The Pilots won their 5th GCAC Tournament Championship in a row, defeating Belhaven by a final score of 101-94 while the Eagles were upset in the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament by John Brown (Ark.) 67-44.
The Pilots will be making their 6th appearance in Kansas City while Oklahoma Christian will be there for the 10th time.
Below is the release from the NAIA…
2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Bracket Announced
Mountain State (W.Va.) Earns No. 1 Seed in 73rd Annual Event
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March 10, 2010
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 basketballtournaments 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.
