OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time since 2014, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team is heading to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I National Championship.
MACU (19-13) was announced as the No. 3 seed in the eight-team field which will contest the NCCAA's National Championship tournament for Division I. The Evangels are one of four at-large teams in the field, along with Southwestern Christian University, Central Christian College (Kan.), and Warner University (Fla.).
MACU will open their tournament run in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday. The Evangels will tip-off their quarterfinal against the sixth-seeded Bluefield College Rams from Bluefield, Virginia. The game is slated for a 12:00 p.m. EDT tip-off.
The Rams enter the Championship as the Mid-East Region Champion, with a 17-13 overall record. Bluefield finished the season in a 4-way tie for third in the Appalachian Athletic Conference during the regular season, and after falling in the AAC semifinals, they beat Alice Lloyd College (Ky.) 107-98 in the Mid-East regional championship game. The Rams are making their second National Championship appearance, and their first since 2016.
The other matchup on the Evangels' side of the bracket will feature the No. 2-seed Emmanuel College Lions (20-10) against the central region champion College of the Ozarks Bobcats (22-11). The Bobcats are making their first ever appearance in the NCCAA postseason in men's basketball, and the Lions are the South Region champions and making their nine trip to the Championship and their fourth consecutive appearance. Their quarterfinal will follow the Evangel's game, tipping off at 1:45 p.m. EDT.
The evening session on day one with feature the top-seeded Southwestern Christian Eagles (18-14) against No. 8 seed Life Pacific College (14-11) taking the floor at 7:30 p.m. EDT; and the day will finish with No. 4 seed Central Christian Tigers (15-15) taking on the fifth-seeded Warner Royals (20-13) at 9:15 EDT.
The winners will advance to the semifinals, while the four quarterfinal losers will play in the back-draw of the bracket for an opportunity to finish fifth. The consolation semifinals will be contested in the first two time slots on Thursday, with the 7:00 and 8:45 times being reserved for the Championship semifinals. The seventh-place game will take place on Friday at 3 p.m., with the 5th place game scheduled for 7 p.m. The third-place contest will tip at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the National Championship title game will commence at 5:00 p.m. on the tournament's final day.
