Titans, Bluejays Meet In NCAA Postseason Opener

UW-Oshkosh begins its first NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship appearance in more than a decade when it travels to St. Paul, Minn., this weekend.

Joining UW-Oshkosh at the St. Paul Regional in Schoenecker Arena will be host University of St. Thomas, Elmhurst College (Ill.) and Central College (Iowa).

UW-Oshkosh (18-9) and Elmhurst College (21-6) tip off at 5:30 Friday (March 4), followed by University of St. Thomas (24-3) and Central College (19-9) at 8 p.m.

Friday's first-round winners will meet in the St. Paul Regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday (March 5). Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites for games on March 11-12. Winners of the four sectionals will then advance to the semifinals and finals of the 62-team national tournament on March 18-19 in Salem, Va.

University of St. Thomas enters the regional ranked eighth in the nation by D3hoops.com, while Elmhurst College lists 18th.

Three of the four St. Paul Regional teams rank among the top 20 NCAA Division III leaders in at least one statistical category.

Host University of St. Thomas lists fourth nationally in turnovers per game (9.1), fifth in field goal percentage (.500), 17th in average scoring margin (+12.4) and 20th in average points allowed (64.2).

UW-Oshkosh ranks 16th in average points allowed (63.7), while first-round opponent Elmhurst College is fifth nationally in rebounding margin (+9.3) and 15th in rebounds per game (43.4).

UW-Oshkosh, which owns a 7-5 record in five previous national tournament appearances, is back in the NCAA field for the first time since 2003, when the Titans advanced to the quarterfinals.

The Titans, seeded second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship, clinched an automatic berth into the NCAA postseason with a 66-63 home victory over fourth-seeded UW-River Falls in the title game on Sunday (Feb 28).

UW-Oshkosh, which finished in a three-way tie for second place in the WIAC standings with a 9-5 record, will be the league's lone representative this season. The WIAC is home to four of the last six national champions (UW-Stevens Point 2010, 2015; UW-Whitewater 2012, 2014).

Elmhurst College, which sports a 3-4 record in four prior trips to the NCAA postseason, is making its second straight appearance in the national field. The Bluejays reached the second round last season after pulling out a 110-98 triple-overtime upset win at St. Norbert College in the opening round.

The Bluejays, who won 16 of their first 17 games this season, finished third in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) standings with a 10-4 record.

Elmhurst College lost the CCIW Tournament final, 69-53, to Augustana College (Ill.), the top-ranked team in the nation. The Bluejays, who earned one of 19 at-large berths into the NCAA field, handed the top-ranked Vikings (26-1) their only defeat of the season with a 77-75 decision on Jan. 6. UW-Oshkosh fell to Augustana College, 67-65, on Dec. 29 in Wisconsin Dells.

UW-Oshkosh lost its last meeting with Elmhurst College by a 70-66 score in overtime on Dec. 21, 2010. The Titans downed the Bluejays, 88-86, in 2007, while Elmhurst College won their 2006 matchup, 55-52.

UW-Oshkosh is led by All-WIAC first team honoree Alex Olson. The senior guard leads the balanced Titans in scoring (12.3 points per game), assists (69) and steals (24).

Senior guard Kyle Wuest paces Elmhurst College with 15 points per contest, 52 3-pointers and a .843 free throw percentage.

University of St. Thomas, which has a 22-16 record in 16 previous Division III Championship appearances, won the 2011 national title and advanced to the Final Four in 2014. The Tommies, who received an at-large berth into this year's NCAA postseason, were upset in the first round last year, 71-70, by the University of Northwestern (Minn.) on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in De Pere.

The Tommies, who won 21 of their first 22 games for the second straight season, finished first in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) by four games with an 18-2 mark, but St. Olaf College (Minn.) upset the University of St. Thomas, 72-66, in the title game of the MIAC Playoffs.

MIAC Coach of the Year John Tauer's Tommies are led by all-league selections Taylor Montero, Ryan Saarela, Grant Schaeffer and Cortex Tillman.

Montero paces University of St. Thomas with 14.4 points per contest, followed closely by Tillman at 14.3 per game, Schaeffer at 13.9 and Saarela at 12.1.

Montero ranks seventh nationally by converting 46.9 percent (68-145) of his shots from 3-point range. Schaeffer has compiled 97 assists, while Saarela leads the team in rebounds per game (9.1) and blocks (53).

Central College, seeded fifth in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Tournament, clinched the league's automatic bid into the NCAA field. The Dutch became the first team to win three IIAC Tournament games on the road, winning the final, 92-80, at Wartburg College (Iowa).

The Dutch have a 6-11 record in 10 prior trips to the Division III postseason. In its last NCAA appearance, Central College reached the second round in 2014 after downing St. Olaf College, 85-72, in the opening round.

Central College, which has lost all three previous meetings with the University of St. Thomas, placed fifth in this year's IIAC standings with a 7-7 record.

Dutch junior forward Colby Taylor earned All-IIAC first team accolades this season after leading the team with 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Bracket