The updated 2016 National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket has been released.
All games will be played at La Junta, Colorado, which is home of the South Sub-Region number one seed Otero Junior College.
The first round games were played at campus sites of the top four seeds in both the North and South Sub-Regions.
The North Platte Community College Knights, who are now seeded second in the South. will play the North number three seed Miles Community College Pioneers in the first quarterfinal match on March 3rd at 2:00 pm CST. The Knights defeated Trinidad State Junior College 74-72 and the Pioneers upset Northwest College 77-75.
The North number one seed Gillette College Pronghorns will face the South number four seed Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen at 4:00 pm CST on March 3. Gillette had a first round bye. Northeastern upset Lamar Community College 65-64 to advance to the quarterfinals.
The third quarterfinal will feature the North number two seed Casper College Thunderbirds against the South number three seed Western Nebraska Community College Cougars. Casper defeated Little Big Horn 130-86 and Western Nebraska upset Laramie County Community College 80-79 to advance. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm CST.
The final quarterfinal will be the host and South number one seed Otero Junior College Rattlers playing the North number four seed Central Wyoming College Rustlers. The Rattlers defeated McCook Community College 72-53 and the Rustlers upset Western Wyoming 77-75 to reach the field of eight. Tip-off is 8:00 pm CST.
The semifinals will be held on March 4. Winners of games one and two will play each other and winners of games three and four will play.
Finals will be held on March 5. The winner will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., on March 14-19. The complete bracket can be found atwww.npccknights.com. All NPCC games will be live on ESPN Radio 1410 and online at northplattepost.com