The Lake Forest College men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history and will take on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at St. John's University in Friday's opening round. Saint John's will host the University of Northwestern in the other first round game and the winners will face off in the regional final on Saturday.
The Foresters earned a spot in the 64-team field on a 68-64 triumph at league champion St. Norbert College in the Midwest Conference Tournament final on Saturday. The team is 18-9 on the year and finished the regular season 12-6 in conference play. Lake Forest ranks seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (50.8%) and three-point shooting (41.0%) and is averaging 84.4 points per contest, easily the highest mark in school history.
Oshkosh is 23-3 on the season and earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title with a 13-1 league record. The Titans were ranked fourth in the nation before falling in the semifinals of the WIAC Tournament. They rank among the top 20 in the country in scoring margin (+15.7 ppg), rebound margin (+8.9 rpg), fewest turnovers per game (10.7), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42).
Saint John's, located in Collegeville, Minnesota, is 23-4 on the season after claiming the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title on Saturday. The Johnnies finished the regular season second in the standings at 17-3 in league play. They lead the nation in field goal percentage (54.2%) and rebound margin (+13.3 rpg) and are also in the top 10 in three-point shooting (41.5%), scoring defense (62.7 ppg), and field goal percentage defense (39.2%).
Northwestern advanced to the NCAA Tourney after winning 92-89 in overtime in the final of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday. The Eagles also won the UMAC regular season title with a 15-1 league record and are now 21-6 overall on the year. They lead all of NCAA Division III in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89) and are fourth in fewest turnover per game (9.9) and 17th in scoring at 88.9 points per contest.
Times for this weekend's games have yet to be determined.
NCAA Division III Tournament Selection Show
Entire NCAA Division III Bracket on NCAA.com
Printable Bracket (pdf)