Wheaton, Ill. - Fresh off a successful opening weekend of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, the Wheaton men's basketball team will face a familiar foe in the Sectional Semifinal round of the tournament on Friday, March 8. CCIW Champion Augustana has been chosen as the host school for the Sectional Round of the tournament by the NCAA on Sunday morning. Wheaton dropped two tightly-contested games against the Vikings this season, falling 77-73 in King Arena on January 16 and 93-83 in Rock Island on February 6. Marietta University will face Oswego State in the other Sectional Semifinal matchup at 5:30 pm. Wheaton will tipoff against Augustana at 7:30 p.m. Friday's winners will advance to Saturday's 7:00 p.m. Sectional Championship, with a berth to the Division III Final Four in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the line.

Ticket prices, set by the NCAA, will be $10 for adults and $5 for seniors age 60+ and all students with a valid ID. Children under two will be admitted free of charge. There are no complimentary passes for NCAA Tournament games. Tickets will go on sale on Friday at 4:00 p,m, for the Sectional Semifinal games. Tickets for Saturday's Sectional Championship will go on sale at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Wheaton will have an allotment of 500 tickets for Friday night's game at Augustana that will be held until 6:30 pm before it is released to the general public. General admission tickets will continue to be sold after the allotment is released.

Wheaton advanced to the Sectional Weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the third time under head coach Mike Schauer, and returns to the round of 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Wheaton defeated Hanover 84-73 in the First Round of the tournament behind double-doubles from Aston Francis (42 points, 13 rebounds) and Anajuwon Spencer (12 points, 10 rebounds). On Saturday, the Thunder eliminated the host Scots of The College of Wooster 78-70. Francis again recorded a double-double with 43 points and 12 rebounds.

This is Wheaton's 16th postseason appearance. The selection marks Wheaton's 15^th NCAA Tournament bid, and is the program's 11th NCAA Division III Tournament selection. Thunder head coach Mike Schauer has led Wheaton to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fifth time since his appointment as coach prior to the 2009-10 season.

Augustana (26-3) will remain at home after hosting the First and Second Rounds of the tournament. The Vikings rolled to a 93-67 victory over Aurora University on Friday night, led by Brett Benning's 21 points. Augustana trailed into the second half in Saturday's Second Round match-up against Capital University but used an 8-0 run to retake the lead and hold off the Crusaders for an 85-79 victory behind 27 points from Jostens Trophy finalist Nolan Ebel. The Vikings have reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season including National Runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2015. Friday's meeting between the CCIW rivals will be the 140th all-time meeting on the hardwood with the Vikings owning a 76-63 series advantage.

Both Marietta (22-6) and Oswego State (24-5) advanced to the Sectional Round after wins on their home floors in the opening weekend. Marietta rolled past Maryville 101-77 in the First Round of the tournament before clipping Arcadia 88-76 on Saturday. This is the fourth trip to the Round of 16 for the Pioneers who earned an at-large bid to the tournament after winning the OAC regular season title but falling in the quarterfinals of the OAC Tournament. Oswego State defeated Salem State 72-59 in the First Round and needed overtime to edge Baldwin-Wallace 75-71 in the Second Round. This is the second trip in the last four seasons to the Round of 16 for the Lakers, who earned the automatic qualifying bid from the SUNYAC after winning the regular season and SUNYAC Tournament titles. Wheaton has never faced Marietta or Oswego State in men's basketball.