2021 KCAC Tournament Bracket
Quarterfinals
February 24th
#5 Southwestern vs #4 McPherson 7pm CT Live Video
#11 Sterling vs #3 Ottawa 7pm CT Live Video
#7 Kansas Wesleyan vs #2 Oklahoma Wesleyan 7pm CT Live Video
Semifinals
February 27th
Finals
March 1st
League Notes:
The top seed: #18 Bethel (KS) (16-6, 16,4)
NAIA Locks: #18 Bethel – Already Qualified, #22 Oklahoma Wesleyan (17-5, 13-4)
NAIA Bubble Teams: Ottawa (16-8, 13-8), McPherson (16-9, 14-9)
Best chances to win this tournament: #18 Bethel (KS) (16-6, 16,4), #21 Oklahoma Wesleyan (17-5, 13-4), Ottawa (16-8, 13-8), McPherson (16-9, 14-9)
Possible sleeper: Kansas Wesleyan (9-13, 9-11)
KEY PLAYERS:
Jaylon Scott – Bethel: 16.3ppg, 11.46rpg, 4.73apg
Scott was the KCAC Freshman of the Year two seasons ago and should be named KCAC POY as a Junior. While he is a great rebounder and is really tough to stop on the drive, it’s his passing ability that really takes him from good to great!
Jaquan Daniels – Ottawa: 18.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 2.1spg
Jaquan is special when he wants to be. He’s got a huge motor and can really score the ball. He is great on both sides of the ball and his size and length makes it tough on offensive players.
Kaleb Stokes – Oklahoma Wesleyan 17.5ppg, 7.1rpg
At 6’6 Stokes has proven the ability to beat teams both inside and out. He’s versatile and can be a tough matchup for smaller teams.
KEY TEAMS:
#1 Bethel – Basically led the KCAC wire to wire this year They are a tough group who can beat teams in a variety of ways. Jaylon Scott, Bryant Mocaby and Clifford Byrd III make a terrific trio and the leadership of Tavaughn Flowers helps keeps them pushing forward.
#2 Oklahoma Wesleyan – The Defending KCAC Tournament Champions. One of the best bigs in the KCAC in Kaleb Stokes paired with one of the best shooters in the KCAC in Brooks Haddock make this OKWU team very dangerous.
UPSET SPECIAL:
#7 Kansas Wesleyan – Survived and advanced through the KCAC opening round! Now set to face #2-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan tonight!
Quarterfinal Game Notes:
Friends has competed with Bethel in both games, losing both by less than 10 points. Bethel is coming off a 20pt loss to #3 William Penn. Outside of that, they led the KCAC from start to finish and should be the favorite to win the Tournament.
#5 Southwestern vs #4 McPherson 7pm CT Live Video
McPherson 1-0
McPherson beat Southwestern by 17pts just six days ago. Southwestern is coming off of a 17pt opening round win over York. Expect this one to be a better game between the two tonight!
#11 Sterling vs #3 Ottawa 7pm CT Live Video
Series tied 1-1
If the game seven days ago between these two is any indication on how this game tonight goes, then we are in for a thriller! These two combined for 210 total points as Sterling knocked off Ottawa 108-102 in OT. Don’t let their record fool you, this Sterling team competes and has the KCAC leading scorer in JaMiah Haynes. Ottawa will counter with one of our favorite players to watch in the NAIA in Jaquan Daniels!
#7 Kansas Wesleyan vs #2 Oklahoma Wesleyan 7pm CT Live Video
OKWU 2-0
While Oklahoma Wesleyan swept the regular season battle between these two, the last game was just a 1 point win. We have mentioned it before, but this KWU team has had issues getting everyone on the floor together. If KWU can limit Stokes and Haddock then they can pull off the upset!
OTHER NOTES:
– 2 Bid League: Regular Season Champ: #18 Bethel & Tournament Champ: TBD
– The last team with back to back KCAC Tournament Titles? McPherson in 2011-12 and 12-13.
– No KCAC Team in the past 10 years has more than 2 KCAC Tournament Titles.
– The Tournament was expanded from 8 teams to 12 this season for Covid scheduling conflicts. It will return to 8 next season.
Our Pick To Win It: Bethel – This may be one of the most wide open leagues, but the Threshers have the best player in the league in Jaylon Scott, who is coming off of a triple-double against #3 William Penn. While the end result wasn’t what they wanted, this team showed they can shoot the 3 well and maybe that WPU game gets them going from the perimeter. They are very tough defensively and have the ability to play small ball to offset bigger teams.
