March 9, 2006

MBB NOTES: LSC Champ WTAMU Returning To NCAA-II South Central Regional This Weekend in PDF Format
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The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team will be traveling to Bolivar, Mo., to play in the NCAA-II men's South Central Regional Tournament, hosted by Southwest Baptist University. The Buffs received the number four seed in the Regional and will be playing fifth seeded Northwest Missouri State University from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in a first-round game on Saturday, March 11 at 6 p.m. at SBU's Meyer Sports Center {2,600}.

In other first-round games, third-seeded Central Missouri State University takes on fellow MIAA-foe, No. 6 seeded Truman State University at Noon, followed by a pair of Lone Star Conference rivals, second-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 13 Tarleton State University squaring off with seventh-seeded University of Central Oklahoma at 2:30 p.m.

WTAMU and NWMSU open the evening session at 6 p.m., followed by top-seed, No. 6 nationally ranked and host Southwest Baptist taking on eighth-seeded St. Edward's University, the Heartland Conference champion, at 8 p.m.

The CMSU/TSU winner will face the TSU/UCO winner in Sunday's semifinals at 5 p.m., followed by the WTAMU/NWMSU winner vs. the SBU/SEU winner.

The semifinal winners will meet in the Regional Championship game Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m.

Tuesday's winner will represent the South Central Region at the NCAA-II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass., March 22, 23 and 25. {See Page 6 for NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament Bracket}

The Buffs, 23-7 overall and winners of nine of the last 11 games, are among others receiving votes in this week's National Association Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Poll, after winning the LSC Conference Tournament this past weekend, WTAMU's first conference crown since the 2003 season. WTAMU won the title by defeating tournament host and North No. 1 seed, Southeastern Oklahoma, 64-62, in the semifinals and South No. 1 seed and 13th-ranked Tarleton State in the championship game, 92-85.

Buff Bits
- While WTAMU is making its ninth overall appearance in the NCAA-II National Tournament, this is the Buffs' first NCAA-II Tournament appearance since 2002-03, when they were eliminated in the first-round by another MIAA team, Washburn, 75-73.
- WTAMU is 2-0 vs. NWMSU, but this is the first meeting since Nov. 19, 1998, when the Buffs beat the Bearcats, 108-105 in OT, at NWMSU. The other match-up was in the 1948-49 season, with WTAMU winning, 58-43, on the Buffs' home court.
- WTAMU won the 1997-98 Regional, advancing to the Elite Eight.

Buffs On The Air and On The Web
Listen to Buff basketball action on the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM, with broadcasts starting 30 minutes before tip-off. Fans can also listen to the broadcasts via the internet at www.gobuffsgo.com, the official web site of WTAMU Athletics. There, fans can additionally access rosters, schedules, statistics and press releases of the Buffs and Lady Buffs throughout the year.

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