Four men’s, six women’s teams from Kentucky qualify for NAIA national basketball tourneys
Six women’s and four men’s teams from Kentucky have secured berths in the NAIA national college basketball tournaments starting next week.
Campbellsville, Cumberlands, Georgetown, Midway, Pikeville and Thomas More will take part in the women’s tournament. Georgetown, Pikeville, Thomas More and Union will participate in the men’s event.
Each 64-team field tips off with two rounds at school sites around the country. The final 16 teams in the women’s tournament will head to Sioux City, Iowa, for the remaining rounds March 13-18. The last 16 men’s teams will settle things in Kansas City, Missouri, on the same dates.
Women
Thomas More has reached the NAIA national title game each of the past two seasons, winning its first-ever NAIA championship last season. The Saints open defense of their 2022 title as the No. 1 seed in the 16-team Cramer Quadrant.
Thomas More will host first- and second-round games in Crestview Hills on Tuesday and Wednesday. The No. 1-seeded Saints (26-3) open against No. 16 Point University of West Point, Ga. (15-14) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Campbellsville (28-2) also claimed a No. 1 seed, in the Duer Quadrant, and will host first- and second-round games Monday and Tuesday. The Tigers, whose 31 NAIA national tournament appearances are more than any other school, tip off tournament play against No. 16 Oakland City of Indiana (20-8) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Every other Kentucky women’s team will start NAIA play on the road.
Cumberlands (22-7) is the No. 5 seed in the Cramer Quadrant and will head to New Orleans to face another Kentucky school, No. 12 Midway College (23-8) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST.
Pikeville (21-8) is the No. 5 seed in the Duer Quadrant and travels to Rio Grande, Ohio, to face No. 12 Grace College of Winona Lake, Indiana (21-9), on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Georgetown (18-13), the No. 9 seed in the Liston Quadrant, goes to Marion, Indiana, for a first-round game Tuesday at 8 p.m. against No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene of Olathe, Kan. (21-8).
Men
Georgetown, making its NAIA record 42nd appearance in the national tournament, is the only men’s team from Kentucky that will serve as an early-rounds host.
The Tigers (26-5) are the No. 3 seed in the Duer Quadrant and will take on No. 14 Lourdes University of Sylvania, Ohio (22-8), on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Thomas More (22-8), the No. 5 seed in the Cramer Quadrant, will open against No. 12 Eastern Oregon (21-10) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST in Butte, Mont.
Union College (27-2) is the No. 6 seed in the Cramer Quadrant and was sent to Birmingham, Ala., to take on No. 11 Southeastern University of Lakeland, Fla. (18-12), on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. EST.
Pikeville drew into the Naismith Quadrant as the No. 13 seed. The Bears (19-12) go to Alexandria, La., where they’ll open against Huntington (Ind.) University (24-7) on Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST.
