Sizing Up the Seedings
ELLENDALE, N.D. -- The seedings for the 2020 NCCAA North Region Basketball Tournaments have been announced: Maranatha Men's Basketball is the #5 seed while the Maranatha Women enter the tournament as the #2 seed.
The Men's Team will open play with a 12:00 p.m. quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, February 27 with #4 Providence University College. The Women earn a bye to the semifinal on Friday, February 28 and will face #3 Emmaus/#6 Trinity at 6:00 p.m.
Both tournaments will be held at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota.
Men's Field (W-L as of February 18)
| Team | W-L | Power Rating | Location |
| #1 Faith | 12-11 | 2.212 | Ankeny, Iowa |
| #2 Calvary | 12-12 | 2.156 | Kansas City, Mo. |
| #3 Central Christian | 11-14 | 1.950 | Moberly, Mo. |
| #4 Providence | 8-12 | 1.113 | Alberta, Canada |
| #5 Maranatha | 7-10 | 0.838 | Watertown, Wis. |
| #6 Trinity Bible | 8-19 | 0.620 | Ellendale, N.D. |
| #7 Oak Hills | 0-26 | -1.870 | Bemidji, Minn. |
--
Women's Field (W-L as of February 18)
| Team | W-L | Power Rating | Location |
| #1 Providence | 12-5 | 3.949 | Alberta, Canada |
| #2 Maranatha | 14-3 | 3.838 | Watertown, Wis. |
| #3 Emmaus | 15-7 | 3.472 | Dubuque, Iowa |
| #4 Calvary | 16-9 | 3.150 | Kansas City, Mo. |
| #5 Central Christian | 10-16 | 0.798 | Moberly, Mo. |
| #6 Trinity | 6-16 | 0.278 | Ellendale, N.D. |
--
Seedings are determined based on the new NCCAA Power Rating System, which ranks teams based on a combination of win-loss record and strength of schedule.
Men's Notes
The Sabercats have won the tournament the last two years, and are arguably the favorite to win again. Despite finishing 4th place at last year's NCCAA DII National Tournament, the Sabercats have been missing from the NCCAA Top 10 rankings all season long.
This year, four other teams have recorded a better power-points average than the Sabercats, so the Blue and Gold will be looking to prove a point at the North Region Tournament.
Women's Notes
The Sabercats are usurped as the #1 seed by the Providence University College Pilots, whose only shared opponents with MBU have been Faith Baptist and Free Lutheran Bible. The Sabercats have been voted as a top-3 program all season while the Pilots have yet to darken the door of the Top 10 rankings.
Since 2010, the Sabercats have been crowned as regional champions eight times. After their third-place finish at NCCAA Nationals last year, they will be looking to prove they should have been the #1 seed all along.
--
More on the field for the North Region Tournaments will be coming soon. In the meantime, follow schedule updates at mbusabercats.com/schedule.
