2008 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2008 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held from March 19th to 25th at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

. The 71st annual NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

basketball tournament features 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.

The official announcement of the 32-team field for the 71st Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship occurred late on Tuesday, March 11, with the announcement of the official bracket on Wednesday, March 12 at 5 p.m. CST. Early opening round action between No. 5 Mountain State (W.Va.) and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) went into two long overtimes. This caused a back up in game schedules. The late game featuring Southern Nazarene University

Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm

Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm features 17 men's and women's varsity sports teams at Southern Nazarene University. In 1999, the Crimson Storm athletic nickname replaced the "Redskins", and the "Thundercat" was debuted as the mascot in 2003. The Crimson Storm participates in the NAIA's Division I,...

and Point Loma Nazarene University

Point Loma Nazarene University

Point Loma Nazarene University is a Christian liberal arts college. Its main campus is located on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene.-History:...

was moved back from 10:30pm CST to 11:30pm CST. The late start caused many of the 3,000 fans to leave after halftime. Near the end of the game SNU rallied to tie the SeaLions 67-67 with 14 secs left sending the game into overtime. The game finally ended around 1:30am CST with Point Loma pulling off the upset over SNU. It was the latest finishing NAIA tournament game. Games for the next day started in about 6 hours.

The championship game featured defending champions 7 seed Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

and 5 seed Mountain State University

Mountain State University

Mountain State University is a private nonsectarian university based in Beckley, West Virginia, United States. The university offers undergraduate and master's degree programs, as well as a doctoral degree program. Most of the university's programs focus on the professions in business,...

. Oklahoma City won the game, giving them back to back National Championships in win over Mountain State University (75-72). Oklahoma City is the first team since Life University

Life University

Life University is located in Marietta, Georgia. It is best known for its doctorate degree program in chiropractic, but it also offers a number of undergraduate programs.- History :...

(Ga.) won the '99-'00 titles .
Oklahoma City was making its third straight NAIA title game appearance, becoming the first team since Kentucky State University from 1970-72 to so. The Stars were defeated in the 2006 championship game by Texas Wesleyan University, 67-65 .

Awards and honors

Leading scorer: Othyus Jeffers, Robert Morris (Ill.)
Leading rebounder: Nestor Colmenares, Campbellsville (Ky.)
Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship Award: Campbellsville (Ky.)
Charles A. Krigel Award: Keith Adkins, Campbellsville (Ky.)
Chuck Walden Memorial Trophy: Kansas City Life Insurance Company
Frank Cramer Award: John Kornitzer, Buffalo Funds
Most consecutive tournament appearances: 17th, Georgetown (Ky.)
Most tournament appearances: Georgetown (Ky.), 27th of 30, appearances to the NAIA Tournament
Oklahoma City notched its 47th tournament win, moving past Central Washington for sole possession of third place on the all-time list. The Stars trail Georgetown College (Ky.), which has a record 49 wins, and Oklahoma Baptist, which has 48 victories.

Awards and honors

2008 NAIA bracket

See also