CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville's men's basketball team faces off against No. 6 Columbia College in the first round of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
 
The Tigers are the seventh seed in the Duer Bracket, while the Cougars are the second seed in the bracket. Tipoff on Thursday night is set for 5 p.m. ET from the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Jordan Alves and Benji Kelly will have the call on 88.7 The Tiger starting 15 minutes before tipoff on Thursday.
 

Campbellsville vs. Columbia
Thursday, March 15 - 5 p.m. ET  Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Mo.  Game Notes: CU
Coverage
Radio: CU Sports Network  Live Stream  Live Audio  Live Stats
CU	2017-18 Team Stats	CC
23-10                  Record               27-4
6-8         Conference Record        19-3
84.9                   PPG                    83.9
73.9                Opp PPG               70.3
47.8                   FG%                   49.2
43.5               Opp FG%                41.8
38.4                   RPG                    37.9
37.1               3PT FG%                41.7
34.9            Opp 3PT FG%           34.3
71.9                    FT%                   69.1
15.2                   APG                    13.5
6.6                     SPG                      6.5
4.1                     BPG                      1.9

The NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com) – the association's official video streaming home – will broadcast the first 30 games leading up to the championship final on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available at $34.95.
 
Entering the championship, Campbellsville is 23-10 overall this season and finished fifth in the Mid-South Conference after going 6-8 against MSC foes during the regular season. The Tigers finished as the runner-up in the conference tournament 10 days ago. Campbellsville earned an at-large berth into the championship field.
 
Leading the way for the Tigers is Andrew Smith who has posted 14.8 points a game and 8.9 boards per game. Hagen Tyler is just behind Smith with 13.4 points per game and the only other Campbellsville player to average double figures this season. Jalen Coates is knocking on the door of double figures with 9.7 points per game.
 
The Tigers ranked sixth in the nation with 136 blocks, led by Smith with 52 blocks – which is eighth in the nation. Smith is also sixth individually with 293 rebounds the season and Campbellsville has the sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.3.
 
This is the Tigers first NAIA Tournament appearance since 2016 and 12th appearance all-time. In the previous 11 appearances at the national tournament, Campbellsville is 9-11, which includes two national semifinal appearances in 2008 and 2016.
 
Columbia is making its 22nd appearance in the NAIA National Championship, which is fourth most in the field this season behind Georgetown College (37), University of the Cumberlands (26) and Oklahoma City University (24). The Cougars are 13-21 overall in the national tournament. Columbia earned its spot in the field after wining the American Midwest Conference regular-season title. However, the Cougars were eliminated from their conference tournament in the first round after falling to Lyon College in overtime, 65-61.
 
Leading Columbia to a 27-4 mark this season has been Nathan Biggs with 14.5 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game – second best on the team – and Lucky Ogbomo leads the Cougars with 8.1 rebounds per game. Columbia is the second-best three-point shooting in the nation as it shoots the three at a 41.4 percent clip, led by Adam Mennemeyer shooting 50.4 percent from deep, which is second in the NAIA.
 
Thursday's meeting will be the first all-time meeting between the Tigers and Cougars. Both teams have one common opponent this season in Freed-Hardeman University, where Campbellsville swept the Lions this year, while Columbia went 1-1 against Freed-Hardeman. The Cougars lost at home to the Lions, 94-89, in overtime.
 
The Mid-South Conference leads all NAIA Division I conferences with six teams headed to the national tournament. University of Pikeville is the top seed in the Duer Bracket, while Georgetown is seeded third in the Naismith Bracket. Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson College are both in the Cramer Bracket seeded fifth and seventh, respectively. Life University is the final Mid-South Conference team in the national tournament, where it is the No. 6 seed in the Liston Bracket.
 
Joining Campbellsville, Pikeville and Columbia in the Duer Bracket is last seasons national champion in fourth-seeded Texas Wesleyan University – who plays newcomer and No. 5-seeded Graceland University.
 
The winner of the Campbellsville-Columbia matchup on Thursday moves on to face the winner of third-seeded University of Montana Western and sixth-seeded Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Friday evening at 5 p.m. ET.
 
Heading into action this week, The Master's College is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and is the top seed in the Naismith Bracket. Rounding out the No. 1 seeds in the four brackets is William Penn University (Cramer Bracket) and Louisiana State University-Shreveport (Liston Bracket).
 
Action for the Tigers begins on Thursday, March 15 at 5 p.m. ET from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
 
Campbellsville Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Men's Basketball: Twitter