Wildcats Set for Round of 16 Debut, Face No. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan in Municipal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Advancing past the Second Round for the first time in program history, No. 3 Baker will square off against No. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan in the 2024-25 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Round of 16 on Friday, March 21 at 7 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
The Wildcats punched their first-ever ticket to the Round of 16 after coming out on top of their NAIA First & Second Round matchups, which were played in the Collins Center last weekend.
BU used a solid second half to push past No. 14 Texas Wesleyan, 72-58, on Friday before reeling off an incredible first half against No. 6 Concordia in an 80-65 victory to secure the Wildcats' spot in Kansas City.
Baker comes into the matchup boasting a 30-3 overall record and has won 11 straight games with its last three wins coming on an average margin of victory of over 19 points. BU throttled Graceland in the Heart of America Conference Championship, 74-45, to earn a sweep of the conference championships after claiming its first Heart regular-season title since 1989.
Oklahoma Wesleyan owns a 25-7 record and earned its trip to Municipal by defeating No. 10 Mid-America Christian, 80-69 in the first round and then knocking off No. 2 Dordt, 75-73 in the second round. The Eagles clinched their fourth straight KCAC regular-season championship after going 19-3 in conference play, but fell to Bethel in the semifinals of the KCAC Tournament.
OKWU has a couple of losses against common opponents with the Wildcats with a non-conference loss to Texas Wesleyan (73-63) back in early November and a 65-61 loss to Saint Mary, who BU blew out, 97-64, in its second game of the season.
The Eagles are led by their two All-KCAC First Team players in guard Derrick Talton Jr. (14.2 ppg) and center Jaden Lietzke (14.0 ppg) with both players averaging 14 points per game. Talton averages over five assists per game (5.3), while Lietzke is OKWU's leading rebounder with an average of eight rebounds per game.
Tickets for Friday's matchup can be purchased in advance online via Ticketmaster, or on-site at the Municipal Auditorium Box Office. Fans who purchase a GA ticket will be able to sit behind the team's bench during the Baker game.
A live stream of the game will be available for FREE on both the NAIA Network and Urban Edge Network. Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast.
Fans and alumni are encouraged to join the pregame party, which will be held at McFadden's Sports Saloon in the KC Power & Light District from 4:00-6:30 p.m. on Friday.
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