Bruins first round opponent named for National Tournament
#6 seed Bellevue opens the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Tournament against #3 seed Briar Cliff on Thursday, Mar. 9 at 9:15 p.m.
Bracket | Fan & Visitor Information | Schedule & Results | NAIA Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After claiming the North Star Athletic Association Tournament Championship on Monday evening, the Bellevue University men's basketball team extended their streak of reaching the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament. This evening the bracket, including pairings and game times, was announced.
Bellevue is seeded sixth in the Duer Bracket and will meet the Duer Bracket's third-seed Briar Cliff in the first round of the tournament. That game will be played on Thursday, Mar. 8 at 9:15 p.m.
This year will mark the 15th-straight season in which Bellevue will compete in the National Tournament. That is the longest active streak of any school in the field, excluding College of the Ozarks who gets an automatic bid as the host institution.
The appearance is the 18th overall for the Bruins (22-10) who have reached three Final Fours, including making a pair of National Championship Game appearances. Bellevue owns a 21-17 all-time record in the NAIA National Tournament and is 7-6 all-time against their first round opponent.
The Chargers (26-7, 14-4 GPAC) are making their 11th National Tournament appearance overall after winning the GPAC Regular-Season Title and finishing runner-up in the GPAC Tournament. The series between BU and BCU dates back to 1974. Bellevue won the most recent installment, topping Briar Cliff 93-72 at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center, back on Dec. 6 of this season.
The winner of Wednesday's game meets the victory of the 2-v-7 game between Rochester (Mich.) and York (Neb.). The other first round matchups in the Duer Bracket feature Bethel (Ind.) and Calumet St. Joseph (Ind.) in the 1-v-8 game as well as Eastern Oregon and Indiana Southeast in the 4-v-5 game.
Bellevue is the lone North Star Athletic Association school appearing in the tournament after the conference earned three bids a season ago.
Check back with BUBruins.com for a first round preview next week.