MCC
[Basketball] NAIA MEN'S BASKETBALL – 1ST ROUND PREVIEW- Vikings vs Bears
Kansas City- MO -The 80th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship is about to tip-off for #6 Grand View (20-10) as they take on #3 Pikeville (Ky.) (26-7), Thursday, March 16, 9:00 a.m. in Kansas City, Missouri at Municipal Auditorium. Game Notes: Grand View is making its first NAIA Division I national championship appearance and making its first trip to either national event since the 2010 NAIA Division II championship … Pikeville is 2-2 in first round games over the last four national championship events, falling in last season's opening round to William Jessup (Calif.) … Vikings center Alex Welsch scored a career-high 22 points in the the team's Heart Tournament loss to Missouri Valley, and enters the tournament ranked No. 6 in the NAIA in blocks (2.1) . Grand View ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in three-point field goal percentage defense (.290), No. 3 in free throw percentage (.765), and No. 5 in field goal percentage defense (.399) … Pikeville is 19-0 this season when leading at halftime, 13-1 when shooting at least 35 percent from three-point range, and 11-0 when recording 15 or more assists.2017 PostseasonGVU – L, 88-93 vs Missouri ValleyUP – W, 82-62 vs Cumberland (Tenn.); W, 74-67 vs Georgetown (Ky.); L, 63-78 vs Life (Ga.)NAIA Division I HistoryGVU – 1st appearanceUP – 11th appearance (5th consecutive), 11-9 all-time recordStatistical ComparisonPoints Scored: GVU – 85.8; UP – 77.3Points Allowed: GVU – 77.2; UP – 64.5FG Pct.: GVU – .468; UP – .457Opp FG Pct.: GVU – .399; UP – .4243FG Pct.: GVU – .351; UP – .327FT Pct.: GVU – .765; UP – .685Rebound Margin: GVU – +1.4; UP – +2.7Turnover Margin: GVU – (-)1.1; UP – +4.9Statistical LeadersScoring: GVU – Chase Mullen (15.5); UP – Darrion Leslie (14.2)Rebounding: GVU – Jjuan Hadnot (7.6); UP – Michael Lewis (7.4)Assists: GVU – Mullen (5.0); UP – Trey Rakes (2.2)Steals: GVU – Mullen (1.1); UP – Rze Culbreath (1.5)Blocked Shots: GVU – Alex Welsch (2.1); UP – Lewis (1.7)FG Pct.: GVU – Jay Schon (.660); UP – Leslie (.590)3FG Pct.: GVU – Kerry Green (.367); UP – Rakes (.387)FT Pct.: GVU – .765; UP – Rakes (.807)Radio Coverage – Mark Amadeo on gvvikings.com – https://portal.stretchinternet.com/grandview/ or 88.1FM KDPS Radio Tournament Stats page- includes live game stat links http://www.dakstats.com/websync/Pages/Tournament/TournamentPage.aspx?association=10&sg=MBB&tour=2103Video Streaming The first 30 games of the national championship will be video streamed live on www.NAIANetwork.com. Fans can watch with a paid subscription. The championship final will be on ESPN3 on March 21 at 7 p.m. CST.ESPN3 Coverage (Click here to gain access to ESPN3) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is excited to announce that the championship final game of all four NAIA Basketball National Championship tournaments will be available on ESPN3.Division I Men's Basketball (#NAIAShowtime)• March, 21 7 p.m. CDT | National Championship final | Watch HERE on ESPN3About ESPN3• List of ESPN3 service providers (high speed internet) | Click Here• List of ESPN3 service providers (video) | Click Here• You may also download the WatchESPN app for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire smartphones and tablets.