The men’s basketball regular season was a massive success with the Raiders winning often and losing only by the slimmest of margins on the rare occasions they did lose. The Raiders entered the post-season on a ten-game winning streak and prepared to dominate in the GPAC tournament. The tournament began with the Raiders facing Dakota Wesleyan whom they had defeated by 32 points just four days earlier in the last game of the regular season. The Raiders managed to outdo themselves in the tournament winning again by one more point, this time with a final score of 112-79. The next game was not so effortless for the Raiders however as they faced Mount Marty who had defeated them earlier in the season. The game was tight with both teams taking the lead throughout the game, but in the end NW prevailed winning with a final score of 78-71. The Raiders played their third and final game of the tournament against their toughest opponent Concordia, whom the Raiders fell to twice in the regular season. However, the Raiders settled the score when it really mattered shutting out the Bulldogs with a 30-point victory and a final score of 102-72. NW’s big win also made them the 2026 GPAC champions, marking the seventh time the team has taken that title.
The Raiders postseason continued just 10 days later as the NAIA National Tournament kicked off. NW faced off against their first opponent, the Taylor University Trojans, in the Bultman center on Mar. 13. The Raiders had a dominant performance from start to finish pushing through to the last seconds to push their final score into triple digits. The Raiders won with a commanding 37-point victory and a final score of 100-63. The Raiders played again at home on March 14 against College of Idaho. NW got out to an early lead and maintained it for the entire game never once allowing the Yotes to gain the lead. The game ended with a final score of 80-62 sending the Raiders to Kansas City to compete in the round of 16. NW, who was seeded number four, faced the number one-seeded Freed-Hardeman Lions. NW put up a strong performance finishing the first half ahead and even working up to a 16-point lead in the second half, however, the Lions kept the pressure on as they pushed the game to a tie in the final minutes. The end of the game was tense with NW managing to pull ahead by two points, but ultimately the Lions won responding with four points in the final moments to give them the win at 72-74.
The Raiders ended their season with a 28-6 record, their most wins since the 2007-2008 season.
