Johnnies, Blazers Play in NCAAs Tonight [AUDIO]

The St. John's and St. Ben's basketball teams begin play in the NCAA Division III tournament tonight.  The Johnnies are hosting Bethany Lutheran College at 7:30pm.  St. John's is ranked #7 in the latest d3hoops.com poll and is 23-3 on the season.  St. John's was the regular season MIAC champ and lost in the semifinals in the MIAC tournament to Augsburg.  I talked with St. John's head coach Pat McKenzie this morning on the WJON Morning News Watch about tonight's matchup.

The St. John's/Bethany Lutheran winner will play the winner of UW-Stevens Point and North Central (Illinois) at 7pm in Collegeville Saturday.

St. Ben's basketball opens play in the NCAA Division III tournament in Waverly, Iowa tonight against George Fox University of Oregon at 5:30pm.  The Blazers are ranked #24 while George Fox is ranked #13.  St. Ben's is 22-4 while George Fox is 24-3.  I talked with St. Ben's head coach Mike Durbin about returning to the tournament for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.

The St. Ben's/George Fox winner will play the Wartburg/Webster winner at 7pm Saturday night.