How sweet it is! Oklahoma Wesleyan prepares for another Sweet 16

How sweet it is! For the 5th time in 8 years, Oklahoma Wesleyan is back in the Sweet 16 and headed back to Kansas City. And the Eagles say they're poised to make a run at a national championship

"There's a lot of meat still on the ribs. Don't forget we're going up to Kansas City."

KC is known for its barbeque, but it's also known for March hoops. Historic Municipal Auditorium is the Final Site for the NAIA National Championship, and will once again welcome the Eagles as one of the 16 final teams.

"It was very important to get back because they wanted to get back to that place," says head coach Donnie Bostwick. "It's a pretty special place. Our guys were going to make it back. They didn't say we're not going to finish it up."

The Eagles have unfinished business in Kansas City. They saw their season end last year in the Sweet 16, something that's driven them all season.

"We've got that chip on our shoulder just knowing what it feels like to go down there and lose," says senior guard DJ Talton. "We were actually one of the favorites and we ended up losing to a lower seed and that made a bigger difference as well. Now that we're the underdogs going into this, it's just a bigger chip on a shoulder."

Two clutch wins in Iowa brought out head coach Donnie Bostwick's dancing shoes.

"I save my dance moves for March. That was just one of those things where the water went everywhere, the floor was a little slick. We're dancing man. We're going to dance right through March hopefully, and I might need to learn some new dance moves," says Bostwick.

That next dance partner will be Baker University, who is 30-3 on the season and sits just 53 miles from K-C.

"They're a good team. Defensively they're tough, they've got a lot of balance, well-coached. It's kind of like the home team for Kansas City because they're right there. We're going right back into a road game in my opinion," says Bostwick.

And that's a role the team is embracing.

"We're going into just adversity. And if we can look at it as joy, like Jesus did, we can't lose. We're going to have some fun. Bring on the adversity. Let's see what we can do with it."

Oklahoma Wesleyan will need to win four games in Kansas City to add that second red national title banner to the wall, but they're focusing on one game at a time.

"Everyone there is an incredible team. Anybody can win it, you've just got to win 4 straight and get hot at the right time," says Bostwick. "We just trust that God's given us the strength to get this far, why not continue this race."

"Man we're rolling, we're happy. It makes us feel more confident, and more believable. Everybody's happy right now. We can do it. We can do it," says Talton. "Nobody said it was going to be easy, but I think we can get it done. We're going to get it done."

Tipoff against Baker is set for prime time on Friday night, 7 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.