MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Huntington University men’s basketball team learned earlier this evening they will be packing their bags for Montgomery (Ala.) to compete in the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Opening Round slated for March 11-12 at Faulkner University’s Tine W. Davis Gymnasium.

It’s HU’s first trip to the big stage since 2014. Huntington received one of 25 at-large bids. Alford and crew will face Georgetown College (Ky.) on Friday, March 11 with tip-off slated for 5:00 p.m. CST. The last time these two squads met dates back to January of 2008 when the Tigers claimed a 79-73 road win over the Foresters.

Huntington heads into the opening round as the 12th seed with a record of 22-10 which includes five wins over ranked opponents. This is the ninth time the Foresters have advanced to an NAIA postseason tournament.

Georgetown, seeded 5th, punched their ticket to the big dance as the Mid-South tournament champions. The Tigers boast a 25-7 record having lost their last four regular season games before reeling off three straight wins in their conference tournament to claim an automatic bid.

The Tigers lead the 64-team championship field with 41 appearances, which includes three national titles.

The Crossroads League and Mid-South Conference each have six teams in the field to lead all conferences.

The 2022 Opening Round field includes 38 automatic qualifiers, 25 at-large selections and one host berth. The 16 NAIA Opening Round winners will meet up in Kansas City (Mo.) for NAIA National Championship Final Site play beginning March 17. The 16-team single-elimination event runs from March 17-22 at Municipal Auditorium.