RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The No. 4 UW-River Falls men's basketball team will be making their first tournament appearance since 2011-12, and will be taking on Bethel (MN) in the first round.
THE BASICS
Who: UW-River Falls vs Bethel (MN)
When: Friday March 3, 8 p.m. (CT)
Where: Karges Center, River Falls, Wisconsin
Ticket Information: Tickets for the game are currently sold out.
FOLLOW THE GAMES:
LAST TIME OUT:
February 25, WIAC Tournament Championship
UW-River Falls 60, UW-Oshkosh 59
ABOUT UW-RIVER FALLS:
24-3, 12-2
WIAC
UW-River Falls Men's Basketball Homepage
Falcons Roster
2016-17 Schedule
2016-17 Statistics
IN THE POLLS:
The Falcons are currently ranked No. 4 in the
D3hoops.com poll
The Falcons are currently ranked No. 1 in the Central region in the
NCAA Regional Rankings
NATIONAL RANKINGS:
- No. 11 in Scoring Defense at 64.2 per game
- No. 16 in Scoring Margin at 11.7
- No. 21 in Three Point Percentage allowed at 30.8 percent
- No. 25 in Free Throw Percentage at 76.1 percent
- No. 39 in Rebound Margin at 6.0
ABOUT BETHEL
21-6, 15-5
MIAC
Bethel Men's Basketball Homepage
Royals Roster
2016-17 Schedule
2016-17 Statistics
LAST TIME OUT:
February 25, MIAC Tournament Championship
Bethel 79, Saint John's 75
IN THE POLLS:
The Royals are currently unranked in the latest
D3hoops.com poll, but are receiving votes
The Royals are currently ranked No. 6 in the West region in the
NCAA Regional Rankings
NATIONAL RANKINGS:
- No. 21 in Assist/Turnover Ratio at 1.37
- No. 21 in Field Goal Percentage at 48.7 percent
- No. 21 in Fewest Fouls per game at 15.5
- No. 21 in Fewest Turnovers per game at 10.8
- No. 22 in Scoring Margin at 10.9
OVERALL SERIES
Falcons hold the advantage 34-15
LAST MEETING – REGULAR SEASON 2015-16
UW-River Falls 55, Bethel 62
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
UW-River Falls:
#5 Junior forward Alex Herink - In his first season as a Falcon, Herink was named WIAC Player of the Year. He averaged 15.7 points per game, and shot 53 percent from the floor. Herink also grabs 5.6 rebounds per game, and is second on the team in offensive rebounds (38).
#32 Senior forward Garret Pearson - In his final season at UWRF, Pearson averaged 13.1 points per game, and reached 1000 points for his college career. He led the Falcons with 6.2 rebounds and was named first team All-WIAC for the second straight year. Pearson has made a big improvement in his free throw percentage, going from 69 percent last season to 82.1 percent this season.
#2 Senior guard Grant Erickson - The senior currently holds the a 3.25 assist/turnover ratio, which is No. 10 in the nation. He led UWRF with 117 assists (4.7 per game) and averaged 7.0 points per game. Erickson was also named to the WIAC All-Defensive team and All-Sportsmanship team.
#3 Junior forward Devin Buckley - In 2016-17, Buckley has been able to start every game after being injured in seasons past. He averaged 10.4 points per game in his first full season as a starter, while shooting 45.4 percent from the floor. He was an Honorable Mention in the WIAC.
WIAC All-Conference Teams -- (6 Falcons Selected)
Bethel:
#50 Junior guard Bridgeport Tusler - In his third full year as a starter, Tusler increased his scoring average from 13.3 to 15.0 points per game, which leads the team. He has improved all three of the major shooting percentages slightly, and increased his rebound average from last season.
#10 Senior guard Brycen Wojta - In his senior season, Wojta has averaged 13.0 points per game. He has started 100 out of the 101 games he has played in.
#11 Senior guard Trevor Hall - In four years, Hall has started 68 games, and in his senior campaign he has averaged his most rebounds at 6.6, which is second on the team. He averages 12.9 points per game, which is a slight increase from his junior season.
#25 Freshman guard Granger Kingland - Bursting onto the scene, Kingland has average 12.8 points per game, and leads the team in three point attempts (137) and has made 42.3 percent of those attempts. As a freshman, Kingland has also shot 84.8 percent from the free throw line, and 46.6 percent from the floor.
MIAC All-Conference Teams
Things to Note about Bethel:
Only six Royals have played all 27 games this season, with the Royals usually going seven or eight players deep. Kingland has started the past seven games for the Royals, taking over for
Tim Hanson who missed two games during that stretch. The season Bethel is
2-3 versus regionally ranked teams. On the road the Royals are 8-3 this season, with the most notable road loss coming to St. Thomas who is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Regional Rankings.
Coaches:
UW-River Falls Coach Jeff Berkhof:
Recently named WIAC Coach of the Year, Berkhof has coached the Falcons since 2006 going 148-140 (.513) at UWRF. With those 148 wins, Berkhof currently has the second most wins in program history. Berkhof played two seasons for the Falcons from 1992-94 and was selected all-conference following the 1993-94 season.
Bethel University Coach Doug Novak:
In his fourth season as the Head Coach of the Royals, Novak previously held an assistant position with Tulane at the Division I level. He helped the Green Wave to two Conference USA Championship tournament appearances. In four season, Novak has gone 63-38 (.657), which is the highest winning percentage of any Bethel basketball coach. This is the first NCAA Division III tournament appearance for Novak.
