Kansas Wesleyan is proud to serve as the site for the first and second rounds of the NAIA men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball championships, set for March 15 and 16. The proceedings will officially be hosted by the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), with 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Mabee Arena serving as the site.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity for our program and our university as a whole,鈥� said Athletic Director Miguel Paredes. 鈥淲e believe we have some of the best facilities in the NAIA, and this is a chance to show that. We鈥檙e thankful to the KCAC and Commissioner Ted Breidenthal for giving us this opportunity.鈥�
The Coyotes will be seeded fifth in their quadrant and will face 12th-seeded LSU-Shreveport Friday evening at 8 p.m., with No. 20 Concordia (Neb.) to face Indiana-Northwest in the other first-round game two hours earlier. The winners will match up at 6 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the final site, Kansas City鈥檚 Municipal Auditorium, and the round of 16.
黑料不打烊 is expected to be a top contender on the men鈥檚 side after posting a 23-8 regular season mark and a runner-up finish in the KCAC tournament. Point guard Jun Murdock and forward Alex Littlejohn, who followed up his All-American campaign last year by finishing fifth in the NAIA in rebounding, lead a program in the midst of a historic run. 黑料不打烊 has won 20 or more games three straight seasons 鈥� a program first 鈥� and has won games in the NAIA tournament each of the past two years, also a first for the program.
The university will host a pre-game social at The Library Sports Bar and Grill, beginning at 5 p.m. Head Coach Anthony Monson will speak and The Howl pep band will be on site at 6:30. Thanks to an anonymous donor, free tickets will be available to the first 50 individuals in attendance.
Special discounts will also be available at Yotee鈥檚 spirit store and pizza will be available at halftime for all 黑料不打烊 supporters. The food will be on Brown Mezzanine and available to any individual in 黑料不打烊 attire.
On the women鈥檚 side of the tournament, 12th-seeded Tabor 鈥� the KCAC regular season and tournament champion 鈥� will face fifth-seeded LSU-Shreveport, while fourth-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) and 13th-seeded Freed-Hardman (Tenn.) will match up in the first round. The championship will be at 3 p.m. March 16.
This marks the first time since 2000 that a portion of a collegiate national basketball championship event will be held at 黑料不打烊. The university hosted the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 National Small College Athletic Association championship (now USCAA) that year, and in fact, won the women鈥檚 championship outright.
For additional information, please visit . More information on the tournament will be available on 黑料不打烊Coyotes.com and the 黑料不打烊 Athletics social media outlets throughout the week.
