The Cougar men (25-9), winners of the Golden State Athletic Conference, are seeded No. 9 and will take on Houston Baptist (23-9), the Red River Athletic Conference champ in a first-round game Wednesday (March 16) at 10:30 p.m. (CST) in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. It is the first-meeting ever between the 2 perennial NAIA Tournament participants.
The Azusa Pacific women (23-10) will take on Brewton-Parker College (32-3) of Mt. Vernon, Ga., co-champion of the Southern States Athletic Conference on Thursday (March 17) at 2:15 p.m. (CST) at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.
Both teams depart for their respective championship tournaments on Sunday (March 13). Both tournaments begin Wednesday (March 16) and conclude with the national championship game Tuesday, March 22.
“It’s always great to be back in Kansas City,” said Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell, who is leading the Cougars into the NAIA Tournament for the tenth straight year and 12th time in the past 13 years. “Houston Baptist has a lot of tournament experience like us, so this certainly won’t be a game of nerves. They’ve got some size along the front which will present challenges for us. We’ll have to be sharp on defense and be able to make shots.”
The Azusa Pacific-Houston Baptist winner will take on the Brescia (Ky)/Oklahoma Christian winner Friday at 6:15 p.m. (CST).
Azusa Pacific advanced to the NAIA semifinals 3 times in the past 7 years
The Cougar women are making their seventh NAIA Tournament appearance overall and fifth in the past 6 years. The Cougars, who are seeded fifth in their quarter, play Brewton-Parker (Ga.) Thursday at 2:15 (CST).
Should the Cougars win they will face either Oklahoma City or Lewis-Clark St. (Idaho) Friday at 12:30 p.m.
The Lady Barons finished 32-3 and were 18-2 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. They earned an automatic bid by advancing to the finals of the SSAC Postseason Tournament where they lost to North Georgia, which ironically is the same team the Cougars lost to in the opening round of last year’s tournament. BPC is making its second straight tournament appearance and is looking for its first tournament victory.
“We’re thrilled to be going back to the tournament,” said Azusa Pacific head coach Danelle Liles. “It’s one of our goals to get back there every year. Hopefully this year, we’ll be able to get over the hump and stay a little longer. It’s going to be tough, because Brewton-Parker is a good team. It wouldn’t be at this tournament if it weren’t.”
The Cougars haven’t won a national tournament game since 1986 and have lost in the first round in each of the past 4 tournaments. The Cougars are currently 23-10 and finished fourth in the GSAC with a 14-6 mark. GSAC-rivals Vanguard, Point Loma Nazarene and The Master’s each earned top 2 seeds in its respective brackets.
The complete NAIA Tournament brackets can be viewed on the NAIA website:
Men Women
