Heading into Saturday’s games, the final week of the regular season, several things had to go right for UMHB to extend its 2024 campaign by another week.
The Cru had to get past Howard Payne in their final conference game, which they did in commanding fashion. The 63-7 win saw UMHB shut out the Yellow Jackets over the first three quarters, and score in all three phases of the game, as the Crusaders finished their 10-game schedule with a 5-2 record against Division III opponents.
But they also needed some help from other teams in the division in order to break into the Top 12 amongst teams seeking an at-large bid. That too, happened, with three teams ranked higher than UMHB in NPI entering into Week 11 losing on Saturday. Those three were: Marietta, who lost 49-35 to John Carroll, Wabash, who lost 42-21 against DePauw, and UW-Oshkosh, who fell to UW-River Falls, 28-14. Those three results collectively pushed UMHB ahead of Marietta, Wabash, and UW-Oshkosh, with all three of those teams missing the postseason entirely.
UMHB is No. 11 amongst at-large bid teams, and one of three programs from Texas who secured at-large bids. Texas Lutheran (No. 5 in Pool C, No. 26 overall seed), and Trinity (No. 10 in Pool C, No. 33 overall seed) also qualified, giving Texas four teams in the tournament when UMHB and Hardin-Simmons (who won the ASC’s automatic bid) are factored in. The Cru will be the No. 34 overall seed in the playoffs. Hardin-Simmons, with its 10-0 record, is the No. 2 overall seed.
The NCAA released its final NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings on Saturday evening, confirming UMHB’s placement in the 2024 playoffs. This is the first season in which Division III is using NPI to select its at-large teams for its national postseason tournaments, meaning the 40-team field is set before the bracket is offically released. That is a significant difference from past years, when the tournament field wouldn’t be announced until the Sunday after the final day of the regular season.
Due to UMHB’s seeding, the Crusaders will almost certainly be on the road for the first round of the playoffs. With TLU and Trinity (TX) also potentially playing in the first round, the bracketing aspect will be something interesting to keep an eye on as far as UMHB’s opening-round opponent and the game site of that matchup. 2024 is the first year of the 40-team playoff field, so under the new format, 16 teams will meet in the first round on Nov. 23, with the other 24 receiving a bye to the second round, which is set for Nov. 30.
The bracket for the 2024 playoffs will be officially announced tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
