LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola's men's basketball team opens the 2011 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship against Montana State University-Northern in the final game of the first round, playing at 9:45 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, March 17.

Coined College Basketball's Toughest Tournament, Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., will host 32 teams for seven days of action from March 16-22.

The Eagles, who were ranked No. 13 in the final NAIA Division I Men's Basketball coaches poll released earlier today, enter the national championships with an impressive 26-5 overall record, finishing third in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Biola earned the 13th overall seed in the tournament field and opens the tournament against Montana State-Northern.

The Lights upset Carroll College in the Frontier Conference tournament final to earn the conference's automatic berth to the NAIA tournament and are 24-8 overall. Montana State-Northern jumped up from No. 23 to No. 19 in the final poll after the victory, its first postseason title in 14 years. Located in Havre, Montana, MSU-N is making its fifth tournament appearance and has a 3-4 record overall.

There is a good chance the game will be low scoring as the two teams rank in the top five in scoring defense in the NAIA. For the fourth-straight year, Biola finished in the top two in scoring defense, allowing just 56.94 points per game this season. The Lights weren't too far behind, ranking fourth by holding opponents to 59.91 points per contest.

Biola is making its 18th NAIA tournament appearance, the fourth-most among teams in the tournament and fifth-most overall. The Eagles reached the NAIA Quarterfinals last season and are 21-17 overall.

The winner of the game advances to the second round to face the winner of the game between No. 4 seed LSU Shreveport (29-3) and Life University (Ga.) (20-12) on Friday at 9:45 p.m. CT.

The 32-team field is comprised of 18 automatic qualifiers from NAIA affiliated conferences and association of independents, plus 14 at-large selections, which are determined using the final Top 25 rating released on Wednesday.

Thirty-one games will be played out in Kansas City. The first 30 games will be video-streamed by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. Three different subscription plans for basketball (Men's and Women's Division I; Men's and Women's Division II) will be available for tournament coverage. Users can purchase the All-Tournament pass, which includes every event offered on College Sports Direct from all four basketball tournaments for $39.95. Each of the four basketball tournaments can be purchased separately for $24.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95. In order to view the streaming, click here.