2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Preview
Mar 17, 2022
2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Preview
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 84th Annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship is scheduled to tip-off for the 76th time in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, March 17 at 1:00 p.m. CT. The single-elimination championship runs through March 22. Coined college basketball’s toughest tournament, the national champion must win four games in a six-day span.
The first 14 games of the national championship will be video-streamed live at www.NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA’s official video-streaming platform powered by Stretch Internet. The championship final will air on ESPN3 for the seventh-straight season on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m.
The championship tips off with No. 3-seeded College of Idaho competing in the 1:00 p.m. matchup on Thursday afternoon, squaring off against No. 7-seeded Grace (Ind.) in the Naismith Bracket. College of Idaho is making its 24th all-time appearance overall to begin the quest for a second national championship in program history. The Yotes grabbed wins over Vanguard and Ottawa (Ariz.) to punch their ticket to Kansas City. Grace, which is making its 11th trip to the national championship, will also be in search of its second national title in team history. The Lancers earned the conference title in the Crossroads League tournament and defeated No. 2-seeded Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in the opening round to earn their spot in Kansas City.
While there is not a defending national champion in the field, No. 2-seeded Indiana Wesleyan leads the field with three national titles to its credit. The Wildcats earned a pair of decisive wins in the opening round over both Montreat (N.C.) and Indiana Tech. The team from Marion, Ind., will square-off with No. 3-seeded William Jessup (Calif.) in the 7:00 p.m. prime time tilt on Thursday night.
The No. 1 overall seed is Loyola (La.). The team from New Orleans enters play at 33-1 and has won the last 17-straight. The Wolf Pack are led by Zach Wrightsil. The senior from Prosper, Texas averages just shy of 19 points per game and is ranked No. 8 in field goals made and 9th in offensive rebounds, making the dual threat one to watch when they take the court on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. CT against No. 4-seeded Faulkner (Ala.).
IU Kokomo is a team to watch in the 2022 Championship after providing one of the most electric upsets in recent memory. The Cougars hit the buzzer beater in the final game of the opening round against No. 1-seeded William Penn (Iowa) to clinch the upset. After improving to 4-1 in national championship play, IU Kokomo earned its first trip to Kansas City with the victory. They will take-on Concordia (Neb.) in the 7:00 p.m. game on Friday night in what may be one of the most intriguing matchups of the round of 16.
Of the teams in the 2021 field, six have won a national title in their history. Indiana Wesleyan leads the field with three red banners. College of Idaho, Faulkner (Ala.), Grace (Ind.), Loyola (La.), and Oklahoma Wesleyan all have one apiece.
For more information on the National Championship, go to NAIAHoops.com
Championship Nuggets
The 84th NAIA National Championship this year continues the event’s distinction as the oldest national championship basketball tournament in the country. Founded in 1937, the tournament preceded both the National Invitation Tournament (founded in 1938), as well as the NCAA Tournament (founded in 1939), and has produced national champions from 23 states, spanning the nation from Maryland to Hawaii. This year marks the 76th time the tournament has been contested in Kansas City, including 56 years at historic Municipal Auditorium, extending the city’s long tradition of hosting outstanding championship basketball on all collegiate levels.
Since the national championship came back to Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium in 2002 (from Tulsa), the national champion teams have been diverse. In that time frame, five unseeded teams won the title while the No. 1 seed only took home the red banner once – Mountain State (W.Va.) in 2004. Pikeville (Ky.) was the last unseeded program in 2011 to win the national championship. Overall since 1967, there have been seven No. 1 seeds to win the national championship.
2022 is the first year of the true 64-team bracket with teams seeded 1-16 in four quadrants (Naismith, Cramer, Duer and Liston).
The last team to enter the championship with an undefeated season record was Columbia (Mo.) in 2013. The 33-0 Cougars ended up losing in the Quarterfinal round to LSU Shreveport (La.). Overall, two previous programs have won the championship title with a perfect record, with Oklahoma City in 1992 and Central State (Ohio) in 1965.
Recent NAIA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame honorees have included legends such as Scottie Pippen (player), Terry Porter (player), Travis Grant (player), Clarence “Bevo” Francis (player), Bob Burchard (coach), Steve Jenkins (coach) and Rocky Lamar (coach).
The state of Oklahoma claims the most championship titles with 11 followed by Missouri with eight. Oklahoma City University has won six national championships, the most of any institution. The Stars won consecutive titles on two occasions (1991-92 and 2007-08).
There have been 48 states represented in the national championship — Alaska and Wyoming are two states not represented.
Seed Records by the numbers in 2022
1: 7-1
2: 7-1
3: 6-2
4: 5-3
5: 6-1
6: 5-2
7: 4-3
8: 2-3
9: 3-4
10: 1-4
11: 1-4
12: 1-4
13: 0-4
14: 0-4
15: 0-4
16: 0-4
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