SPNRINGFIELD, Mass. - For the past two days, North Alabama's players have enjoyed the perks that go along with making it to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

On Monday, there was a chartered flight to Springfield. On Tuesday, the Lions toured the ESPN studios and enjoyed a banquet at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Today, however, the biggest perk is a chance to take the floor at the MassMutual Center as the Lions (27-8) face Bentley College (33-0) at 7:30 p.m.

"This has been a great experience for our guys. It has been good for them," UNA coach Bobby Champagne said. "They've worked hard to get here, and they deserve this. Our motto the last few weeks has been to have fun and I know they've enjoyed this run. But I also know they are ready to play."

The Lions face a big test in their opening game against co-No. 1 Bentley. The Falcons are making their second consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight, having lost to Winona State in the opening round last year.

Bentley is outscoring its opponents by more than 16 points per game. The Falcons feature a motion offense with several deadly 3-point shooters.

"We're basically a five-guard lineup," Bentley coach Jay Lawson said. "We have no center, and really no forward. We're thrilled to be back this year and just hope we play better than we did last year."

Champagne said Bentley's five-guard lineup creates some matchup problems for both teams.

"It gives them some mismatches against our defense because our post player will have to defend all over the court," Champagne said. "But on the reverse side, we hope to get the ball inside and use our size to post them up. That's tough to do against Bentley because they play such good defense."

The Lions have the most loses of any team in the Elite Eight. Champagne said the players relish the underdog role.

"Our guys are always looking to play with a chip on their shoulder and feel like they get no respect," Champagne said. "At the function here Monday night they introduced us as the Warriors, so our guys will use that for motivation.

"Bentley has some advantages in having been here last year and having a lot of fans here. But that could also put more pressure on them. It will be a long day of waiting for us, so we'll come and watch the early games and get a feel for things. We just want to play loose and continue to find a way to win."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.