CEDARVILLE — The Cedarville University Yellow Jackets will return to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Men’s Basketball Championship in Winona Lake, Indiana for the first time in six years as the No. 1 seed.

Cedarville accepted an at-large bid to the eight-team event which is staged at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College.

The Yellow Jackets (18-12) open up against No. 8 and Central Region champion Nebraska Christian (14-14) at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 13.

It will be the school’s ninth appearance at the NCCAA tournament and first since 2013 when CU finished third. The Jackets were the 2012 NCCAA national champion.

In other first-round games on Wednesday, No. 4 Bluefield (Va.), 18-13, faces host and No. 5 Grace (Ind.), 16-15, at 5:15 p.m.

The loser plays the CU/NCC loser at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, while the winners square off in the semifinals at 5:15 p.m.

In the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.), 18-11, meets No. 6 Columbia International (S.C.), 17-14, at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. At 10:15 a.m., No. 2 Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) , 14-13, takes on No. 7 Piedmont International (N.C.), 11-17.

All teams are guaranteed of playing three games each. Saturday’s championship tilt is scheduled for 2 p.m.