NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND
Hosted by Wheaton College at King Arena
March 2, 2014
LINK TO THE TOURNAMENT BRACKET
LINK TO ST. NORBERT-WHEATON PREVIEW
Wheaton College vs. St. Norbert College, 7 PM
Livestats --- Video --- Video --- Boxscore ---
Recap
Admission for Saturday’s game against St. Norbert is $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens (over 60). Children under two years old will be admitted for free. No free passes, CCIW passes, or Wheaton Thunder season passes will be accepted for the NCAA Championship event. Advance tickets will be available at the front desk of the Sports & Recreation Complex (SRC) on the Wheaton campus beginning at 3 PM on Wednesday Feb. 27. The advance tickets will be sold from 3 PM-11 PM on Feb. 27 and from 6 AM-11 PM on Feb. 28 and March 1. The final day for advance tickets will be on Saturday March 2 from 8 AM until noon. Seating for Saturday's game will be first-come-first-served when the King Arena doors open at 5:30 PM on Saturday March 2.
GAME PREVIEW
ST. NORBERT COLLEGE GREEN KNIGHTS
St. Norbert enters the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 20-5 overall record, and have won 17 of its last 19 games. The Green Knights, who won the Midwest Conference title with a 15-3 record, captured the MWC Tournament crown with a 92-68 win over Carroll last Saturday in De Pere, Wisconsin. It marked the third time in four years the Green Knights have swept the MWC regular season and tournament championships.
St. Norbert is making its third NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in four years with tonight’s visit to King Arena. Overall St. Norbert is making its fifth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, with a 2-4 all-time record in the tournament. Two of the Green Knights’ previous four appearances ended at the hands of the eventual National Champion in UW-Whitewater in 1984 and UW-Stevens Point in 2010.
St. Norbert’s 20 wins in 2013 marked just the fifth time in school history it won at least that many games in a season. The Green Knights won 21 games twice (1984 and 2002) and a school-record 23 games in 2010. St. Norbert also won 20 games in 2011.
The Green Knights are led in scoring by junior guard Brandon Gries (PICTURED RIGHT), who has upped his season average to 14.4 points per game In his last seven games, Gries is averaging 16.6 points per game, with the high during that stretch being a 21-point effort in the MWC Tournament Championship game against Carroll.
Sophomore forward Andrew Schwoerer (PICTURED LEFT) is averaging 13.4 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per game, and is shooting 56.4 percent from the floor to rank 46th nationally. Senior forward Paul Appleton comes off the bench to average 9.2 points per game. Freshman forward Izaiah Anderson is averaging 7.2 points per game while grabbing a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game
St. Norbert is scoring an average of 71.5 points per game, and is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor, 36.2 percent on three-pointers and 74.5-percent at the free throw line. St. Norbert’s free-throw percentage is ranked 23rd nationally. Opponents are scoring an average of 60.6 points per game while shooting 40.3 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent on three-pointers and 72.9 percent at the free-throw line.
Special thanks to St. Norbert Sports Information Director Dan Lukes for providing this season recap
TEAM WEBSITE
TEAM STATISTICS
WHEATON COLLEGE THUNDER
Wheaton has a 20-6 overall record this season, earning an at-large bid to the Division III Tournament. Wheaton is making its third tournament appearance in head coach Mike Schauer’s four seasons with the Thunder.
This is Wheaton’s 14th postseason appearance, and ninth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The program is 10-8 all-time in the NCAA Division III Tournament, including 6-2 in the tournament’s first round. Wheaton has won its last four first-round games, with the program’s last first-round loss coming to Calvin at home in 2005.
Junior guard Tyler Peters (PICTURED RIGHT), a First Team All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) selection has led the Thunder and the CCIW in scoring this season with 19.3 points per game and a 55.2% (171-310) field goal percentage. He has also contributed 4.5 rebounds per game and 4.7 assists per game.
Junior forward Nate Haynes (PICTURED LEFT) is averaging 10.6 points per game, shooting 56.1% (105-187) from the field. He has averaged 10.8 rebounds per game this season, ranking him 14th in Division III in the category. Haynes, a Second Team All-CCIW selection, has tallied 10 games this year with double digits in both points and rebounds in the same game.
Sophomore guard Brayden Teuscher is in his first season with the Thunder after transferring from Washington University-St. Louis. Teuscher, a Third Team All-Conference pick, has contributed 13.4 points per game and shot 49% (24-49) from three-point range.
Michael Kvam has contributed 10.7 points per game this year, with a team-high 64 three-pointers. Kvam is shooting 42.7-percent from three-point range, which is ranked 20th in Division III this year. Sophomore Peter Smith has averaged seven points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Freshman Michael Berg has played in every game this year in his debut season with the Thunder, averaging four points and 2.5 rebounds per contest.
Wheaton is averaging 70.5 points per game, and is shooting 46.2-percent from the floor and 69.2-percent at the free throw line. Wheaton’s 39.4-percent effort from behind the three-point arc is ranked 14th in Division III this year. The Thunder defense is holding opponents to 59.8 points per game, which is 20th in Division III in the category.
TEAM WEBSITE
TEAM STATISTICS
