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2012 Division II MBB Championship Preview - No. 2 Oregon Tech Opens Tournament Play Thursday

03.06.2012

Oregon Tech's Scotty Riddle records a block in CCC title game. (photo by Bob Morehead))

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Thirty-teams converge on Point Lookout, Mo., for the 21st Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The first of 31 games begins on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. CST at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.). The institution is hosting its 13th-consecutive event.

2012 NAIA Tournament Bracket Live Stats 2012 Press Book

Eight contests will played on each of the first three days, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Saturday. The semifinals will be contested on March 12 and the championship final will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. on March 13. The tournament is a single-elimination format.

Reserved seating is $15 per session and general admission is $10 per session. To purchase tickets or receive more information, please call 417-335-NAIA (6242).

Behind College of the Ozarks' 13-year run (as the host team), Oregon Tech is playing in its 10th straight and 16th overall. The Hustlin' Owls, coached by NAIA active wins leader Danny Miles (966), are tied with Northwestern for most championship wins with 28. Bellevue (Neb.), who Oregon Tech has defeated twice in national championship games in both 2004 and 2008, is also making its 10th-consecutive trip.

The NAIA tournaments two-seed, Oregon Tech, will play its first round contest on Thursday, March 8th, at noon CST ( 10 a.m. PST) against the Gray Wolves of Lourdes University.

Lourdes University (Ohio), competing in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, enters the NAIA National Tournament with a 17-15 overall mark. The Gray Wolves received the automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament as the WHAC tournament runner-up. The WHAC is one of three conferences sending four teams to the national tournament, including last year’s national champion Cornerstone (Mich.), Davenport (Mich.) and Indiana Tech. This marks the first time that Lourdes has made the NAIA Division II National Tournament.

Oregon Tech (29-4) is ranked No. 2 in the final 2012 NAIA Division II poll heading into the national tournament and was ranked in the top-10 throughout the entire season. After winning the 2008 NAIA crown, the Hustlin' Owls, who have never lost a first round game, has reached the "Sweet 16" the past three seasons.

No. 9 Northwestern (Iowa) leads off the tournament by facing Tennessee Wesleyan at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The Red Raiders are tied for the most wins in championship history with 28, while Tennessee Wesleyan is searching for win No. 1 in its fourth trip overall.

Defending national champion Cornerstone (Mich.) is trying to become the first unseeded program in the 21-year history to win the tournament. The Golden Eagles will tangle with No. 8 Northwest (Wash.) on Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. Cornerstone took home its second overall title (1999) last year and became the first No. 3 seed to win it all since 1996.

Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Communications & Sports Information