Titans Rank Eighth Nationally In Final D3hoops.com Poll
The UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team concluded the 2021-22 season ranked eighth in D3hoops.com's final NCAA Division III poll.
UW-Oshkosh (23-4), the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and postseason champion, has now listed among the top 25 teams in the final D3hoops.com poll each of the past five seasons. The Titans ended the abbreviated 2021 season ranked 12th with a 5-2 record since listing 23rd in 2020 at 20-9, first in 2019 after winning the program's first national title with a 29-3 mark and second in 2018 at 25-8 following a run to the Division III title game.
The Titans, who have advanced to the Division III postseason the last six tournaments, claimed their third WIAC Tournament championship and second league regular season title since 2016. UW-Oshkosh has earned 14 WIAC regular season titles and five league tournament championships overall.
UW-Oshkosh finished 1.5 games ahead of runner-up UW-Platteville in the WIAC regular season standings before winning a pair of home games as the top seed to clinch the league's tournament championship. The Titans defeated UW-Platteville by a 76-73 score in the WIAC Tournament final to secure the league's automatic berth into the NCAA postseason field.
The Titans went on to reach the second round of the 2022 Division III Championship as hosts of the Oshkosh Regional. UW-Oshkosh cruised to a 92-74 victory over Blackburn College (Ill.) during the first round before falling to Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), 77-74, in the second round.
UW-Oshkosh committed just 9.4 turnovers per game and limited opponents to 27.2% from 3-point range to rank fifth in the country in both statistical categories. The Titans also boasted the nation's 14th-best winning percentage at .852, ranked 16th in the division with a +13.0 average scoring margin, and paced the conference in average rebounding margin (+6.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27) and free throw attempts (506).
Junior forward Levi Borchert was named a consensus All-American, garnering First Team honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D3hoops.com Second Team recognition. Borchert earned Region 9 Player of the Year laurels by both D3hoops.com and the NABC after earning the WIAC Player of the Year award.
Borchert led the Titans with 18.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 61.9% from the field this season. Borchert produced 15 double-doubles on the year and was the conference leader in rebounding and made field goals with 198.
Fourth-year head coach Matt Lewis was named NABC District 9 and WIAC Coach of the Year. Lewis and the Titans compiled a 5-1 record against nationally ranked programs this season as UW-Oshkosh went on winning streaks of nine games through the end of December and eight games entering the Oshkosh Regional final.
Senior guards Eddie Muench and Hunter Plamann received regional and conference recognition this season while junior guard Quinn Steckbauer and senior guard Eric Peterson both earned spots on the All-WIAC Team.
Muench, who averaged 15.3 points per game and made a team-leading 71 3-pointers, was selected to the NABC All-District 9 Second Team and All-WIAC First Team. Plamann, named to the D3hoops.com All-Region 9 Third Team and All-WIAC First Team, averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-best 4.0 assists per contest.
Steckbauer added 10.6 points per game en route to being selected to the All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team. Peterson was voted to the WIAC All-Defensive Team after averaging 6.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and recording a team-leading 27 steals.
UW-Oshkosh secured both the WIAC regular season and tournament titles in the same season for the second time and first since 2002. The Titans' current string of six consecutive Division III postseason appearances is tied for the third longest in conference history.