RAMS ARE GOING BACK TO K.C.
March 12, 2008

FORT WORTH, TX:  Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team will be returning to Kansas City, MO, two years after winning it all at the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Tournament.  Texas Wesleyan earned the eighth of 16 at-large bids to the tournament after winning the Red River Athletic Conference regular season title and finishing the year with a national ranking of 18th.

Texas Wesleyan will play 11th seeded McKendree University in first round action on Thursday, March 20, at 12:30 p.m.  The American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion Bearcats compiled a 26-6 record this season.  They are coached by Harry Statham who is the all-time wins leader in men’s college basketball history with 964 wins in 42 seasons.

The Rams feature plenty of talent in a youthful squad.  For much of the season, the Rams’ starting five has included two freshmen, two sophomores, and a junior.

“We’re excited to be a part of it again,” said head coach Terry Waldrop.  “I don’t know much about McKendree except that they are very well coached and can shoot it exceptionally well.  Obviously we will be putting a lot of work in the next couple of days, and I can’t wait to get up there and see what happens.”

The Rams, who lost only one game in the month of February and have won 13 of their last 18 games, led the RRAC wire-to-wire, and took the RRAC regular season title with a record of 12-4.  The team lost just one game to an opponent with a losing record.  They played 18 contests against nationally ranked competition, going 9-9 in those games.

Defense has spelled success for Texas Wesleyan.  The Rams held 24 of 31 opponents under 70 points and rank fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense at .400.

The Rams will be making their ninth appearance in the national tournament.  Their tournament history dates back to an elite eight appearance in fourth annual tournament in 1940.  With a tournament record of 11-7, only six institutions in this year’s field have posted more national tournament wins than the Rams.

The NAIA National Tournament is considered by many to be college basketball’s most difficult tournament to win. The championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring a field of 32 teams.  All 31 games are played on one court, Kansas City’s historic Municipal Auditorium, in seven days, March 19-25.  In 2006, the 27th seeded Rams shocked the college basketball world when they won five games in a six day span to take the National Championship.

The first 28 games of the tournament will be video-streamed live on the internet (www.naia.org) while the semifinal round and National Championship Game on March 25, will air live nationwide on CBS College Sports Network (CSTV), with Jason Knapp calling the action and Steve Wolf providing color analysis.