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LOOKOUT (Mo.) – The Valley City State men’s basketball team will make its first appearance at a National Tournament since 1987 on Wednesday when they open play in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship.
The VCSU women also begin their national run on Wednesday at about 3:30 p.m. against Bethel (Ind.) The Viking women are making their third straight appearance at nationals in Sioux City, Iowa. Each of the last two years the Vikings have lost out in the first round.

The Viking men take on No. 11 seed Indiana University Southeast in the opening round Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.

It’s been a whirlwind of activity for head coach Jeff Kaminsky and his squad since learning on Feb. 28 that they had received at at-large bid to the 32-team tournament. The Vikings come in with a No. 24 national ranking and a 21-8 record. It is their first appearance at the NAIA National Tournament under the current qualifying format implemented in 1992.

Valley City’s opponent, Indiana University Southeast, is ranked No. 10 in the nation with a record of 27-4. They play in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and have qualified for the national tournament six years in a row under head coach Wiley Brown, a former member of Louisville’s 1980 National Championship team.

IU Southeast has posted a record of 27-4 this year. In the last five years at the national tournament, the Grenadiers have posted a 3-5 record and made one appearance in the quarterfinals.

Wednesday’s first round game can be heard on Q101.1. Pregame coverage will begin at approximately 5:35 p.m. The VCSU women play their first round game in Sioux City, Iowa at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. That game will also be broadcast on Q101.1.

All 32 men’s teams attended the Dixie Stampede on Tuesday night, which included an introductory program, dinner and a show featuring horsemanship, buffalo, ostrich, lumberjack races and much more.