NEW ORLEANS, La. (GCAConf.com) –Three teams from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference have been selected to compete in the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Talladega College, Xavier University and Philander Smith College will represent the GCAC in the 32-team field.
Talladega (29-4), the GCAC regular season and tournament champion, is the No. 2 overall seed and will play in the Liston Bracket. The Tornadoes will open against Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Thursday, March 19 at 2:15 p.m., with the winner taking on either No. 15 Columbia (Mo.) or Our Lady of the Lake (Texas). Talladega will be making their third tournament appearance and second in a row. The Tornadoes are 1-2 in the tournament all-time.
Xavier (24-9), an at-large selection, will face No. 13 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) Thursday, March 19 at 4.30 p.m. in the Cramer Bracket. The victor will face the winner of No. 4 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) vs. Missouri Valley (21-10). The Gold Rush will be playing in the tournament for the 16th time. Xavier has a 4-15 record all-time in the championship tournament.
Philander Smith (20-9) is also an at-large pick and will take on No. 3 Cal State San Marcos in the Duer Bracket on Wednesday, March 18 at 1:15 p.m. The winner will face either No. 14 Georgetown (Ky.) or Arizona Christian in the second round. The Panthers are making their third straight tournament appearance and looking for their first tournament win.
The 32-team, single elimination event will take place from March 18 – 24 at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo., for the 14th-straight year and 51st time overall. For tickets as low as $5 per person, go to NAIAHoops.com/tickets.
