The Briar Cliff men's basketball team return to the national tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season. As GPAC Regular Season Champions, the Charger earned an automatic bid to the 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy. They are the #3 seed in the Wichita, Kansas bracket and match up with the #2 seed Bethel (Kan.) on March 11 at 8 p.m at the Garvey Center.
 
Briar Cliff is the #12 overall seed in the Cramer Quadrant after posting a 19-11 overall record (15-5 GPAC). The Chargers last action in the national tournament was at the Sanford Pentagon in 2019, when the team advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time in four years. The 2019 season also marked the fifth straight year the Chargers qualified for the national tournament.
 
The Threshers earned an automatic bid to the tournament by finishing second in the KCAC Regular Season standings. Bethel is making their second straight tournament appearance and holds a 26-7 overall mark and went 19-5 in conference play. 
 
Friday's game between the Chargers and Threshers will be the first meeting between the two teams. The other side of the Wichita Bracket features the #1 seed St. Francis and #4 seed Northwestern (IA). 
 
For more information on the NAIA Men's basketball National Tournament click HERE.
 
Live stream for the opening round can be found HERE and will cost $9.99 per game. Links to live stats will be available at bcuchargers.com.