Northern Kentucky welcomes the first stop on what many consider the greatest grass-roots national college basketball tournament in America this weekend.
We’re talking about the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) tournaments that drop by Thomas More – both the women and men – for their first stop in a combined 125 years of national college basketball postseason playoffs. But for the first time, it’s a combined 64-team field for each of the men’s and women’s tourneys. Previously, there had been two 32-team divisions. Now as in Kentucky high school basketball, it’s everybody in the same tournament.
In their penultimate season in the NAIA as the Saints move back to the NCAA’s Division II the year after next, TMU is enjoying the kind of success that allows both its men’s and women’s programs to host one of 16 regional first-round, four-team playoffs at the Connor Athletics Center in Crestview Hills.
The 64-team first-round regionals will send their winners on to the 16-team national finals. The women finish their 41st annual tourney in Sioux City, Iowa, March 17-22. The men return for the 84th time to the legendary site of Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, also March 17-22.
With its membership emphasizing small private schools, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and regional state schools, the NAIA has always seemed a more down-to-earth place for sports. Maybe not so corporate with so many big-bucks issues as the NCAA.
Which is why if you get the chance, get out to the Connor Center this weekend. It will be well worth your time. And you have six games to choose from, four on Friday alone.
TMU WOMEN GO FIRST
The nationally ranked No. 3 TMU women hit the floor first Friday afternoon against the legendary Haskell Indian Nations University out of Lawrence, Kan., at 1 p.m. Haskell, alma Mater of Jim Thorpe, one of the greatest American athletes ever, brings a tradition of some of the great college football programs in American history in the early decades of the 20th Century.
The unranked Fightin’ Indians (14-12), with a roster from much of the western half of the nation, are led by sophomore guard Miracle Spotted Bear out of Pine Ridge, S.D.
The 26-4 Lady Saints, who dropped a spot to No. 3 in the final rankings, were upset in the Mid-South Tournament last week, 53-52, by Lindsey-Wilson, their second loss in the competitive Mid-South in the last six games. But they’ve had more two weeks since the loss to recharge their batteries for two-time Mid-South Coach of the Year Jeff Hans.
The Saints are led by a pair of veteran All-Mid-South first-team players – grad student Alexah Chrisman and senior Taylor Clos. Three other Saints – Zoie Barth, Courtney Hurst and Emily Simon were named to the All-South second team.
In the other bracket, tipping off at 3 p.m. Friday, a pair of ranked teams face off with No. 23 Lyon College (25-4) out of Batesville, Ark., taking on No. 30 Grand View University (24-7) out of Des Moines, Iowa.
Friday’s winners meet at 3 p.m. Saturday for the right to move on to Sioux City.
TMU MEN DEFEND THEIR NO. 5 NATIONAL FINISH
In the second doubleheader Friday, Thomas More’s 27-4 men open against a high-scoring 17-10 Grand View men’s team averaging above 80 points a game at 5:30 p.m.
The Thomas More men, averaging 79.6 points a game and shooting just over 50 percent (50.6) from the field, are right up there with the Iowa team in scoring the ball. The Saints are led by 6-foot-6 junior Ryan Batte who is averaging 21.2 points a game and 7.1 rebounds.
Losing to Georgetown 68-59 in the Mid-South tourney last week was more a case of just not shooting the ball well, TMU Coach Justin Ray said. No need to re-charge, he said, just put the ball in the basket.
Grand View’s Vikings are led by 5-11 senior guard Ryan Miller averaging 20.5 points a game.
In the second men’s game Friday at 7:30 p.m., NAIA No. 32 Stillman College
(20-8) out of Tuscaloosa, Ala., faces No. 31 Union (Ky.), who finished 25-8, a7:30 p.m. For HBCU Stillman, it’s their fifth straight NAIA tourney bid.
Union Coach Kevin Burton was not at all happy with the seeding for his team’s trip to Crestview Hills. “I am very disappointed that the selection committee has Union as a 10 seed within our bracket . . . a 10 seed equates us being around 40th in the overall bracket when we should be around 20.”
TICKET, COVERAGE INFO
*** Tickets will be $10 per session. Session 1 will be games 1 and 2 on Friday and games 3 and 4 on Friday will be Session 2. The Connor Convocation Center will be cleared between Sessions 1 and 2. Tickets for Saturday games will be $10 per game and the Connor Convocation Center will be cleared between games Saturday. Purchase tickets on Hometown tickets on the TMU website beforehand as no tickets will be sold at the door. The link for tickets is here.
*** Video streaming will be available for $10 a game or $30 for an unlimited for pass. The link for the video stream is https://www.team1sports.com/thomasmore/
Session 1 Friday: Women’s Basketball
Thomas More vs Haskell (Kan.), 1 pm
Lyon (Ark.) vs Grand View (Iowa), 3 pm
Session 2 Friday: Men’s Basketball
Thomas More vs Grand View (Iowa), 5:30 pm
Stillman (Iowa) vs Union (Ky.), 7:30 pm
Session 3 Saturday: Women’s championship, 3 p.m.
Session 4 Saturday: Men’s championship, 6 p.m.
