By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team has earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II Elite 8, which will be played in Evansville, Indiana March 24-27.
The Bearcats (25-2) are champions of the Central Region after topping Northern State in a 91-86 overtime thriller in Aberdeen, South Dakota on Tuesday night.
Northwest will play in its fifth Elite 8 in program history, including their third over the last five years. The Bearcats are paired with No. 7 seed West Liberty (18-4), and the two teams play next Wednesday at 6 p.m. central time.
All of the Elite 8 pairings are below. All listed times are central.
Wednesday, March 24No. 4 Lincoln Memorial (18-3) vs. No. 5 Colorado School of Mines (18-2), 12 p.m.No. 1 West Texas A&M (17-2) vs. No. 8 Daemen (10-5), 2:45 p.m.No. 2 Northwest Missouri State (25-2) vs. No. 7 West Liberty (18-4), 6 p.m.No. 3 Flagler College (17-2) vs. No. 6 Truman State (20-2), 8:45 p.m.Final Four: Thursday, March 25West Texas A&M-Daemen winner vs. Lincoln Memorial-Colorado School of Mines winner, 6 p.m.Northwest Missouri State-West Liberty winner vs. Flagler College-Truman State winner, 8:45 p.m.National championship: Saturday, March 27Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.