Major events on tap for Wayland Baptist

Several big events are scheduled for Wayland Baptist athletics this weekend.

For just the second time ever and first time since 1998, Wayland is playing host to the Sooner Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. 

The two-day, eight-team tournament will play out Friday and Saturday inside Hutcherson Center. The top-ranked teams in the NAIA -- Oklahoma City on the women's side and Mid-America Christian in the men's bracket -- are among the participating teams, along with the fifth-ranked Flying Queens who own the NAIA's longest current winning streak at 25 straight victories.

Should OCU win its semifinal game at 1 p.m. Friday against Mid-America Christian, and Wayland defeat USAO at 3 p.m. Friday, the Stars and Queens would meet in the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. It would be the rubber match after OCU and WBU split their regular-season meetings, which saw the Stars win at home 70-46 on Nov. 23, and the Queens win at home on Feb. 27, 65-50.

For the men, top-ranked MACU takes the court at 6 p.m. Friday against No. 13 Southwestern Assemblies of God, while No. 9 John Brown takes on Science & Arts of Oklahoma at 8 p.m. Friday's winners advance to the championship at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets, available at the door, are sold per session (women's semifinals, men's semifinals, Saturday's finals).

All games will be streamed at www.wbuathletics.com/watch.

Also on Friday and Saturday, the Pioneer baseball team plays its first conference home games of the season against Central Christian (Kan.). The (18-7, 2-1 SAC) and Tigers (7-13, 0-3) meet in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. Friday before a single game at noon Saturday.

WBU coach Brad Bass enters the series just 10 victories short of reaching 1,000 career wins.
Action inside Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D., gets under way for Wayland at 3:30 p.m. Thursday before resuming Friday and concluding Saturday with the awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m.

Both Wayland teams are ranked third in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Ratings Index.

The WBU women are the two-time defending national champions, while the Pioneer men have finished either first or second nine of the last 10 years.