KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Langston University Lions begin their quest for a national championship after being selected to the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship tournament field for the third straight season.
The 64-team bracket will begin with the first and second rounds at host sites nationwide on Friday, March 14. The 16 winners at each of these sites will advance to the 2025 NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., at the 87th annual NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, March 20-25.
The Lions, selected to the Naismith Quadrant, earned a No. 4 seed and will serve as hosts at Langston University. In their pod of four teams includes No. 5 seed Central Baptist, No. 12 seed William Carey (Miss.) and No. 13 seed Saint Mary (Kan.)
Langston will be making their ninth appearance at the NAIA National Tournament and third straight under second-year head coach Chris Wright.
The tournament schedule for the Lions is as follows.
March 14 | Game One – 1 pm CT
Langston (Okla.) vs Saint Mary (Kan.)
March 14 | Game Two – 3 pm CT
Central Baptist (Ark.) vs William Carey (Miss.)
March 15 | Game Three – 4 pm CT
Game One winner vs Game Two winner
The field consists of 36 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 past president of the NAIA-Men's Basketball Coaches Association and four at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
Tickets to the first and second rounds hosted by Langston University are on sale now at the link here or through the Hometown Ticketing App.
