UW-Oshkosh women's basketball to host NCAA DIII Regional, Titans face Calvin in 1st round

OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball team is set to compete for a national title after earning an at-large bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament.

UW-Oshkosh hosts Calvin University (Mich.), Bethel University (Minn.) and DePauw University (Ind.) in a four-team, three-game regional tournament at Kolf Sports Center on Friday and Saturday (March 7-8).

The Titans (23-4), who are appearing in the Division III Tournament for the 20th time in program history and the sixth consecutive season, opened the season with 17 straight wins.

Calvin (18-10) is Oshkosh’s first-round opponent. The Knights won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament title by defeating No. 11 Trine University (Ind.) in the championship. The Titans are 2-1 against Calvin in the Division III Tournament, posting a 61-59 win on the road in the second round of the 1999 tournament and a 63-55 win at home in 2017. The Knights won the 2015 second-round matchup in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Bethel and DePauw play in the first game of the regional at 4:30 p.m. Friday, while UW-Oshkosh will face Calvin in the second game at 7 p.m.

The winners of the first-round games will meet Saturday at 7 p.m., with the regional champion advancing to a to-be-determined sectional site on March 14-15. The eight sectional champions will travel to Salem, Va., for the semifinal and national championship games March 20-22 at the Cregger Center.

UW-Oshkosh is one of five teams from the WIAC to compete in the national tournament and one of eight programs representing Wisconsin. UW-Stevens Point (18-8) travels to Gustavus Adolphus, while Wisconsin Lutheran College (21-7) and UW-Stout (19-7) will host Ripon College (23-4) and former WIAC member UW-Superior (17-10). UW-Whitewater (22-6) hosts UW-La Crosse (16-11), the final team to qualify for the tournament.