2008 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2008 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament was held from March 19 to 25 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 71st annual NAIA basketball tournament features 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

2008 (2008) NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
2008 Buffalo Funds NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Teams32
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsOklahoma City (6th title)
Runner-upMountain State
Semifinalists
Coach of the yearRay Harper (Oklahoma City)
Player of the yearOllie Bailey (Oklahoma City)
Charles Stevenson
Hustle Award
Eric Palm (McKendree)
Chuck Taylor MVPKameron Gray (Oklahoma City)
Attendance34,102
Top scorerOthyus Jeffers (Robert Morris (IL))
(86 points)
NAIA Division I
men's tournaments
«2007 2009»

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 and Olivet Nazarene went into two long overtimes. This caused a backup in game schedules. The late game featuring Southern Nazarene University and Point Loma Nazarene University 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 and 5 seed Mountain State. Oklahoma City won the game, giving them back to back National Championships in win over Mountain State (75-72). Oklahoma City is the first team since Life University (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

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  • Leading scorer: Othyus Jeffers, Robert Morris (IL)
  • Leading rebounder: Nestor Colmenares, Campbellsville
  • Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship Award: Campbellsville
  • Charles A. Krigel Award: Keith Adkins, Campbellsville
  • 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.[2]

2008 NAIA bracket

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First round
March 19 and 20
Second round
March 21
Quarterfinals
March 22
Semifinals
March 24
NAIA Championship
March 25
               
1 Georgetown (KY) 83
Emmanuel (GA) 59
1 Georgetown (KY) 85
16 Trevecca Nazarene 83
Mobile 58
16 Trevecca Nazarene 67
1 Georgetown (KY) 88
TOP TIER
March 19
8 Robert Morris (IL) 84
9 Southern Nazarene 73 (OT)
Point Loma Nazarene 76
Point Loma Nazarene 64
8 Robert Morris (IL) 80
Carroll (MT) 73
8 Robert Morris (IL) 82
1 Georgetown (KY) 65
5 Mountain State 78
5 Mountain State 87
Olivet Nazarene(2 OT) 76
5 Mountain State 84
Wayland Baptist 71
Wayland Baptist 89
12 Martin Methodist 85
5 Mountain State 72
TOP TIER
March 19
13 Azusa Pacific 51
13 Azusa Pacific 61
Columbia (MO) 47
13 Azusa Pacific 83
4 LSU–Shreveport 69
USAO 69
4 LSU–Shreveport 71
5 Mountain State 72
7 Oklahoma City 75
3 Lambuth 76
St. Xavier 68
3 Lambuth 79
Oklahoma Baptist 89
Oklahoma Baptist 71
14 Auburn–Montgomery 70 (OT)
Oklahoma Baptist 69
BOTTOM TIER
March 20
Campbellsville 74
11 McKendree 73
Texas Wesleyan 71
11 McKendree 64
Campbellsville 80
Campbellsville 72
6 Concordia (CA) 63
Campbellsville 64
7 Oklahoma City 78
7 Oklahoma City 81
Cumberland 64
7 Oklahoma City 69
10 California Baptist 63
Xavier 69
10 California Baptist 77
7 Oklahoma City 86
BOTTOM TIER
March 20
2 Lee 66
15 Lewis–Clark State 62
Cumberlands 75
Cumberlands 72
2 Lee 84
Langston 67
2 Lee 77

See also

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References

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