XU to play Cumberlands in NAIA tournament's first round
March 10, 2010

     NEW ORLEANS — The Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball team will play the University of the Cumberlands at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18 in the opening round of the NAIA Division I National Championship at Jackson, Tenn.
     The NAIA announced the pairings for the 32-team event Wednesday. The tournament will begin March 17 and conclude March 23.
     Oman Arena will be the tournament site for the 21st consecutive season. Tickets can be purchased by calling (731) 425-8587.
     It will be the first meeting between Xavier (28-5) and Cumberlands (25-8). Xavier is seeded fifth in its eight-team tournament quadrant, and Cumberlands is fourth. The winner would play at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 19 against first-seeded St. Xavier (29-1) or eighth-seeded Evangel (23-9).
     The Gold Nuggets have a 21-game winning streak, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and were 20th in the final NAIA coaches poll. This will be Xavier's ninth appearance at nationals in Bo Browder's 11 seasons as head coach.
     Xavier qualified for nationals for the 14th time in 16 seasons. The Gold Nuggets will seek their first victory since beating Trevecca Nazarene in the 2003 opening round. Lambuth beat the Nuggets 73-56 in their most recent appearance in 2008.
     Cumberlands, from Williamsburg, Ky. — 70 miles north of Knoxville, Tenn. — is in the national tournament for the seventh consecutive year, the ninth time in 10 years and the 11th time overall. The Patriots, 16th in the final coaches poll, qualified by defeating Campbellsville 73-68 in the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship game. Campbellsville defeated Xavier 71-70 at The Barn on Jan. 3, the Nuggets' last loss before their winning streak.
     Cumberlands defeated Lewis-Clark State and Freed-Hardeman to reach the 2009 quarterfinals.
     The other No. 1 seeds are defending champion Union (Tenn.), Oklahoma City and Vanguard.
     LSU-Shreveport, the other GCAC team to qualify, will play Campbellsville at 10:15 a.m. March 17. LSUS finished second to Xavier in the GCAC regular season and tournament.
     CBS College Sports will televise the championship game live. NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV, will video-stream live the other games. Fans with high-speed internet access and Windows Media can view all games at Jackson for $24.95 or purchase a single-day pass for $9.95. Visit www.watchnaia.com to subscribe.