Feb 19, 2023 4 min read

Washington & Jefferson College emerged from the regular season with the top conference record to secure the number one seed and home court advantage throughout the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, which will take place Feb. 21-25.

The top eight teams as determined through the regular season earned spots in this year’s Championship Tournament, which will begin Tuesday, Feb. 21st with quarterfinal games. The winners will advance to the Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 23 and the PAC Tournament title game will be Saturday, Feb. 25th.

W&J will be looking to repeat as PAC champions after eighth-year head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith led the Presidents to their 10th league title in program history and first since 1994-95 last year. W&J overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat No.2 Chatham University 68-63 in the Championship game a year ago at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

Tournament play begins Tuesday with four quarterfinal match-ups, all tipping off at 7 p.m. The No. 1 seed W&J (19-6, 16-4 PAC) will host eighth-seeded Grove City College (10-15, 8-12 PAC), while the second seed Allegheny College (17-8, 15-5 PAC) will take on seventh seed Saint Vincent College (15-10, 11-9 PAC) in Meadville. The third seed Geneva College (17-8, 14-6 PAC) will host No.6 Thiel College (12-11, 11-9 PAC) and the five seed Westminster College (14-11, 12-8 PAC) will make the journey to play at No.4 Chatham (14-11, 13-7 PAC).

In the semifinal round, the winner of the W&J/Grove City quarterfinal will face the winner of the Chatham/Westminster match-up, while the winner of Allegheny/Saint Vincent quarterfinal will take on the winner of the Geneva/Thiel tilt with games hosted by the higher seed. The semifinals will also start at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

This year’s title game is set for Saturday, Feb. 25. The title game will be hosted by the highest seed remaining after Thursday’s semifinal round.

W&J women draw Geneva

After finishing the regular season with the best conference record, Washington & Jefferson College has earned the number one seed and home court advantage throughout the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, which will take place February 20-25.

The top eight teams as determined through the regular season earned spots in this year’s Championship Tournament, which will begin Monday, Feb. 20th with quarterfinal games. The winners will advance to the Tournament semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and the PAC Tournament title game will be Saturday, Feb. 25th.

W&J head coach Jina DeRubbo, who recently won her 500th career game on Feb. 11th against Waynesburg, steered the Presidents to a 58-42 victory over the second-seed Westminster College on Feb. 26th at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. It was W&J’s sixth straight appearance in the tournament title game. The championship was their sixth in program history and first since 2005-06.

Tournament play begins Monday with four quarterfinal match-ups, all scheduled for 7 p.m. tip-offs. Top-seed W&J (23-2, 19-1 PAC), who is ranked No.24 in the latest WBCA poll, will host No.8 Geneva (6-19, 6-14 PAC), while the second-seed Saint Vincent College (19-4, 17-3 PAC) will host seventh-seeded Bethany College (9-16, 9-11 PAC). Third-seed Grove City College (15-10, 15-5 PAC) will host No. 6 Westminster (15-10, 11-9 PAC) and No. 5 Allegheny (13-12, 12-8 PAC) will travel to play at No. 4 Chatham University (17-7, 14-6 PAC).

In Wednesday’s semifinal round, the winner of the W&J/Geneva quarterfinal will face the winner of the Chatham/Allegheny quarterfinal, while the winner of Saint Vincent/Bethany quarterfinal will take on the winner of the Grove City/Westminster quarterfinal. Both semifinals will tip-off at 7 p.m.

This year’s title game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 25. The title game will be hosted by the highest seed remaining after Wednesday’s semifinal round.