The pairings of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Men’s Division I tournament have been released. The No. 2 seed North Platte Community College Knights will host the No. 7 seed Otero Junior College Rattlers at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Saturday, February 28 at 4:00 p.m. CST.

The Region IX men’s tournament changed format this season.  The top four seeded teams of each sub-region will host the bottom four seeded teams from the same sub-region.  The winners of those eight games will advance to the quarterfinals which will be held at the top remaining seed in the north sub-region.  The Knights are in the south sub-region.

The Knights have defeated the Rattlers twice this season, 91-70 in North Platte and 76-72 in La Junta, Colorado.

The Knights are 22- 8 on the season and are 11-5 in the South Sub-Region.  They are led in scoring by Cameron Williams with a 21.1 points per game average.  Marco Pascolo is averaging 10.7 points per game and Shyquinn Dix is averaging 10.3 points per game.  Pascolo leads the Knights in rebounding with 7.6 rebounds per game.

The Rattlers are 16-13 overall and 6-10 in the South Sub-Region.  They are led in scoring by Josh Blaylock, who is averaging 15.4 points per game.  Tre O’Neal is averaging 11.9 points per game and Brandon Wilson is averaging 10.1 points per game.

The Knights are averaging 78 points per game and allowing 70.6 points per game.  The Rattlers are averaging 81 points per game and allowing 77 points per game.

The game will be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com.