INDIANAPOLIS – The 2026 CUNY Athletic Conference men’s basketball champion, Lehman, will travel to Middletown, Conn. for the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship on Friday, March 6. The Lightning (21-6), who are making their first NCAA trip since 2004, will take on host Wesleyan (Conn.) (21-6).
Lehman is making its second NCAA trip in program history, with its first coming in 2004 after winning the CUNYAC title that season. The Lightning were edged 74-68 by Lycoming in the opening round.
The top seed in the CUNYAC championship after going through regular season conference play 14-0, Lehman captured the conference title with a 101-56 victory over sixth-seeded CCNY Thursday night. The Lightning enter the NCAA tournament riding a 15-game win streak, tied for fourth-longest in the country.
The Cardinals earned an at-large field into the field of 64 after it fell to defending national champion Trinity (Conn.) 80-55 in Sunday's NESCAC championship game. Wesleyan finished 9-1 in the NESCAC regular season and is making its sixth all-time NCAA appearance. All six have come since 2015.
Friday’s Lehman-Wesleyan winner will face the winner of Friday's game between NYU (17-8) and Gettysburg (18-9) in a second round game on Saturday at Wesleyan.
All games of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championships can be seen live at NCAA.com.
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