Titans' 10th NCAA Postseason Appearance Tips Off Against Pioneers

Nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh opens the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship against Transylvania University (Ky.) on Friday (March 6) in Naperville, Ill. The first meeting between the teams in nearly two decades is set for 5 p.m. in North Central College's Gregory Arena.

UW-Oshkosh (19-8) and Transylvania University (19-8) last met in on Dec. 18, 2001, when the Titans defeated Transylvania University by a 62-44 score in Las Vegas, Nev.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 24th in the nation by D3hoops.com, and Transylvania University both clinched automatic berths into the 64-team national tournament as the Titans downed UW-Eau Claire, 78-72, in the title game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday (Feb. 29) in Oshkosh. The Pioneers then won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship at home with a 49-48 decision over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) on Sunday (March 1) in Lexington, Ky.

The Naperville Regional continues with a first round game at 7:30 p.m. between nationally ranked host North Central College and Adrian College (Mich.). Friday's winners will play for the Naperville Regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday (March 7).

The 64-team Division III Championship continues with third round games March 13-14 before the national quarterfinals and semifinals are contested March 20-21 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The 2020 Division III title game will be held in conjunction with both the Division I and Division II championship contests in Atlanta, Ga. The Division III final kicks off the joint championship event at 11:30 a.m. (central) April 5 in State Farm Arena.

North Central College (21-5), ranked 11th in the country by D3hoops.com, earned an at-large berth into national field after falling at home by a 71-60 score to eventual winner Elmhurst College (Ill.) during the semifinal round of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament on Friday (Feb. 28) in Gregory Arena.

Adrian College (17-11) will be making its Division III Championship debut after the Bulldogs won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament crown over Trine University (Ind.) on Saturday in Albion, Mich.

UW-Oshkosh has won its most recent matchups with both Adrian and North Central colleges. The Titans defeated North Central College, 76-66, during their second game of the season Nov. 12. Adrian College suffered a 70-61 setback against UW-Oshkosh in their previous meeting Dec. 19, 2015.

The Titans, making their fifth straight and 10th overall trip to the NCAA postseason, have an 18-8 record in the Division III Championship. UW-Oshkosh enters the Naperville Regional averaging 82 points per game and allowing 72.9 while ranking seventh in the country with a +10.1 average rebounding margin.

Senior forward Adam Fravert, the 2020 WIAC Co-Player of the Year, is pacing UW-Oshkosh with 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game to go along with 62 made 3-pointers. He leads the WIAC in rebounding, blocks and double-doubles with 12 on the year.

Senior Jack Flynn, a 2020 All-WIAC First Team selection, is adding 15.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest for the Titans, who also receive 10.7 points per game from Will Mahoney, 9.8 from Eddie Muench, 9.1 from Levi Borchert, 7.6 from Eric Peterson and 5.6 from David Vlotho. Borchert, the 2020 WIAC Newcomer of the Year, is shooting a team-leading 66.7 percent from the field and averaging 6.2 rebounds per game while Mahoney, Muench, Peterson and Vlotho have combined to make 136 3-pointers this season.

Transylvania University is returning to the national tournament for the 10th time and first since 2013. The Pioneers, who sport a 7-9 record in the Division III Championship, are seeking their first NCAA postseason win since reaching the 2006 quarterfinals.

The Pioneers score 79.6 points per game behind an offense that ranks fifth in the country with a .398 3-point percentage. Transylvania University, which is allowing 75.5 points per contest, have scored at least 90 on eight occasions this year.

Transylvania University features four double-digit scorers as Gabe Schmitt averages a team-leading 16.6 points per game with 58 made 3-pointers and ranks sixth nationally with a .910 free throw percentage.

Michael Jefferson adds 15.4 points on 55.1 percent shooting from the floor to go along with a team-best 6.7 rebounds per contest and 50 steals for the Pioneers. Transylvania University's Lucas Gentry and Zach Larimore are chipping in 11.8 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.

Regional host North Central College, which has a 10-3 record at home this season, is averaging 75.3 points and allowing 65.2 per game. The Cardinals have surrendered more than 80 points just twice all year and zero times in their 19 games since Dec. 4.

North Central College, appearing in its fifth straight and 12th overall NCAA postseason tournament, has a 10-12 record in the Division III Championship. The Cardinals, who reached the 2013 national semifinals, were ousted from the tournament in the second round a year ago.

2020 CCIW Player of the Year Connor Raridon spearheads the Cardinals, averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Matt Cappelletti is adding 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds for North Central College while Matt Helwig and Blaise Meredith are averaging 8.8 points apiece. Michael Pollack, scoring 8.2 points a contest, has made a team-high 53 3-pointers.

Adrian College is making its first trip to the Division III Championship after opening the season with a 7-9 record through Jan. 22. The Bulldogs head into their inaugural NCAA postseason averaging 77.6 points and allowing 77.1 per game.

The Bulldogs feature a pair of dynamic scorers in Jordan Harris and Jeremy Kalonji, who account for more than half of the team's points and 148 made 3-pointers this season. Harris is averaging 22.4 points and 3.6 assists with 92 made 3-pointers while Kalonji scores 20.0 points and collects a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game.

The winner of the Naperville Regional advances to take on the Lincoln (Neb.) Regional champion. The Lincoln Regional participants are host and seventh-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan University (24-3), 16th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) (20-5), Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) (21-6) and Webster University (Mo.) (19-8).

UW-Oshkosh, which has appeared in the past two national title games, is the defending Division III champion. The Titans claimed their first national championship last season with a 96-82 victory over Swarthmore College (Pa.) after falling in the 2018 title game by a 78-72 score against Nebraska Wesleyan University. UW-Oshkosh is seeking to become the first program to reach three consecutive national championship games since North Park University (Ill.) secured three titles in a row from 1978-80.

NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Naperville Regional Website

NCAA Division III Men's Basketball • NCAA.com Website

NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Interactive Bracket

UW-Oshkosh NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Naperville Regional Media Guide