Titans Begin Defense Of WIAC Title At Home Against Unbeaten Eagles

The reigning NCAA Division III champion UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team opens defense of its WIAC title when the Titans host unbeaten and nationally ranked UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Jan. 4). Opening tip is set for 5 p.m. in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 6-5 record, including a 2-1 mark against teams ranked in the D3hoops.com top 25 as the Titans have played in four different states while competing against one of the most rigorous schedules in Division III.

UW-La Crosse (10-0), ranked a program-best 15th in the D3hoops.com poll, is among six undefeated teams in the entire division. The Eagles are off to their best start since winning 12 straight to begin the 1964-65 season en route to claiming the conference title.

The Titans opened the year with wins at 17th-ranked Augustana College (Ill.) on Nov. 9 and third-ranked North Central College (Ill.) on Nov. 12 before suffering a loss at Carthage College on Nov. 19 and a setback at home to Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Nov. 23. Elmhurst and Carthage colleges are currently ranked 16th and 18th in the country, respectively, by D3hoops.com.

UW-Oshkosh has since picked up wins over Edgewood College on Nov. 26, Lawrence University on Dec. 1, Calvin University (Mich.) on Dec. 7 and LaGrange College (Ga.) on Dec. 30. The Titans' 3-4 road record also includes defeats at Alma College (Mich.) on Dec. 6, St. Norbert College on Dec. 17 and second-ranked Emory University (Ga.) on Dec. 29.

The Titans, who clinched their first outright WIAC championship since 1978 with a 13-1 league record last season, went on to win the first national title in program history and finished the 2018-19 campaign at 29-3 overall. In a preseason poll conducted by WIAC head coaches and sports information directors in October, the Titans were projected to become back-to-back conference champions for the first time since 1967-68.

UW-Oshkosh has won four of its last five meetings with UW-La Crosse. The Eagles' lone win over the Titans over the past two seasons was a 66-61 decision Feb. 23, 2019, in La Crosse that represented UW-Oshkosh's lone conference loss last year and snapped the Titans' program-record 21-game winning streak.

UW-La Crosse's 10-0 record includes a home win over 20th-ranked Augsburg University (Minn.) on Nov. 26 among its eight victories by at least eight points. The Eagles have also pulled out a one-point win over Ripon College on Dec. 11 and a two-point victory over Augustana College in the their most recent game Dec. 29.

The Titans enter the WIAC opener leading the league in scoring at 84.4 points per game while ranking sixth by allowing 76.1 per contest. UW-Oshkosh is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, ranking 16th with a WIAC-best 44.7 per game. The Titans also pace the conference in average rebound margin (+8.9), and made 3-pointers (10.2) and blocks (4.1) per game.

Senior forward Adam Fravert leads the Titans with 19.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. He enters conference play as the league leader in blocks while ranking third in both points and rebounds per game, fourth in assists, and fifth with 26 made 3-pointers. Fravert is averaging 33.5 points during the past two games, scoring 30 points at Emory University before pouring in a career-high 37 against LaGrange College.

UW-Oshkosh senior center Jack Flynn averages 14 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest while ranking fourth in the WIAC with a .578 field goal percentage. Flynn, the Most Outstanding Player at the 2019 Final Four and a D3hoops.com All-American, has scored in double figures eight times this season, including a season-best 19 points in three straight games between Dec. 6-17.

Rounding out the most recent UW-Oshkosh starting lineup are freshman guard Will Mahoney, sophomore guard Eric Peterson and senior guard David Vlotho. Mahoney is third on the squad at 10.5 points per game, Peterson is fourth at 9.4 and Vlotho fifth at 7.3. Mahoney, Peterson and Vlotho have combined to drain 58 3-point shots on the year. Peterson has a team-leading 10 steals and ranks second on the team with 28 assists. Mahoney has made 21 of 45 3-pointers for a team-best .467 percentage from beyond the arc.

Freshman forward Levi Borchert and senior forward Brian Wilman have played in all 11 games in a reserve role for the Titans this season. Borchert averages 6.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while Wilman chips in 1.5 points per contest. Junior guard Eddie Muench has averaged 9.7 points during the past three games off the Titan bench.

UW-La Crosse ranks fifth in the WIAC with 76.6 points per game while listing third in the league and 16th in the nation by holding opponents to 62.2 points per contest. The Eagles are second in the country with a .444 3-point percentage, 17th in field goal percentage defense (.384) and 19th in average scoring margin (+14.4).

The Eagles have featured the same starting lineup in each game this season as senior guards Zac Haese and Luke Norcia join sophomore guard Ethan Anderson in the backcourt along with the forward tandem of junior Wyatt Cook and senior Tarek Nesheim.

Anderson leads the Eagles at 18 points per game while Haese adds 12, Cook 10.6, Nesheim 9.5 and Norcia 6.8. Cook averages a team-high 6.3 rebounds and 1.2 per contest. Norcia paces the team with 42 assists and 16 steals.

Sophomore Seth Anderson chips in 7.8 points per game on a team-leading .556 field goal percentage off the UW-La Crosse bench. Eagles freshman guard Henry Noone has connected on 11 of 21 attempts (52.4 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Eagles top four 3-point shooters – Noone, Ethan Anderson (28-52), Haese (26-59) and Norcia (14-31) ­­– have combined to go 79-for-163 (.485) from beyond the arc this season.

Saturday's WIAC opener is also Alumni Day for the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball program. Alumni Day festivities begin at noon with a game that will feature more than a dozen former Titan stars, including All-American Ben Boots, All-Region performers Brad Clark and Dane Seckar-Anderson, and All-WIAC First Team selection Charlie Noone.