By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western both earned at-large bids into the 2021 NCAA Central Region Tournament set for March 13-16 in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
The NCAA DII Selection show took place late Sunday evening on NCAA.com.
The Bearcats will be the No. 2 seed, while Missouri Western will be No. 6.
Northwest will play the winner of No. 3 seed Washburn vs. No. 6 seed Missouri Western on Sunday at 7:45 p.m. The No. 1 seed Northern State will face the winner of the No. 4 seed MSU Moorhead vs. No. 5 seed Wayne State on Sunday as well.
The top-two seeds receive a first-round bye. Due to COVID-19 protocols, only six teams will take part in the regional instead of the usual eight, and only teams in the MIAA and the Northern Sun Conferences will represent the region.
The Central Region winner will advance to the Elite Eight, which will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, March 24-27.
Northwest (23-2) will be taking part in its eighth consecutive and 21st overall NCAA Tournament. Northwest owns an all-time tournament record of 29-20, including national championships in 2017 and 2019.
Missouri Western is back in the tournament for the first time in 11 years. This is also the 11th all-time appearance for the Griffons. MWSU made the big dance eight times during the 1990s, and made back-to-back appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Each qualifying team will be allocated a set number of tickets and will work through their respective athletic department. The capacity for Wachs Arena will be limited to 25 percent, which translates to 1,750 tickets available for each session.
2021 NCAA Central Region Teams
1. Northern State (18-1)
2. Northwest Missouri State (23-2)
3. Washburn (19-6)
4. Wayne State (11-6)
5. MSU Moorhead (10-4)
6. Missouri Western (14-10)
2021 NCAA Central Region Matchups
Saturday, March 13
No. 5 MSU Moorhead vs. No. 4 Wayne State, 6 p.m.
No. 6 Missouri Western vs. No. 3 Washburn, 8:45 p.m.
Sunday, March 14
No. 1 Northern State vs. winner of MSU Moorhead/Wayne State, 5 p.m.
No. 2 Northwest Mo. St. vs. winner of Missouri Western/Washburn, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16
Central Region Championship, 7 p.m.