2008 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament

2008 (2008) NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
	2008 Buffalo Funds NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium; Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Oklahoma City (6th title)
Runner-up	Mountain State
Semifinalists	Georgetown (KY); Campbellsville;
Coach of the year	Ray Harper (Oklahoma City)
Player of the year	Ollie Bailey (Oklahoma City)
Charles Stevenson; Hustle Award	Eric Palm (McKendree)
Chuck Taylor MVP	Kameron Gray (Oklahoma City)
Attendance	34,102
Top scorer	Othyus Jeffers (Robert Morris (IL)); (86 points)
NAIA Division I ; men's tournaments
«2007	2009»

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]

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

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

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

References

[1] 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Information

[2] NAIA 2008 Tournament History

[1]

[2]

Awards and honors

2008 NAIA bracket

See also

References