would have a 6-4 record. A win, and it’s a lock at #2 if Lincoln wins out. The outcome of this game is crucial for VUU's final seeding. Get your popcorn ready for tomorrow’s showdown on HBCUGO TV.

Virginia State:
VSU must have a definitive win against VUU to secure the #2 spot over VUU. If VSU loses to Union and ECSU wins over Bluefield St, they would be tied with ECSU. In this scenario, VSU owns the point differential tiebreaker and would secure the #3 spot.

Elizabeth City State University:
A win for ECSU would solidify their #4 spot. If they lose, they would move down to the #5 position.

Bowie State:
If BowieState wins, they would move up to the #4 spot. In the case of a loss, they would stay at the #5 position.

Bluefield State:
Bluefield is locked in at the #6 position, no matter the outcomes of the remaining games.

Men's South

Claflin:
A win for Claflin would lock in the #1 position. However, if they lose and FSU wins, Claflin would move down to the #2 spot.

Fayetteville State University:
If Fayetteville wins and Claflin loses, FSU would move up to the #1 spot based on tiebreaker point differential over Claflin. On the other hand, if FSU loses and WSSU wins, Fayetteville would drop to the #3 spot.

Winston-Salem State:
If WSSU wins against Livingstone and FSU loses, WSSU would move up to the #2 spot. However, if WSSU loses at Livingstone, they would drop to the #4 spot.

Livingstone:
A win for Livingstone would move them up to the #3 spot. If they lose against WSSU, Livingstone could drop to the #5 spot with the tiebreaking scenarios against Shaw going all the way to the conference winning percentage.

Shaw:
Shaw has completed their regular season and is closely watching the outcome of the JCSU and Claflin game. A JCSU win would move them up in the seeding. A Saint Augustine’s win over FSU also helps them move up in the bracket. Shaw could move up to the #4 spot.

St. Augustine's:
With a win and JCSU win, SAU would move up to the #6 spot. The same outcome would occur if both teams lose.

Johnson C. Smith:
If JCSU wins and SAU wins, Smith would move down to the #7 spot based on the tiebreaking scenarios. Similarly, if both JCSU and SAU lose, Smith would remain at the #7 spot.

Women's North
Elizabeth City State University:
If ECSU secures a victory against Bluefield on Saturday, they will clinch the North outright. This victory would make them the divisional champions.

Virginia State:
Virginia State has a chance to tie with ECSU if they win against Union on Saturday and ECSU loses. In the event of a tie, head-to-head results favor ECSU, with the point differential tiebreaker going to ECSU. You can catch Saturday’s game against VUU live on HBCU GO TV.

Virginia Union:
If VUU manages to defeat Virginia State, both Union and State will be tied. In this scenario, Union would win the head-to-head tiebreaker. Virginia State must win by 15 or more points to secure the tiebreaker.

Bluefield State:
If Bluefield St. defeats ECSU and Union loses, Bluefield St. and Union would be tied. The head-to-head tiebreaker would be split, and Union would win the tiebreaker based on point differential.

If Bluefield loses to ECSU and Lincoln wins, Bluefield and Lincoln would be tied. Despite a split head-to-head record, Bluefield would win the tiebreaker over Lincoln based on point differential.

Lincoln (PA):
If Lincoln beats Bowie State and Bluefield State. loses, they would be tied with Bluefield State. However, Bluefield State would win the tiebreaker based on point differential.

If Lincoln loses to Bowie State, the two would be tied. In this case, if Bowie State wins by +9 the tiebreaker would go to Bowie State. 

Bowie State: 
A win against Lincoln by 9 points or more would land Bowie State in the 5th spot. A loss would keep them at 6th. 

Women's South
Fayetteville State University:
FSU has already secured the outright #1 position in the division, indicating a strong regular season performance.

Claflin:
Regardless of the outcome against JCSU, Claflin is locked in at the #2 position in the standings.

Johnson C. Smith:
A win over Claflin solidifies JCSU at the #3 position in the standings. However, if JCSU loses to Claflin and SAU defeats FSU, JCSU would tie with SAU. In this case, SAU would win the tiebreaker based on point differential, securing the #3 position.

St. Augustine's:
SAU is locked into the 4th position, regardless of whether they win or lose, but they are closely watching the JCSU vs. Claflin game. There is a potential for a higher seeding (3rd) if JCSU loses and SAU wins, securing a higher seed based on the better point differential vs JCSU.

Shaw:
If Livingstone beats WSSU, Shaw and Livingstone would be tied. However, Livingstone would win the head-to-head tiebreaker over Shaw.

Livingstone:
A win for Livingstone moves them to the 5th position in the standings, while a loss drops them to the 7th position.

Winston-Salem State:
A win for WSSU locks them into the 6th position in the standings.

About the CIAA 

Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first, and longest running, African American athletic conference in the U.S. and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CIAA is governed by the Presidents and Chancellors of its 13 member-institutions: Bowie State University, Bluefield State University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University. For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.