LANGSTON – The No. 5 Langston Lions (29-2) begin their journey for a national championship after being selected to the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship tournament field on Thursday, March 1.
The Lions earned a number two-seed after claiming the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship and the SAC tournament championship. The 64-team field will begin with the 2023 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship First and Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy, on Tuesday, March 7th at host sites throughout the country.
Langston, selected to the Duer Quadrant, was chosen as a site host. The Lions will host No. 7 seed Southwestern (Kan.), No. 10 seed Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 15 seed Southern Oregon beginning on Tuesday, March 7th at the historic C.F. Gayles Field House.
The tournament scheduled for Langston University is as follows.
March 7 | Game One – 6:00 p.m. CT
No. 2 Langston vs No. 15 Southern Oregon
March 7 | Game Two – 8:00 p.m. CT
No. 7 Southwestern (Kan.) vs No. 10 Northwestern (Iowa)
March 8 | Game Three – 7:00 p.m. CT
Game One winner vs Game Two winner
The 16 winners at each of these sites will advance to the 2023 NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., at the 85th annual NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, March 13-18. For more information on the national championship, click here.
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 teams in each league determines the number of automatic bids in each conference. Leagues with 10 or more schools receive two automatic berths, while conferences with less than 10 institutions receive 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.
