Lawrence Reporter

Wildcats Earn At-Large Bid to 2023 NAIA National Tournament

For just the fifth time in school history and third time since the 1941 season, the Baker men's basketball team has earned a spot in the NAIA National Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will travel to Park City, Kan., for the first and second round on March 7-8.

"We are really excited for the opportunity to play in the National Tournament and to represent Baker University and the Heart of America Athletic Conference," head coach Sean Dooley said. Our guys have worked really hard this season to earn this opportunity and we are looking forward to playing in Park City and competing against a great Ottawa Arizona team. Hopefully, Wildcat nation will come out and continue to support this team like they have all year!"

The Wildcats have made five NAIA tournament appearances all-time. The Wildcats earned a spot in 1937 and 1941. Baker then earned a spot in the 1996 NAIA Division II National Tournament. Baker then made their last trip in 2012, under head coach Brett Ballard. With four previous appearances in the tournament, the Wildcats are 0-4 in tournament play and look for their first win at the National Tournament.

Baker finished the regular season with a record of 21-7 and after a win over MidAmerica in the Heart of America Quarterfinals, the Wildcats fell to William Penn and heads into the NAIA National Tournament with a record of 22-8.

Baker was exactly 11-4 both at home and on the road this season while posting a conference record of 16-6, including a win over William Penn in the regular season to hand the Statesmen their first loss during conference play.

So far this season, the Wildcats have been led in scoring by Jalen Patterson who has averaged 18.0 points per game, while teammate Quentin Harvey averaged 16 points per game and Noah Rigatuso added 13.5 points per game.

In the first round of the tournament, the Wildcats will face off with No. 7 Ottawa (Ariz.), who comes into the tournament with an overall record of 21-9, while going 10-8 in conference play. The Spirit earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the GSAC Conference Tournament.

The Spirit have three players averaging double figures in scoring, with Josiah De'laCerda leading the team with 17.6 points per game, while Keshawn Bruner adds 15.5 and Alex Villi tacks on 12.4 points per game.

The other two teams in the Park City region will be No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 15 Concordia (Neb.). The Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan enter the tournament with a record of 26-4, while going 20-2 in conference play. Concordia was able to post a record of 18-12, going 11-9 in conference play.

Tipoff for the Wildcats is scheduled for 2 p.m., on Tuesday, March 7, at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan.

Original source can be found here.