Earning an NCAA tournament bid is quite an accomplishment for any program.

Accomplishing that feat in two straight seasons is even more impressive.

Put the Mitchell College men’s and women’s basketball teams in that category.

After both programs collected automatic bids by winning New England Collegiate Conference tournament championships on Saturday, they learned their Division III postseason opponent and destination on Monday when the fields were announced.

The Mitchell men (23-4) will face host Johns Hopkins (23-4) at 6 p.m. Friday in the first round in Baltimore.

“We got together as a team and we were in the study hall room,” said men’s coach Todd Peretz about watching the Selection Show. “It’s always great to see your name come up on the screen. You see all these schools from across the country and you realize that you’re one of the remaining 64 out of over 400 schools that had this opportunity.

“You have to be happy and get yourself a little pat on the back.”

The Mitchell women (18-9) will play host DeSales University (26-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in the first round in Center Valley, Pa.

Both programs hope last year’s post-season experience helps.

“Our staff is ready,” women’s coach Courtney Burns said. “For our players, it’s just pure excitement. They were excited to see who we were going to be matched up against and where we were going to go. They’re ready to get to practice and get game planning and get ready to go.”

The two teams took different paths to reach this point.

For the men, the Mariners picked up steam as the season progressed on the way to securing the program’s fourth NCAA tournament berth, all since 2014. They’ve won 13 of their last 14, beating New England College, 109-85, in the NECC final.

Their high-powered attack scored 90 or more points seven times. Senior guard Alfonzo Stokes is averaging a team-high 21.4 points.

For the second straight year, they’ll face a top 10 team in the first round, taking on No. 7 Johns Hopkins, which will be making its 15th appearance.

Last year, they lost to top-ranked Randolph-Macon, 99-57.

They’re still searching for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory.

“We’ve been there,” Peretz said. “This is our fourth time. Getting there is not enough. It really isn't. We’ve got to win, we’ve got to be more competitive.”

On the women’s side, the Mariners had to battle through some adversity and survive a tough non-conference schedule that included two Division I programs in Brown and Bryant.

Burns wasn’t sure if they’d achieve their goal of returning to the NCAA tournament after going for the first time last season.

“We were dealing with injuries and sickness and I thought maybe there’s potential that we fall short this year,” Burns said. “Luckily, we got healthy at the right time and we were able to bring in Na’Jae White as a mid-year transfer who’s been tremendous since she stepped on the floor.

“This group really has just worked through adversity at the beginning half of the season and really come together. We did some great things in the second half of the semester and we peaked at the right time.”

The Mariners head into their first round game against DeSales, the ninth-ranked team in the country, riding a wave of momentum. They’ve won nine straight, knocking off Eastern Nazarene, 82-59, in the NECC title game. Seniors Amina Wiley, Sam McKenna and Dede Stevenson earned All-Conference honors.

Winners of 11 straight, DeSales also is a hot team. The Bulldogs will be making their 16th NCAA appearance.

Come Friday night, Burns and Peretz will be rooting for each other’s program while trying to beat the odds and extend their March Madness run.

“It’s a long season,” Burns said. “Todd and I get along really well. We are able to bounce ideas off of each other and feel the struggles of a basketball season. So, to see his success at the end of the year is amazing.

“It just helps our kids get a little bit closer, too, for both programs to have success. To be able to (win the NECC Championship) this year at home, the fan support from students, faculty, staff and the New London community was just amazing. The gym was packed and the energy was awesome.

“We won first (Saturday) and our kids were super excited to watch the men and support them and bring another two teams to back-to-back (NCAA tournaments).”

g.keefe@theday.com