PROVIDENCE, R.I.- UMass Dartmouth and Rhode Island College each earned bids to the 2008 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament this afternoon when the NCAA Selection Committee announced the national pairings. The Anchormen received the Little East Conference automatic berth, while the Corsairs earned one of 21 at-large bids.

UMass Dartmouth (25-3) received one of the five first round byes in the 59-team national field. The Corsairs are making the program's 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since the 2001 squad advanced to the sectional semifinals. UMass Dartmouth's second round opponent will not be determined until Thursday, March 6 when Coast Guard Academy at Trinity College (Conn.) square off in Hartford, Conn. The first round winner travels to North Dartmouth, Mass. for a second round match up on Saturday, March 8.

Rhode Island College booked its second straight berth into the NCAA Tournament, when the Anchormen captured the 2008 Little East Conference Championship Tournament over UMass Dartmouth on March 1. Rhode Island College will play in the national tournament fray for the fifth time in the program's history. The Anchormen face the Empire 8 Conference Champion, Nazareth College (20-7), at 6 p.m. on March 7 at Richard Stockton College in Pomona, N.J. The host Ospreys (20-6) battle Immaculata (18-9) in the other first round tilt at 8 p.m. The winners meet in the second round at 7:30 p.m. the following evening.

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