EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team is set to met top ranked Nova Southeastern in an Elite Eight matchup on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. The Tritons enter Tuesday's contest with a record of 24-10 while the Sharks enter at 33-0.
UMSL is making its first Elite Eight appearance since 1971-72 when Division II was referred to as the College Division. That Triton team lost in the quarterfinal to Roanoke.
The Tritons, seeded eighth, went 3-0 last week to win the Midwest Regional in Indianapolis. UMSL opened the NCAA Tournament with an 85-60 win over Parkside in the first round then defeated Ferris State 82-68 in the regional semifinal and held onto defeat McKendree 62-60 to win its second regional title in program history.
Isaiah Fuller averaged 20.7 points last week at the regional including 27 points in the regional championship and hit the game-winning shot to be named the Midwest Regional's Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by
Victor Nwagbaraocha. Fuller needs 64 points to become the 18th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points in his career.
UMSL has set four team single-season records this season including most points in a season with 2,562 breaking the previous mark of 2,485 set by last year's team. It also has set the single season mark for three-point field goals made with 288, three-point field goal attempts (731) and assists (501). The Tritons are currently second in field goals made (952) and blocked shots with 100.
About Nova Southeastern – The Sharks enter Tuesday night's contest having won 33 straight games and 64 of their last 65 dating back to the start of last season. They're only loss in the last two years came in the Elite Eight last season when they fell to the number eight seed Black Hills State 77-67.
NSU won its three games at the South Regional last week in dominating fashion. It opened the tournament with a 97-55 win over Miles, then beat fifth seeded West Georgia 105-74 in the regional semifinal and beat third seeded Alabama-Huntsville 87-62 for the regional championship. Nova Southeastern's average margin of victory was 32.6 points in the three games.
Will Yoakum led the Sharks with 33 points in the regional final and tied the program record with nine three-pointers.
NSU is making its third appearance all-time in the Elite Eight.
Series History – Tuesday's matchup is the second meeting all-time between the Tritons and Sharks with NSU winning the first meeting 82-58 on Dec. 21, 2014. Brandon Marquardt finished with 12 points off the bench to lead UMSL while Aareon Smith added 11 more.
