MEDFORD, MA (February 27, 2024) -- The Tufts University men's basketball squad was awarded one of the coveted 22 Pool C "at large" bids on Monday afternoon, earning a spot into the 2024 Division III NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The trip to the NCAA Tournament is the eighth in program history, and third since the 2020 season.
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Stockton University (17-10)
Date: Friday, March 1, 2024
Time: 4:15 p.m.
Location: New York, NY - Paulson Center at New York University (NYU)
Tickets: $15 Adults; $10 Students/Veterans/Children/Seniors
Live Coverage:
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DIGITAL PROGRAM
This Weekend's Competition
Tufts will take on Stockton University (17-10) from the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), as the Ospreys were picked as a Pool C "at large" selection into the field. Stockton received its 19th NCAA Tournament berth on Monday, and picked up key wins over Keene State College and Rowan University twice.
The other First Round game at NYU will feature the host Violets, who finished the season 20-5 on the year while going 10-4 in the University Athletic Association (UAA). NYU is ranked No. 8 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, and is coming off back-to-back road wins against the University of Chicago and Brandeis University.
Husson University will round out the four-team pod, as the Eagles are 23-5 on the season and coming off an 80-70 win at SUNY Cobleskill in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship last Saturday. The Eagles have won their last six games, and have not lost on the road since January 16.
The Jumbos and Stockton University have never met on the hoops floor before Friday's afternoon, while Tufts is 2-1 all-time against NYU with their last meeting coming on November 21, 1999, a 66-63 win for the Violets. Tufts and NYU also met back in 1995 and 1984, both wins for the Jumbos. Tufts has never battled Husson before in men's hoops.
A Look At The Jumbos
The Jumbos are coming off a tough battle against No. 2 Trinity College 80-68 in the NESCAC semifinals, as Tufts was within one point with four minutes to go the Bantams pulled away late. Tufts is in search of their third 20-win season in the last four seasons, and the Jumbos have earned at least one win in the NCAA Tournament in all but one of their eight appearances.
The Jumbos come into the weekend ranked in the top 25 in a bevy of categories, including field goal percentage defense, fouls committed per game, scoring defense and defensive rebounds per game. Tufts is led by sophomore
Scott Gyimesi, who is the only player in the NESCAC averaging a double-double with 13.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Gyimesi ranks fourth in NCAA Division III in double-doubles with 18, while his 11.1 boards per game are 14th most per game in the country.
Sophomore
James Morakis is second on the squad with 11.3 points per game, adding 51 assists while making 24 three-pointers, and
Khai Champion is posting 11.2 points per game while adding a team-high 41 three-pointers.
Senior
Jay Dieterle leads the team with 86 assists, adding 9.1 points per game while sophomore center
Joshua Bernstein has added 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Bernstein is also 31st in the country in blocks. Senior
Casey McLaren and first-year
Jon Medley also provide strong defense and solid offensive game as well.
A Look At The Ospreys (17-10)
Stockton is coming off a 75-62 loss to The College of New Jersey in the NJAC title game last Saturday. DJ Campbell scored 23 points in that game, upping his career mark to a school-record 2,170 points. EJ Matthews-Stratley also posted 13 points in the game.
The Ospreys like to push tempo and attack off the drive, as evidenced by their 22.7 free throw attempts per game, which ranks 28th in the country. Stockton is also 43rd in the country and first in the NJAC in rebounding margin at 5.8, while the scoring offense of 79.2 points per game is 83rd nationally.
Campbell is the main option offensively for the Ospreys, as his 413 total field goals this season was 27th most in Division III. He ranks 43rd in the country in scoring with 20.0 points per game, while his 80 three-pointers made this season is 14th most in Division III.
Matthews-Spratley is also averaging 17.4 points per game, shooting 48.1 percent on three-pointers, while Tayvon Gaither leads the team with 115 free throws made and 6.8 rebounds per game. Head coach Scott Bittner has led the Ospreys to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons, including a 26-5 record in 2021-22.
A Look At NYU & Husson
The Violets come into the weekend as the favorite according to d3datacast.com, which gives NYU a 63 percent chance of advancing to the NCAA Third Round. The Violets are led by do-it-all guard Spencer Freedman, who was recently named as the UAA Player of the Year after scoring 18.0 points per game to go with 5.8 assists, 68 three-pointers and a strong 2.18 assists per turnover ratio.
The Violets shoot the three-pointer very well, ranking fifth in the nation in that category, making 40 percent from long range. The also make over 10 a game from behind the arc. Zay Freeney also adds 14.7 points per game for the Violets, while Michael Savarino shoots 47 percent from three-point range en route to 13.2 points per game.
Husson comes into the weekend ranked high in a bunch of categories, including leading the nation in defensive rebounds with 32.4 a game. The Eagles also are fifth in the country in total rebounds, and rank third in Division III in defensive field goal percentage against at 36.8 percent. The Eagles also pour in 81.4 points per game, which is 53rd in the country.
Husson has three players in double figures, led by Riles Neff and his 17.2 points per game. Jeremy Moronta adds 14.3 points per game, while Andre McCauley has also tallied 10.6 points per game. Moronta leads the team in rebounding with 9.1, while Derek Collin and Jared Balser do the work inside for the Eagles.
Moving On
The winners of Friday night's games will meet at 6:45 on Saturday night for a chance at the NCAA Third Round.
--JUMBOS--
