The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team earned the No. 1 seed in the Central Region and will play host to the event in Bearcat Arena on March 11-14.
 
The Bearcats (30-2 overall) gained their 23rd all-time NCAA Div. II Tournament appearance by winning the 2023 MIAA Tournament in Kansas City. It marks the fifth time that the Central Region Tournament has been awarded to the Bearcats. Northwest also served as NCAA Central Region hosts in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
 
The No. 1-seeded Bearcats will match up against No. 8 seeded Southern Arkansas. The No. 2 seed was awarded to Northern State and the Wolves will take on No. 7-seeded Emporia State. Central Oklahoma gained the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6-seeded Minnesota-Duluth. The No. 4-seed MSU Moorhead will tangle with No. 5 seed Southern Nazarene.
 
Sat., March 11 - Quarterfinal Games
Noon – No. 3 Central Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Minnesota Duluth
2:15 p.m. – No. 2 Northern State vs. No. 7 Emporia State
6 p.m. – No. 1 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 8 Southern Arkansas
8:15 p.m. – No. 4 MSU Moorhead vs. No. 5 Southern Nazarene
 
Sun., March 12 - Semifinal Games
5 p.m. – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
7:30 p.m. – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
 
Tues., March 14 - Regional Final
7 p.m. – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
 
It is Northwest's 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth under head coach Ben McCollum. Northwest has won three consecutive NCAA Div. II national championships under McCollum with titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The Bearcats also captured the Div. II national title in 2017.


 
Tickets for the 2023 NCAA Division II Central Region Men's Basketball Tournament event are general admission (with the exception of Section B) and are good for both games during a single session. Bearcat Arena will be cleared between the afternoon and evening session on Saturday only. Each team will be allotted a minimum of 150 general admission tickets per session. 
 
Tickets for all games will be available for purchase online at: www.bearcatsports.com/tickets
- Session 1 and 2 tickets will go on sale online beginning Wednesday, March 8 at 8:00am.
 
- Session 3 tickets (Sunday, Semifinal games) will go on sale online on Saturday, March 11 at 11:00pm.
 
- Session 4 tickets (Tuesday, Championship game) will go on sale online Sunday, March 12 at 11:00pm.
 
Fans who are at Bearcat Arena will have the option to buy their tickets at the box office at the conclusion of their game.
 
Participating institutions are not entitled to complimentary tickets. The participating institutions must first purchase tickets, which then may be treated as complimentary tickets for the student-athletes per NCAA bylaws. A will call system may be administered by each participating institution's representative.
 
Ticket Pricing (all tickets sold as single session):
                                                                 General Admission Single Session = $10
                                                                 Children 2 & Under = Free
 
The box office and arena will be open 60 minutes prior to the start of the first game of each daily session.