KANSAS CITY, MO. (March 7, 2018) – (Bracket – PDF | Video Announcement| Schedule) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 32 qualifiers for the 81st annual NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The event takes place at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo., March 14 – 20. For tickets, go to NAIAhoops.com/tickets
This year's field consists of 14 automatic berths, one host berth and 17 at-large spots. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up depending on the league. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches' Top 25 Poll released today. To access the poll, click HERE.
The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) Saints, 21-11, received an at-large bid and are set to play Hope International University, 25-5, from Fullerton, Calif., on Thursday, March 15, at 9:15 p.m. Hope also received an at-large bid.
This will be the Saints and Royals first match up. The Saints have qualified for the nationalt tournament three previous seasons. Their last trip was in 2015-2016, when they finished in the Elite 8 Round. Hope has qualified for nationals sixth consecutive years.
Head Coach Michael Poindexter commented, "It's been a long three days, so to finally know that we are in, we can breathe a sigh of relief. The team is extremely happy for the seniors, Darion Brown, Yephnick Adelphonse, Brandell Collins, PJ Escobar and Simon Shafack Jr. They have put in the work to have a chance to play for a National Championship. Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work."