Sabercats Seeded 5th for National Tournament
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The National Christian College Athletic Association's tournament committee has slated the Sabercats as the #5 seed for the 2018 Men's Basketball National Tournament.
MBU will begin play with a 10 a.m. (EST) matchup Thursday, March 8 against #4 Johnson University Tennessee. The winner advances to play the winner of #1 Randall University and #8 Kentucky Christian. Last year, Randall won the title while KCU finished as runners-up.
Seedings
This will be the first time since 2003 that the Sabercats have made the trip to the national tournament. Maranatha is one of 4 teams in the mix that did not qualify for nationals last year:
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| Seed | School | City, State | Qualifying Method | 2017 Nat'ls Finish | Record vs MBU |
| #1 | Randall University | Moore, Okla. | Southwest Region Champion | Champion | N/A |
| #2 | Bob Jones University | Greenville, S.C. | South Region Champion | 5th | N/A |
| #3 | Grace Bible College | Grand Rapids, Mich. | Mideast Region Champion | 3rd | 25-10 |
| #4 | Johnson University Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | At-Large Selection | DNP | 0-1 |
| #5 | Maranatha Baptist University | Watertown, Wis. | North Region Champion | DNP | - |
| #6 | Dallas Christian College | Dallas | At-Large Selection | DNP | N/A |
| #7 | Portland Bible College | Portland, Ore. | Independent Representative | DNP | N/A |
| #8 | Kentucky Christian University | Grayson, Ky. | At-Large Selection | Runner-up | 3-1 |
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Format
Each team is guaranteed 2 games at the tournament. But the tournament can be considered "single elimination" in that if a team loses once, they cannot win the championship.
In the opening rounds, teams are paired based on seedings. The next day holds the "Final Four" and the play-in for the consolation games. Then on Saturday, the 5th-place, 3rd-place, and championship games will take place.
For more details on the tournament, visit the Tournament Central at thenccaa.org