KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- No. 3 Biola Men's Basketball began its journey through the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with an 11:15 a.m. (PT) matchup against Faulkner (Ala.) on March 16. The Eagles trailed for a large portion of the first half before exploding for a 84-54 win over the Eagles from Alabama. It was the largest margin of victory Biola Men's Basketball has ever had in a NAIA National Tournament game.
 
The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the A.O. Duer bracket, which features seven teams ranked inside of the top-25 in the final NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll of the season. Biola's first round matchup, Faulkner, is the only team in the Duer bracket that is not inside of the top-25 or receiving votes.

All of the Eagles' national tournament games (except the NAIA National Championship game) will be broadcast at NAIANetwork.com and live stats will be available at the NAIA Tournament Central Page.
 
Biola enters play in Kansas City as the class of its bracket. The Eagles are the only team in the Duer bracket to have won its regular season and conference tournament championship. Biola also claims the most wins in the nation (30) and holds nation's longest active winning streak (11).

In the second round Biola will face the No. 4 seed in the bracket No. 14 Mid-America Christian. The Evangels advanced to the second round with an 88-86 victory over No. 5 seed Park (Missouri) in the first round. Outside of Biola's drubbing of Faulkner all other first round matchups in the A.O. Duer Bracket were decided by two points or fewer.
 
Mid-America Christian strutted into the tournament field by earning the fourth at-large berth in the nation. The Oklahoma team finished the regular season tied for second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference and posted an overall record of 23-9 before getting eliminated in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament.
 
This year's second round matchup is the first-ever meeting of Biola and the Evangels in men's basketball. The Eagles and Mid-America had zero common opponents this season, so there's really not much to go off of in this matchup other than overall records, accolades and stats.
 
Biola comes into the matchup with a 10-0 record in its last 10 outings and two conference championship crowns. Mid-America Christian is 6-4 in its last 10 games and just 4-4 over its last eight.

Mid-America Christian is 8-4 this season against teams currently inside of the top-25 or receiving votes. Biola has played 10 games against teams ranked inside of the top-25 or receiving votes and compiled a 9-1 overall record.
 
The Evangels come into play as the highest scoring team in the Duer bracket. Mid-America Christian does not play a whole lot of defense, but it sure knows how to score at 90.1 points-per-game this season. They are the top offensive team in the bracket and worst defensive team (in terms of opponent's points-per-game). Conversely, Biola came into the tournament as the lowest scoring team in the bracket and No. 1 defensive team in the bracket (and nation).

The Eagles showed in their opening round contest that they can do more than simply hold their opponent down. Biola topped 80 points in a dominant showing. That ability to pile on the points (especially coming from Terrell Funches and Dakari Archer) will serve the Eagles well against this Evangels squad. 
 
Mid-America Christian's opening round contest went just about to script as the Evangels scored four fewer points than their season average and allowed 0.3 points more than their season defensive average. The Evangels got great ball movement in their win over park, which setup their bigs to get some big buckets. Bryon Miller and Devonse Reed, both forwards, combined for 29 points to lead MACU to victory. Miller took 12 three-point shots in the game, but he did most of his damage inside the arc, where he finished 6-of-8.

Biola will want to limit the amount of chances it gives Mid-America Christian at the free throw line. The Evangels were 26-of-31 in a foul frenzy game against Park and came into the tournament with a 71.8 free-throw percentage, which was second only to Biola's 72.3 percent.
 
Check out the full statistical rankings of all eight teams in the Duer bracket and see the full bracket schedule below.
 
BRACKET SCHEDULE (all times pacific):
GAME 1: #6 Cumberlands def. #3 Langston, 80-78 (OT) | RECAP | BOX SCORE
GAME 2: #2 Talladega def. #7 Westmont, 63-61 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
GAME 3: #1 Biola def. #8 Faulkner, 84-54 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
GAME 4: #4 MidAmerica Christian def. #5 Park, 88-86 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
GAME 5: #6 Cumberlands def. #2 Talladega, 82-80 | BOX SCORE
GAME 6: #4 MidAmerica Christian def. #1 Biola, 88-80 | BOX SCORE
Game 7: #6 Cumberlands vs. #4 MidAmerica Christian | March 19 at 10:00 a.m. (Tournament Quarterfinals)
 
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN:
Top-25 Rankings:
1. Biola - #3
2. Talladega - #6
3. Langston - #11
4. MidAmerica Christian - #14
5. Park - #20
6. Cumberlands - #21
7. Westmont - #25
8. Faulkner – unranked
 
Scoring Offense:
1. MidAmerica Christian – 90.1
2. Park – 86.5
3. Talladega – 84.1
4. Langston – 83.4
5. Westmont – 82.1
6. Faulkner – 76.9
7. Cumberlands – 74.8
8. Biola – 71.0
 
Scoring Defense:
1. Biola – 59.8
2. Cumberlands – 68.2
3. Langston – 72.1
4. Faulkner – 73.8
5. Talladega – 74.5
6. Westmont – 75.6
7. Park – 80.0
8. MidAmerica Christian – 85.7
 
Scoring Margin:
1. Langston - +11.3
2. Biola - +11.2
3. Talladega - +9.6
4. Cumberlands - +6.6
5. Park - +6.5
6. Westmont - +6.5
7. MidAmerica Christian - +4.4
8. Faulkner - +3.1
 
Field Goal PCT:
1. Westmont - .492
2. Talladega - .491
3. Langston - .478
4. Biola - .469
5. MidAmerica Christian - .461
6. Cumberlands - .443
7. Park - .442
8. Faulkner - .438
 
Rebound Average:
1. Park – 42.4
2. MidAmerica Christian – 41.7
3. Biola – 38.5
4. Langston – 38.3
5. Cumberlands – 36.0
6. Westmont – 34.6
7. Talladega – 34.0
8. Faulkner – 33.3
 
Free Throw PCT:
1. Biola - .723
2. MidAmerica Christian - .718
3. Park - .711
4. Talladega - .702
5. Westmont - .695
6. Faulkner - .674
7. Langston - .662
8. Cumberlands - .656
 
3-PT Field Goal PCT:
1. Westmont - .403
2. Talladega - .388
3. Cumberlands - .362
4. Langston - .351
5. MidAmerica Christian - .339
6. Biola - .337
7. Faulkner - .334
8. Park - .318