PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The second-seeded University of Pikeville men's basketball team is making its fourth straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament where it will face seventh-seeded William Jessup (Calif.) in the first round at 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 17 in Kansas City, Mo.

The Bears enter the NAIA portion of the postseason with a 25-5 overall record, while the Warriors are 18-10 overall.

How They Qualified

UPIKE came up short of earning an automatic bid by winning the Mid-South Conference Tournament or Regular-Season Championship, but did receive the No. 1 at-large selection, helping it claim a No. 2 seed. The Bears are one of four MSC teams in the field, joined by top-seeded Georgetown and Campbellsville and Cumberlands both earning No. 6 seeds.

William Jessup earned the No. 16 at-large selection to make its first trip to the national tournament. The Warriors are the third team listed as receiving votes in the final coaches' poll. After the automatic bids are handed out, NAIA officials used the national poll to decide the remaining spots.

When, Where, How to Watch/Listen

The 2016 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship will be played out from March 16-22 at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

The NAIA Network will broadcast the first 30 games on a pay-per-view basis, with the championship game to be shown on ESPN3.

East Kentucky Broadcasting's Z1075 FM will be on hand for the radio call locally, with an online stream also available.

Scouting William Jessup

The Warriors enter national-tournament play on a three-game losing skid, but made a case for their at-large selection by tallying four wins over ranked teams throughout the regular season. Those came against then-No. 24 Vanguard (Calif.), No. 10 Biola (Calif.), No. 10 Arizona Christian and No. 7 Hope International.

Led by third-year head coach Lance Von Vogt, William Jessup put together a 10-6 record in Golden State Athletic Conference play, but lost in the first round of the conference tournament to Vanguard 87-79.

Andre Smith is the player to watch, ranking sixth nationally in rebounds per game at 10.3 and 16th nationally in field-goal shooting at 54.5 percent. Darius Clement is the leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, while Darrell Polee and Andre Smith chip in with 12.1 points each.

As a team, the Warriors rank sixth in the NAIA in offensive rebounding at nearly 15 per game and fifth in rebound margin at +9.2. While not a gaudy offensive team, William Jessup is dangerous with its rebounding and defense, allowing just 73 points per game and a 42 percent showing from the field from its opponents.

-UPIKE-