MEDFORD, MA (March 4, 2024) -- The Tufts University men's basketball team kept their dancing shoes on through the last weekend in the 2024 Division III NCAA Tournament, as Tufts knocked off both Stockton University and host New York University to advance to the NCAA Sectional rounds this weekend. The Jumbos (21-7) will take a very familiar foe, battling fellow NESCAC institution and No. 3 Trinity College (CT) in Hartford in the Sweet 16 round, while No. 4 Randolph-Macon College and No. 10 Calvin University will play in the other contest Friday evening.
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Trinity College (Conn.) (28-1)
Date: Friday, March 8, 2024
Time: 7:45 p.m.
Location: Hartford, CT - Oosting Gymnasium
Tickets: $15 Adults; $10 Students/Veterans/Children/Seniors
Live Coverage:
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LIVE VIDEO -
NCAA BRACKET -
DIGITAL PROGRAM
This Weekend's Competition
The Jumbos will battle Trinity College, a fellow NESCAC squad of whom they have already seen twice this season, both Bantam victories. Trinity College hosted the opening rounds last weekend in Oosting Gymnasium, cruising past Utica University 83-54 before topping Swarthmore College 83-74 in the NCAA Second Round. Trinity got into the NCAA Tournament thanks to winning the NESCAC Tournament over Williams College.
Friday night's first game of the evening will feature two of Division III's "Blue Bloods," as Randolph-Macon and Calvin University come to Hartford for the Sweet 16. Randolph-Macon is two years removed from winning the Division III title, and comes into the weekend 25-4 after wins over Baruch College 77-45 and Saint Joseph (CT) 75-64 last weekend.
Randolph-Macon was one of the first teams "off the board" when selecting the Pool C "at-large" bids into the tournament, as the Yellow Jackets fell 74-71 to Washington & Lee University in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) semifinals.
Calvin won the national crown in 1992 and 2000, and is back into the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in program history. Calvin is 24-4 on the season and is coming off victories over No. 17 Elmhurst 93-78 in the opening round before besting No. 2 John Carroll 71-66 to get to this weekend. The Knights also earned an "at large" bid into the NCAA Tournament, as they fell to bitter rival Hope College in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament semifinals.
Tufts obviously has a long and storied history against Trinity College, and have played each other twice in the last four weeks. The first meeting between the two schools was all the way back in 1906, as Trinity is 47-39-1 against the Jumbos all-time. Trinity has won both games this year, but the last game in Hartford was last year, a 74-59 win by Tufts. The Jumbos are also 5-1 since 2013 in Oosting Gymnasium.
Tufts or Trinity have each never played Calvin or Randolph-Macon in their program's history, while Calvin matches up with Randolph-Macon for the first time ever.
A Look At The Jumbos (21-7)
Tufts is back into the NCAA Sweet 16 round for the fifth time in program history, and the first time since 2020. In that season, Tufts was ready to travel to Brockport before the tournament was canceled for CoVID-19.
The Jumbos are looking for their first trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals since 2015-16, when the Jumbos bested Southern Vermont, Skidmore College and Johnson & Wales (RI) before falling to Amherst College in the Elite 8 round.
Tufts has made their way on the defensive end this season, as the Jumbos are allowing just 64.4 points per game which ranked 23rd nationally. Tufts has gone 15-3 this season when holding teams to 70 or fewer points as evidenced by the Jumbos allowing just 55 points to Stockton in the NCAA First Round and 62 to NYU to get to this point.
The offensive unit has been paced by NESCAC First Team honoree
Scott Gyimesi, who ranks 27th in the country in shooting percentage at 59.2 percent. He also is eighth in the country in rebounds with 307, while his 19 double-doubles are the third-most in Division III. Junior
Khai Champion averaged 13 points off the bench last weekend, and is posting 11.4 points per game in 28 games.
Sophomore
James Morakis also had a strong weekend at NYU, averaging 11.5 points which is right round his average of 11.3 per game for the season. Senior
Jay Dieterle has also been super steady for the Jumbos of late, pouring in double digits in seven of his last nine games, while averaging 10 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
Joshua Bernstein posted 10 points per game last weekend, while also posting six boards and four blocks in the first two NCAA games. His last block against NYU helped Tufts seal the win late in the game. Junior
Trumann Gettings is starting to round back into form after an injury early in the year, as he averaged 20 minutes off the bench.
Senior
Casey McLaren and first-year
Jon Medley help lead the defensive unit, while also each averaging just over five points per game for the Jumbos. This will be the first trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 round for head coach
Brandon Linton, who is now 4-2 in the NCAA Tournament in his career after making the NCAA Second Round at Nichols in 2019-20 and last season at Tufts.
A Look At Trinity (28-1)
The nation's best team by winning percentage has continued to run roughshod through its opponents this season, as Trinity ranks No. 1 in Division III basketball in scoring margin (21.3) while leading the NESCAC in field goal percentage and FG% defense, assist to turnover ratio, turnover margin and turnovers per game.
The Bantams only loss on the season came by just one point to Williams College, a loss Trinity would avenge in the NESCAC Tournament championship with a 59-52 win over the Ephs. Trinity has not lost on its own floor this year, and is looking for only its second trip to an NCAA Final Four and first since 1994-95.
Trinity was honored with the NESCAC's Coaching Staff of the year, led by head coach James Cosgrove, while senior Ben Callahan-Gold and sophomore Henry Vetter were each First Team honorees as well. Grad student Dana Smith was named as the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
Callahan-Gold leads the team with 16.5 points per game for the Bantams, hitting 85 three-pointers on the season, while Vetter is pouring in 14.5 points per game as well. The inside presence comes from Jarrel Okorougo, who is tallying 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the Bantams.
A Look At The Other Teams
Randolph-Macon (25-4) is another defensive-minded team, as the Yellow Jackets are first in the nation in scoring defense allowing only 55.8 points per game. RMC also turns the ball over only 9.4 times per game, fifth-best in Division III, while outscoring teams this season by nearly 16 points per game.
The Yellow Jackets are paced offensively by Keishawn Pulley Jr., who is scoring 14.1 points per game, including a team-high 64 three-pointers made this season. Jabril Robinson also chips in with 13.7 points per game, and Daniel Mbangue ranks 68th in the country in rebounds with 238 while pulling in 8.2 boards per game.
Calvin University (24-4) fits the mold for this NCAA Sectional as another defensively sound squad, as the Knights are ranked No. 20 in scoring defense allowing just 64.2 points per game. Calvin does a lot of things right as a squad, leading the MIAA in assist/turnover ratio, rebounding and scoring margin.
The Knights may have the most dynamic player in this weekend's pod, as Jalen Overway leads Calvin with 20.0 points per game while adding 10.3 rebounds per game. Overway has gotten to the free throw line 162 times this season, while also making 33.3 percent of his triples and shooting 56.2 percent from the field.
Uchenna Egekeze also is strong for the Knights, tallying 11.9 points per game after posting 14.5 points per game last weekend in the Knight's two NCAA wins. Owen Varnado, Marcus Bult and Luka Ressler are the team's top three-point shooters for a squad that has made 219 threes on the season.
After This
Following Friday night's games, the advancing teams will play Saturday at 7:45 p.m. in Hartford for a chance at the NCAA Final Four next weekend. The advancing squad will travel to Fort Wayne Indiana for the NCAA Semifinals and Finals, hosted at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Friday, March 15 and Sunday, March 17.
--JUMBOS--
