Oilers Fail To Qualify For NCAA Tournament

The University of Findlay men's basketball team, who has made a trip to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament nine consecutive times, will have their streak of appearances snapped this season as the Oilers failed to secure a top-eight seed in the region. The Oilers, who sport a 24-4 record, had their season conclude with a 73-64 loss to Wayne State University in the semifinals of the 2011 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) on Saturday, March 5 in Big Rapids, Michigan.

"We are disappointed with the way things turned out, especially for our student-athletes who we believe earned the right to compete in the tournament," said Director of Athletics Steven Rackley. "We feel our record, which is the second best in the region, speaks for itself. Teams need to win themselves into the tournament and we believe our squad accomplished that goal."

The Oilers, who were ranked third in the poll last week, were out-ranked by seven teams with lesser records. The University of Southern Indiana (24-5), Wayne State University (22-7), Northern Kentucky University (20-8), Kentucky Wesleyan College (19-9), Ferris State University (22-7), Drury University (22-7) and the University of Indianapolis (19-8) all qualified for the tournament with more losses than the Oilers.

"Obviously there are some flaws to the system," said head coach Ron Niekamp. "I am at a loss to understand the process of picking the eight teams who get to compete at the event. I am very proud of our season and I don't think we have anything to apologize for. We are simply scratching our heads because we were third in the region last week and now we are completely out of the top eight. It is hard to understand the rationale of how that happens."

The Oilers won a NCAA Division II National Championship during the 2008-09 campaign, setting a record with a perfect 36-0 season. They reached the Elite Eight in 2004-05 and also appeared in the Sweet 16 during the 2007-08 season.

In the past nine years, the Oilers sport a 15-8 record in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Midwest Region Qualifiers

1. Bellarmine – 27-2
2. Southern Indiana – 24-5
3. Wayne State – 22-7
4. Northern Kentucky – 20-8
5. Kentucky Wesleyan – 19-9
6. Ferris State – 22-7
7. Drury – 22-7
8. Indianapolis – 19-8

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