MERCED, Calif. – For the first time in program history, the University of California, Merced men's basketball team earned an at-large berth to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. The 16-seeded Bobcats (20-6) will face off against top-seeded College of Idaho (29-2) at the J.A. Albertston Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho on Friday, March 14. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm PST. 

The winner between the Bobcats and the Coyotes will take on the winner of #8 Friends/#9 Florida Memorial on March 15.

UC Merced won the Cal Pac Regular Season Championship this year with a 10-0 record and won 20 games overall for the second time in the last three years. The Bobcats enter the national tournament having won 14 of their last 15 games.

Friday will mark the Bobcats first ever meeting against College of Idaho. Also of note, it will mark the Bobcats first game against a No. 1 team in the country since playing Cal State San Marcos on February 3, 2014.

Earlier this season, UC Merced picked up its highest ranked win in program history when the Bobcats beat No. 7 The Master's University 76-60 on December 5.

UC Merced is led by Cal Pac Player of the Year Cameron Brown. Tenth-year head coach Kevin Pham was named the Cal Pac Coach of the Year and Aidan Sevilla was named the Cal Pac Defender of the Year.

The Bobcats are ranked third in the country holding opponents to just 61.3 points per game.

The NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Final Site is set for March 20-March 25 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.