For Immediate Release
Monday, November 20, 2023
NCAA Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS - The NSIC will have five teams extend their seasons as Concordia-St. Paul, Wayne State, Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth will compete in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The eight-team region tournament will be held at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on November 30 - December 2; hosted by Concordia-St. Paul.  The Golden Bears earned an automatic bid via their NSIC Tournament win, while WSC , SMSU, SCSU and UMD earned at large bids.

CSP has made it into the NCAA Tournament field in all 20 seasons under head coach Brady Starkey and have won 12 central region titles during that span. St. Cloud State is making its fourth straight, and fifth NCAA postseason appearance since 2004 while it's Wayne State's 13^th NCAA Tournament bid in the program's history. UMD is making its 24th NCAA appearance after making the regional 18 of the last 20 seasons. Southwest Minnesota State will be making its 17th NCAA tournament appearance, its first since 2018. 

All games will be available to stream on NCAA.com, as well as Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Google TV devices through NCAA Championships Pass — click here to purchase access and stream games.

2023 NCAA Central Region Tournament quarterfinal pairings
Quarterfinals, Thursday, November 30 – St. Paul, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center)
12:00 p.m. - No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State (23-6) vs. No. 6 Nebraska Kearney (28-5)
2:30 p.m. - No. 2 Wayne State (28-2) vs. No. 7 Minnesota Duluth (18-10)
5:00 p.m. - No. 4 Central Missouri (25-7) vs. No. 5 St. Cloud State (22-8)
7:30 p.m. - No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (28-2) vs. No. 8 Oklahoma Baptist (22-8)
 
Semifinals, Friday, December 1 – St. Paul, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center)
5:00 p.m. - SMSU/UNK winner vs WSC/UMD winner
7:30 p.m. - UCM/SCSU winner vs CSP/OBU winner
 
Championship, Saturday, December 2 – St. Paul, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center)
7:00 p.m. - Semifinal winners

The eight regional winners will advance to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, at the UPMC Events Center on December 7-9. 
 
About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 15-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 25 team national championships and crowned 111 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.