MEDFORD, MA (March 4, 2025) -- The No. 13 Tufts University men's basketball will open up 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament action Friday afternoon at 1:15 pm, playing host to the tournament's First and Second Round inside Cousens Gymnasium.
Tufts will take on Yeshiva University, while Redlands University and St. Joseph's College of Maine will battle at 4:05 p.m. in the nightcap.
Tournament Details
Tournament Website
Game 1: Tufts vs. Yeshiva - 1:15 p.m.
Game 2: Redlands vs. Saint Joseph's of Maine - 4:05 p.m.
Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Location: Cousens Gymnasium - Medford, Mass.
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History Between These Squads
The Jumbos and Maccabees have battled four times prior to this weekend, but the games have been pretty close during the last two meetings.
The first match-up between Tufts and Yeshiva came back in 1977, a 72-55 win for Tufts, while the last meeting in Medford was in 1981, a 49-47 victory for the Jumbos. Tufts defeated YU earlier this season 82-74. They have never met in the NCAA Tournament. Tufts has never played Redlands and is 1-0 against Saint Joseph's College of Maine, earning a 88-83 win back in 2018.
Redlands has not played any of the three teams prior to this weekend, while Saint Joseph and Yeshiva have never played as well.
A Look At Tufts (21-5)
The Jumbos, currently ranked No. 13 in the latest D3hoops.com poll, come into the weekend after receiving one of the NCAA Tournament's 21 Pool C "at large" bids. Tufts fell in its last outing, dropping the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) semifinals to Trinity College.
Tufts will look to continue its strong play at home this weekend, as the Jumbos have won 10 straight inside Cousens Gymnasium. It's the 10th-longest home streak in the country.
The Jumbos will look to rely on its solid ability around the rim, as Tufts ranks first in the NESCAC and 46th nationally in field goal percentage at 47.0 percent. The Jumbos also are one of the best rebounding squads in the nation with a 8.1 rebounding margin, 23rd best in Division III.
Junior guard
James Morakis is third in the NESCAC in scoring per game with 17.0 points a night, tallying 426 total points on the season. He also shoots 50.3 percent from the floor, sixth in the league.
Classmate
Scott Gyimesi is one of the best two-way forwards in the nation as he leads the NESCAC in shooting percentage at 59.1 percent, while ranking fifth in the conference with 15.5 points per game. He is also just shy of averaging a double-double, tallying 9.9 rebounds a game.
Junior
Joshua Bernstein ranks eighth in the conference in rebounding with 6.4 per game, also ranking second in the league with 50 rejections this season. He also averages 9.1 points per game.
Sophomore
Dylan Reilly has been the team's top three-point threat this season, as the southpaw is shooting 38.7 percent from three-land while his 67 triples is second in the NESCAC. Classmate
Jon Medley is ranked inside the top 10 nationally in assist/turnover ratio, as his 3.41 ratio is eighth in the country.
Sophomore
Liam Kennelly is third in the NESCAC in steals and has brought strong energy this season, while
Trumann Gettings has come off the bench to shoot 52.1 percent while averaging 5.3 points per game.
The Jumbos have posted three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in program history, and are also in the NCAA Tournament in three straight campaigns for the first time ever.
The Book on Yeshiva (18-10)
The Maccabees have won three straight games, all in the Skyline Conference which finished with an 81-78 win in the title game over top-seed Farmingdale State College. The No. 3 seed Macs also defeated Purchase College and Sarah Lawrence in the tournament to earn the automatic bid into the tournament.
The Maccabees come into the weekend as one of the best teams in the country at sharing the basketball, as they rank 11th in the nation in assists with 17.8 per game. YU also shoots 77.9 percent from the line, seventh in the country.
Zevi Samet is the go-to scorer for the Macs, as he ranks 16th in the country in scoring with 22.4 points per game. His 604 points on the season is 10th most in the country. Max Zakheim led the team in assist/turnover at 1.55, while adding 15.3 points per game. Or Sundjyvsky posts 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Luke Cronin also adds 6.1 points and 5.5 caroms per contest.
The Maccabees are making their fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, going 2-2 in the previous three trips.
About Redlands (22-4)
The Bulldogs come into the weekend after falling in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 89-87. Despite that, Redlands was picked into the NCAA Tournament with a Pool C "at-large" bid.
Redlands had four named to the All-SCIAC squads announced recently in Chozen Amadi, Omari Ferguson, Lucas Gordon, and Kendrick Currey. The three first team selections (Amadi, Ferguson, and Gordon) are the most for the Bulldogs since the 2012-13 season.
Amadi was selected to the 1st Team after averaging 14.3 points per game (PPG) during SCIAC play, the 10th most. He also ranked fourth among qualified players in three-point field goal percentage (38.7) and second in three-pointers made per game (2.9). He chipped in the seventh-most steals per game (SPG) at 1.8.
Ferguson was also on the 1st Team and was named the program's first SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year. Defensively he averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game in SCIAC play, which rank 20th and 4th respectively. He helped the Bulldogs post the second lowest points allowed at 70.1.
On the offensive side of the floor Ferguson averaged 12.9 PPG (14th), shot 68.2 percent from the free throw line (8th), and added 2.6 assists per game (APG), 14th.
Gordon was at his best this season during SCIAC play, averaging 13.1 PPG (11th), 9.7 RPG (3rd), shot 65.8 percent from the field (2nd), led the conference in blocks per game (BPG) at 1.3, and matched his block average with 1.3 SPG (10th).
Currey is the lone repeat All-SCIAC member as he makes the 2nd Team for the second consecutive season. He spent a lot of his time as the primary ball handler and distributor, which led to a strong overall stat line. He averaged 9.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.5 APG (2nd), 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd), 0.8 BPG (9th), and 1.3 SPG (11th).
This marks the Bulldogs' fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their first since the 2012-13 season.
Skinny on Saint Joseph's of Maine (24-4)
The Monks come into the weekend with the nation's second-longest win streak, having won 18 in a row including posting a 13-1 record within Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.
The NCAA Tournament appearance is the third in program history for the Monks, who also appeared in 2003 and 2009, and have won 20 or more games this season for the first time since 2011.
Saint Joseph's of Maine ranks in the top 10 statistically in seven different categories, including assists per game (22.7, 2nd), field goal percentage (48.9, 7th), rebounding margin (11.9, 4th) and scoring margin (16.6, 7th).
SJC also shoots the ball very well from three-point lant as a team, making 11.3 per game, ninth-most in Division III. The Monks play a lot of different players, as no one in their rotation plays on average more than 30 minutes per game. Remiji Wani is one of five players averaging in double figures, as he pours in over 18 points per game.
Silvano Ismail adds 16.4 points per game on 57.0 percent shooting from the floor including making 43.3 percent from downtown. John Paul Frazier also registers 15.2 points per game, making an impressive 91 three-pointers, while Wani Donato also adds 13.9 points per game.
Head coach Tyler Ackley is in his fourth season, was named as the GNAC Coach of the Year while Wani was Player of the Year in the league and Donato was Defensive Player of the Year. Ismail was the Rookie of the Year in the GNAC. This was also the second all-time GNAC title for the Monks.
--JUMBOS--
