MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany men's basketball team spent Monday morning together watching the NCAA DIII National Tournament live selection show. The Vikings were anxiously waiting to see who they would play in the first round of the NCAA National Tournament.
 
The Vikings clapped and cheered with excitement after seeing their name appear on the screen during the live selection show. The Vikings will travel to Collegeville, Minn. to take on the number three nationally ranked Johnnies of St. John's University. St. John's is the pod-host and the other two teams in the Vikings' pod include No. 23 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and North Central College (IL).
 
The Johnnies are the third ranked team in the nation according to the most recent poll that was released on February 20th and bring an overall record of 23-3 into the tournament. The Johnnies swept through their conference season, nearly unbeaten, with a 19-1 record in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). In the MIAC tournament, the Johnnies lost to Augsburg University in the semifinals. The Johnnies averaged 81.2 points per game this season and shot 51.4% from the field overall.
 
The Vikings enter their first ever national tournament playing their best basketball of the season. Bethany is currently riding a six game winning streak and has averaged over 94 points per game during that span. In the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament, the Vikings averaged 104 points per game while shooting 60.8% (76 of 125) from the field and 53.8% (28 of 52) from behind the three-point line. The Vikings were the UMAC regular season champions and qualified for their first ever trip to the NCAA DIII National Tournament after defeating the University of Northwestern Eagles in the championship game of the tournament.
 
The Vikings and Johnnies will tipoff at 7:30 PM on Friday, March 2nd in Collegeville, Minn.
 
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MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email ddewitt@blc.edu