EUGENE, Ore. – The pairings for the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball national tournament were announced on Wednesday and NCU was awarded a No. 3 seed for the event.
 
The Beacons (24-5), dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 in the NAIA National Coaches Poll, giving them their highest ranking to close out a season.  NCU is scheduled to open up the tournament at 11:45 am (PST) next Wednesday morning, March 8th against Midland University of Nebraska. The Vikings (21-9) took fourth place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and were also bounced in the first round of their conference tournament.
 
NCU's road to the championship could include No. 7 ranked Indiana University East in the second round. The other side of their quadrant includes No. 2 ranked Cornerstone (30-3), No. 15 Saint Francis.
 
For the first time in conference history, five teams from the CCC have qualifying for the field. Joining NCU will be Eastern Oregon as a No. 4 seed, Oregon Tech as a No. 5 seed, College of Idaho as a No. 5 seed and tournament champion Corban as a No. 8 seed.