LINCOLN, Neb.  – The Nebraska Wesleyan men's basketball team begins postseason play on Thursday night (Feb. 21) as they host Simpson College in the American Rivers Conference Postseason Tournament Semifinals.  Tip-off between the Prairie Wolves and Storm is set for 7 pm in Snyder Arena.
 
No. 1 ranked NWU received the No. 1 seed in the tournament earning a first round bye and home court advantage throughout the tournament.  It marks the third straight season the Prairie Wolves have been the top seed in the conference tournament.
 
The Prairie Wolves will host the No. 4 seed Simpson College in the semifinals.  The Storm defeated No. 5 seed Coe College 90-82 on Tuesday night in the opening round to earn a spot in the semifinals.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Simpson in both regular season matchups this season, including a 102-71 victory on Feb. 6 in Snyder Arena.  NWU has now won six straight games to finish the regular season with a 24-1 overall record, the best regular season mark in program history.
 
Simpson has won three straight games since the loss to the Prairie Wolves on Feb. 6.  The Storm bring a 16-9 overall record into the semifinal matchup and they ended the year 9-7 in conference play to sit fourth in the standings.  Simpson has never won a conference postseason tournament.
 
The winner of the NWU-Simpson semifinal game will advance to the A-R-C Tournament Championship that is scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 21).  If NWU is the winner, they will host the game facing the winner of the other semifinal that matches No. 6 University of Dubuque at No. 2 Loras College.
 
An automatic berth to the NCAA III National Tournament is awarded to the winner of the American Rivers Tournament.  The first round of nationals begins on March 1.