The 2018 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was the 44th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college basketball in the United States. Featuring sixty-four teams, it began on March 2, 2018, following the 2017–18 season, and concluded with the championship game on March 17, 2018.
Once again, the national semifinal and championship rounds were held at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Wisconsin–Oshkosh in the final, 78–72, to win their first national title. Cooper Cook was voted the MVP.
Qualifying teams
Automatic bids (43)
The following 43 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid (except for the UAA, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).
Automatic bidsConferenceTeamRecord (Conf.)AppearanceLast bidAllegheny MountainLa Roche21–6 (16–2)2nd2011American SouthwestSul Ross State22–6 (14–3)2nd2004CapitalYork (PA)23–4 (14–4)5th2012CentennialJohns Hopkins23–4 (15–3)11th2015CUNYACStaten Island17–11 (12–4)13th2017CCIWAugustana (IL)22–5 (12–4)17th2017Colonial StatesCabrini24–3 (16–2)14th2017Commonwealth CoastNichols25–3 (16–2)2nd2017Empire 8Nazareth20–7 (13–3)8th2010Great NortheastJohnson & Wales (RI)19–9 (13–3)4th2016HeartlandHanover22–6 (14–4)8th2017IowaNebraska Wesleyan24–3 (13–3)15th2001LandmarkMoravian20–7 (10–4)3rd2008LibertyUnion (NY)18–8 (12–6)5th2017Little EastEastern Connecticut25–3 (13–1)8th2017MAC CommonwealthLebanon Valley18–9 (10–6)7th2005MAC FreedomMisericordia17–10 (10–4)4th2017MASCACBridgewater State18–9 (9–3)8th2014MichiganHope18–9 (10–4)27th2017MidwestMonmouth (IL)20–7 (15–3)5th1990MinnesotaAugsburg21–7 (13–7)4th1999NECCSouthern Vermont22–5 (12–2)3rd2016NESCACWilliams22–5 (7–3)16th2017NEWMACMIT22–5 (10–4)8th2017New JerseyRamapo21–6 (15–3)8th2017North AtlanticNew England College21–6 (15–3)1stNeverNorth CoastWittenberg26–2 (16–2)28th2014NEACLancaster Bible23–5 (15–1)2nd2016Northern AthleticsAurora19–8 (16–4)10th2013NorthwestWhitworth24–3 (14–2)13th2017OhioJohn Carroll23–5 (14–4)15th2016Old DominionEmory and Henry22–6 (11–5)6th1993Presidents'Thomas More23–5 (16–2)3rd2017SkylineYeshiva18–10 (13–7)1stNeverSouthernBerry11–17 (3–11)1stNeverSCIACClaremont–Mudd–Scripps19–7 (15–1)14th2017SCACSchreiner15–12 (10–4)1stNeverSLIACGreenville19–8 (14–4)1stNeverSUNYACPlattsburgh State22–4 (17–1)10th2016UAAWashington–St. Louis22–3 (13–1)21st2017Upper MidwestBethany Lutheran19–8 (14–3)1stNeverUSA SouthMaryville (TN)22–6 (14–2)19th2012WisconsinUW–Stevens Point19–8 (11–3)15th2015
At-large bids (21)
The following 21 teams were awarded qualification for the 2018 NCAA field by the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee. The committee evaluated teams on the basis of their win-loss percentage, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, results against common opponents, and results against teams included in the NCAA's final regional rankings.
At-large bidsConferenceTeamRecord (Conf.)AppearanceLast bidMAC CommonwealthAlbright20–6 (12–4)6th2010CapitalChristopher Newport21–6 (14–4)22nd2017UAAEmory21–4 (12–2)7th2017CentennialFranklin & Marshall20–6 (14–4)25th2016NESCACHamilton22–4 (7–3)10th2006CCIWIllinois Wesleyan19–7 (12–4)25th2015American SouthwestLeTourneau23–4 (16–2)1stNeverOhioMarietta21–6 (14–4)7th2017NESCACMiddlebury19–6 (7–3)9th2017New JerseyNew Jersey City19–7 (13–5)18th2017CCIWNorth Central (IL)19–8 (11–5)10th2017MinnesotaSt. John's (MN)23–3 (19–1)9th2007MinnesotaSt. Olaf19–7 (15–5)4th2016NEWMACSpringfield18–8 (12–2)9th2015SUNYACSUNY Brockport19–7 (14–4)11th2014CentennialSwarthmore22–5 (15–3)2nd2017WisconsinUW–Oshkosh20–7 (9–5)8th2017WisconsinUW–Platteville22–4 (12–2)11th2009NESCACWesleyan (CT)21–6 (7–3)3rd2017NorthwestWhitman26–1 (16–0)3rd2017North CoastWooster21–6 (14–4)27th2017
Tournament bracket
Top-left - Mahwah, New Jersey
Bottom-left - Rock Island, Illinois
Top-right - Platteville, Wisconsin
Bottom-right - Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Final Four
See also 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2018 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2018 National Invitation Tournament 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2018 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2018 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament 2018 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
References