Mustangs face Raiders in national tournament opener

Complete Tournament Bracket | Final NAIA DII MBB poll | NAIANetwork.com

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Fourteenth-ranked Mount Mercy received the No. 4 seed in the Naismith Bracket and will take on fifth-seeded and 17th-ranked Southern Oregon in the first round of the 25th Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship in Point Lookout, Mo.

The Mustangs (25-7) and Raiders (24-8) play the second of 16 opening round games, tipping off at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks (Mo.). The winner faces top-ranked and overall No. 1 seed Saint Francis (Ind.) (29-4) or eighth-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) in the second round on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

Mount Mercy is playing in the national tournament for the second year in a row, third time in four years and fourth time overall (1996, 2013, 2015, 2016). The Mustangs earned an automatic berth by winning the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) championship. They enter the tournament having won three straight and 15 of their last 17 games.

Southern Oregon claimed the Cascade Collegiate Conference's second automatic bid and is making its sixth appearance in the national championship since 1999. The Raiders enter the tournament having lost three of four. Two of those losses came to ranked opponents, including a 97-80 defeat by 16th-ranked Warner Pacific (Ore.) in the CCC semifinals.

Mount Mercy enters the national championship having won three straight and 15 of their last 17 games. The Mustangs got their first-ever win at nationals last year, edging Cal Maritime, 64-61, in the opening round before a 68-66 loss to eventual Fab Four qualifier and eighth-ranked Davenport (Mich.).

Southern Oregon was the only unseeded team to reach the quarterfinals at last year's national tournament. The Raiders upset 10th-ranked and 2014 national runner-up Midland (Neb.), 73-71, in the first round and then defeated 24th-ranked Grace (Ind.), 68-62. Second-ranked Embry-Riddle (Fla.) eliminated Southern Oregon, 79-71, in the quarterfinal round.

Five teams on Mount Mercy's schedule this season are also at the national tournament. The Mustangs swept College of the Ozarks (Mo.), York (Neb.) and Dakota State, whom they could meet a third time in the second round. Mount Mercy lost at fourth-ranked Briar Cliff and dropped a home-and-home series with third-ranked St. Francis (Ill.).

After opening round games on Wednesday and Thursday, March 9-10, second round action takes place on Friday, March 11. The quarterfinals are on Saturday, March 12, with the semifinals slated for Monday, March 14. The NAIA Division II championship game is Tuesday, March 15, and will be streamed live on ESPN3. The first 30 games of the tournament will be available by pay-per-view on NAIANetwork.com.