The official pairings for the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) West Region men’s basketball tournament were released Monday morning. The tournament, hosted by Chapman University in Orange, California, will be played Feb. 29th and March 1.

Nebraska Wesleyan University received the No. 1 seed for the tournament and will take on the No. 4 seed, University of California-Santa Cruz. The Prairie Wolves will play the opening game of the tournament on Friday (Feb. 29) at 5 pm (PST). Nebraska Wesleyan has an overall record of 13-12 but their 6-1 regional record gives them the top seed. UC-Santa Cruz is 2-21 overall and 1-14 in regional play.

The other game of the tournament features the No. 2 seed Chapman University (18-7, 10-5) hosting the No. 3 seed University of Dallas (11-13, 8-9). Game two will tip-off at 7 pm (PST).

On Saturday (Mar. 1), the consolation game will be played at 5 pm (PST), with the championship game to follow at 7 pm (PST).

The NWU men are playing for an At-large bid for the NCAA Division III Championships. The Prairie Wolves are grouped in pool B with 32 teams where four At-large bids are handed out. These two AD3I Tournament games count towards the team’s regional record, which will help determine the four selections for the DIII Championships.

This is the third season of the AD3I West Region Tournament. The tournament is held for NCAA DIII teams that do not have the opportunity to participate in a conference tournament.

Tournament Schedule

Friday, February 29

Game 1 - #1 Nebraska Wesleyan (13-12, 6-1) vs. #4 UC-Santa Cruz (2-21, 1-14), 5 pm (PST)

Game 2 - #2 Chapman (18-7, 10-5) vs. #3 Dallas (11-13, 8-9), 7 pm (PST)

Saturday, March 1

Game 3 – Consolation Game/Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2, 5 pm (PST)

Game 4 – Championship Game/Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2, 7 pm (PST)