Central Methodist received the No. 14 seed after being ranked in the top 16 of the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll every week since Jan. 11. The Runnin' Eagles will enter the national tournament with a 24-8 record this season, and earned an automatic bid to the tournament as the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season champions. This marks the second straight season that CMU has earned an automatic berth to the tournament after the HAAC moved to Division I last year. It will be the fourth NAIA national tournament appearance for Central Methodist in Head Coach Jeff Sherman's 25-year tenure, and the sixth overall NAIA DI national tournament appearance for CMU.

      Texas Wesleyan University earned an automatic berth into the NAIA DI national tournament by winning the Red River Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The Rams enter the tournament with a 23-9 record after being upset by Bacone College in the RRAC tournament semifinal. This will be Texas Wesleyan's 11^th trip to the NAIA DI national tournament, and fourth in the last five years. Texas Wesleyan has posted a 12-9 record at the tournament, including winning the national championship in 2006. The Rams were ranked No. 18 in the final NAIA DI Coaches' Top 25 poll this season, and were as high as No. 10 in the Jan. 18 and Jan. 25 polls.

      As a team, Texas Wesleyan is averaging 76.1 points per game, while giving up 70.3 points to its opponents. The Rams out-rebound their opponents 40.1 to 31.1 per game. Texas Wesleyan shoots 49 percent from the field, and 35.6 percent from three-point range. The Rams have made just 165 three-pointers this season. They also shoot just 68 percent from the free-throw line.

      The Rams had five players earn All-RRAC honors this season, led by senior guard Jamel White, who was a first-team selection. White leads Texas Wesleyan with 21.2 points per game this season. Junior guard Brian Wanamaker was second-team All-RRAC after averaging 11.6 points per game and recording a team-high 70 steals. Texas Wesleyan added three players on the honorable mention list - junior forward Jeremy Mayfield, senior forward Hector Mukweyi, and junior guard Jeremy Smith. Smith averages 11.4 points per game, while Mukweyi averages 11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, and Mayfield averages 7.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and has a team-high 45 blocked shots this season.

      Both teams ended their seasons in the Sweet 16 of last year's tournament. CMU lost to eventual national champion Rocky Mountain College, while 10th-seeded Texas Wesleyan lost to McKendree University.

      To see the complete bracket for the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship, visit http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031010aad.html. Thirty-one games will be played out in Kansas City. The first 30 games will be video-streamed by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. The Championship final on March 23 will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports Television with tip-off at 7 p.m. For complete coverage of the tournament, visit www.naiahoops.com.

For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit www.centralmethodist.edu/cmathletics. Sign up for eScores at escores.stretchinternet.com to receive score updates via e-mails or text messages.