NAIA Tournament preview: Men’s and women’s teams, players to watch, schedule and more

The NAIA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments start Wednesday, March 16 and conclude Tuesday, March 22. Both tournaments — the men at Municipal Auditorium (click or tap here for bracket and schedule) and the women at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena (click or tap here for bracket and schedule) — have 32 teams and follow the same format: eight first-round games Wednesday, the other eight first-round games on Thursday, eight second-round games Friday, quarterfinals Saturday, March 19, semifinals Monday, March 21 and championship Tuesday, March 22.

Men’s tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Adult single-session tickets are $15, students age 6-21 are $5 and children 5 and under are admitted free. All-tournament passes are $100 for reserved seating and $75 for general admission and are available at NAIA.org.

Women’s tickets are available through Ticketmaster. An all-tournament pass is $78.50, adult single-session tickets are $12 and $9 for students 11-21 and $6 for children 5-10. Kids 4 and under are admitted free.

Five story lines

Women return: The NAIA Division I women’s basketball tournament returns for the second straight year to the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence. The 32-team tournament, which will run concurrently with the men’s, is in the second year of a two-year contract with the city of Independence. The women’s tournament began in 1981 in Kansas City, which was home to the event until 1983 and again during 1986-89 before it was staged in several other locations.

KC Live!: The NAIA will bring the participants and coaches from all 64 Division I men and women’s teams to the inaugural Tip-Off Event at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the KC Live Block in the Power & Light District. A crowd of up to 2,000 parents, fans, alumni and players is expected to attend.

New champion: For the eighth straight year, there will be a new NAIA Division I men’s champion. Dalton State (Ga.), the 2015 champion, failed to reach the tournament. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since Oklahoma City won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. And no No. 1 seed has won the title since Mountain State (W.Va.) in 2004.

Historic coaches: Dave Holmquist of Biola (Calif.) became the eighth college men’s basketball coach to reach 900 wins earlier this season. Holmquist, 64, is in his 36th season at Biola, having led the Eagles to 34 winning seasons and 20 NAIA Tournaments. Bob Burchard claimed his 700th career victory at Columbia College, where the school named the basketball court in his honor. Burchard has led the Cougars to the NAIA Tournament 20 times in 28 seasons, including 19 of the last 22. MidAmerica Nazarene men’s coach Rocky Lamar also reached 700 career wins this year. He’s been the Pioneers’ coach since 1986 and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2013-14.

Shoot and Slam: The NAIA will conduct slam-dunk and three-point contests at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 19 between men’s quarterfinal sessions at Municipal Auditorium. The participants will represent both NAIA divisions, and there will be a separate three-point contest that features area Kansas City high school players. The high school champion will face the NAIA champion in a winner-takes-all three-point contest.

Five people to watch

Xavielle Brown, Park: Brown, a 6-2 junior forward, has been a two-time national player of the week in leading the Pirates to the tournament for the first time since 2011. Brown ranks fourth in the nation with a 23.1 point-per-game average with 7.7 rebounds. Brown, from Fort Wayne, Ind., has scored 38 points three different times.

Corday Sims, Peru State (Neb.): Sims, a 6-5 senior guard from Chicago, ranks second in the country in scoring at 26.1 points per game and second in three-pointers made with 107 in the regular season. His 42 points against MidAmerica Nazarene were the fifth-most by an NAIA player this season in a regular-season game.

Ali Zieverink, Shawnee (Ohio) State: Zieverink, a 5-foot-11 senior forward, leads NAIA women in scoring with a 23.0 average and averages 7.8 rebounds. She ranks second in the NAIA with a 60.5 field-goal percentage and has scored in double figures in every game this season, with a high of 33 points.

Nick Syrie, MidAmerica Nazarene: Syrie, a 5-11 senior guard from Lafayette, La., has been the Pioneers’ inspirational leader throughout his career. Syrie leads the NAIA with 8.0 assists per game and averages 13.4 points. He’s had 15 assists twice in a game this season and at least 10 assists in 10 games.

Larry Lady: The former commissioner of the Heart of America Athletic Conference will be hanging up his red jacket after more than two decades as supervisor of officials of the tournament. Lady evaluates officials at the NCAA Division I and II levels, and has been associated with the NAIA Tournament dating to his days as a referee at Municipal Auditorium.

Three men’s favorites

Georgetown (Ky.): The Tigers have made more appearances, 35, and won more tournament games, 61, than any other school. Led by forward Deondre McWhorter and guard Noah Cottrill, they will be looking for their third national title. Georgetown is extending its record of 25 straight tournament appearances.

Pikeville (Ky.): The Bears were the top-ranked team for four weeks earlier this season and return four starters from last year’s quarterfinalists, including guards K.K. Simmons and Macari Brooks.

Hope International (Calif.): As the No. 1 seed a year ago, Hope lost in the semifinals and will be making its fourth straight tournament appearance. What better nickname to have in Kansas City than the Royals?

Three women’s favorites

Westmont (Calif.): It returns four starters from last year’s semifinalist, including Krissy Karr, a senior guard who averages 13 points per game and leads the team in steals and assists.

Our Lady of the Lake (Texas): The top-seeded team won 29 straight games after losing its first two games of the season. The Saints lost in the second round last year.

Campbellsville (Ky.): The Tigers were ranked in the top five all season, and were national runner up to Oklahoma City. Senior forward Lindsey Burd averages 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and tied for the team lead in blocked shots.

Three men’s sleepers

LSU Alexandria: The Generals may be one of the four top seeds, but are in just their second year of NAIA Division I membership. They qualified for the national tournament last year but lost in the first round.

William Penn (Iowa): The Statesmen, newcomers to the Heart of America Athletic Conference, are competing in their first season at the Division I level. William Penn reached the quarterfinals in two of the last three years of Division II play.

Texas Wesleyan: The 2006 champion returns to the tournament for the first time since 2012. The Rams, who went 15-15 a year ago, won the rugged Sooner Athletic Conference in their first year of membership.

Three women’s sleepers

Central Methodist: The Eagles, who started the season unranked, won the Heart of America regular-season championship. This is the school’s second appearance in the national tournament, and first since 2013.

Benedictine: The Ravens had a top-10 team before injuries led to some unexpected losses but won seven of their last eight regular-season games. Benedictine features the 2015 Heart of America player of the year, forward Chayla Rutledge.

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho): The Warriors, picked to finish third in the Frontier Conference, won the regular-season title, highlighted by an 11-game winning streak.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "NAIA Tournament preview: Men’s and women’s teams, players to watch, schedule and more."