Photo/Central Methodist Sports Information

Photo/Central Methodist Sports Information

For the eighth straight season the William Woods University Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship, which begins next Wednesday, March 16th.  William Woods will play the overall top seeded Our Lady of the Lake on Wednesday, March 16th at 1:45 p.m.  in Independence, Missouri.

The Columbia College women’s basketball team, who is ranked No. 12 in the final 2015-16 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, received an at large bid and will face 22nd-ranked Baker University on Wednesday. The Cougars are making their 12th overall appearance to the national tournament.

Columbia defeated Baker earlier this season, 66-55, on Nov. 28 on the Wildcats’ home floor.

This season, Central Methodist has been ranked in the Top 25 for the majority of the season and are currently ranked 13th in the Nation. CMU sports a 26-4 record and finished 20-2 in conference play. The Lady Eagles clinched their first regular season conference title since 1997.  The 13th ranked Lady Eagles will face Great Falls, Montana on the 17th.

NAIA Women’s Bracket

Photo/ColumbiaCougars.com

Photo/ColumbiaCougars.com

The Park University men’s basketball team will be downtown next week, as one of 32 qualifiers for the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.   At No. 20 in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the Pirates (20-9) received an at-large bid to the tournament, taking on No. 14 Mid-America Christian University (23-9) Wednesday at 3 p.m., which enters the tournament as an at-large from the Sooner Athletic Conference.

The winner of Wednesday’s game against MACU will meet the winner of top seed Biola University and eighth-seeded Faulkner University in Friday’s second round at 10:45 a.m.

The 7th-ranked Columbia men’s basketball team will face LSU Shreveport (RV) on Wednesday, March 16th at 8:45 p.m.  The Cougars are the No. 2 seed in the Naismith bracket while LSUS is the No. 7 seed.  The Cougars (28-5) will be making their sixth straight appearance to the national championship and 20th overall after winning the American Midwest Conference (AMC) tournament championship over William Woods University on Monday evening.

NAIA Men’s Bracket