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LONGVIEW, Texas - The LeTourneau University men's basketball team will play Hanover University at 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. CT) on Friday, March 2nd at the Woodruff P.E. Center in Atlanta, Georgia in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
LETU will enter the opening round regional as the number two seed in the four-team pod, and will play the Panthers who are 22-6 overall and winners of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Host Emory University will play Berry College in a 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) game on Friday night, with the two advancing teams squaring off at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) on Saturday for a right to advance to the NCAA Division III Sectional Round.
The YellowJackets earned one of 21 at-large Pool C berths into the NCAA Division III Tournament, holding a 23-4 overall record heading into Friday's game which will be their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Emory University also earned a Pool C at-large berth into the tournament for their seventh appearance all-time, and are currently ranked No. 6 in the latest D3Hoops.com poll. Hanover is making their eighth all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championships with a 22-6 overall record and is coming off of an appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Elite Eight round last season. Berry College will make their first-appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning the Southern Athletic Association Tournament as the number eight seed and will enter the tournament with an 11-17 record.
LeTourneau has five players averaging double-figures this season, led by American Southwest Conference East Division Player of the Year
Nate West at 18.4 points per game. The YellowJackets are currently ninth in NCAA Division III in scoring average, scoring 94.9 points per game. LETU has eclipsed the century mark 10 times this season, scoring a season-high 118 points in a home win over Belhaven on February 10th.
Hanover will present a vast difference in style for the YellowJackets, as the Panthers currently rank 22nd in scoring defense this year while allowing just 65.7 points per game. HC also ranks sixth in field-goal percentage, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and is led by guard Cameron Fails who averages 18.2 points per game. Hanover will also rely on senior forward Wes McKinney who was named one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy, which is awarded to the outstanding NCAA Division III men's and women's basketball players who excel on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
Emory University finished with a 21-4 overall record, with all four losses coming to just three opponents. The Eagles are winners of five straight and have not lost since February 4th, with Friday's game matching the second time that this year that they will take on Berry University. Senior guard Whit Rapp will lead the Emory offense, as the Noblesville, Indiana native averages 7.1 assists per game (fourth-best among NCAA Division III players) and has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.65. Emory will also rely on their three-point shooting, as the Eagles rank 48th in NCAA Division III with 9.7 three's per game.
Berry College will enter as the surprise of the tournament, with the .393 winning percentage the lowest of any of the 64-team field. The Vikings have managed to get to the free throw line the third-most of any NCAA Division III team this year with 731 attempts and rank 60th with an average of 41.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Elijah Hirsh will be a player to watch for Berry this weekend, as the Woodstock, GA native has recorded 18 double-doubles this season and ranks 21st among all NCAA Division III players with 58 blocks this season.
