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NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket

UW-Parkside's NCAA Tournament Page

Midwest Regional Tournament Page

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 11, 2015)-- It will be a welcome change of scenery for the eighth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad this weekend, heading to Louisville, Kentucky, for the NCAA Division II Tournament after spending the previous two seasons in Springfield, Missouri, for the 64-team single elimination event.
 
The back-to-back-to-back Great Lakes valley Conference East Division Champion Rangers, the Midwest Region's second seed, will face GLVC East Division rival and seventh seed Lewis University in the opening round on Saturday afternoon with tipoff inside Knights Hall slated for 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). Live stats, video, and audio will be provided with Steve Kratochvil on the audio feed available online and on local airwaves on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.
 
Midwest Regional Schedule: The winner of Saturday's Parkside-Lewis encounter will take on the University of Indianapolis-Michigan Tech University victor on Sunday at 5 p.m. (ET) in the regional semifinals. Semifinal winners will meet on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (ET) with a bid to the Elite Eight on the line. All games will be contested inside Bellarmine University's Knights Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Saturday's first round gets underway at 12 p.m. (ET) with third seed UIndy taking on sixth seed Michigan Tech before the Rangers and Flyers hit the floor at 2:30 p.m. (ET). The afternoon session gets underway at 6 p.m. (ET) with host and top seed Bellarmine University clashing with eighth seed and GLVC Tournament Champion Drury University while fourth seed Lake Superior State University and fifth seed Ferris State University close out the first round with an 8:30 p.m. (ET) tip.
 
The second round takes place on Sunday with the first semifinal tipping off at 5 p.m. (ET) while game two gets underway at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
 
Ticket Information: Tickets to the NCAA Midwest Regional will cost $15 per session for adults and $10 per session for students. Day one is broken up into two sessions of two games apiece, while the rest of the tournament is one session per day.
 
National Tournament History: The Rangers are making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament and the program's fourth overall NCAA appearance while earning a bid to a national tournament for the eighth time in school history.
 
All three of the Rangers' previous NCAA bids have come under the direction of current Head Coach Luke Reigel. Parkside was in Springfield, Missouri for the NCAA Tournament in 2013-2014 and 2012-2013 while competing at a regional in Findlay, Ohio, during the program's maiden NCAA trip in 2006-2007. UW-Parkside is still looking to break through at the NCAA Tourney, owning a 0-3 record in NCAA contests.
 
In addition to three previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Rangers have additionally made four trips to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Tournament. The Rangers qualified for the NAIA Tournament in 1977-1978, 1976-1977, 1975-1976, and 1974-1975, owning a 5-4 record in those games. The Rangers advanced to the Elite Eight during the 1975 Tournament while making Sweet 16 appearances the other three seasons.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (26-3) enjoyed a banner year, establishing program records for wins and conference victories, en route to a share of its third straight GLVC East Division title. The Rangers rattled off 10 straight victories and finished the month of February a perfect 7-0 before ultimately suffering a 68-67 overtime setback to eventual GLVC Tournament Champion Drury University in the Tournament semifinals.
 
The Rangers capped off a perfect month of February on the 26th, closing out the regular season with a 73-68 victory over Lewis to claim a share of the divisional crown with Bellarmine. UW-Parkside owned an early 12-4 lead but the Flyers utilized a 13-4 run to claim the lead with 7:39 left in the opening half. The Lewis lead lasted exactly 20 seconds as a pair of Mohamed Mohamed free throws tilted the scales back to Parkside and the Rangers led the rest of the way, taking a 38-26 lead into the halftime intermission.
 
Jimmy Gavin led the Rangers with 20 points while Zygimantas Riauka returned to the lineup with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance.
 
The Rangers opened the GLVC Tournament on Mar. 6, outlasting Truman State University 73-70 in the quarterfinals. Parkside opened up a 16-point buffer but the Bulldogs never surrendered, pulling within a point with 11 seconds left. A successful Ranger inbounds pass forced the Bulldogs to foul as Gavin drained a pair of free throws to account for the final three-point spread.
 
Two days later in the semifinals, Drury hit a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds left to take the lead while a Ranger turnover on an inbounds play with 2.5 seconds left gave the victory to the Panthers, snapping the Rangers 10-game win streak.
 
Gavin continued to pile on the points, netting his fifth consecutive game of at least 20 points, scoring 25 points and hitting five three-pointers while Jordan Mach and Andy Mazurczak each had 12 points.
 
A First Team All-GLVC selection, Gavin paces the Rangers in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game while averaging 3.8 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game. Fellow All-GLVC First Teamer Zygimantas Riauka adds 14.0 ppg and a team-leading 8.3 rpg while owning a team best 43 blocks. All-GLVC Second Teamer Andy Mazurczak checks in at 11.9 points per game with 2.9 assists per game while Mach is the three-point specialist, canning 71 on the season while chipping in 9.3 ppg. Mohamed is the leading producer off the bench, scoring 6.6 ppg.
 
UW-Parkside ranks among the nation's best in both scoring defense and scoring margin. The Rangers rank 15th nationally (out of 350 teams) in scoring defense, yielding just 62.9 points per game while checking in at 18th in Division II in scoring margin at +12.9.
 
Mar. 14 vs. Lewis University at Knights Hall (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)
 
Series History: UW-Parkside and Lewis have scuffled 64 times on the basketball court with the Flyers enjoying a 36-28 edge in the all-time series. The Rangers have won each of the last four meetings, including both regular season contests this season. The Rangers survived a scare in Romeoville, Illinois on Jan. 19, emerging from Neil Carey Arena with a 69-65 victory behind a 23-point performance from Riauka while the Rangers wrapped up the division with a 73-68 win on Feb. 26 to close the regular season.
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (21-8) returns to the big dance this season after getting shutout of the tournament the past two seasons despite netting 20-win campaigns on both occasions.
 
The Flyers tallied eight consecutive victories from Jan. 29 through Feb. 21 but having dropped two of their last three since, having to sweat it out whether or not they received an NCAA bid after getting knocked out of the GLVC Tournament in the quarterfinals by UIndy.
 
Lewis opened the GLVC Tournament with a 70-52 victory over the University of Illinois Springfield on Mar. 1 in Romeoville, Illinois, before suffering a 70-61 setback to UIndy four days later in the quarterfinals in Saint Charles, Missouri. The Flyers committed a season-high 19 turnovers in the loss to the Greyhounds while UIndy's Jordan Loyd and Joe Lawson combined for 50 points to ultimately doom Lewis.
 
The Flyers are one of the top shooting team's in Division II, sitting 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (49.5 percent) while ranking 26th in scoring margin (+11.5) and 28th in field goal defense (36.1 percent). Lewis sits 30th nationally in turnovers per game (11.4) and ranks 32nd in rebounding margin (+5.3).
 
Lewis is making its 14th trip to the big dance, previously earning bids in 2012, 2008, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999, 1998, 1988, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, and 1982. The Flyers own a 6-15 record in those games, with the program's last NCAA win coming in the opening round of the 2002 tournament, downing Hillsdale College 67-53 before stumbling 89-62 to the University of Findlay in the round of 32.
 
Field of 64: The Midwest Region is one of eight regional being contested this weekend across the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament. The champions of all eight regions will head to the Ford Center in Evansville Indiana for the Elite Eight beginning on March 25.
 
NABC Poll: The National Association of Basketball Coaches released its 15th and final installment of the NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll on Mar. 10 with three GLVC East squads appearing in the rankings. UW-Parkside appears in the poll for the ninth consecutive week, remaining eighth in the nation, the program's highest ranking ever. Bellarmine University sunk one position to third while UIndy drops to places to 15th.
 
Of the eight teams in the Midwest regional, four appear in the Top 25 while an additional three teams are receiving votes in the rankings. Lake Superior State University checks in at No. 22 in the nation while Drury, Ferris State, and Michigan Tech all appear in the receiving votes section with Lewis the lone club garnering no national attention.
 
Milestone 25: The Rangers' 73-68 win over Lewis University on Feb. 26 not only clinched a share of the program's third straight GLVC East Division crown but also established a new program record for wins in a season.  Parkside's 26 victories, surpasses the previous record of 24 wins set during both the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 campaigns. The Rangers advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight in 74-75 while advancing to the NAIA Sweet 16 the following season.

Dog Pound: The University of Indianapolis has been ranked No.1 twice in its history with both runs atop the NABC Poll ending in DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers dethroned the No. 1 Greyhounds 63-45 on Feb. 1, 1997 while repeating the feat nearly 18 years later, downing No. 1 UIndy 72-68 on Jan. 29, 2015.

Flawless February: UW-Parkside ripped through the competition in February, claiming seven victories while suffering no defeats in the 28-day month. Of the seven wins, four were by double digits, including a pair of blowouts by over 20 points.

GLVC Januarys: The Rangers opened conference play 4-0 for the third straight season and were 8-0 for the second time in three years. The Green and White rattled off 10 straight wins before suffering its first league setback in 2013-2014 while collecting four straight to open the 2012-2013 slate. The hot start in both seasons ended up paying dividends for UW-Parkside, later going on to hoist the GLVC East Division crown in both years.
 
December to Remember: The Rangers capped off the final month of 2014 with a perfect 4-0 record. UW-Parkside opened the month with a 91-79 win over in-state foe Cardinal Stritch University on Dec. 3 before blowing out Silver Lake College 89-51 the next day. The Rangers bested Upper Iowa University 83-67 on Dec. 16 and closed the month with a 69-62 win over Michigan Tech University on Dec. 20 in the final non-conference game of the season.
 
Hot Start: UW-Parkside started the season 16-1 for the first time in program history. The 2001-2002 squad under the direction of Jeff Rutter opened up the year with a 9-1 mark before falling to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Edgewood College in back-to-back games.
 
Non-Conference Mastery: The Rangers wrapped up its regular season non-league slate with an 8-1 mark, posting a winning mark outside of the GLVC for the fourth consecutive season. Parkside owned a 7-1 regular season non-conference record in 2013-2014 while posting a 5-3 mark in 2012-2013 and a 7-1 record in 2011-2012. Over the past four seasons the Green and White have a 27-6 record in regular season non-conference clashes.
 
Fantastic Four: Through 29 games, the Rangers have utilized just two different starting lineups with four student-athletes starting every game this season. Jimmy Gavin, Andy Mazurczak, Jordan Mach, and Jalen Curie have all started every game this season with Zygimantas Riauka starting in 27 of the 29 games this year.
 
Record Book Watch: Seniors Jordan Mach and Zygimantas Riauka continue to climb up the charts in several career statistical categories.
 
Mach surpassed Andy Schmidtmann (1986-1990) as the all-time leader in career three-pointers on Feb. 12 against Missouri University S&T and currently holds the No. 1 spot with 257 career threes. Riauka sits fifth on the all-time list in rebounds (755), surpassing Brad Ferstenou (2005-2008) and is 11th all-time in scoring (1,419), standing one point shy of tying Quincy Moman (1999-2003) for 10th place on the all-time list.
 
8-2-1,000: First Team All-GLVC selection Jimmy Gavin sits just eight points away from notching 1,000-points in his Ranger career. Gavin, scored 481 points as a sophomore for the Rangers last season after transferring from Bradley university and has tallied 511 points in 2014-2015, leading the Rangers in scoring at 17.6 points per game while averaging 28.2 ppg over the last five games, eclipsing the 20-point barrier in all five contests.
 
All-GLVC: The Rangers had three student-athletes earn a spot on the All-GLVC squad announced on March 4. Zygimantas Riauka earned a spot on the All-Conference team for the third time in his career, landing a spot on the First Team for the second straight season while Jimmy Gavin collected his second All-GLVC honor, earning a spot on the First Team for the first time in his career. Andy Mazurczak was the third Ranger honored, as the 2013 GLVC Freshman of the Year landed Second Team All-GLVC honors. Riauka was additionally honored with a spot on the 10-player GLVC All-Defensive Team while Head Coach Luke Reigel nabbed Coach of the Year accolades for the second time in three seasons.
 
Home Cooking: UW-Parkside has won 24 consecutive GLVC games inside DeSimone Gymnasium. That stretch includes eight wins over nationally-ranked opponents and five wins over Top 10 teams. The Rangers have additionally won 25 of their last 26 games at home, including 13 in a row.

20-Win Club: The Rangers eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the third consecutive season in 2014-2015, marking the first time since 1987 that the program has notched three consecutive 20-win campaigns and the first time since joining NCAA Division II in 1995. UW-Parkside pieced together three in a row from 1984-85 to 1986-87 while the team was a member of the NAIA. The Rangers were 22-7 in 1984-85, 21-9 in 1985-86 and 22-8 in 1986-87.

Reigel's Rangers: Head Coach Luke Reigel begins his 12th season as head coach and his 15th season overall at UW-Parkside in 2014-2015.

Reigel was named the 2015 GLVC Coach of the Year, earning the accolade for the second time in three seasons. Reigel was named the 2013 GLVC Coach of the Year after winning the East Division crown for the first time in program history and also landed the 2013 Jack Bennett Man of the Year Award and 2013 Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors. The Wisconsin native sits second on the all-time wins list with 171 wins and has guided the Rangers to three NCAA Tournament berths.

Returning to the sidelines will be associate coach Keven Bradley and assistant Tom Reigel while Andy Fitzgerald joins the staff as assistant from Edgewood College.