ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (21-11, 12-7 MIAA) is back in the NCAA tournament for a 13th time in program history and the first time since 2021.

MoWest earned the No. 5 seed in the Central Region tournament and will face No. 4 seed St. Cloud State (25-6, 20-2 NSIC) in the first round on Saturday. The regional host is Washburn University, with games being played at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kansas. The regional semifinals will be played on Sunday, March 15 and the regional title will be Tuesday, March 17.

MoWest got to 20 wins this season for the first time since 2002-03, finishing fourth in the MIAA regular season standings. The Griffs rank No. 32 in the national KPI ratings, and has a strength of schedule that ranks as No. 2 toughest in the country, per the Massey Ratings.

The Griffons have four wins this season over teams that also made the NCAA tournament this year - Central Missouri, Rogers State, GLVC tournament champion William Jewell and GLVC regular season champion Rockhurst.

The Griffs played 13 games this season against opponents ranked 68th or higher in the KPI - five of those 13 games are wins.

In total, MoWest played eight games this season against teams who are in the 2026 NCAA tournament field.

Griffon Men's Basketball is back in the Big Dance for just the third time in the last 16 years. MoWest is 1-15 in the NCAA tournament all-time with the last win coming in 1990. The Griffs look to snap what's currently a 15-game losing streak in NCAA tournament games - the most recent being a loss to Washburn in the Central Region tournament in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 2021.

The Griffs are 2-3 in the NAIA national tournament all-time.

Brooks McKowen is no stranger to the NCAA tournament as a head coach. He led Upper Iowa to three NCAA tournament bids, winning first round games with the Peacocks in 2022 and 2024.