DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team welcomes the reigning seven-time Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament champion University of Northwestern (Minn.) to the Reif Gymnasium Wednesday night for the semifinals of the 2018 UMAC Tournament.
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=120
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/mbball/
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 17-8, 12-4 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints wrapped up the regular season with a come-from-behind 90-67 victory over Crown College on Saturday.
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Nate Weets (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) scored a career-high 24 points in the win, including 17 points in the second half.
-This marks the third straight season with at least 17 wins, which is a program record.
-CSS also has won at least 12 conference games each of the last three seasons.
-St. Scholastica has struggled at home this year with a 6-5 record at The Reif; CSS lost only four home games the previous two seasons combined.
-CSS is 0-4 at home when trailing at the half; the only game it didn't trail and lost was against Northwestern.
-The Saints shoot 45 percent from the floor at home, compared to 47 percent on the road.
-Opponents have shot 46 percent at the Reif Gymnasium, compared to only 40 percent on their home courts.
-The Saints are 8-1 in UMAC Tournament games at The Reif, with the lone loss coming against Northwestern in 2016.
-CSS is undefeated in the UMAC Tournament semifinal games in Duluth.
-Junior
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game.
-Newman also leads the UMAC with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-Sophomore
Collin Anderson (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) averages 13.0 points per game off the bench.
-Led by Anderson, the St. Scholastica bench averages 32.3 points per game, while the opponents' bench averages 18.4 points per game.
-The Saints lead the UMAC with 241 made 3-point field goals.
-The 241 3-pointers broke last year's program record of 238.
-CSS is second, behind Northwestern, in scoring defense allowing 71.2 points per game.
-The Saints lead the conference with a +1.48 turnover margin and 1.51 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-St. Scholastica ranks ninth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio.
-
Jarod Wilken (Annandale, Minn./Annandale HS) was third in the league with 21 blocked shots in UMAC games.
-CSS is 16-1 this season when it scores at least 40 points in a half.
What You Need to Know about Northwestern:
-The Eagles went 13-12 overall during the regular season.
-Northwestern was 11-5 in conference play.
-UNW defeated Martin Luther College at home on Saturday to conclude the regular season.
-Northwestern has won seven straight UMAC Tournament titles.
-The Eagles only played two road tournament games during that span, both in UMAC Championships games (at BLC in 2012, at CSS in 2016).
-The Eagles were 6-6 on the road during the year.
-Northwestern does two things well: It doesn't turn the ball over and defends.
-UNW led the conference and ranks second in NCAA Division III with only 9.7 turnovers per game.
-The Eagles led the conference in scoring defense, allowing 70.9 points per game.
-In conference play, the Eagles led the conference with a +2.31 turnover margin and a 1.71 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-Caleb Hageman leads the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game.
-Tanner Youngberg is behind Hageman at 12.6 per game.
-Youngberg led the conference making 57 percent of his field goal attempts in UMAC play.
-Youngberg also leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.
-Anderson Bazile Jr. and Isaiah Rahier tied for second in the UMAC with 25 steals in league games.
Series Record: UNW leads 53-29
(Last Meeting: 87-77 CSS – 2/10/2018)
Series History: The Saints and Eagles will meet in the UMAC Tournament for the fifth straight season … Two of the last three postseason meetings have gone to at least one overtime … The last two meetings were for the UMAC Tournament Championship … Northwestern has won the last five postseason meetings … This will be only the second time the Saints have hosted the Eagles in a postseason game … The first was the 2016 UMAC Championships where the Eagles won convincingly … The teams split the regular season series, winning on each other's home court.
Looking Ahead: The winner of Wednesday's semifinals advanced to the UMAC Tournament championship game on Saturday at a time and place to be determined.
