APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team will take on defending national champions Washington University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Vikings (19-6) will be part of a four-team regional at Elmhurst College. Lawrence faces Washington U. (23-2) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Elmhurst (20-7) takes on UW-Whitewater (22-5) at 8:00 p.m. The winners meet Saturday at 7:00 p.m. for a trip to the Sweet 16.
A limited number of tickets go on sale at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday in the Lawrence University Department of Athletics office, located at Alexander Gymnasium, 1100 E. South River St. A maximum of four tickets will be sold per person. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students or seniors. Children ages two and under will be admitted free. Sales are by cash or check only.
This is Lawrence's second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, the fifth in the past six years, and the sixth overall. Lawrence earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with an 88-69 win over Grinnell College this past Saturday in the championship game of the Midwest Conference Tournament.
Washington U. recently had its 14-game winning streak snapped, and the Bears are currently ranked second by D3hoops.com. The Vikings were ranked 25th in the last poll.
The Bears, champions of the University Athletic Association, are led by a trio of great players. Junior guard Aaron Thompson leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game, and he is joined in the backcourt by senior Sean Wallis, who averages 10.3 points and a robust 8.4 assists per game. The frontcourt is anchored by senior forward Tyler Nading, who averages 13.3 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game.
Elmhurst recevied an at-large berth after losing in the championship game of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament. Wheaton College beat the Bluejays 67-63. Whitewater, which finished third in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also received an at-large berth after losing to UW-Platteville in the semifinals of the conference tournament.