SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University will open the 2026 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament against Trinity University of Texas on Friday at a four-team pod hosted by St. Thomas University in Houston.
The NCAA announced the Division III men's basketball bracket on Monday morning (PST). The Pirates and Tigers will play in the first contest at 4:30 pm (CST) on Friday, March 6th. The two teams have played three times previously in the national tournament. Trinity won the most recent match up 77-52 in Belton, Texas in 2022.
Host St. Thomas (26-1) will play Belhaven (16-12) in the pod's other first round game.
Whitworth (22-5) completed its run through the Northwest Conference by winning the NWC tournament this past weekend. The Pirates defeated Lewis & Clark 76-60 in the semifinals and Willamette 97-87 in the championship. Whitworth is playing in the NCAA Div. III tournament for the 18th time.
Trinity is 21-6 overall and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers, members of the Southern Athletic Association, shared the regular season championship with Rhodes, but lost to Rhodes 79-76 in the conference tournament championship.
Host St. Thomas is 26-1 and won the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference regular season and league tournament. The Celts have won 23 games in a row. Belhaven is 16-12 and pulled out the Collegiate Conference of the South tournament championship as the third-seeded team.
Stay tuned at www.whitworthpirates.com for more information about this weekend's schedule.
