Posted by Jason Dannelly - Wed, Mar 10, 2010 - [MBB DI] - Viewed 740 times
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Bracket PDF)The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the 32-team bracket for the 73rd Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship, held March 17-23 in Kansas City, Mo. No. 1-seed Mountain State (W.Va.) tops the list in its 12th straight Championship. The 26-2 Cougars have now earned the top seed in four of the last seven Championships, winning one title in 2004.

Coined College Basketball's Toughest Tournament, Municipal Auditorium will be the site for the seven-day event. The Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 17 automatic qualifiers from 11 Division I affiliated conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.), 1 host berth, and 14 at-large berths. Tickets can be purchased by calling 816.595.8000 or clicking here.

Mountain State begins its Championship by facing first-year participant Bacone (Okla.) on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. CST. The Cougars are 19-10 in the Championship. The event kicks-off with No. 16 Oklahoma City facing Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) at 9 a.m. The Stars, who are back after an 11-year run from 1998-2008, are 47-12 overall with six national championships.

No. 11 Georgetown (Ky.) is making its NAIA-record 19th straight Championship and 29th overall. The Tigers are 49-27 in this event, tied for the most wins with No. 3 Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison are 49-20 overall in their 23rd Championship.

Kansas City-area programs Park (Mo.) and William Jewell (Mo.) enter the Championship unseeded. Park will battle Georgetown on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. William Jewell begins action with a Thursday game at 6:15 p.m. against No. 2 Concordia (Calif.).

For the second straight year, the defending national champion did not make the Championship field. One year after winning its first national title, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) did not qualify.

Thirty-one games will be played out in Kansas City. The first 30 games will be video-streamed by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. Three different subscription plans for basketball (Men's and Women's Division I; Men's and Women's Division II) will be available for tournament coverage. Users can purchase the All-Tournament pass, which includes every event offered on College Sports Direct from all four basketball tournaments for $39.95. Each of the four basketball tournaments can be purchased separately for $24.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95. In order to view the streaming, click here.

The Championship final on March 23 will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports Television with tip-off at 7 p.m. CST.

For more information on the Championship, click here.

For complete conference tournament breakdown, click here.

2010 NAIA National Tournament

Team (Record)^ Qualification Appearances* Record# Titles

Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (24-9)

Golden State Athletic Tournament Champion

18th

24-17

0

Bacone (Okla.) (19-12)

Red River Tournament Champion

1st

0-0

0

Belhaven (Miss.) (24-9)

At-Large #13

2nd

1-1

0

Biola (Calif.) (27-5)

At-Large #1

17th

19-16

0

Campbellsville (Ky.) (26-7)

At-Large #3

8th

5-7

0

Central Methodist (Mo.) (24-8)

Heart of America Athletic Regular Season Champion

6th

6-5

0

Concordia (Calif.) (30-3)

Golden State Athletic Regular Season Champion

8th

16-6

1

Cumberlands (Ky.) (21-10)

At-Large #8

20th

13-19

0

Evangel (Mo.) (20-12)

Heart of America Athletic Conference Host Berth

1st

0-0

0

Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (24-8)

At-Large #11

3rd

1-2

0

Georgetown (Ky.) (26-6)

Mid-South Tournament Champion

29th

49-27

1

John Brown (Ark.) (24-9)

Sooner Athletic Tournament Champion

5th

7-3

1

Lee (Tenn.) (26-7)

At-Large #4

7th

5-6

0

Life (Ga.) (21-11)

At-Large #7

11th

22-7

3

Louisiana State-Shreveport (27-5)

Gulf Coast Regular Season and Tournament Champion

6th

2-5

0

McKendree (Ill.) (27-6)

American Midwest Tournament Champion

14th

12-13

0

Montana-Western (24-9)

At-Large #10

8th

2-7

0

Mountain State (W.Va.) (26-2)

Association of Independent Institutions Champion

12th

19-10

1

Oklahoma Baptist (28-3)

Sooner Athletic Regular Season Champion

23rd

49-20

1

Oklahoma Christian (22-9)

At-Large #14

10th

4-9

0

Oklahoma City (17-9)

At-Large #6

19th

47-12

6

Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (19-10)

At-Large #9

15th

12-14

0

Park (Mo.) (22-9)

At-Large #12

4th

4-3

0

Robert Morris (Ill.) (19-10)

At-Large #5

7th

12-6

0

Southern Nazarene (Okla.) (25-7)

At-Large #2

11th

10-8

1

Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) (26-5)

Southern States Athletic Tournament Champion

13th

7-12

0

Saint Xavier (Ill.) (23-9)

Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Tournament Champion

10th

4-9

0

Texas Wesleyan (23-9)

Red River Athletic Regular Season Champion

11th

12-9

1

Tougaloo (Miss.) (22-8)

Gulf Coast Athletic Regular Season Runner-Up

3rd

1-3

0

Union (Tenn.) (26-7)

TranSouth Athletic Tournament Champion

13th

7-12

0

Westminster (Utah) (26-5)

Frontier Tournament Champion

11th

3-10

0

William Jewell (Mo.) (22-10)

Heart of America Athletic Tournament Champion

7th

8-6

0

^ Based on conference websites

* Includes 2010 Championship; Division I NAIA Championship appearances only

# Based on available records


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