SAN MARCOS, Calif. – No. 3 seed Cal State San Marcos (28-3) plays unseeded Philander Smith (Ark.) (20-9) in the 28^th-annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship First Round on Wednesday, March 18 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Tip-off is set for 11:15 a.m. PT, 1:15 p.m. local time (CT).

The Schedule
Game 32 – NAIA National Championship First Round
Wednesday, March 18 – 11:15 a.m. PT (1:15 p.m. CT)
No. 3 Cal State San Marcos (28-3) vs. Philander Smith (Ark.) (20-9)
Kansas City, Mo.  – Municipal Auditorium
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets | Bracket (PDF) | Game Notes

CSUSM Men's Basketball
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For Openers
­- CSUSM is in its fourth season as a program. The team debuted in 2011-12 and is 67-59 overall.
- The Cougars compete in the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference.
- CSUSM was accepted into NCAA Division II Candidacy Year One in July 2014.
- The Cougars do not have a home gymnasium on campus; CSUSM plays its home games at nearby MiraCosta Junior College. The Cougars are 25-0 at "home" over the last two seasons.

In The NAIA Tournament
- The Cougars are making their third consecutive appearance.
- CSUSM holds a 2-2 all-time record in the NAIA postseason tournament.
- The Cougars received an automatic berth by virtue of winning the A.I.I. Conference Championship Tournament with an 87-83 victory over West Virginia Tech on Mar. 7.
- CSUSM, the top overall seed for the 2014 tournament, was eliminated in the quarterfinals in overtime, 94-89, by eventual national runner-up Emmanuel (Ga.).
- Last year, the Cougars beat Oklahoma Baptist in the First Round (88-81) and then-No. 14 Culver-Stockton in the Second Round (92-91).

Broadcast Information
- All of the national championship action will be video-streamed live on NAIANetwork.com.
- Live statistics will be located on CSUSMCougars.com/coverage.aspx and through NAIA.org.
- The championship game will be shown live on ESPN3 on Tuesday, March 24 at 5:02 p.m. PT (7:02 p.m. CT).
 
The Opponent
- CSUSM and Philander Smith have never met in any sport.
- PSC was granted the No. 15 at-large berth into the competition.
- CSUSM is 1-1 all-time against teams that currently play in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The Cougars defeated Voorhees (S.C.) in 2012 before falling to the Tigers in 2013. Voorhees previously competed in the A.I.I. along with CSUSM.
 
The Head Coach
- CSUSM: Jim Saia (Chapman, 1987), 67-58 in four seasons at CSUSM and 147-102 in eight seasons overall.
- Saia is 3-4 all-time in the NAIA national tournament, having gone 1-2 during his two appearances as head coach of Fresno Pacific (2009, 10).

In the National Ranks
- CSUSM has been ranked in the top four of the NAIA Top 25 Poll for every week of the 2014-15 rankings.
- The Cougars spent four weeks at No. 1 this season (Dec. 9, Jan. 27, Feb. 3, Feb. 10).
- CSUSM has been ranked for 37 consecutive weeks, tied for the second-longest streak in the NAIA with Pikeville, and behind No. 19 Xavier's 49-straight mentions.
- CSUSM has the third-most all-time No. 1 rankings with 11, one less than Concordia (Calif.) and Georgetown (Ky.).

On The Horizon
- If CSUSM defeats Philander Smith, the Cougars will face the victor of Arizona Christian and No. 14 seed Georgetown in the Second Round on Friday at 8:45 a.m. PT, 10:45 a.m. CT.
- CSUSM is 2-2 all-time against ACU and has never faced Georgetown.
- The Cougars haven't played the Firestorm since CSUSM's inaugural season in 2011-12.

Postseason Honors
- Blake Nash – A.I.I. Player of the Year, A.I.I. First Team, A.I.I. Tournament Most Outstanding Player, NABC-NAIA All-Star Game Finalist
- Akachi Okugo – A.I.I. Second Team, A.I.I. All-Tournament Team
- Julian Camper – A.I.I. Second Team, A.I.I. All-Tournament Team
- Dayton Boddie – A.I.I. Honorable Mention
- Jim Saia – A.I.I. Coach of the Year

A.I.I. Tournament Re-hash
- CSUSM was the top seed for the conference tournament.
- Okugo's career-high 25 points helped the Cougars to an easy 105-86 victory over Allen (S.C) in the semifinals.
- Blake Nash matched his career-high with 34 points in the championship victory over WVU Tech.
- CSUSM also won the conference tournament in 2014.
 
Notes
CSUSM beat defending national champion Vanguard twice in 2014-15 … The Cougars went 3-0 this year against teams in the tournament; CSUSM beat No. 10 seed Concordia (Calif.) twice … CSUSM is 12-6 all-time against teams in this year's field (ACU: 1-1; Hope International: 0-1; WVU Tech: 2-0; Montana Western: 1-0; Westmont: 2-0; Concordia: 4-4; Rocky Mountain: 2-0) … CSUSM has three straight seasons with 20+ victories.