NAIA tourney returns after 1-year hiatus. Here’s a look at who could be coming to KC
The stage is set for the 2021 NAIA men’s and women’s championship basketball tournaments, and once again the best men’s teams in the nation will be vying to come to Kansas City.
Both tournaments were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the format for the 2021 tournaments, featuring 48 teams apiece, is a little different this year.
The men’s Sweet 16 will be played at the tourney’s longstanding host venue, KC’s Municipal Auditorium, while the women’s Sweet 16 will be played in Sioux City, Iowa. But the early rounds for each tourney will be played in 16 “pods” — located at eight sites scattered across the country — consisting of three teams apiece.
The winner of each of those 16 pods for the men and 16 pods for the women will advance to their respective Sweet 16s, which are scheduled for March 18-23. Fans will be allowed at Municipal Auditorium at 20 percent of usual maximum capacity, according to the NAIA, and tickets are also on sale for the women’s tourney in Sioux City.
The format for all of the pod-round games, which take place Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13, is simple: three teams to make one in each of the 16 brackets. The top team in each pod will receive a first-round bye and play the winner of the Friday game, between the 2 and 3 seeds, on Saturday.
One thing that hasn’t changed about this year’s NAIA tournaments is that a number of schools from the KC/Wichita region are in the mix.
Men’s tourney: The Road to Kansas City
This is the 83rd NAIA men’s tournament, and most of the favorites are back.
Georgetown (Ky.), the defending champion from 2019, is making its 40th appearance in the field. The University of The Cumberlands (Ky.) will be making its 29th appearance, while College of the Ozarks, of Point Lookout, Missouri, is back for the 24th time.
This year’s overall No. 1 seed is Indiana Wesleyan (29-2). William Penn (24-1) of Oskaloosa, Iowa, is the No. 2 seed, and LSU Shreveport (La.), at 16-1 overall, is No. 3.
Benedictine College of Atchison, Kan., is in the tournament as the 27th overall seed and second automatic qualifier from the Heart of America Conference with a 2020-21 record of 20-6. The Ravens appeared in their second straight conference-tournament championship game Tuesday, losing 92-76 to William Penn.
The Ravens are the No. 2 seed in “Wichita Bracket A” at Friends University. They’ll play Central Baptist (Ark.) at 11 a.m. Friday, March 12, and Saint Francis (Ind.) March 13 at 11 a.m. if they win their opener.
Park University (14-7) is in the tournament for the eighth time and first since 2017, with a 5-7 record in those appearances. The Pirates finished third in the Heart and earned the league’s host bid. They’ll open as the No. 3 seed in the “Park City Bracket A” at Park City, Kan., located near Wichita, against No. 2 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan.
Tipoff is 6 p.m. on Friday, March 12. Also in that bracket: No. 1 University of Sciences & Arts (Okla.).
Park is coached by Jason Kline, the winningest coach in the history of the school’s men’s basketball program. He previously led the Pirates to the NAIA tourney in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016 and 2017.
William Penn was the Heart’s regular-season/tournament champion and boasts a 15-9 mark in 11 NAIA appearances. The Statesmen, in the field for the sixth consecutive year, face the winner of an opener between Mid-America Christian and Holy Cross. Coached by John Henry, William Penn has this season outscored its opponents 101.2-76.9 and out-rebounded them 50.9-33.6, and leads the NAIA in scoring, rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists and rebounding margin.
College of the Ozarks (2-5 overall) makes the tournament as the Association of Independent Institutions runner-up after losing 68-60 to Vorhees in a late-February league-championship game. The Bobcats open in Lewiston, Idaho, against Montana’s Carroll College (20-10), which received an at-large bid.
In all, the 2021 men’s NAIA tourney field consists of 36 automatic qualifiers and the one host berth. At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Selection Committee, which evaluated teams throughout the season based on various criteria.
Besides Wichita, Park City and Lewiston, other pod sites for the men’s tournament are Omaha, Marion, Ind., Alexandria, La., Crestview Hills, Ky., and Montgomery, Ala.
Women’s tourney: The Road to Sioux City
Wichita and Park City are two of the tournament’s eight “pod” sites that will feed teams to the Sweet 16 at Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center.
In the 40th edition of the NAIA women’s tournament, 37 of the 48 teams are automatic qualifiers and 11 are at-large selections. Thirty-two are repeat qualifiers from 2019.
The top overall seed is Thomas More (Ky.), followed by No. 2 Westmont (Calif.) and No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.). Campbellsville has made the most appearances of any team in this year’s field: 29. Wayland Baptist (Texas) follows with 28.
Montana Western won the last women’s championship, in 2019 (remember, no tournament was held in 2020).
“Wichita Bracket A” features No. 13 overall seed MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Bethel (Kan.) and Vanguard (Calif.). Bethel plays Vanguard at 8 p.m. Friday, March 12, and Olathe’s MidAmerica Nazarene awaits the winner at 8 p.m. the following day.
“Wichita Bracket B” features four-time national champion Morningside (Iowa), Saint Xavier (Ill.) and Crowley’s Ridge (Ark.). Saint Xavier meets Crowley’s Ridge on Friday, March 12 at 1 p.m., and Morningside plays the winner on March 13 at 1 p.m.
Benedictine opens against Xavier (La.) on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Lakeland, Fla.; win that game and it’s on to a Saturday showdown against Southeastern (Fla.).
The Park City Bracket A in the Wichita area features several regional teams: Columbia College of Columbia, Mo., takes on Mid-America Christian (Okla.) at 8 p.m. Friday, March 12, and the winner plays No. 10 overall seed Sterling College (Kan.) at 8 p.m. March 13.
The Park City B bracket features Loyola (La.) vs. Langston (Okla.) Friday at 1 p.m., with the winner advancing to play Concordia (Neb.) on March 13 at 1 p.m.
College of the Ozarks, making a 20th consecutive appearance in the women’s tournament, travels to Omaha, Neb., to play at-large Northwestern College of Orange City, Iowa, a five-time national champion. The Lady Cats’ opener is set for 11 a.m. Friday, March 12 at DJ Sokol Arena. The winner of that game plays Iowa’s Clarke College on March 13 at 11 a.m.
Besides Wichita, Park City, Omaha and Lakeland, other pod sites for the women’s tourney are Indianapolis, Alexandria, La., Crestview Hills, Ky., and Lewiston, Idaho.
This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 12:20 PM.