March 16, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (press book) The Buffalo-Funds-National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I Men's Basketball National Championship is gearing up for its 71st event with the 2008 edition occurring from March 19-25 at historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo. In all, there are 31 games spanning seven days starting with No. 12 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) taking on Wayland Baptist (Texas) at 9 a.m. CST on Wednesday, March 19. The first three days pack in eight games each day starting at 9 a.m. Single session and all-tournament tickets are on sale through the Municipal Auditorium Box Office or Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 816-931-3330 or in person at any Ticketmaster Outlet throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Holding the only undefeated mark in the whole NAIA men's basketball world, No. 1 seed Georgetown (Ky.) sits 32-0 and appears in its 17^th straight Championship event and 27^th overall. The Tigers own the most Championship appearances out of any of the 2008 teams and look to make a bit of history. GC is trying to become the first team since Oklahoma City in 1992 to rattle through the entire year unbeaten and win the title. OCU, this year's defending national champion, won the 1992 ring thanks to a 38-0 perfect mark. Georgetown senior forward Gus Chase puts up team-best averages of 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

"The day you throw the ball up, all seeds really do not matter," said Georgetown head coach Happy Osborne, who has over 350 wins in 12 seasons at GC. "You have to win five games in the tournament. You have to take it one game at a time. I really feel that the seedings don't matter. The bottom line is you have to go out and play. Every one (team) is a No. 1 seed and all 32 teams have a chance."

"I expect my kids to give it our all, just like all season long."

Georgetown searches for its second Championship title overall as it faces Emmanuel (Ga.), who makes its first trip ever to Kansas City, on Wednesday, March 19 at 4:30 p.m. CST.

Defending national champion Oklahoma City is the No. 7 seed. Coming from the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Stars own a Championship record of 42-12 (.778) in 17 previous appearances. OCU boasts the most Championships (5) of any program in this year's field and takes on Cumberland (Tenn.), Thursday at 8 p.m. The Stars have three players who average 15 points or better led by Rutgers-transfer, Ollie Bailey. The senior forward nets 18.7 points and snares 8.4 rebounds a game.

"We've got a chance," OCU coach Ray Harper said. "We're excited to go to Kansas City. We know we've got five games to win. We're going to pack our briefcases, we're going on a business trip and hopefully we win five games in seven days.

"If we correct our defensive rebounding, we'll see what happens in Kansas City. We've got a chance. It could get us one of these nights."

Three of the top four seeds are relative newcomers to the Championships - No. 2 Lee (Tenn.), No. 3 Lambuth (Tenn.) and No. 4 Louisiana State-Shreveport. In its fifth overall appearance, Lee hopes to bounce back after two straight first round exits. The Flames, who tie the 2006 team for the highest seeding, are 31-1 under head coach Tommy Brown. Senior guard Brad Harris, who has hit 93 3-pointers this year, broke a school record with 10 in one game earlier this season.

The Eagles out of Lambuth come into their fourth Championship and third straight on a hot streak. They are riding a 15-game winning streak under head coach Kevin Burton. Lambuth is scoring machine pumping out 95.3 points per game this year. Led by senior guard Jeremy Weddle (15.8 ppg), the Eagles have scored 100 points on eight occasions this year.

LSU-Shreveport and head coach Chad McDowell enter their fourth Championship after winning the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship. Senior center Jamon Morris leads the NAIA in double-doubles with 19. Senior guard Josh Porter compliments Morris' post presence by pouring in 22.7 points per contest, which is good for fourth-best in the country.

2007 Championship runner-up Concordia (Calif.) holds the No. 6 seed this year. The Eagles enter their fifth straight Championship under head coach Ken Ammann, the school leader in coaching victories. Senior guard Ryan Read is nearing the 2,000-point plateau as he averages 16.7 points per game. Sophomore guard Terrence Worthy leads NAIA in total steals (94) as he looks to break his 2007 school-record mark of 97.

Another team to watch out for is No. 8 seed Robert Morris (Ill.). The Eagles turn to senior forward Othyus Jeffers, who nets 21.5 points and grabs 8.9 caroms a game. Under head coach Al Bruehl, RMC features five NCAA Division I transfers and is 26-3 this year.

Two other experienced and successful programs to mention are No. 13 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and unseeded Oklahoma Baptist. APU enters its 13^th straight and 16^th overall Championship. The Cougars, who stand 22-15 in this event, came on strong at the end of this season. After starting out with a 10-7 record and unranked in the polls under rookie head coach Justin Leslie, the Cougars finished 12-3 in the always tough Golden State Athletic Conference. Despite not getting seeded, the OBU Bison boast a 45-19 Championship record in 20 previous all-time appearances. Head coach Doug Tolin, who recently eclipsed the 200-win mark, relies on junior guard Brent Jones (16.1 ppg, 3.8 apg).

The first 28 games of the Championships will be video-streamed live on the Internet, while the Semifinal round (March 24) and National Championship Game (March 25) will air live nationwide on CBS College Sports Network (CSTV), with Jason Knapp calling the action and Steve Wolf providing color analysis.

The Championships are a single-elimination tournament featuring 15 automatic qualifiers from eleven Division I affiliated conferences, one independent and 16 at-large berths, which are determined using the final regular-season rating released March 5.

Since 1967, only seven No. 1 seeds have won the Championship event. Mountain State, the No. 5 seed this year, was the last one do so back in 2004. Upsets are the norm with numerous unseeded teams sending top seeds home. Last year, unseeded Faulkner (Ala.) rattled through the Championship and appeared in the Final Four before falling to eventual national champion Oklahoma City.

For more information on the Championships, click here.
For the complete bracket, click here.