HELENA, Mont. - March is here, and both the Carroll College Men's and Women's Baksetball teams will begin their Battle for the Red Banner this evening, as First Round action of both the NAIA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships begins on Friday.

The Carroll Men (20-9, 17-5) earned an At-Large bid for the National Championship, and were named a 10-seed in the Naismith Quadrant. Their tournament begins this afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. (MDT) tilt against seventh-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) at the Coyote Center in Chandler, Ariz.

The Carroll Women (19-10, 17-5) also earned an At-Large bid, and were selected as a nine-seed in the Liston Quadrant. They will have the nightcap this evening, taking on the eighth-seeded Cougars of Columbia College (Mo.) at 5:30 p.m. (MDT) in the Marian PE Center in Indianapolis, Ind.

Both the Men's and Women's tournament fields consist of 64 teams, with First and Second Round action broken out into 16 four-team pods at select host sites throughout the country. First Round games will all take place on Friday, halving the field ahead of Second Round matchups all day Saturday. The opening round pod champions will then move on to the Round of 16 and the Final Site for both tournaments - the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa for the Women, and Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. for the Men.

THE PODS

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The Carroll Men's Opening Round pod

Friday, March 13
(7) Wayland Baptist vs (10) Carroll College - 3:30 p.m.
(2) Arizona Christian vs (15) Corban - 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14
Game One Winner vs Game Two Winner - 6 p.m.

7-Wayland Baptist (23-7, 16-6) 
Sooner Athletic Conference - At-Large Selection
Carroll will begin their 18th all-time appearance in the NAIA Championship with their third-ever meeting with the Pioneers of Wayland Baptist. The Saints and Pioneers have split the previous two meetings, a home-and-home in 2004 and 2005, with both teams defending their home courts.

The Pioneers finished fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season, and bowed-out of the SAC Tournament in the Semifinals to Langston (Okla.). Several players earned postseason honors, as Brett Leach was named SAC Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 7.9 ppg and shooting 46 percent from three. They are led by a pair of First Team All-Conference selections in Jamari Lawrence and Rico Yarbrough, who averaged 20.0 and 14.8 ppg, respectively, while both Marcus Green and Julian Perez were named Honorable Mention All-SAC as well.

2-Arizona Christian (22-7, 13-3)
Great Southwest Athletic Conference - At-Large Selection
The Firestorm were Co-Regular Season Champions in the GSAC with Hope International, but were upended in the Conference Tournament Semifinals by Benedictine-Mesa. They had a trio of players recognized as All-Conference selections - Shaud Bradley, Jaylon Lee, and Ese Onakpoma, who was also named Defensive Player of the Year. Onakpoma and Bradley averaged 16.0 and 13.9 ppg, respectively, while Rocky-transfer Lee averaged 9.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg. ACU and Carroll met earlier this season at the Cactus Classic, held inside the Coyote Center last December, and the Firestorm ran away with a 91-76 win.

15-Corban (17-14, 10-10)
Cascade Collegiate Conference - Tournament Champion
The Warriors of Corban went on an impressive run through the CCC tournament, topping a pair of ranked or receiving votes opponents as a seven-seed en route to an automatic berth in the NAIA Championship with their CCC Tournament crown.
A pair of Warriors garnered All-Conference accolades in Joe Gould and TJ Zimmerman. Zimmerman led Corban with 17 points per game, while Gould added in 14.0 ppg and a team-high 90 assists.

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The Carroll Women's Opening Round pod

Friday, March 13
(8) Columbia College vs (9) Carroll College - 5:30 p.m.
(1) Marian vs (16) Haskell - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14
Game One Winner vs Game Two Winner - 4 p.m.

8-Columbia College (30-1, 18-0) 
American Midwest Conference - Regular Season & Tournament Champion
The Carroll Women will begin their 17th all-time appearance in the NAIA Championship with the second all-time meeting with the Cougars of Columbia. Carroll and Columbia have met once, a neutral site matchup in Jackson, Tenn. a decade ago, that went in favor of the Cougars

The Cougars rolled through the American Midwest, dropping only one game on the season, an 80-75 non-conference loss to Friends (Kan.) on New Year's Eve. Columbia went undefeated in league play, winning all 18 games by an average margin of 27.5 points per game, and went on to capture their fifth-consecutive AMC Tournament Championship with ease. Five Cougars earned All-Conference honors, including First Teamers Lexi Miller and Ashtyn Klusmeyer, Second Team selections Mya Miller and Lexi Rubel, Sixth Man of the Year Lauren Friedrich, and Defensive Player of the Year Tori Rubel.

1-Marian (29-2, 16-2)
Crossroads League - Regular Season & Tournament Champion
Host-school Marian earned one of four one-seeds for this year's Championship after an impressive championship campaign in Crossroads League play, taking both the regular season and tournament titles.Abby McNalley repeated as the Crossroads League Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Crossroads League History to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons. Marian had five additional players join McNally on the All-CL Teams, with Taylor Double joining the senior on the All-CL First Team. Both Madisyn Bailey and Olivia Faust were named to the Second Team, while Kenna Kirby and Kiley McNalley were named as Honorable Mention.

16-Haskell Indian Nations (14-16, 6-2)
Continental Athletic Conference - Tournament Champion
Haskell earned their way into the NAIA Tournament after a with a 66-56 win over top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College in the CAC Championship. Ona Dauphinais was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, while Ivy Fox and Tierzah Penn also made the All-Tournament Team. Fox was named CAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference, with Dauphinais earning First Team honors. 

Live streams for all NAIA Championship games will be broadcast free of charge on the Urban Edge Network. Carroll-specific links can be found below.

Carroll Men vs Wayland Baptist Stream
Carroll Women vs Columbia College Stream

Catch Voice of the Saints, Stewart Davis call the Men's action from Arizona, and Carroll Sports Information Director, Conlan Burk call the action from Indiana live on Rewind 94.9 FM in Helena, or online HERE.

Live Stats for both games can be found at the following links:

Carroll Men vs Wayland Baptist Stats
Carroll Women vs Columbia College Stats