LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - Florida Southern will continue its quest for a national championship here Thursday evening as the eighth-ranked and South Regional champion Moccasins will face fourth-ranked and West Regional champion Western Washington in the third of four national quarterfinal games of the 2013 NCAA Division II Elite Eight at historic Freedom Hall.
Tip-off for Thursday's game is slated for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on the internet at www.ncaa.com.
The Moccasins, who have won eight straight games, including picking up a 90-88 win last Tuesday over Alabama-Huntsville in the championship game of the South Regional at Jenkins Field House to raise its record to 27-5 overall on the season, will be making its ninth all-time Elite Eight appearance and first since 1990, which is ironically was also played in Louisville at the Exposition Center, which is located next to Freedom Hall.
"We're honored to be here playing in the Elite Eight. It is a culmination of all the hard work and dedication our players and coaches have put in this season," said Mocs head coach Linc Darner, who was tabbed this year's Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year. "It will be a challenge for us to play the defending national champions, but we're looking forward to the challenge of facing Western Washington."
Complete Eight Eight Bracket
Darner said that his team is as good as any of the other teams in Louisville, which features seven No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed.
"We are one of seven No. 1 seeds to have advanced and anyone here can win it," said Darner, who is 156-65 in his seventh season as the Mocs coach. "It is a wide open field this year."
WWU first-year head Tony Dominguez echoed Darner's thoughts about this year's wide-open Elite Eight at Wednesday's Elite Eight Press Conference for the eight head coaches at Freedom Hall.
"This is a great field this year. Any of these eight teams can win it," said Dominguez, who was an assistant the past 17 years for the Vikings before taking over for former coach Brad Jackson in August after Jackson left to become an assistant at the University of Washington.
The Mocs opponent on Thursday, Western Washington, is no stranger to the Elite Eight as the Vikings have won nine straight NCAA Tournament games and are the looking to become the first repeat Division II National Champions since Cal State-Bakersfield won back-to-back titles in 1993 and 1994. The Vikings are sporting a 30-2 record this season and have won 61 games since the beginning of last season.
"WWU is extremely well coached. They are good at the guard spot and big inside," the Mocs coach added at Wednesday's press conference. "They are one of the better rebounding teams in the country, they shoot the ball well from the floor and have outstanding guard play."
Along with FSC's game against Western Washington, other national quarterfinal match-ups on Thursday at Freedom Hall are No. 3 ranked and South Central Regional Champion Metro State (30-2) facing East Regional Champion Franklin Pierce at 12 p.m., while No. 1 ranked and Atlantic Regional Champion West Liberty (33-1) will meet Central Regional Champion Winona State (27-7) at 2:30 p.m. and the final quarterfinal game has No. 20 ranked and Southeast Regional Champion USC Aiken (25-7) facing No. 7 ranked and Midwest Regional Champion Drury (28-4) at 8:30 p.m. The national semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, March 30 at 12 and 2:30 p.m. and will air on the CBS Sports Network, while the D-II National Championship game is slated for Sunday, April 7 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., at 4 p.m. That game will broadcast live on CBS.
The Mocs are making its 27th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season and have posted a 38-28 record in those appearances, including taking home the national title in 1981 and making nine trips to the Elite Eight and earning six Final Four berths in school history. The 38 NCAA Tournament wins is fifth most in D-II history and third among current D-II schools.
FSC and Western Washington will meeting for the first time in school history on Thursday and it will mark the Mocs first game against a team from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference since facing Central Washington in 2003. FSC is 5-1 against GNAC teams and is 7-1 all-time against this year's Elite Eight field as they are 3-0 against Franklin Pierce, 2-0 against Winona State and 2-1 against USC Aiken. The Mocs have never played Drury, Metro State, West Liberty or Western Washington.
Judging by the statistics, Thursday's game will be a match-up between two teams that like to score points and shoot the 3-point shot as the Vikings, who won the GNAC regular season title with a 17-1 record, averages 83.8 points per game, which is ninth nationally in D-II and they outscore its foes by 16 points per game, which is fifth-best in D-II. On the season, WWU has scored 80 or more points in 19 games, including topping the 100 point mark five times. The Vikings are also shooting 50.3 percent from the floor, which is eighth nationally and shot 38 percent from the 3-point line and average nearly seven made triples per game.
On the flip side, the Mocs are seventh in D-II in scoring as they average 84.4 points per game and are 11th nationally in scoring margin (+11.2). The Mocs have scored 75 or more points in 29 of its 32 games and scoring 90 or more points in 13 of its last 24 contests, including twice in the South Regional Tournament. FSC shoots 45.2 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and averages 8.6 made 3-pointers per game, which is 24th nationally. Additionally, the Mocs lead D-II in turnover margin (+6.8) and is 11th assist/turnover ratio (1.32) and is seventh nationally in steals (10.8 per game).
"One of the big keys for us tomorrow is we have to do a good job at keeping them off the boards," Darner added. "Also, another challenge for us is to be in the game in the first four minutes and not dig ourselves too big a hole early on in the game."
The Vikings are led by senior guard John Allen, who was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, is averaging 17.3 points and 4.2 assists per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent at the foul line and has tallied double figures in 25 games and has had three 30-plus point outings, while senior forward Paul Jones, who was named a Daktronics First-Team All-West Region selection and an GNAC honoree, is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 59 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in 26 games.
Other key performers for the Vikings, who return three starters and have six seniors from last season's national title team, are junior guard Richard Woodworth, senior forward Chris Mitchell and junior forward Austin Bragg. Woodworth, who was named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player, is averaging 10.7 points and 3.3 assists per game and is shooting 48 percent from the floor, 47 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the charity stripe, while Mitchell averages 8.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent per game and has blocked 42 shots and Bragg is averaging 8.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the floor and has blocked 41 shots.
Meanwhile, the Mocs enter the Elite Eight with four players averaging in double figures as senior guard Seth Evans (Marseilles, Ill.) leads the way. Evans, who was named the South Regional and SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and was a First-Team Daktronics All-South Region honoree, is averaging 16.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 89 percent at the free throw line and is seventh in D-II in 3-pointers made per game (3.4). He has scored in double figures in 28 games, including 16 straight double-digit scoring games coming into the Elite Eight, including scoring a career-high 31 points in the Mocs South Regional Championship game against Alabama-Huntsville. Along with Evans, junior guard Dominic Lane (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is averaging 13.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and has tallied double figures in 25 games and has a team-best three double-doubles.
The other two Mocs averaging in double figures are sophomore guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.) is averaging 13.0 points per game and has reached double figures in 22 games, including scoring an FSC season-high 32 points in the Mocs South Regional Tournament first round game against North Alabama, while senior forward Brett Bailey (Davie, Fla.), who is averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting an SSC-best 58 percent from the field. Bailey, who is one of two Mocs this season to reach the 1,000 Point Club, has scored in double figures in 13 games and has had three 20-plus point games.
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Complete Moccasin NCAA Division II Elite Eight Game Notes
Live stats for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight will be available here:Â http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-men/d2
Live video broadcast of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight will be available here: http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-men/d2
