The University of Pikeville men earned the No. 1 seed after tie-breaker procedures with No. 2-seed Campbellsville.
The Bears and Tigers are co-MSC Regular-Season Champions, but after both teams split with third-seeded Georgetown, UPIKE has the better record against fourth-seeded Cumberlands.
UPIKE will play its first game of the tournament at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, but won’t know its opponent until No. 8 Cumberland (Tenn.) and No. 9 Shawnee State (Ohio) complete a play-in game at Noon on Thursday.