Sacred Heart Pioneers men's basketball

The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's basketball team represents Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Northeast Conference. They play their home games at the William H. Pitt Center. During their time as members of the NCAA Division II, they were national champions in 1986.

Sacred Heart Pioneers
2023–24 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's basketball team
University	Sacred Heart University
Head coach	Anthony Latina (11th season)
Conference	Northeast Conference
Location	Fairfield, Connecticut
Arena	William H. Pitt Center (Capacity: 2,062)
Nickname	Pioneers
Colors	Red and white^[1]
NCAA tournament champions
1986*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1977*, 1986*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1977*, 1978*, 1982*, 1983*, 1984*, 1986*, 1989*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1977*, 1978*, 1981*, 1982*, 1983*, 1984*, 1985*, 1986*, 1987*, 1989*
NCAA tournament appearances
1971*, 1972*, 1975*, 1977*, 1978*, 1981*, 1982*, 1983*, 1984*, 1985*, 1986*, 1987*, 1989* *at Division II level

History

In 1983, Keith Bennett became the school's leading career scorer.^[2] He was named a National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II All-American in 1981, 1982, and 1983, and Regional Player of the Year in 1982 and 1983.^[3][4]

2014–15 was the 50th season of Pioneer basketball. Sacred Heart's first year of competition was the 1965–66 season under coach Don Feeley. Sacred Heart joined NCAA Division I in the 1999–2000 season.

Classification

Years	Classification	National Tournaments	Seasons
1999–2000 to Present	NCAA Division I	0 appearances	25
1965–66 to 1998–99	NCAA Division II	13 appearances	34

Home court

Years	Venue	Seasons
1997–98 to Present	William H. Pitt Center	27
1965–66 to 1996–97	Memorial Hall	32

Conference affiliation

Years	Conference	Seasons
1999–2000 to Present	Northeast Conference	25
1981–82 to 1996–97	New England Collegiate Conference	16
1965–66 to 1980–81, 1997–98 to 1998–99	Division II Independent	18

Postseason

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Pioneers have appeared in 13 NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 22–15. They were national champions in 1986.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1971	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Assumption Stonehill	L 83–106 W 86–81
1972	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd Place	Assumption Bridgeport	L 82–112 L 89–107
1975	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd Place	Assumption Hartford	L 95–111 L 91–102
1977	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd-place game	Assumption Merrimack Towson State Chattanooga North Alabama	W 83–78 W 110–104 W 85–82 L 81–95 L 77–93
1978	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Bridgeport Merrimack Cheyney	W 73–70 W 84–83 ^OT L 57–59
1981	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Stonehill Southern New Hampshire	W 89–86 L 80–81
1982	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Springfield Southern Connecticut Kentucky Wesleyan	W 66–61 W 78–67 L 85–88
1983	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Assumption American International District of Columbia	W 113–108 ^4OT W 72–68 L 38–45
1984	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	American International South Dakota State Saint Augustine's	W 72–69 ^2OT W 88–81 ^OT L 92–107
1985	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Bridgeport American International	W 47–45 L 74–80
1986	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	Springfield Southern New Hampshire Norfolk State Florida Southern Southeast Missouri State	W 76–74 ^2OT W 83–67 W 84–74 W 86–80 W 93–87
1987	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Saint Anselm Southern New Hampshire	W 82–80 L 67–73
1989	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Bentley Bridgeport North Carolina Central	W 103–88 W 69–67 L 57–58

References

1. SHU Pioneers Official Logo Art. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
2. Sulzycki, Sandy (March 2, 2013). "Sandy Sulzycki: The Week That Was". Connecticut Post.
3. "New England Basketball Hall of Fame Elects Three Pioneers". Sacred Heart. May 17, 2013.
4. "NABC Division II All-America Teams". NABC.

External links

• Website