Northwest, Missouri Western earn home games in MIAA Men's Basketball Championships

Brandon Zenner, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Feb. 28—While the No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State men knew where they stood in the MIAA standings, the Missouri Western men had to wait until the final buzzer of the regular season.

Following a 105-101 loss by Missouri Southern in overtime, Missouri Western coach Will Martin ran through the halls of MWSU Fieldhouse yelling with joy prior to meeting with members of the media. The result meant Missouri Western, 74-72 winners over Nebraska-Kearney, would earn the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament.

Both teams will host home games Wednesday in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals with their top-four finishes. Northwest has won the MIAA for the past eight season and is trying for a sixth-straight tournament title.

Northwest, which finished a 21-1 year with a win over Fort Hays State on Saturday, will welcome No. 8-seed Emporia State to Bearcat Arena at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Northwest won the home meeting 92-71 before squeaking out a 69-62 road win Feb. 18.

The highest seed remaining after the quarterfinals will host Friday's semi and Saturday's championship, priming Bearcat Arena for the opportunity for home-court advantage.

With Saturday's results, Missouri Western earned the No. 3 seed over Missouri Southern, despite a tied record, due to quality of wins. Western defeated Washburn twice this year, making the Ichabods' win over Northwest the only better win this year. Washburn earned the No. 2 seed.

Western will host No. 6 Lincoln in the quarterfinal round at MWSU Fieldhouse. Western won 89-73 at home Dec. 3 but lost 95-74 in Jefferson City on Jan. 30.

The quarterfinal will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The other matchups include No. 2 Washburn vs. No. 7 Rogers State and No. 4 Missouri Southern vs. No. 5 Central Oklahoma.

Following the tournament, the NCAA Division II selection show will be held Sunday to announce the six teams from the NSIC and MIAA that will be represented in the Central Region field for the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Neither the Northwest or Missouri Western women advanced to the MIAA Tournament.

Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.