COMING UP: NAIA National Championships (First/Second Rounds, Glendale, Ariz.) – Friday vs. Indiana Tech, Friday, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday (with win) vs. Arizona Chrstian-Westcliff winner, 5 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All NAIA Tournament games will be broadcast live on radio in the Klamath Basin on Oregon's County Giant, 92.5 KLAD-FM, beginning with the Justin Parnell Coaches' Show 30-minutes prior to tip-off – with an audio simulcast online through MyBasin.com. Live Video will be available for free courtesy of the GSAC Sports Network, with Live Stats expected through Stat Broadcast. Tickets for the First/Second Round games in Glendale are available through ACU's Ticket Portal – with general admission tickets $10.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – INDIANA TECH: No. 9 seed OIT will open tourney play against No. 8 seed Indiana Tech, regular-season champions of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The Warriors (23-7) are making their 15th tourney appearance (seventh trip in eight years) – having reached the title game in 2023. Defense is the key for IIT, as the club holds opponents to a 38% shooting clip and 69 points a game – despite forcing just nine turnovers a night. All-WHAC performers Blake Davison (12.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Crew Gibson (14.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.3 apg) lead the club, with forward Javel Lewis (7.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and guard Brady Titus (9.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg) key options. The two teams met in the 2005 tournament – with Lavell Hesia scoring 22 points in a 78-63 OIT win.
 
WITH A WIN: The winner of the OIT-IIT game will meet top-seeded and host Arizona Christian or No. 16 seed Westcliff. ACU (26-4) enters the tournament ranked No. 3 in the NAIA and are making their seventh-straight tourney appearance, coming off a Great Southwest Athletic Conference tournament title. The Firestorm are efficient offensively, making 51% of their field goal attempts, while defensively, the squad holds opponents to 67 points a game and force 17 turnovers night. Despite playing without All-America guard Trent Hudgens (14.5 ppg), ACU has turned to All-GSAC stars Ese Onakpoma (13.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 50 steals) and Anthony Howell (10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) to lead the attack. The Firestorm topped Tech, 97-83, in the title game of November's Lithia Classic. Westcliff (14-8) claimed the California Pacific Conference tourney title, thanks to the play of guard Micaiah Hankins (13.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and forward Rayven Turner (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg). The Warriors average 72 points a night, making 47% of their field goal attempts. OIT has never face Westcliff, who is making their second tourney appearance.
 
IN ARIZONA: This weekend marks the Owls third all-time trip to Arizona, having played regular-season games in 2019 (wins against Park-Gilbert and Embry-Riddle) and 2023 (wins against OUAZ and Embry-Riddle).
 
OWLS EARN AUTOMATIC BID TO NATIONALS: Despite the loss in the CCC Tournament, OIT earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Championships as the CCC regular-season runners-up (thanks to College of Idaho winning both the regular-season and tourney titles). It is Tech's 24th NAIA Tournament appearance, their 31st straight playoff appearance and the 50th time the school has advanced to the postseason – combining for a 103-61 record. It is the Owls sixth trip to Nationals in a one-division NAIA (1974, 1979, 1987, 2022, 2024, 2025). OIT claimed three NAIA Division II national titles – 2004 and 2008 vs. Bellevue, 2012 vs. Keiser – while losing in the title game in 1998 (vs. Bethel) and 2019 (vs. Spring Arbor), advancing to the 2005 semifinals (vs. Walsh), adding two quarterfinal appearances (2000 vs. College of the Ozarks, 2001 vs. MidAmerica Nazarene). Overall, the Owls have a 40-19 tournament record, advancing beyond the first round in 19-of-23 appearances – including last year in Orange City, Iowa.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Unlike in the NAIA Division II days, where 32 teams were placed in four 8-team quadrants, the current NAIA Tournament models the NCAA tourney, as 64-teams are placed in four 16-team quadrants, with each quadrant broken into four 4-team first/second round sites. The winners of the 16 first/second round sites will advance to the final site in Kansas City, Mo., March 20-25.
 
AGAINST THE FIELD: The Owls have played four teams in the 64-team field – going a combined 3-4 against Arizona Christian, Southern Oregon, LC State and College of Idaho. Including the previous four teams, OIT has previously faced 15 of the 64 teams during their 77-year history – meeting Bethel, Grace, Hope International, Indiana Wesleyan, Keiser, Life, Lourdes, Montana Tech, Spring Arbor, The Master's and UC Merced.
 
TECH RANKED NO. 25 IN FINAL POLL: For the second-straight year, the Owls will end the season ranked in the Top-25, finishing the campaign at No. 25 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll. OIT joins league rival, College of Idaho (No. 1) in the poll, with preseason opponent Arizona Christian (No. 3) also in the Top-5. Both LC State and NAIA Tournament foe, Indiana Tech, were receiving votes.
 
20-WIN SEASONS: With their win Feb. 21 vs. Multnomah, the Hustlin' Owls clinched their 39th 20-win season in the 77-year history of the program. It marks the seventh 20-win season in head coach Justin Parnell's nine years at the helm.
 
CONFERENCE TOURNEY RECAP: Things did not go OIT's way in the CCC Tournament, as the Owls dropped an 84-75 decision to Multnomah in the quarterfinals – as the Lions converted 53% of their field goals. Three previous times the Owls dropped their first CCC tourney game and advanced to National – reaching the second-round twice, along with the 2019 title game. College of Idaho claimed the tourney crown, defeating LC State, 81-64, in the championship.
 
MUCH NEEDED REST: The Owls will have 17 days between their CCC quarterfinal game vs. Multnomah and the NAIA Tournament opener vs. Indiana Tech. The game vs. MCJU marked OIT's sixth game in 12 days, with the team going 4-2 during the stretch.
 
SHIVERS JOINS CCC ELITE: Guard Keegan Shivers was honored last week as a member of the All-CCC team, with the senior becoming the second player in league history to earn five All-CCC honors (joining Bushnell's Stevie Schlabach in the elite group). Shivers is averaging 14 points per game on the season and heads into the NAIA Tournament as one of only two players in OIT history to score over 1,600 points and grab over 800 rebounds.
 
OSBORN CAPS HOME CAREER WITH BIG NIGHT: OIT's leading scorer Kam Osborn closed out his tenure at Danny Miles Court with a monster game vs. Multnomah, scoring 28 points on 10-of-16 field goals – including five made 3's. It was the sixth time in the last 12 games with 20-or-more points for Osborn, who is averaging 18.2 points during the stretch – converting 51% of his 3-point chances (37-of-72). For his efforts, the senior was named an All-CCC first-team pick for a second-straight year.
 
GUERRA MOVES INTO THIRD ON ASSISTS LIST: Point-guard Jamison Guerra earned his second-straight first-team All-CCC award – heading into the NAIA Tournament as the league's leader in assists per game. The senior is averaging 13 points and six assists a game over Tech's last nine contests – while his seven assists in the CCC Tournament loss to Multnomah giving him 650 for his OIT career – trailing only Mitchell Fink and Todd Matthews in all-time helpers.
 
JENSEN EARNS CCC HONORS: A banner senior season netted post Blake Jensen honorable mention All-CCC honors. Jensen ranks second in the league making 64% of his field goals, averaging 12 points and seven boards a night (including four double-doubles) – while leading the club with 104 free throws made (converting 72% of his foul shots).
 
KEY CONTRIBUTORS: For Tech to have success in the NAIA Tournament – they will need to get crucial minutes from Erik Fraser, Dakota Reber and Jackson Cooper. Fraser has started all 29 games, scoring in double-figures in six of the Owls last eight games – averaging nine points and five rebounds a night. Reber averaged 15 minutes of playing time off the bench during February – making 56% of his field goals, averaging eight points a night. Cooper is the Owls first player off the bench, scoring in double-figures 13 times this season, averaging nine points and five rebounds, making 53% of his field goals.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: As a team, the Owls rank No. 2 in the CCC in scoring offense (86.4) and scoring margin (+10.5), while sitting at No. 3 in field goal percentage (.491), rebound margin (+7.4) and defensive 3-point percentage (.304). Individually, Jamison Guerra tops the CCC in assists per game (5.9) and is No. 5 in steals per game (1.5); Kam Osborn is No. 2 in 3-point percentage (.426) and free throw percentage (.873), No. 5 in 3-pointers made per game (2.0) and No. 8 in scoring average (15.0); Blake Jensen is No. 2 in field goal percentage (.641) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.6); with Keegan Shivers No. 5 in 3-pointers per game (2.0) and No. 8 in rebounds per game (6.8).
 
TECH DOMINATES AT THE GATE: Tech dominated the NAIA in men's basketball attendance this season, leading all schools with an average of 1,554 fans coming regular-season game – tops among all small college teams in the West. In the NAIA ranks, OIT is ahead of College of Idaho (1,325), Carroll (916), LC State (739) and Evangel (643), while overall in the Northwest, the Owls are No. 8 among all teams (Boise State – 10,636, Oregon  - 7,170, Washington – 6,915, Gonzaga – 6,601, Washington State – 4207, Oregon State – 3,888, Idaho – 1,766, OIT – 1,554, Eastern Washington – 1,487, Idaho State – 1,386). Among Oregon schools, the Owls rank No. 3 in attendance (Oregon – 7,170, Oregon State – 3,888, OIT – 1,554, Portland – 1,295, Portland State – 634, Southern Oregon – 443, Pacific – 339, George Fox – 259, Willamette – 241, Corban – 213).
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since OIT moved to their current campus in 1964, the Hustlin' Owls have had a decisive home floor advantage inside the Athletic Center – winning over 81-percent of their home games. Over the last 61 seasons Tech has played on what is now known as Danny Miles Court, the Owls hold a 798-182 overall record in the building – including an 111-22 mark under current head coach Justin Parnell – two wins away from 800 home victories. OIT has recorded a winning record in 57-of-59 seasons (going 5-7 in 1965-66 and 1-8 in 1970-71), including undefeated records four times (1986-87, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11). The Owls finished the year 12-3 at home, clinching their 54th-straight winning season on their home floor – the longest streak in NAIA history.
 
RECORD BOOK:  Six players rank among the Top-75 of the Hustlin' Owls career record book, led by Keegan Shivers, who holds the all-time 3-pointers made (286) and 3-point attempts (740) records, ranking No. 5 in points scored (1,634) and field goal attempts (1,284), No. 6 in field goals made (553) and rebounds (813), No. 17 in games played (130), No. 19 in free throws made (235), No. 25 in assists (308), No. 26 in free throw attempts (297), No. 31 in steals (97), ranking No. 53 in blocked shots (21). Jamison Guerra is No. 3 in assists (650), No. 7 in free throws made (311), No. 9 in free throw attempts (415), No. 12 in steals (143), No. 13 in points scored (1,349), No. 16 in field goals made (468) and field goal attempts (1,029), No. 17 in games played (130), No. 30 in 3-point attempts (332) and No. 34 in 3-pointers made (102); Kam Osborn is No. 17 in free throws made (237), No. 19 in 3-pointers made (153), 3-point attempts (392) and points scored (1,248), No. 23 in free throw attempts (303), No. 24 in field goal attempts (939), No. 27 in field goals made (429), No. 39 in assists (217), No. 50 in games played (106) and No. 59 in steals (61); Erik Fraser is No. 26 in 3-point attempts (349), No. 32 in 3-pointers made (118), No. 37 in steals (87), No. 42 in games played (115), No. 44 in blocked shots (26), No. 50 in points scored (903) and field goal attempts (711), No. 53 in field goals made (332), ranking No. 61 in rebounds (387); Blake Jensen is No. 13 in free throw attempts (358), No. 14 in free throws made (250), No. 21 in blocked shots (45), No. 23 in rebounds (549), No. 48 in games played (107), No. 52 in points scored (896) and No. 57 in field goals made (323); with Jay Elmore No. 30 in 3-pointers made (128) and No. 34 in 3-point attempts (312).
 
OVER 1,000-STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A 3-POINTER: The 3-point shot has been key to the Hustlin' Owls success over the years, with Tech extending their string of games with a made 3-pointer to 1,041. OIT last failed to make a 3-pointer on Dec. 4, 1992, at Humboldt State, going 0-for-7 from outside the arch. During the current streak, the Owls made one 3-pointer in a game on five occasions. UNLV (1,260) and Duke (1,256) hold the current 3-point streak record, just ahead of CCC rivals Corban (1,226) and College of Idaho (1,194), along with East Tennessee State (1,190).
 
NEXT WEEK: If the Owls win two games in Arizona, they will advance to the NAIA Tournament final site in Kansas City, with third-round games set for next Thursday and Friday.