Before we get into today’s schedule, where we have seven conference tournament championship games and more auto-bids up for grabs, here is a look at who has all punched their tickets to the NAIA National Championships:
NAIA National Championship Auto-Bids
Union – AAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion
Montreat – AAC Runner-Up
Saint Katherine – CalPac
BenU-Mesa – CalPac
Olivet Nazarene – CCAC Regular/Tournament Champion
IU South Bend – CCAC Regular Season Runner-Up
IU Northwest – CCAC Regular Season 3rd Place
Indiana Wesleyan – Crossroads Regular Seasson Champion
Montana Tech – Frontier Conference Tournament Champion
Arizona Christian – GSAC Regular Season Champion
Ottawa (AZ) – GSAC Tournament Champion
Tougaloo – GCAC Tournament Champion
William Penn – Heart Regular Season/Tournament Champion
Evangel – Heart Regular Season Runner-Up
Oklahoma Wesleyan – KCAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion
Bethel (KS) – Tournament #2 Seed
Thomas More – Mid-South Regular Season Champion
Georgetown – Mid-South Tournament Champion
Bellevue – NSAA Tournament Champion
IU Kokomo – River States Tournament Champion/Division Winner
WVU Tech – River States Tournament Champion/Division Winner
Science & Arts (OK) – SAC Regular Season Champion
Loyola – SSAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion
Talladega – SSAC Tournament Runner-Up
Florida Memorial – Sun Conference Tournament Champion
Indiana Tech – WHAC Regular Season Champion
Lourdes – WHAC Tournament Champion
Conference Tournament Championship Games
5:30pm – Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship – Watch Live
- Wayland Baptist vs SAGU
- SAGU got Josh Kashilla back, but are still without the services of Nykolas Mason. The Lions, however, have still found ways to win in the SAC Tournament and now are 1 win away from a SAC Championship. Wayland has been red hot as of late winning 11 of their last 13 games. They are a bubble team, who would love an auto-bid, but may have just played themselves into the NAIA National Tournament in this tournament.
5:30pm – Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship – Watch Live
- Louisiana Christian vs LSU Shreveport
- Shreveport ended the regular season on a tear and carried it into the RRAC Tournament, winning their semifinal game over LSU Alexandria by 50pts. Louisiana Christian is playing the role of Cinderella, and they are looking for an invite to the ball. They will have to do it with a win though and bubble teams will be watching this one closely as they are hoping for a Shreveport win! The Nations leading scorer, Kae’Ron Baker will be looking to extend his career in this one!
6pm – River States Conference Tournament Championship – Watch Live
- WVU Tech @ IU Kokomo
- Both of these teams are already in as auto-bids, but besides being crowned champions, this game also has some National Tournament seeding implications. This Kokomo team has been on a crazy run this semester as they come into this one as winners of 16 straight games. WVU Tech hasn’t lost since the last time these two matched up on January 27th. The two teams combined, have just 7 losses.
6pm – Crossroads League Tournament Championship – Watch Live
- Grace @ Marian
- Both of these teams will be in the NAIA National Championships, but both have been playing their best basketball of the season in this tournament and are now hoping to continue that momentum with a Crossroads League Tournament Championship. These two teams split in the regular season, both winning on their home floors. We will see if the Lancers can go on the road tonight and steal one from Marian.
7pm – Great Plains Athletic Conference Championship – Watch Live
- Jamestown @ Concordia (NE)
- This game will be behind a paywall, but will be a fun one. Jamestown, much like last year, found themselves a bit in the GPAC Tournament and now are playing for a GPAC Title. CUNE has been really good all season long. They can really extend the defense out with their ability to shoot the ball. We will see if the 3 ball can offset the dominance of Mason Walters inside!
7pm – American Midwest Conference Championship – Watch Live
- Columbia (MO) @ Missouri Baptist
- Missouri Baptist has dominated this league all season long. We will see if they can continue that tonight. If not, it will be interesting to see what the committee does with them. Columbia has to win to get into the National Championships. Bubble teams will have one eye on this game as well though.
8pm – Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship – Watch Live
- Southern Oregon @ College of Idaho
- College of Idaho has been the best team in the league almost all season long. They did drop one to a tough Oregon Tech team, but the Yotes have now won 10 straight games and when they get that zone defense locked in they are tough to beat. Southern Oregon is a bubble team, they may need to win this game to get in. Their win in the semifinals against Lewis-Clark State moved them ahead of them in the ARC, so that bodes well for them. However, a loss tonight will make them still a bit nervous come Thursday.
9:30pm – California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship – Watch Live
- Benedictine – Mesa vs Saint Katherine
- Oddly enough, this is a rematch of last years CalPac Championship game. Although the path was a bit different last year with Covid and this is a winner take all match where last year was a best of 3 series. Saint Katherine has been so, so good this season and both teams have already qualified for the NAIA National Championships. However, Saint Katherine will be looking for some revenge from last years defeat to BenU Mesa in the title game!
