KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 32-team field for the 24th annual NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship. The event will be held for the 16th-straight year in Point Lookout, Mo., on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.) from March 11 – 17. Nineteen programs are back after competing in the 2014 championship.
The official 32-team national championship bracket will be announced via a live selection show at 8 p.m. CST on NAIANetwork.com.
The 32-team field is comprised of 23 automatic qualifiers, one host berth awarded to College of the Ozarks, and eight at-large selections. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up depending on the league. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier today.
Defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan takes a 31-2 overall record into the NAIA National Championship after earning an automatic berth as the Crossroads League regular-season champion. The Wildcats, who claimed the No. 1 ranking in all 11 Coaches’ Top 25 Polls this year, punched their eighth overall championship ticket and seventh-consecutive. They look to become the second Division II program in history (since 1991) to repeat as champs, which would join Bethel (Ind.) (1997-98).
Four of the last five national champions will be competing in Point Lookout: Indiana Wesleyan, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (2013), Cornerstone (Mich.) (2011) and Saint Francis (Ind.) (2010). Overall, nine qualifiers have secured one previous red banner, led by the NAIA-record three hardware’s by Bethel (tied with Oregon Tech).
Embry-Riddle (Fla.), who earned an auto selection out of The Sun Conference by virtue of winning the regular season title, leads all qualifiers in overall season wins at 32-1. The Eagles are the first team to enter the championship with 32-or-more wins since 2003 – Cardinal Stritch went 32-2 during the 2003 regular season. Overall, there have been seven previous teams to enter the championship with 32-or-more victories.
Union (Ky.), champions of the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament, owns the longest active season winning streak at 20-straight games. The 29-4 Bulldogs have not lost since Dec. 13, 2014.
There are four newcomers to the NAIA Division II field: Brescia (Ky.), Northwestern Ohio, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and St. Francis (Ill.). Both Olivet Nazarene and St. Francis have a history of championship appearances in the NAIA Division I national championship.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference, Crossroads League and Great Plains Athletic Conference each landed four qualifiers in the championship field. The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference each send a trio of teams to Point Lookout, Mo.
College of the Ozarks leads all NAIA programs with 19 championship appearances, which includes its 16th-consecutive trip. The Bobcats (25-6) are 28-17 all-time in the national championship. Since 2006, College of the Ozarks has shown a home-court advantage going 7-2 in first-round games. Behind College of the Ozarks in appearances is Bellevue (Neb.) (16) and Embry-Riddle (15). Overall, seven qualifiers have made at least 10 appearances at the championship.
Three of the top five teams, in terms of all-time postseason wins, made the 2015 list. Bethel is No. 3 with a 29-8 championship record in 11 previous trips. Ozarks is next with 28 victories, followed by No. 5 Cornerstone with 27 in 12 previous championships.
All of the national championship action will be video-streamed live on NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming platform provided by Stretch Internet. Don't miss the live HD-quality video stream of all of the action running from March 11 - 17. For more information, click here.
For information on the 2015 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship, click here.
2015 Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Qualifiers
|
School |
Qualification |
Record^ |
Champs Record |
Appearances* |
Last Time |
Titles |
|
Ashford (Iowa) |
Association of Independent Institutions Tournament Champion |
21-11 |
0-3 |
4th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Midlands Collegiate Athletic Tournament Champion |
28-5 |
21-15 |
16th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Bethel (Ind.) |
At-Large No. 2 |
27-6 |
29-8 |
12th |
2014 |
3 |
|
Brescia (Ky.) |
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Regular-Season Runner-Up |
19-10 |
0-0 |
1st |
-- |
0 |
|
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
At-Large No. 8 |
22-10 |
3-8 |
9th |
2012 |
0 |
|
Cal Maritime |
Cal Pacific Tournament Champion |
19-9 |
1-3 |
4th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Tournament Runner-Up |
24-9 |
12-10 |
12th |
2014 |
1 |
|
Concordia (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Regular-Season Runner-Up |
24-6 |
1-2 |
3rd |
2014 |
0 |
|
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Tournament Champion |
28-5 |
27-10 |
13th |
2014 |
2 |
|
Dakota State (S.D.) |
North Start Athletic Association Tournament Champion |
17-14 |
5-3 |
4th |
2013 |
0 |
|
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
At-Large No. 1 |
28-4 |
2-6 |
7th |
2011 |
0 |
|
Davenport (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
27-6 |
7-5 |
6th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
The Sun Regular-Season Champion |
32-1 |
15-13 |
15th |
2014 |
1 |
|
Friends (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Tournament Champion |
17-15 |
2-5 |
6th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Grace (Ind.) |
At-Large No. 7 |
21-10 |
11-6 |
8th |
2013 |
1 |
|
Idaho, College of |
Cascade Collegiate Regular-Season Champion |
28-5 |
11-9 |
11th |
2014 |
1 |
|
IU East (Ind.) |
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
26-7 |
0-2 |
3rd |
2012 |
0 |
|
Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads League Regular-Season Champion |
31-2 |
14-6 |
8th |
2014 |
1 |
|
Midland (Neb.) |
Great Plains Athletic Tournament Champion |
26-7 |
6-3 |
4th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Milligan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Tournament Runner-Up |
20-10 |
1-3 |
4th |
2001 |
0 |
|
Morningside (Iowa) |
Great Plains Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
27-4 |
4-4 |
5th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
Midwest Collegiate Tournament Champion |
26-4 |
1-2 |
3rd |
2013 |
0 |
|
Northwestern Ohio |
At-Large No. 4 |
25-7 |
0-0 |
1st |
-- |
0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
25-8 |
0-0 |
1st |
-- |
0 |
|
Ozarks (Mo.), College of the |
Championship Host |
25-6 |
28-17 |
19th |
2014 |
1 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
Crossroads League Regular-Season Runner-Up |
25-7 |
13-5 |
7th |
2014 |
1 |
|
St. Francis (Ill.) |
At-Large No. 6 |
23-9 |
0-0 |
1st |
-- |
0 |
|
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
The Sun Regular-Season Runner-Up |
17-12 |
3-6 |
7th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Southern Oregon |
At-Large No. 5 |
24-9 |
3-4 |
5th |
2013 |
0 |
|
Tabor (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
19-12 |
7-8 |
9th |
2014 |
0 |
|
Union (Ky.) |
Appalachian Athletic Regular-Season Champion |
29-4 |
0-2 |
3rd |
2014 |
0 |
|
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
At-Large No. 3 |
25-7 |
4-8 |
9th |
2013 |
0 |