FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – As part of the 2019-20 NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, Nova Southeastern has officially been named as one of the select host institutions to have its doubleheader against Florida Southern on Feb. 15, 2020 aired on ESPN3.

NCAA Division II collectively announced 28 regular-season men's and women's basketball games on Wednesday that'll be highlighted throughout the academic year on either ESPN3 or NCAA social media as part of an effort to promote the division on several platforms.

"We are excited to have been selected as a host institution for the ESPN D2 Basketball Showcase," said NSU Director of Athletics Michael Mominey. "Obviously, when we are able to highlight our student-athletes, our basketball programs and our athletic program on a national broadcast, it is a win for all of us. This is another example of how athletics serves as a gateway to the branding and exposure of our university. We relish these opportunities to serve as ambassadors for NSU."

Choosing the doubleheader matchup between the Sharks and Moccasins proved to be a no-brainer considering the recent history between the two programs. On the women's side, the Showcase offers a rematch of the 2019 NCAA South Region Championship, a contest in which NSU upset FSC 84-63 en route to its fourth Elite Eight under head coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry. The Mocs swept the Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles a year ago, and despite notable turnover between the programs, both are once again expected to compete for SSC supremacy in 2019-20.

Much like the women, the men's matchup also pins two of the South Region's premiere programs. FSC upended NSU in Fort Lauderdale to capture the 2019 SSC Tournament Championship before the Sharks recaptured the magic on their way to the program's first-ever NCAA South Region crown. At the start of his third season, NSU head coach Jim Crutchfield has already drastically shifted the program's culture, turning a six-win team in 2016-17 into one that currently ranks No. 2 the country. The two sides are led by All-America candidates in Brett Hanson (FSC) and Mark Matthews (NSU), and figure to be in contention for postseason berths come March.  

An additional eight games as part of four flex doubleheaders will be finalized in February. The games are expected to highlight premier and pivotal matchups toward the end of the regular season.

Now in its second year, the division's media agreement features two distribution models for basketball and football. For basketball, 18 games will stream exclusively on ESPN3, available on espn.com and the ESPN App.

Eighteen additional games are part of the hybrid model, and have the flexibility to be distributed on TV and online. The division will work with the TV partners of participating conferences and schools on the opportunity to air games on TV. These games also will be distributed online through NCAA social media accounts — specifically, Division II Facebook (facebook.com/ncaadivisionii) and Twitter (@NCAADII) — and could be distributed through conference and school digital networks.

"The basketball season is off to an exciting start," said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. "We're looking forward to another great Division II Basketball Showcase that highlights our student-athletes' achievements on and off the court. Before we know it, we'll be celebrating the women's Elite Eight in Birmingham and the men's national championship game in Atlanta as part of combined championships with Divisions I and III."

The basketball showcase begins Nov. 24 with a doubleheader between East Stroudsburg and Indiana (Penn.).

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on espn.com and the ESPN App across computers, smartphones, tablets and connected streaming devices. The network is available at no additional cost to fans who receive a pay TV subscription from an affiliated provider. The network is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

NSU's men's and women's teams open SSC action this Saturday on the road at Tampa. To view both contests, visit the teams' respective schedule pages on NSUSharks.com.