RAMS ARE K.C. BOUND
March 8, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX:  It’s official, the Texas Wesleyan University men’s basketball team has earned an invitation to next week’s NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.  The Rams will make their eighth appearance in the tournament after receiving an at large berth based on the merit of an outstanding season.  They will play 5th seeded Union University at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday in Kansas City, MO.

The tournament features a field of 32 teams comprised of 16 automatic qualifiers from NAIA affiliated conferences and 16 at large berths selected using the final regular season rating.  The Rams were ranked 23rd in that final poll after being ranked as high as 15th in the preseason poll and were among the first teams to receive an at large bid.

The Rams will take on 5th seeded Union University (TN) in the first round.  That game is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, MO.  Free live audio will be available through the Union University website at http://www.uu.edu/athletics/mbball/.  Each of the first 30 games of the tournament will also be video streamed live via the internet (www.naia.org), and the national championship game will be nationally televised on CSTV.

Of this year’s tournament field, no school’s history goes back farther than Texas Wesleyan, which appeared in the 1940 NAIA Tournament, the fourth annual tourney at that time.  However, the Rams have not been to the tourney since 1983, a span of 23 years.

“This is the result of two years of very hard work by a great group of guys,” said coach Waldrop.  “We have played some of the best teams in the country during that period and had a great deal of success against them.  The reward for that is an opportunity to play for a national championship, which is every boys dream growing up playing basketball.  We are very excited about the opportunity.  These guys had an outstanding season and we are looking forward to continuing on and giving this our best shot.”

The 2005-06 Rams have put together a 20-9 record in spite of having the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation according to the Massey Ratings.

The Rams posted a 77-69 win over two-time defending NCAA Division I Southland Conference Champion and 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Southeastern Louisiana.  In addition they defeated top ranked LSU-Shreveport 93-72, 11th ranked Houston Baptist 83-80, and 4th ranked (NAIA II) College of the Ozarks 81-77.

Six of Texas Wesleyan’s nine losses came to ranked teams.  Five of those losses came against teams ranked in the top-10.  In January and February, the Rams strung together 10 consecutive wins, marking the longest winning streak in school history since the 1982-83 team won 12 in-a-row and went on to the national tournament.

All five starters, who have each averaged double-figures in scoring this season, were rewarded with All-Red River Athletic Conference honors.  Ben Hunt (Sr., Bendigo, Australia), who reached the 1,000-point milestone in just two seasons, was selected as the Red River Player of the Week six times this season and was named RRAC Co-Player of the Year.  Heading into the tournament, Hunt ranks second in the nation with 90.6% free throw shooting, fourth with 3.52 three-pointers per game, and sixth with 49.3% long range shooting.

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The following 32 teams have qualified for the 2006 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship to be held in Kansas City, Mo., March 15-21.  Listed below in alphabetical order is the list of qualifiers and the method by which each qualified.