Raider Men Earn No.1 Seed; Head To Wichita For Opening Round

Kansas City, Missouri — The Northwestern College men’s basketball team earned a No.1 seed and is one of the 48 qualifiers for the 2021 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy.

Northwestern, the GPAC postseason tournament champion, received an automatic bid and is is the top seed in the Wichita Bracket A. They will play the winner of the No.2 seed Bethel (Kan.) vs No.3 seed Voorhees (S.C.) on Saturday, March 13 at 6pm (CST). The winner of the bracket advances to the 2021 NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., at the 83rd annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship, March 18-23.

This year’s field consists of 36 automatic qualifiers and one host berth – given to conference regular season champions, regular season runners-up, tournament champions, tournament runners-up, or a team selected by the conference in absence of a tournament, depending on the league. The number of participating teams in each league determines the number of automatic bids in each conference. Leagues that started with 10 or more schools receive two automatic berths, while conferences with less than 10 institutions receive one. If a conference started with 15 or more schools, they receive three automatic berths.

At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area and six at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.

Northwestern will be making its 23rd championship appearance and fourth in a consolidated / one division of the NAIA men’s basketball tournament. The Raiders have a 31-20 all-time record at the national tournament, winning titles in 2001 and 2003, both under current head coach Kris Korver. This will be the 14th time Korver has guided Raider teams to the national tournament in his 21 years as head coach.

Northwestern joins two other teams from the GPAC, Morningside and Jamestown, in the 48-team, opening round field. Morningside received the other auto bid from the conference by winning the regular season title; Jamestown earned an at-large bid into the field. Northwestern finished second in the GPAC with a 15-5 record and is 23-5 overall. They bring a 13-game win streak into Wichita and are just one win away from qualifying for the final site.

Bethel, the No.2 seed in the Wichita A bracket, won the KCAC regular season title and owns a 19-6 overall record. They are making their 17th overall appearance to the national tournament where they 32-13. No.3 seed Voorhees (S.C.) qualified via winning the A.I.I. Tournament championship and is making their ninth overall national tournament appearance. They are 3-8 this season.