WATCH PARTY: If you're in town on Friday, join us at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tiffin for a watch party. Hall of Fame Coach John Hill will be on hand.
The Heidelberg University men's basketball team will make its fourth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday when they take on Wis.-La Crosse at the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University.
About The Berg: The Student Princes enter the tournament at 18-7 overall and a 12-5 record (third place) in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Led by Head Coach Andy Bucheit, now in his ninth season, The Berg featured a balanced attack all season long.
First-team All-OAC honoree Emmanuel Perdue started all 25 games and has averaged 15.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. Dylan Woods, who garnered All-OAC honors for the fourth-straight season, tallied 12.3 points per contest and a team high 87 assists. Isaiah Young was voted Freshman of the Year in the conference, averaging 10.8 points per game.
Zane Leitwein is the fourth 'Berg player to average in double figures. The sophomore averaged 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and had a team-high 38 steals.
Eric Panning, Seth Hohman, Tre Watkins and Nakhi Taylor have all been critical pieces in the success of the Student Princes.
The Berg lost in the semifinals of the OAC Tournament and received one of 20 Pool C (at-large) bids into the 64-team tournament.
About Wis.-La Crosse: The Eagles went 20-6 overall, 9-5 in the formidable Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Like Heidelberg, they fell in the conference semifinals and received a Pool C bid.
Led by Head Coach Kent Dernbach, now in his fifth season, the Eagles averaged 73.3 points per game. Leading scorer Ethan Anderson averaged 19.0 points per game. The only other player in double figures was Wyatt Cook, who also averaged a team-high 5.8 rebounds.
The other game: The winner of the Heidelberg / La Crosse game will battle the winner of the Franklin / Illinois Wesleyan game. Franklin (14-14) won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and received the league's automatic bid. Host Illinois Wesleyan went 21-5 overall and won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin tournament.
Ticket Info: If you're in Bloomington to watch the game, tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students.
Follow Online: If you're not in Bloomington, you can follow live stats or watch a live stream of the game.