UCO men’s hoops earns No. 2 seed in MIAA Tournament

Cal Haydon

Contributing Writer

UCO’s men’s basketball team earned a No. 2 seed in the MIAA Conference Tournament after splitting the final two games of the regular season. Last Thursday, the Bronchos traveled to Maryville, Missouri, where they faced the No. 3 team in the nation, Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Central Oklahoma fell short with a final score of 65-51.

UCO traveled to Wichita on Saturday to face Newman University for their final regular season game. The Bronchos demolished the Jets 86-61.

Central finished regular season play with an overall record of 24-4, and a conference record of 18-4, to land them second in conference standings.

Northwest Missouri State clinched the No. 1 seed and their 10thstraight MIAA regular season title in last Thursday night’s win over the second-place Bronchos. The two teams co-shared last year’s regular season championship after posting the same conference record (18-4).

The MIAA tournament will begin March 1, and continue through March 5 in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

UCO’s first round game will be 2:15 p.m. March 2, where they will face the winner of the play-in game between No. 7 seed Missouri Southern State University and No. 10 seed Northeastern State University.

The Bronchos dropped games to Missouri Southern (50-56, 59-66), but won regular season matchups against Northeastern State (74-65, 67-52).

“So proud of our guys for what they were able to accomplish in the regular season,” said UCO Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Hoffman. “But it’s time to move on to postseason play and see what this group of guys can accomplish next.”

Last year, Central Oklahoma earned the No. 1 overall seed in the MIAA tournament but came up short against Washburn University.

The Bronchos won their first MIAA Regular Season Championship in 2022 but will be seeking their first ever MIAA Conference Championship this time around. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 5.