KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Benedictine's 44-year drought in the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Div. I Men's Basketball National Tournament will officially end tonight at 7 p.m with the No. 11-seeded Ravens take on Westminster (Utah) College in historical Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
Benedictine (22-8) enters the tournament with the fourth-most wins in program history on the heels of their first HAAC Championship while Westminster (19-12) earned their trip to Kansas City as the No. 5 At-Large selection.
GAMEDAY LINKS
The Match-Up: No. 11 Benedictine vs. Westminster – 7 p.m. – Municipal Auditorium – Kansas City, Mo.
Radio: KAIR 93.7 FM or www.network1sports.com/station/kair
Video (courtesy of NeuLion and the NAIA): Pay-Per-View Video Stream
Livestats (courtesy of Dakstats, click on the ((w))): Dakstats Livestats
ABOUT WESTMINSTER: The Griffons are lead by a trio of All-Frontier Conference selections in Tallon Robertson, Blake Skidmore and Jordan Pryor. Robertson leads the team in scoring at 18 ppg and is ranked seventh in NAIA Div. I in field goal percentage (56.8.). Skidmore also scores in double figures for the Griffons with a 15.7 ppg average while Pryor is just short of double figures at 9.7 ppg. ... As a team, Westminster ranks nine in NAIA Div. I in turnover margin (3.9). They also rank 16th in total steals with 274 and 19th in steals per game at 8.8. ... Colton Moon leads the defensive effort for the Griffons, averaging two steals a game while accounting for 60 of the teams 274 steals.
ABOUT BENEDICTINE: Benedictine is snapping the longest drought by any 2014 tournament qualifier, having last qualified for the NAIA Div. I Tournament during the 1969-70 season. This season marks their eight tournament appearance and the Ravens have a 13-5 record in tournament play. ... They are anchored by forward Charlie Wallrapp. Wallrapp, a first-team All-HAAC selection, is averaging 15.2 ppg and also leads the team in rebounds at 7.9. ... John Harris Jr. gives the Ravens a second offensive threat, averaging 11.3 ppg and was a second-team All-HAAC selection. ... As a team, Benedictine ranks fourth in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage (40.9) and they are ninth in scoring defense (67.4). ... Individually Jallen Messersmith ranks third in both blocks per game (2,6) and total blocks (70) while Brett Fisher ranks third in 3-point field goal percentage (48.0.)
THE X-FACTOR: While Westminster holds a slight advantage in scoring, 74.5 to 72.9, the Ravens have the advantage from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. Both teams converted 47.1 percent from the field during the regular season and are practically mirror images of the other. ... Both teams have two double-figure scorers while the Ravens have five players at 6.9 ppg or higher. The Griffons have four players at 6.9 ppg or higher. ... Depth will prove to be the difference. The Griffons have nine players who average over 19 minutes per game while Benedictine has eight players over 14 minutes per game with two more at 11 minutes or higher.
The winner of the Benedictine-Westminster game advances to the quarterfinals at 6:15 p.m. Friday agianst the winner of No. 6 Vanguard (Calif.) vs. Life (Ga.).
