The Wayland Baptist Pioneers will face the University of Antelope Valley (Calif.) Pioneers in Glendale, Ariz., next week in the Opening Round of the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championships.
"It's good to be back in the national tournament. It's only been one year (the Pioneers just missed making the field last year) but it feels like forever," Wayland coach
Clint Galyean said.
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Bracket
Sooner Athletic Conference runner-up Wayland (23-8), ranked the equivalent of 27
th in the NAIA, is seeded ninth in its 16-team quadrant while 20
th-ranked Antelope Valley (25-2) is the No. 8 seed. Antelope Valley qualified for nationals after winning the Cal Pac regular-season title with a 19-1 record. UAV then lost in the first round of the Cal Pac Tournament to California-Merced, snapping a 14-game winning streak.
UAV's only other loss this season (besides exhibition setbacks to CSU Bakersfield, Biola and Utah Valley) was in conference play to the University of St. Katherine (Calif.), 72-64 on Dec. 29.
"I don't know much about them yet. They obviously have a really good record, and to be 25-2 means you've been taking care of business," Galyean said.
Tip-off between the two Pioneer teams in Glendale is 4:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday. It will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.
"The guys are ready to get back to work and get to Arizona," Galyean said.
Wayland will be making its 21st overall trip to nationals, seventh in the past decade and first since 2020 when the tourney was cancelled due to COVID. The Pioneers, who are 11-19 all-time at nationals, have advanced past the first round just once in their last six appearances, making it three rounds deep in 2018.
This will be Antelope Valley's fourth national tournament appearance and first since 2020. UAV owns a 1-2 national tourney record.
WBU ranks seventh in the NAIA in points per game, averaging 87 a contest, while Antelope Valley gets 84.3 to come in at 19
th. UAV holds opponents to 40 percent shooting from the field, which ranks ninth in the country, while opponents' 28 percent accuracy from 3-point range ranks third.
UAV is led in scoring by a trio of guards in senior Andrew Lewis (15.9 ppg), junior Michael Hayes (14.7) and senior Elias Ezenekew (14.1). Another senior guard, LeVontay Ott, chips in 9.4 ppg. The 6-foot-4 Hayes leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 per outing.
WBU's Pioneers won 13 of their last 14 games before falling in the SAC Tournament championship to No. 5 Langston, 80-68.
The WBU-UAV winner advance to the Opening Round championship at 6:30 Central Wednesday against either host Arizona Christian, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA and the top seed in the quadrant, or 16
th-seeded Corban (Ore.). The ACU Firestorm, winner of the Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season, are 24-5 overall while Corban, an at-large selection out of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, is 20-10.
"It's a tough pod but that's what the national tournament is. To get to Kansas City you have to beat two really good teams," Galyean said.
The Opening Round winner moves on to the final site in Kansas City, Mo., along with 15 other Opening Round winners. Those 16 teams will battle it out in Municipal Auditorium March 13-18.
Besides Wayland, two other SAC team made the 64-team field: Langston, which is hosting an Opening Round, and Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
The field consists of 37 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular season champions, regular season runners-up, tournament champions, or tournament runners-up, depending on the league. The number of teams in each league determines the number of automatic bids in each conference. Leagues with 10 or more schools received two automatic berths, while conferences with less than 10 institutions received one.
At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Men's Basketball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Men's Basketball Coaches Association and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
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NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament Qualifiers
| Institution |
Qualifying Method |
2023 Record |
Last Time |
Consecutive |
Appearances |
Championship Record |
Conference |
| Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
Cal Pac Regular Season Champion |
25-2 |
2020 |
1 |
4 |
1-2 |
California Pacific Conference |
| Arizona Christian |
GSAC Regular Season Champion |
24-5 |
2022 |
5 |
9 |
8-7 |
Golden State Athletic Conference |
| Baker (Kan.) |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2012 |
1 |
5 |
0-4 |
Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
At-Large |
17-12 |
2021 |
1 |
18 |
35-14 |
Crossroads League |
| Bethel (Kan.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2022 |
3 |
4 |
4-3 |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| College of Idaho |
Cascade Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
30-1 |
2022 |
2 |
25 |
28-22 |
Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
AMC Tournament Champion |
23-8 |
2018 |
1 |
23 |
13-22 |
American Midwest Conference |
| Columbia International (S.C.) |
AAC Tournament Champion |
18-13 |
N/A |
1 |
1 |
0-0 |
Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Concordia (Neb.) |
At-Large |
18-12 |
2022 |
2 |
12 |
14-11 |
Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Corban (Ore.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2017 |
1 |
1 |
0-1 |
Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Dordt (Iowa) |
GPAC Tournament Champion |
25-6 |
2022 |
2 |
7 |
6-7 |
Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Eastern Oregon |
Cascade Tournament No. 2 Seed |
21-10 |
2017 |
1 |
9 |
7-8 |
Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Evangel (Mo.) |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2022 |
2 |
14 |
13-13 |
Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Faulkner (Ala.) |
SSAC Tournament Runner-Up |
26-5 |
2022 |
4 |
14 |
14-11 |
Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Florida College |
Continental Tournament Runner-Up |
26-5 |
2022 |
2 |
2 |
1-1 |
Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) |
| Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
Mid-South Tournament Champion |
23-8 |
2022 |
2 |
8 |
2-7 |
Mid-South Conference |
| Georgetown (Ky.) |
Mid-South Regular Season Champion |
26-5 |
2022 |
32 |
42 |
73-39 |
Mid-South Conference |
| Grace (Ind.) |
Crossroads Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
27-3 |
2022 |
2 |
12 |
15-9 |
Crossroads League |
| Hope International (Calif.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2021 |
1 |
9 |
6-7 |
Golden State Athletic Conference |
| Huntington (Ind.) |
At-Large |
24-7 |
2022 |
2 |
10 |
12-9 |
Crossroads League |
| Indiana Tech |
WHAC Regular Season Champion |
27-3 |
2022 |
6 |
14 |
6-13 |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads Regular Season Runner-Up |
20-9 |
2022 |
15 |
16 |
34-11 |
Crossroads League |
| Iowa Wesleyan |
Continental Tournament Champion |
27-2 |
2011 |
1 |
6 |
1-5 |
Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
At-Large |
23-8 |
2020 |
1 |
4 |
4-2 |
River States Conference |
| IU South Bend (Ind.) |
Chicagoland Tournament Champion |
23-8 |
2022 |
4 |
4 |
1-2 |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| IU Southeast (Ind.) |
River States Tournament Champion |
23-8 |
2018 |
1 |
14 |
8-12 |
River States Conference |
| Jamestown (N.D.) |
GPAC Regular Season Champion |
25-6 |
2022 |
3 |
13 |
11-12 |
Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Kansas Wesleyan |
At-Large |
25-4 |
2022 |
2 |
7 |
4-6 |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Langston (Okla.) |
SAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
29-2 |
2018 |
1 |
7 |
3-6 |
Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Life (Ga.) |
At-Large |
19-10 |
2018 |
1 |
18 |
27-14 |
Southern States Athletic Conference |
| Lourdes (Ohio) |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2022 |
1 |
4 |
0-3 |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Loyola (La.) |
SSAC Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
24-6 |
2022 |
5 |
9 |
15-6 |
Southern States Athletic Conference |
| LSU Shreveport (La.) |
RRAC Regular Season Champion |
24-7 |
2022 |
18 |
18 |
14-17 |
Red River Athletic Conference |
| Madonna (Mich.) |
WHAC Tournament Champion |
24-7 |
2020 |
1 |
4 |
0-3 |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Marian (Ind.) |
At-Large |
21-9 |
2022 |
6 |
10 |
12-7 |
Crossroads League |
| Mayville State (N.D.) |
North Star Tournament Champion |
25-5 |
2020 |
1 |
11 |
8-10 |
North Star Athletic Association |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
At-Large |
20-9 |
2020 |
1 |
20 |
34-17 |
Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Montana Tech |
Frontier Tournament Champion |
26-4 |
2022 |
2 |
4 |
1-3 |
Frontier Conference |
| Morningside (Iowa) |
At-Large |
22-7 |
2021 |
1 |
19 |
16-17 |
Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Northwestern (Iowa) |
At-Large |
20-9 |
2022 |
4 |
25 |
31-22 |
Great Plains Athletic Conference |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan |
KCAC Regular Season Champion |
26-4 |
2022 |
6 |
11 |
19-8 |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Regular Season Champion |
23-7 |
2022 |
3 |
22 |
13-21 |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Ottawa (Ariz.) |
GSAC Tournament Champion |
21-9 |
2022 |
2 |
2 |
1-1 |
Golden State Athletic Conference |
| Peru State (Neb.) |
Regular Season Runner-Up |
24-7 |
2019 |
1 |
19 |
8-19 |
Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Pikeville (Ky.) |
At-Large |
19-12 |
2020 |
1 |
15 |
15-12 |
Mid-South Conference |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) |
River States Overall No. 1 Seed |
24-6 |
2021 |
1 |
9 |
6-8 |
River States Conference |
| SAGU (Texas) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2022 |
4 |
11 |
10-9 |
Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
At-Large |
24-7 |
2016 |
1 |
14 |
5-13 |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| Shawnee State (Ohio) |
At-Large |
17-12 |
2021 |
1 |
3 |
5-0 |
Mid-South Conference |
| Southeastern (Fla.) |
The Sun Tournament Champion |
18-12 |
2022 |
2 |
6 |
3-4 |
The Sun Conference |
| Southern Oregon (Ore.) |
At-Large |
20-10 |
2020 |
1 |
10 |
7-8 |
Cascade Collegiate Conference |
| Southwestern (Kan.) |
KCAC Tournament Champion |
25-6 |
2022 |
2 |
13 |
14-11 |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) |
At-Large |
24-7 |
2018 |
1 |
9 |
4-8 |
The Sun Conference |
| Texas A&M -Texarkana |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2021 |
1 |
2 |
0-1 |
Red River Athletic Conference |
| The Master's (Calif.) |
At-Large |
21-8 |
2020 |
1 |
12 |
7-10 |
Golden State Athletic Conference |
| Thomas (Ga.) |
At-Large |
17-8 |
N/A |
1 |
1 |
0-0 |
The Sun Conference |
| Thomas More (Ky.) |
At-Large |
22-8 |
2022 |
4 |
6 |
7-4 |
Mid-South Conference |
| Tougaloo (Miss.) |
GCAC Tournament Champion |
28-1 |
2021 |
1 |
9 |
2-7 |
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference |
| Union (Ky.) |
AAC Regular Season Champion |
27-2 |
2022 |
3 |
11 |
6-9 |
Appalachian Athletic Conference |
| Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
SAC Tournament Runner-Up |
23-8 |
2020 |
1 |
21 |
11-19 |
Sooner Athletic Conference |
| Westcliff (Calif.) |
Cal Pac Tournament Champion |
18-8 |
N/A |
1 |
1 |
0-0 |
California Pacific Conference |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
At-Large |
17-11 |
2020 |
1 |
23 |
21-21 |
Golden State Athletic Conference |
| William Penn (Iowa) |
Heart Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
28-3 |
2022 |
8 |
13 |
17-11 |
Heart of America Athletic Conference |
| Xavier (La.) |
RRAC Tournament Champion |
22-8 |
2022 |
4 |
22 |
6-20 |
Red River Athletic Conference |
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