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Women's Basketball Nationals Insider

Women's Basketball Nationals Insider

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Sabercats have the rest of today and tomorrow to get ready for the 2019 NCCAA DII National Tournament, and the red-hot squad will be up against national-caliber competition.

Just two teams in the field (#1 Arlington Baptist and #4 Maranatha) have won the national title previously, but the heavy favorite is ABU, who have taken the title home the last four years. 

The women's tournament is a six-team competition for the third year in a row, with the top two teams earning automatic berths into the semifinal round. Below is a breakdown of the field for the 2019 edition of the NCCAA Tournament:

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Team                                    W-L     Location              Region                Qualifying Method         2018 Finish    
#1 Arlington Baptist 19-7 Arlington, Texas Southwest   Region Champion   Champion
#2 Pensacola 25-7 Pensacola, Fla. South Region Champion 3rd Place
#3 Randall  19-8  Moore, Okla. Southwest At-Large DNP
#4 Maranatha 17-6 Watertown, Wis. North Region Champion DNP
#5 Bob Jones 13-15 Greenville, S.C. South   At-Large/Tournament Host   4th Place
#6 Johnson 11-15 Knoxville, Tenn. Mideast Region Champion DNP

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#1 Arlington Baptist

  • Overall Record: 19-7
  • NCCAA Record: 8-1
  • Insider: Arlington Baptist is the four-time defending NCCAA DII National Champion and qualified for this year's tournament after beating Randall for the Southwest Region Championship
  • Key Results:
    • L 79-95 to #3 Randall (Jan. 18)
    • W 90-71 over #3 Randall (Southwest Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: The Patriots have the highest-producing offense (85.1 points/game) in the NCCAA DII.
  • Opener: Arlington Baptist has earned a bye and will face the winner of #4 Maranatha/#5 Bob Jones in the semifinal

#2 Pensacola 

  • Overall Record: 25-7
  • NCCAA Record: 15-1
  • Insider: Pensacola has dominated the NCCAA competition this season. Their only divisional loss came as a one-point home defeat to #5 Bob Jones. PCC went on to beat BJU in a thrilling South Region Championship
  • Key Results:
    • L 54-55 to #5 Bob Jones (Feb. 9)
    • W 71-69 over #5 Bob Jones (South Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: The Eagles' defense (52.6 points/game) is the best in the tournament, and their defense has limited opponents to the worst shooting percentage (31.1) of any defense in the field 
  • Opener: Pensacola has earned a bye and will face the winner of #3 Randall/#6 Johnson in the semifinal

#3 Randall

  • Overall Record: 16-15
  • NCCAA Record: 12-3
  • Insider: Randall has what it takes to beat #1 Arlington Baptist, as they topped the Patriots by 16 points during the regular season. Randall missed out on last year's tournament after finishing inside the top three for the two years prior
  • Key Results:
    • W 95-79 over #1 Arlington Baptist (Jan. 18)
    • L 71-90 to #1 Arlington Baptist (Southwest Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: The Saints' offense (71.7 points/game) is the second-best in the NCCAA DII behind #1 Arlington Baptist
  • Opener: Randall will square off with #6 Johnson in the first round

#4 Maranatha

  • Overall Record: 17-6
  • NCCAA Record: 5-4
  • Insider: The Sabercats are on the longest winning streak of anyone in the tournament, as they've won a program-record 12 straight games coming into the national finale. MBU returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus
  • Key Results:
    • W 78-67 over Providence (North Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: The Sabercats have the second-best defense (54.3 points/game) out of anyone in the field. 
  • Maranatha will take on #5 Bob Jones to open the tournament

#5 Bob Jones

  • Overall Record: 13-15
  • NCCAA Record: 10-4
  • Insider: The Bruins have fared well against NCCAA DII competition, picking up 10 of their 13 wins this season from NCCAA play. BJU qualifies for the tournament as the host and will have to get past MBU to get back to the final four
  • Key Results:
    • W 55-54 at #2 Pensacola (Feb. 9) 
    • L 69-71 at #2 Pensacola (South Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: Bob Jones has the fourth-best offense (66.4 points/game) of anyone in the field. BJU is also the best team in the NCCAA DII from the free-throw line (72.5 percent)
  • Bob Jones will face #4 Maranatha in the opening round

#6 Johnson

  • Overall Record: 11-15
  • NCCAA Record: 6-6
  • Insider: The Royals come to the tournament after winning their region for the first time since 1996. By winning the Mideast, Johnson takes the expected place of Kentucky Christian, who has won the national championship 15 times and finished runners-up the last two years
  • Key Results:
    • W 67-64 (OT) over Grace Christian University (Mideast Region Championship)
  • NCCAA Charts: The Eagles have the 4th-best defense (73.0 PPG) in the NCCAA DII
  • Johnson will face #3 Randall in the opening round

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Catch details of the Sabercats' games at mbusabercats.com/composite.