Wittenberg Men's Basketball Gains NCAA Division III Tournament Berth
At the risk of getting ahead of oneself, it may be a case of deja vu all over again. The Wittenberg Tigers, fresh off their fifth North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship gained with an exhilarating 61-59 victory over No. 1 ranked Wooster on Saturday, have been given a first-round bye in the 2005 NCAA Division III Tournament.
Point guard Danny Brywczynski is one of four senior leaders on the 2004-05 Tiger men's basketball team.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — At the risk of getting ahead of oneself, it may be a case of deja vu all over again. The Wittenberg Tigers, fresh off their fifth North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship gained with an exhilarating 61-59 victory over No. 1 ranked Wooster on Saturday, have been given a first-round bye in the 2005 NCAA Division III Tournament. Wittenberg will host a second round game Saturday, March 5, against the winner of a first round game between Bethany and John Carroll.
Tip time for the second round game on Saturday has been set for 7 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. for spectators. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for children and seniors. No passes of any kind will be accepted, and no pre-sales will be conducted.
John Carroll, the 2005 regular season Ohio Athletic Conference champion and OAC Tournament runner-up, will host the first round game against Bethany, the 2005 champion of the Presidents Athletic Conference. Last year, John Carroll took an almost identical path to eventually reach the Final Four, winning a first round home game and then defeating Wittenberg on the Tigers' home floor, 84-65. The Blue Streaks then won a pair of games at Wooster to advance to the Final Four.
Wittenberg sports a 25-3 overall record and was ranked No. 5 in the latest d3hoops.com poll. The Tigers are making their NCAA Division III record 23rd appearance in the national tournament and their fourth appearance in the "Big Dance" in the last five years. Under Head Coach Bill Brown, the Tigers have made eight appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, with the best finish coming in 1994, his first season on the bench, as the Tigers advanced to the Final Four.
The Tigers are led by two of the finest post players to ever wear the Red & White, juniors Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) and Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia). Both are averaging nearly 15 points and seven rebounds per game, and they are flanked by a pair of terrific wing players with opposing styles, junior Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), a 6-3 player most comfortable in the post, and senior Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), one of the best three-point shooters in school history with almost 200 treys in his career.
Wittenberg's 12-team bracket is arguably the most difficult of the four established to determine the four-team field that will battle for a national championship in Salem, Va. on March 18-19. Wooster hosts a first round game against OAC Tournament titlist Baldwin-Wallace, with the winner advancing to face Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season champion Albion on Saturday. The rest of the bracket includes MIAA Tournament titlist Calvin, Wheaton, a top-10 team in the rankings most of the season, Aurora, Mississippi College, Maryville (Tenn.) and Methodist. Seven of the 12 teams in the bracket were ranked in last week's top 25.
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