NCAA DII Men's Championship Bracket
Official Midwest Regional Tournament Page
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A hungry Kentucky Wesleyan men’s basketball program is locked in and looking to make some noise when the NCAA Division II Championship Midwest Regional bracket starts today at Bellarmine University.
The Panthers (28-2 overall) will put their 26-game win streak on the line against Quincy in a heralded No 4/5 seed matchup. Both teams will have to play the waiting game as the last of four scheduled contests to be played in Knights Hall.
KWC and Quincy are projected to tip at 8:30 p.m. EST. The early game starts at noon with No. 3 Southern Indiana matched up against incoming league member Findlay, the No. 6 seed in the bracket.
No. 2 Ferris State will meet No. 7 Truman State at 2:30 p.m. while region host and top seed Bellarmine draws Wisconsin-Parkside at 6 p.m. in another GLVC head-to-head showdown.
Video and live stats are available for viewing through Bellarmine’s official regional tournament page on the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Sports Network.
The Panthers ran roughshod through the Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season and postseason schedule, rolling to back-to-back conference tournament titles.
Kentucky Wesleyan has steadily climbed the NABC Top-25 Polls throughout the season as well, now ranked fifth. With the additional acclaim make this year’s tournament that much more of an exciting prospect.
Coach Happy Osborne, along with seniors Ken-Jah Bosley and Jordan Jacks and co., are playing as well as anyone in the country and are primed to make this year’s tournament run one to remember.
Last year, KWC was ranked 10th nationally when the Panthers drew the No. 8 seed in the region played at Wisconsin-Parkside. A first-round exit stung, but you can bet that only fueled the drive to get back in the 64-team bracket.
The Panthers haven’t lost since Nov. 19 when their talents were showcased on WatchESPN for the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
Since then, KWC has been unstoppable, winning the conference semifinals by 22 points and cruising in the championship final by an 18-point margin of victory.
Quincy is 24-6 overall with its last action a loss in the GLVC Championships quarterfinals against Lewis. A cursory scan of the Hawks’ schedule reveals two closely-contested defeats against Bellarmine in overtime and a three-point loss to USI.
The Hawks put together a 14-game win streak and an explosive offensive averaging over 85 points per game is paced by Joseph Tagarelli (20.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg). Three other players average double-digit scoring as well.
The winner would advance to face Bellarmine/Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, March 12, at a time to be determined.