The brackets for the men's and women's NAIA national championship basketball tournaments were announced Thursday, and the Frontier Conference will have a combined eight teams competing in the Battle For The Red Banner.
On the men's side, Frontier regular-season and tournament champion Rocky Mountain College (28-3) will be the No. 2 seed in the Liston Quadrant. The Battlin' Bears will host one of 16 four-team "pods" across the country for the first and second rounds to begin the tournament.
NAIA championship brackets: Men | Women
Rocky will face No. 15 seed Simpson (Calif.) at the Fortin Center on March 13. The other game in Billings will pit No. 7 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and No. 10 The Master's (Calif.). The winners of those games will square off March 14.
The winners of each four-team pod will advance to the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Kansas City, Mo., March 19-24 at Municipal Auditorium.
Montana Tech, Carroll and Bellevue (Neb.) also made the men's field as at-large bids.
The Orediggers (22-8) are a No. 8 seed in the Liston Quardrant and will face No. 9 Oklahoma City in a first-round game in Bartlesville, Okla. Carroll (20-9) is a 10 seed in the Naismith Quadrant, where it will face No. 7 Wayland Baptist (Texas) in Chandler, Ariz. Bellevue (22-7) is the No. 14 seed in the Liston Quadrant facing Huntington (Ind.) on the Foresters' home floor.
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Additionally, defending national champion College of Idaho is a No. 12 seed in the Naismith Quadrant. The Yotes boast three former high school standouts from Montana.
For the women, four Frontier Conference teams are included in the bracket, including league tournament champion Montana Tech.
The Orediggers are No. 5 seed in the Duer Quadrant, where they will take on No. 12 Nelson (Texas) in a first round game in Lewiston, Idaho. Montana Tech is fresh off winning its first league tournament title since 1983.
Frontier regular season champ Dakota State (26-5) will be a No. 3 seed and hosting a four-team pod in the Naismith Quadrant in Madison, S.D. The Trojans will face No. 14 Grand View (Iowa) in the opening round.
Rocky Mountain College is also included in the women's bracket as a No. 8 seed in the Cramer Quadrant. The Battlin' Bears (20-9) are paired with No. 9 seed Southern Oregon in the first round in Sioux Center, Iowa. In addition, Carroll (19-10) is the No. 9 seed in the Liston Quadrant taking on No. 8 seed Columbia (Mo.) in the first round in Indianapolis.
The winner of each four-team women's pod will advance to the NAIA 16-team final site in Sioux City, Iowa, March 19-24.
