Kansas Wesleyan is proud to serve as the site for the first and second rounds of the NAIA men’s and women’s basketball championships, set for March 15 and 16. The proceedings will officially be hosted by the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), with KWU’s Mabee Arena serving as the site.
“This is a great opportunity for our program and our university as a whole,” said Athletic Director Miguel Paredes. “We believe we have some of the best facilities in the NAIA, and this is a chance to show that. We’re thankful to the KCAC and Commissioner Ted Breidenthal for giving us this opportunity.”
The Coyotes will be seeded fifth in their quadrant and will face 12th-seeded LSU-Shreveport Friday evening at 8 p.m., with No. 20 Concordia (Neb.) to face Indiana-Northwest in the other first-round game two hours earlier. The winners will match up at 6 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the final site, Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium, and the round of 16.
KWU is expected to be a top contender on the men’s side after posting a 23-8 regular season mark and a runner-up finish in the KCAC tournament. Point guard Jun Murdock and forward Alex Littlejohn, who followed up his All-American campaign last year by finishing fifth in the NAIA in rebounding, lead a program in the midst of a historic run. KWU has won 20 or more games three straight seasons — a program first — and has won games in the NAIA tournament each of the past two years, also a first for the program.
The university will host a pre-game social at The Library Sports Bar and Grill, beginning at 5 p.m. Head Coach Anthony Monson will speak and The Howl pep band will be on site at 6:30. Thanks to an anonymous donor, free tickets will be available to the first 50 individuals in attendance.
Special discounts will also be available at Yotee’s spirit store and pizza will be available at halftime for all KWU supporters. The food will be on Brown Mezzanine and available to any individual in KWU attire.
On the women’s side of the tournament, 12th-seeded Tabor — the KCAC regular season and tournament champion — will face fifth-seeded LSU-Shreveport, while fourth-seeded Mayville State (N.D.) and 13th-seeded Freed-Hardman (Tenn.) will match up in the first round. The championship will be at 3 p.m. March 16.
This marks the first time since 2000 that a portion of a collegiate national basketball championship event will be held at KWU. The university hosted the men’s and women’s National Small College Athletic Association championship (now USCAA) that year, and in fact, won the women’s championship outright.
For additional information, please visit http://kwucoyotes.com/news/2024/3/7/mens-basketball-to-play-lsu-shreveport-in-naia-first-round-next-friday.aspx. More information on the tournament will be available on KWUCoyotes.com and the KWU Athletics social media outlets throughout the week.
