IWU Men Earn Top Seed For NAIA National Tourney
MARION – Indiana Wesleyan University earned a No. 1-seed for the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship and will play No. 8-seed Antelope Valley (Calif.) in the opening round of the 32-team tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The first round contest is schedule for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 8.
The Wildcats earned one of four No. 1-seeds following a 26-7 season thus far with Crossroads League regular season and tournament championships. The national office released the final regular season Top-25 Coaches’ Poll in conjunction with the bracket reveal and IWU is No. 4.
Indiana Wesleyan makes the program’s 11th national championship appearance and 10th straight. IWU is 25-8 all-time at the tournament with national championships in 2014 and 2016.
The Wildcats, who defeated Saint Francis 95-83 Tuesday night to win the Crossroads League Tournament, are led by Kyle Mangas. The freshman guard and former Warsaw star is averaging 21.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Mangas was named the Crossroads League Player of the Year and its Freshman of the Year on Wednesday. He is the first freshman in league history to earn POY honors.
Antelope Valley makes the program’s first ever appearance at the national tournament. UAV earned an automatic bid as the California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion. The Pioneers are 20-7 and received votes in the Top-25 Coaches’ Poll.
The winner of the opening round game advances to the Round of 16 at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, March 9 against the winner of No. 4 IU Southeast and No. 5 Stillman (Ala.).
The national quarterfinals will be contested on Saturday, March 10 with times to be determined. The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, March 12 with the championship game on Tuesday, March 13.
The Crossroads League had four teams make the field, tying the Great Plains Athletic Conference for the most. Also in the tourney are Bethel, Saint Francis and Marian.