March 5, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -  The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the 32-team bracket for the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The 18th annual event will be held March 11-17 in Point Lookout, Mo. The College of the Ozarks (Mo.) serves as host for the 10th straight year.
 
Oklahoma Wesleyan University, the nation's top-ranked team for the last four weeks, earns the No. 1 seed. The Eagles stand 30-2 and take on Fisher (Mass.) College, winners of the Sunrise Conference Tournament, at 7:30 p.m. CST on Thursday (March 12). OWU has won 13 straight games and comes into its second ever Championship with a 1-1 record.

The 11th seeded Bluefield College team will open play on Wednesday at 1:45 PM CST against Evergreen State from Washington. King College will take on 9th seed Eastern Oregon on Thursday at 4 PM.





 
Defending national champion and No. 7 seed, Oregon Tech opens up play with a 9:45 p.m. game against Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday. Host school, Ozarks, will face No. 14 Aquinas (Mich.) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
 
Oregon Tech owns the most wins (25) amongst this year's participants and is making its 11th overall appearance. Bethel (Ind.) is right behind with 22 victories in this, its eighth Championship appearance. Ozarks stand 18-11 overall in 12 previous tournaments. Overall, nine programs are seeking win No. 1 in this year's Championship. Conversely, 15 teams have at least five years of Championship appearance.
 
In all, there are 31 games spanning seven days. The first three days pack in eight games each day starting at 8:30 a.m. For ticket information, call 417-335-6242.
 
The first 30 games of the Championships will be video-streamed live on the Internet, while the National Championship Game on March 17 at 8:50 p.m. CST will air live nationwide on CBS College Sports Television with Jason Knapp calling the action and Sean Farnham providing color analysis.
 
For more information on the Championships, click here.
(official bracket)