KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City University appears in the NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament for the fifth consecutive year facing Stillman (Ala.) at 2:15 p.m. March 21 at Municipal Auditorium.
The Stars (21-10) drew the seventh seed in the Duer bracket and the 25th spot in the latest NAIA rankings. OCU reached the NAIA Tournament for the 25th time.
Oklahoma City has captured six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008. OCU owns a 48-17 all-time mark in the NAIA Tournament.
The Stars collected their 10th Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament championship 74-73 over 18th-ranked John Brown (Ark.) on March 2 at Abe Lemons Arena. Trae Bryant sank a layup with 4.6 seconds left for the crucial basket. OCU won its first SAC Tournament title since March 2, 2013, when the Stars took down John Brown 77-72 in Shawnee, Okla.
OCU reached the title tilt after an 84-73 away win over Langston on Feb. 26 and a 73-69 victory over Panhandle State on March 1. Langston and Panhandle State each took two wins over OCU during the regular season.
Four Stars took all-conference honors. Chris Williams became SAC newcomer of the year, first-team all-SAC and SAC Tournament most valuable player. Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, tops the Stars with 19.3 points and 1.48 steals a contest. Oklahoma City's Anthony Davis nabbed third-team all-conference. Elijah Christman and Eric McCollum racked up honorable-mention all-SAC.
OCU has gone 3-3 against top-25 opponents this season. The Stars have made five appearances in the NAIA Top 25 this season, starting the season at No. 5 in the ratings. OCU rates fourth in the NAIA as a team with a 78 percent free-throw percentage led by Williams' 87.4 percent shooting clip, which ranks fifth among the NAIA.
Vinay Patel has directed OCU to the 2019 SAC Tournament title and the 2017-18 SAC regular-season title. Patel has an 81-41 record in his fourth season with three consecutive 20-win seasons and four national-tournament appearances guiding the Stars.
Stillman (27-5) will be the lone team making its debut in the NAIA Division I Tournament field after collecting the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season title. This is Stillman's second season eligible for postseason play after joining the NAIA in the 2016-17 school year.
Prince McDaniel ramrods the Tigers with 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.33 steals a contest. McDaniel, a 6-6 junior, ranks third nationally with 3.37 3-pointers a game and shoots 41.9 percent from long range.
For ticket information, click here. Stretch Internet, the NAIA's official video streaming company of select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting the first 30 games from Kansas City. Day passes cost $9.95, while an all-tournament pass with 30 games is available for $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here. All of the games of the national championship will be available via live stats here.
ESPN3 will broadcast the NAIA Division I Tournament championship game live 8 p.m. CDT March 26.