INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs will face Emory University (Ga.) at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas on Friday in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
TLU and Emory are part of a four-team pod (first and second rounds) to be played at Hardin-Simmons. The host Cowboys (22-6) meet LaGrange (Ga.) (18-10) in the other first-round matchup in Abilene.
TLU won the 2017 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for a third consecutive season and advanced to the NCAA tournament for a third straight year. The Bulldogs received the conference's automatic bid.
TLU holds an overall record of 19-9 after a 3-0 run through the SCAC tournament that included wins over No. 6 seed Centenary College (La.), No. 2 seed Colorado College and No. 1 seed Schreiner. The Bulldogs were the No. 3 seed.
Emory, out of the University Athletics Association, will make its fourth consecutive NCAA appearance. The Eagles are 18-7 overall and received an at-large bid to the 2017 tournament.
Emory has won its last four contests. The Eagles finished third in the UAA regular-season standings. The UAA does not have a year-end conference tournament.
TLU has won its last five games and needed to win all three games at the SCAC Championship to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs have played in the last two NCAA tournaments and lost in the first round to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) in 2015 and to Hardin-Simmons in 2016.
