ST. LOUIS – For the fourth time in six years and sixth time overall the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Tritons received an at-large berth and will be the fourth seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional starting this Saturday at the University of Illinois Springfield's The Recreation and Athletic Center.

UMSL (19-11) will take on fifth seeded Ferris State (25-8) in the fourth game of the day at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs received an at-large bid out of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The two teams last met in the Midwest Region semifinal round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at UIndy.

The other three first round matchups will feature sixth seeded Northern Michigan taking on third seeded Michigan Tech. Lincoln, the Great Lakes Valley Conference champs, earned the number seven seed and will face GLIAC champ and second seeded Lake Superior State at 2:30 p.m. The top seed and host Missouri S&T will face Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion and eighth seeded Malone at 5 p.m.

Semifinals of the regional tournament will be held on Sunday, March 16, while the championship is on Tuesday, March 18. The regional winner advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, along with seven other regional champions. The Elite Eight will be held March 25-29 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.