JOURNEY SET: OKWU top regional seed in NAIA men's basketball tourney

Mike Tupa, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
·3 min read
Jaden Lietzke puts his whole self into a bucket for Oklahoma Wesleyan University during a conference tournament game on Feb. 22, 2023.
Jaden Lietzke puts his whole self into a bucket for Oklahoma Wesleyan University during a conference tournament game on Feb. 22, 2023.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University's men's basketball team now has a road map to Kansas City.

Not, that kind of a road map.

But, the Eagles know which teams they'll have to defeat in order to qualify for the NAIA Sweet 16 in Kansas city.

On Thursday, the NAIA announced the field of 64 teams that will start the competition.

The 64 have been divided into 16 regionals, which will be played March 7-8.

Each regional winner will advance to Kansas City, the site at which the national championship will be decided.

OKWU powered last year into the Elite Eight before losing.

The Eagles (26-4) have been assigned to the regional in Park City, Kan.

They are seeded No. 2 in their region. The other four teams in the regional include No. 7 Ottawa (Ariz.), No. 10 Baker (Kan.) and No. 15 Concordia (Neb.).

This a straight elimination format.

On March 7, the Eagles will take on Concordia in the noon game. At 2 p.m., Ottawa and Baker will clash.

The regional title game is set for 3 p.m. Thursday.

Concordia (18-12) is no stranger to the tourney, having earned automatic qualification in 2020 and 2022.

Noah Schutte is Concordia's primary star, averaging 20-points-plus and 7.0-rebounds-plus per game.

Interestingly, OKWU and Concordia already collided this season.

They met Dec. 20 as part of multiple games in a Nebraska venue. OKWU won, 79-74, Jaden Lietzke tallied 23 points -- including 11 of 15 field goal shooting -- to lead OKWU, followed by Derrick Talton Jr. with 17 and Keleb Stokes with 16.

The Eagles shot a sizzling 59 percent from the field. But, they have room to improve, as they made a total of only two three-pointers.

Schutte scored 23 and pulled down eight boards for Concordia, followed by Gage Smith with 17 points and 15 boards.

Following are the 16 four-team regionals.

Park City, Kan.: Oklahoma Wesleyan, Ottawa (Ariz.), Baker (Kan.), Concordia (Neb.).

Langston: Langston, Southwestern (Kan.), Northwestern (Iowa), Southern Oregon.

Wichita, Kan.: Morningside (Iowa), Kansas Wesleyan, IU Kokomo (Ind.), Columbia (Mo.).

Jamestown, N.D.: Jamestown (N.D.), Peru State (Neb.), Mayville State (N.D.), Bethel (Kan.).

Georgetown, Ky.: Georgetown (Ky.), Indiana Wesleyan, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Lourdes (Ohio).

Fort Wayne, Ind: Indiana Tech, Iowa Wesleyan, Evangel (Mo.), IU South Bend (Ind.).

Caldwell, Idaho: College of Idaho, Xavier (La.), Hope International (Calif.), Westcliff (Calif.).

Alexandria, La.: Huntington (Ind.), LSU Shreveport (La.), Thomas (Ga.), Pikeville (Ky.).

New Orleans, La.: Loyola (La.), Tougaloo (Miss.), Texas A&M Tekarkana, SAGU (Texas).

Lakeland, Fla.: Florida College, The Masters (Calif.), St. Thomas (Fla.), Life (Ga.).

Osklaoosa, Iowa: William Penn (Iowa), Rio Grande (Ohio), Marian (Ind.), Saint Xavier (Ill.).

Butte, Mont.: Montana Tech, Thomas More (Ky.), Eastern Oregon, Westmont (Calif.).

Montgomery, Ala.: Faulkner (Ala.), Union (Ky.), Southeastern (Fla.), Shawnee State (Ohio).

Winona Lake, Ind.: Grace (Ind.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Madonna (Mich.), Columbia International (S.C.).

Henderson, Tenn.; Dordt (Iowa), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), IU Southeast (Ind.), Bethel (Ind.).

Glendale, Ariz.: Arizona Christian, Antelope Valley (Calif.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Corban (Ore.)

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan receives NAIA basketball regional assignment