WPU Hosting Opening Round as #1 Seed in Cramer Quadrant

Oskaloosa–Seeking home-court advantage to get to Kansas City, the Statesmen men’s basketball team will host three other programs as the 64-team field was announced Thursday for the NAIA National Championship Opening Rounds, presented by Ballogy.

WPU (28-3) earned the #1 seed in the Cramer Quadrant and will host #16 seed Saint Xavier (Ill.) next Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. The winner of that contest will then face the winner of the #8 Rio Grande (Ohio)/#9 Marian (Ind.) contest, which will be played next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

The Oskaloosa Bracket championship game is set for Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The winner will then advance to the 85th Annual NAIA National Championship Final Site (16 Opening Round winners) in Kansas City, Mo. from March 13-18.

The entire bracket can be viewed at https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/o/i/80lpl8fg8ko6yo/2023_MBB_Bracket_FINAL.pdf

Tickets are $10 for individual games ($6 for children 6-12; 5 and under are free), while fans can also purchase all-tournament passes for $25. Students from Saint Xavier, Rio Grande, and Marian (Ind.) can purchase tickets for $8. All tickets must be purchased online at https://www.statesmenathletics.com/ticketing

All three games will be live-streamed for FREE by William Penn at https://www.statesmenathletics.com/statesmen-sports-network

William Penn earned its automatic bid to nationals by sweeping both the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

William Penn

The Statesmen, led by John Henry in his 22nd year (507-216 entering nationals), are making their eighth-straight trip to nationals and their 13th trip in his tenure (11th in last 12 seasons).

William Penn is headed by five all-Heart players, including first-teamers Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) and Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master’s of Organizational Leadership). Edwards averages 17.0 points per game, while Daley is a near double-double with 11.1 points and 9.4 rebounds.

WPU outscores opponents 91.0-79.6 and outrebounds them 48.7-35.2.

The Statesmen, who at one point owned a 20-game winning streak, have won four in a row entering nationals.

Saint Xavier

The Cougars, who are 24-7 (16-4 CCAC), are coached by Robert Ford in his second year (41-21 record entering nationals). They are making their 14th appearance at nationals (first since 2016). Saint Xavier earned an at-large berth out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Jaeden King, the squad’s lone first-team all-CCAC pick, is averaging 20.5 points per game.

Saint Xavier is outscoring opponents 83.6-71.7, shooting 51.5% from the field, and hitting 76.3% of its free throws.

The Cougars, who won nine in a row at one point, split their last four games.

Rio Grande

The Red Storm (24-6, 16-1 RSC), who won the River States Conference regular-season title, are led by Ryan Arrowood. UIR is making its ninth appearance in the national tournament (first since 2021).

Shiloah Blevins and Miki Tadic were both first-team all-RSC picks. Blevins averages 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per outing.

Rio Grande outscores opponents 78.3-65.6 and also owns a 39.0-34.0 edge in rebounds.

The Red Storm had a pair of 10-game winning streaks during the year, but lost their final game entering the tournament.

Marian (Ind.)

The Knights (21-9, 10-8 CL), who are making their 10th national tournament appearance (sixth in a row), earned an at-large bid out of the Crossroads League. They are coached by sixth-year head coach Scott Heady (145-47 entering nationals).

Taeshon Cherry, who averages 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, was a first-team all-CL selection.

Marian (Ind.) outscores its foes 82.7-68.8 and has a 38.7-31.2 advantage in rebounding as well.

The Knights, who opened the season at 10-0, split their last four games before nationals.

For more information on the NAIA National Championship, go to https://www.naia.org/sports/mbkb/index