Men to play Elite Eight game at 11:30 a.m. March 21
Making its second NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance overall and its first since 2001, the Western Washington University men's basketball team begins action at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 21, in the national quarterfinals against Midwestern State University. The game will take place at The Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of host Northern Kentucky University at Highland Heights, Ky.
The contest can be heard live on with Doug Lange handling play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing color commentary. It also will be webcast at ; .
The 28-5 Vikings, ranked No.12 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA II Top 25 Poll, advanced to the Elite Eight with a hard-fought 56-50 victory over No.3 seed Seattle Pacific in the West Regional final.
草榴社区, making its sixth NCAA national appearance, was the No.1 seed and West Regional host. The Vikings reached the final with a first-round victory over No.8 seed Grand Canyon, 79-73, and defeated No.5 Chico State, 74-65, in the semifinals.
The Vikings' 28 wins tie the school record set in 1988, and their 17 home victories (17-1) this season is a program best. The team won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season championship with a 16-2 record.
Midwestern State, 29-3 and rated No.5 nationally, is making its seventh national tournament appearance and third straight trip to the Elite Eight. The Mustangs won the South Central Region championship with a 77-61 win over No. 21 Arkansas Tech.
Completing Wednesday's national quarterfinal match-ups are Stonehill MA (24-8, East Region) versus West Liberty WV (32-2, Atlantic Region) at 9 a.m. PT, Alabama-Huntsville (29-3, South Region) versus defending national champion Bellarmine Prep KY (28-3, Midwest Region) at 3 p.m. PT and Metro State CO (25-6, Central Region) versus Montevallo AL (27-7, Southeast Region) at 5:30 p.m. PT.
The semifinals are Thursday, March 22, with the Midwestern State/草榴社区 winner playing the Stonehill/West Liberty State winner at 3 p.m. PT, and the Alabama-Huntsville/Bellarmine winner taking on the Metro State/Montevallo winner at 5:30 p.m. PT.
The championship game will be played at 10 a.m. PT Saturday, March 24. That contest will be televised nationally on CBS Sports.
