Here is the release of our NAIA DI Conference Tournament Bracket Watch. The DI Teams have a few more games left then the NAIA DII teams do, but these last 5-6 games are really important to a lot of teams. Going to be really fun watching how the conferences pan out. We will update this series each week until the real tournament pairings are posted!
American Midwest Conference
- 8 Teams Qualify for AMC Tournament
- Central Baptist continues to hang onto their slim lead in the AMC, but they have to travel to Freed on Thursday for a battle where if Freed-Hardeman wins, things will be really interesting at the top of the AMC with 4 teams potentially tied for 1st place. At the back end of the tournament qualifiers, William Woods currently holds a 1.5 game lead on Williams Baptist. Both have a tough stretch to end the season, but face one another in the last game of the regular season in what could set up a winner moves on situation.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Central Baptist 12-4 vs. 8. William Woods 8-9
- 2. Freed-Hardeman 11-4 vs. 7. Missouri Baptist 9-7
- 3. Park 11-5 vs. 6. Harris-Stowe State 10-6
- 4. Lyon 11-5 vs. 5. Columbia 11-6
Frontier Conference
- 7 Teams Qualify for Frontier Tournament
- With all 7 teams from the league qualifying for the tournament, no one is in danger of being eliminated from post season play. However, seeding in the tournament is still working itself out, as teams will be playing others for the 3rd team this season. Lewis-Clarke St. holds a commanding 3 game lead and has looked like a real National Title contender. Providence and Carroll are tied for 2nd place right now, while Montana Tech-and MSU-Northern, without some help ahead of them, seem destined for the 4-5 matchup in the tournament.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Lewis-Clarke St. (11-1) BYE
- 2. Carroll (8-4) vs. 7. Rocky Mountain (1-11)
- 3. Providence (8-4) vs. 6. Montana Western (3-9)
- 4. Montana Tech (6-6) vs. 5. MSU -Northern (5-7)
Golden State Athletic Conference
- 6 Teams Qualify for GSAC Tournament
- Westmont has risen to the top of the league, and for the most part have been quite dominant this season. They still have a game with The Master’s left, but outside of that they have 3 games against the bottom part of the league. 2-5 seeds are the races to watch, as each of the 4 teams are separated by just 1 game. With only 6 teams qualifying for the GSAC tourney, Vanguard will be looking to hold off the likes of Hope International and Ottawa (AZ) for that final spot.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Westmont (12-1) BYE
- 2. Menlo (9-4)BYE
- 3. Arizona Christian (9-4) vs. 6. Vanguard (5-7)
- 4. The Master’s (8-5) vs. 5. William Jessup (8-5)
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
- 8 Teams Qualify for the GCAC Tournament
- Tougaloo got a big win this past week over XULA to sit alone in 1st place in the GCAC. XULA actually gets to host the conference tournament no matter what happens, but a regular season championship is still important, and could come down to the last regular season game of the year when Tougaloo visits XULA. Talladega holds onto 3rd place in the GCAC, although they beat 4th place Dillard twice, so their 1 game lead for the 3 seed is a strong one.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Tougaloo (9-0) vs. 8. Rust (0-8)
- 2. Xavier (7-1) vs. 7. SUNO (2-8)
- 3. Talladega (6-3) vs. 6. Philander Smith (2-6)
- 4. Dillard (5-4) vs. 5. Edward Waters (4-5)
Heart of America
- 8 Teams Qualify for The Heart Tournament
- William Penn is sitting in the drivers seat in the Heart right now with a 1.5 game lead over a very tough Clarke team. This is a new format I believe this year, with less teams making the tournament, and it has set up a battle right now between the 6-9 teams in the league who are all separated by just 1.5 games. With 24 conference games, the Heart is always a grind, and it will be interesting to see if that grind takes a toll on anyone as they approach the final 6 games of league play.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. William Penn (15-3) vs. 8.Evangel (9-9)
- 2. Clarke (14-5) vs. 7. Missouri Valley (10-9)
- 3. Benedictine (12-6) vs. 6. Baker (10-9)
- 4. Peru St. (12-6) vs. 5. MidAmerica Nazarene (10-7)
Mid-South Conference
- 9 Teams Qualify for the Mid-South Tournament
- All 9 teams from the Mid-South qualify for the Mid-South Tournament. Georgetown currently holds the #1 seed, but have a big matchup on Thursday with Cumberlands (KY) that will put the winner on top of the Mid-South Standings. Georgetown has looked like a real force all season long, but Cumberlands has now won 12 straight games to put them in this position. 3-7 in the Mid-South are separated by just 1.5 games, so we could see a lot of shifting before the tournament begins.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Georgetown (10-1) vs. 8/9 Winner.
- 2. Cumberlands (KY) (9-1) vs. 7. Cambpellsville (5-7)
- 3. Thomas More (6-5) vs. 6. Pikeville (5-7)
- 4. Lindsey Wilson (6-6) vs. 5. Shawnee St. (6-6)
- 8. Cumberland (TN) (3-8) vs. 9. Life (1-10)
Red River Athletic Conference
- 6 Teams Qualify for Red River Conference Tournament
- This has basically been a 2 team race for several seasons, but even more so this year. LSU-Alexandria has never lost a Red River regular season title since becoming a program 6 seasons ago. They currently sit 2 games up this year on LSU-Shreveport with 5 games left. Texarkana currently holds a slim half game lead for the 6th and final spot in the RRAC Tournament. They have 6 games left, with 4 of those games being against the teams currently chasing them.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. LSU-Alexandria (13-0) BYE
- 2. LSU-Shreveport (11-2) BYE
- 3. Southwest (7-5) vs. 6. Texarkana (4-8)
- 4. Huston-Tillotson (7-6) vs. 5. Wiley (6-6)
Sooner Athletic Conference
- 8 Teams Qualify for SAC Tournament
- MACU currently holds a 1 game lead on John Brown, but the SAC race could really heat up if MACU were to lose on Thursday to a very good SAGU team, who sits just 2 games back. If MACU can survive the big road test, they have a very favorable schedule the rest of the way with 3 of their last 5 games at home. While the top 4 teams in the league have some good separation on the rest of the league, the fight for the last few spots in the conference tournament will come down to the last week. 5-9 are separated by just 3 games right now, and Langston, who’s in the 9 spot, sits just 2 games out of 6th.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Mid-America Christian (13-1) vs. 8. Oklahoma City (5-9)
- 2. John Brown (12-2) vs. 7. Southwestern Christian (6-8)
- 3. SAGU (11-3) vs. 6. Science and Arts (OK) (6-8)
- 4. Texas Wesleyan (10-4) vs. 5. Wayland Baptist (7-7)
Southern States Athletic Conference
- 10 Teams Qualify for SSAC Tournament
- This league, in our opinion, is one of the best in NAIA this season. Dalton State continues to impress as they have moved into the Top 5, and Faulkner hasn’t lost in 12 games to move into the Top 10. Both of these teams are tied atop the SSAC standings and while they have some tough games between now and then, Dalton St does have to travel to Faulkner at the end of February in a game that could be for the SSAC Regular Season Title, and the #1 seed in the Tournament. Just 1.5 games separates 3rd-7 in this league as well, so it will be another fun race to watch as we move into the final stretch.
- Current Matchups:
- 1. Dalton St. (12-1) vs. 8/9 winner
- 2. Faulkner (12-1) vs. 7.10 winner
- 3. Loyola (8-4) vs. 6. Bethel (TN) (7-6)
- 4. William Carey (7-5) vs. 5. Stillman (7-6)
- 7. Middle Georgia St. (7-6) vs. 10. Mobile (3-10)
- 8. Martin Methodist (6-7) vs. 9. Blue Mountain (4-9)
