2008 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2008 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held from March 19 to 25 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 71st annual NAIA basketball tournament features 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

2008 (2008) NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
2008 Buffalo Funds NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Teams32
ChampionsOklahoma City
(6th title)
Runner-UpMountain State
SemifinalistsGeorgetown (KY)
Campbellsville
Coach of the YearRay Harper
(Oklahoma City)
Chuck Taylor MVPKameron Gray
(Oklahoma City)
Player of the YearOllie Bailey
(Oklahoma City)
Charles Stevenson
Hustle Award
Eric Palm
(McKendree)
Attendance34,102
Top scorerOthyus Jeffers (Robert Morris (IL))
(86 points)

The official announcement of the 32-team field for the 71st Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship occurred late on Tuesday, March 11, with the announcement of the official bracket on Wednesday, March 12 at 5 p.m. CST. Early opening round action between No. 5 Mountain State and Olivet Nazarene went into two long overtimes. This caused a backup in game schedules. The late game featuring Southern Nazarene University and Point Loma Nazarene University was moved back from 10:30pm CST to 11:30pm CST. The late start caused many of the 3,000 fans to leave after halftime. Near the end of the game SNU rallied to tie the SeaLions 67-67 with 14 secs left sending the game into overtime. The game finally ended around 1:30am CST with Point Loma pulling off the upset over SNU. It was the latest finishing NAIA tournament game. Games for the next day started in about 6 hours.

The championship game featured defending champions 7 seed Oklahoma City University and 5 seed Mountain State. Oklahoma City won the game, giving them back to back National Championships in win over Mountain State (75-72). Oklahoma City is the first team since Life University (Ga.) won the '99-'00 titles. Oklahoma City was making its third straight NAIA title game appearance, becoming the first team since Kentucky State University from 1970-72 to so. The Stars were defeated in the 2006 championship game by Texas Wesleyan University, 67-65.

Awards and honors
  • Leading scorer: Othyus Jeffers, Robert Morris (IL)
  • Leading rebounder: Nestor Colmenares, Campbellsville
  • Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship Award: Campbellsville
  • Charles A. Krigel Award: Keith Adkins, Campbellsville
  • Chuck Walden Memorial Trophy: Kansas City Life Insurance Company
  • Frank Cramer Award: John Kornitzer, Buffalo Funds
  • Most consecutive tournament appearances: 17th, Georgetown (KY)
  • Most tournament appearances: Georgetown (KY), 27th of 30, appearances to the NAIA Tournament
  • Oklahoma City notched its 47th tournament win, moving past Central Washington for sole possession of third place on the all-time list. The Stars trail Georgetown College (Ky.), which has a record 49 wins, and Oklahoma Baptist, which has 48 victories.[2]

2008 NAIA bracket
First Round
March 19 and 20 		Second Round
March 21 		Quarterfinals
March 22 		Semifinals
March 24 		NAIA Championship
March 25
               
1 Georgetown (KY) 83
– Emmanuel (GA) 59
1 Georgetown (KY) 85
16 Trevecca Nazarene 83
– Mobile 58
16 Trevecca Nazarene 67
1 Georgetown (KY) 88
TOP TIER
March 19
8 Robert Morris (IL) 84
9 Southern Nazarene 73 (OT)
– Point Loma Nazarene 76
– Point Loma Nazarene 64
8 Robert Morris (IL) 80
– Carroll (MT) 73
8 Robert Morris (IL) 82
1 Georgetown (KY) 65
5 Mountain State 78
5 Mountain State 87
– Olivet Nazarene(2 OT) 76
5 Mountain State 84
– Wayland Baptist 71
– Wayland Baptist 89
12 Martin Methodist 85
5 Mountain State 72
TOP TIER
March 19
13 Azusa Pacific 51
13 Azusa Pacific 61
– Columbia (MO) 47
13 Azusa Pacific 83
4 LSU–Shreveport 69
– USAO 69
4 LSU–Shreveport 71
5 Mountain State 72
7 Oklahoma City 75
3 Lambuth 76
– St. Xavier 68
3 Lambuth 79
– Oklahoma Baptist 89
– Oklahoma Baptist 71
14 Auburn–Montgomery 70 (OT)
– Oklahoma Baptist 69
BOTTOM TIER
March 20
– Campbellsville 74
11 McKendree 73
– Texas Wesleyan 71
11 McKendree 64
– Campbellsville 80
– Campbellsville 72
6 Concordia (CA) 63
– Campbellsville 64
7 Oklahoma City 78
7 Oklahoma City 81
– Cumberland 64
7 Oklahoma City 69
10 California Baptist 63
– Xavier 69
10 California Baptist 77
7 Oklahoma City 86
BOTTOM TIER
March 20
2 Lee 66
15 Lewis–Clark State 62
– Cumberlands 75
– Cumberlands 72
2 Lee 84
– Langston 67
2 Lee 77

See also

References
  1. 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Information
  2. NAIA 2008 Tournament History
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