Hutchinson, KS – The Monroe University men's basketball team earned the #20-seed in the 2025 NJCAA National Tournament, setting up a first-round matchup against #13-seed Chipola College on Saturday, March 22, at 6:30 PM ET. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The Mustangs are back in the national tournament after a year hiatus in 2024. This marks head coach Jeff Brustad's tenth NJCAA Tournament appearance since taking over the program ahead of the 2002-03 season. The winner of the first-round contest will take on #4-seed South Plains College on March 24.
 
Chipola earned an at-large bid into the tournament after falling to Miami Dade College in the quarterfinals of the Region VIII Tournament. It finished the season at 24-7 with four wins against ranked opponents, including two against Northwest Florida State College — a team Monroe defeated back in November.
 
The Indians boast a nine-man rotation consisting of mostly sophomores. The veteran-led squad average 69.9 points per game, but struggle from deep shooting at just a 29% clip. They share the ball well too, averaging 15.6 assists per game
 
Despite featuring a ton of sophomores, two of the top three scorers on the team are freshmen. The duo of Trent Lincoln (11.8) and Justin Burns (10.4) join sophomore Antonio Baker (11.8) in leading the team in scoring. All three average the most minutes per game on the team as well.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY
The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).