APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team will face Wheaton (Ill.) College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday.
Lawrence (22-2) will play in a four-team regional at UW-Whitewater. Loras College (21-6) faces Whitewater (24-4) in the other game Friday. The winners meet on Saturday in a second-round game.
Lawrence is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and the fifth time overall (1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008). Lawrence earned its automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Midwest Conference Tournament on Saturday. The Vikings, also the regular-season conference champion, defeated Carroll College 98-95 in overtime in the MWC Tournament Championship Game.
Wheaton (19-7) earned an at-large berth after losing to Illinois Wesleyan University in the semifinals of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament.
Game times and ticket information will be announced when it becomes available.
Lawrence is 0-1 vs. this year's NCAA Tournament field. UW-Stevens Point, which faces the University of Chicago in the first round, defeated Lawrence 75-56 on Dec. 8.
Wheaton has a 3-2 mark against NCAA Tournament teams this season. The Thunder has defeated Loras, Chicago, and Augustana (Ill.) College, and has losses to Hope College and Augustana.
Lawrence is the top team in Midwest Conference history when it comes to NCAA Tournament play. The Vikings have a 5-4 overall record and advanced farther in the tournament than any team in conference history when they reached the Elite Eight in 2004.