Who is Dancing? The NCAA DII MBB Postseason
Now we look at the 25 MO and KS grads who are competing in the DII Men's basketball tournament. They play for eight schools, two of which are ranked in the top 23, with three more that got votes.
Just like the area women, the men from these two states have made their presence known in DII basketball. There are players on some of the best teams in the country. Those teams are:
Northwest Missouri State University - Ranked No. 2
Angelo State University - No. 23
Emporia State University - Votes received
Missouri-St. Louis - Votes received
Univ. of North Georgia - Votes received
While some are Academic All-District honorees, there is also a conference player of the year, conference freshman of the year, and a defensive player of the year. Statistically, we have players who led their respective conferences in field goal shooting, free throw shooting, and in the assist to turnover ratio.
Take a look who these players are, for whom they compete, and when and against whom they will play in the NCAA tournament.
Northwest Missouri State University
The 30 and 2 Bearcats are representing the Mid-America Intercollgiate Association as its champion. And they are also the No. 2 ranked team in the country. Their first round opponent is Southern Arkansas. The 22 and 9 Muleriders are the champion of the Great American Conference. That game is at 6:00 on Saturday. You can follow it here.
The local connections are:
Diego Bernard - Senior - Lafayette-St. Joseph - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollgiate Athletics Association
Diego led his team in scoring, assists, and steals per game. His steals also led his conference where he was named both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Player of the Year.
Bennett Stirtz - Freshman - Liberty - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
As a freshman, Bennett led the Bearcats in minutes played. He shot 60% from the field, 45% from three point range, and 85% from the line. For that he was named to the all-conference seconde team and is the conference Freshman of the Year.
Luke Waters - Junior - Olathe Northwest - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Luke played in 29 games, starting 19, while scoring 8.0 points per game.
Daniel Abreu - Sophomore - Willard - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
As a sophomore, Daniel started 20 games this year. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Byron Alexander - Sophomore - Staley - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Byron has averaged 6.4 points per game while playing only 16 minutes per contest. He has scored that much because he is shooting 62% from the field.
Isaiah Jackson - Sophomore - William Chrisman - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Isaiah has played in every game, starting 10. He is averaging 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while dishing out 75 assists.
Blake Danitschek - Freshman RS - Kapaun Mt. Carmel - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The redshirt freshman from Wichita has played in 16 games, scoring 6 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.
Jackson Ratigan - Freshman - Blue Valley West - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Jackson is a freshman who has yet to see action in a game.
Trey Moala - Freshman - Paola - Northwest Missouri State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Trey is a freshman who has yet to see action in a game.
Emporia State University
The 22 and 8 Hornets enter the NCAA tournament as an at-large team following theloss to Northwest Missouri State in the conference tournament. They will play Northern State in the first round. The 24 and 6 Wolves are an at large entrant from the Northern Sun Intercolliage Conference That first round game will be at 2:30 on Saturday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections are:
Owen Long - Junior - Sikeston - Emporia State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference
Owen leads the Hornets with 16.9 points per game, along with playing the most minutes this season. His 88% shooting from the line was the best in his conference. Owen is a first team all-conference honoree.
Kaden Evans - Sophomore - Oak Park - Emporia State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
The sophomore started all 30 games this year. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 boards per game. His 43 steals was the high for the team. He is an honorable mention honoree in his conference.
Atavian Butler - Junior - McCluer North - Emporia State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Atavian played in all 30 games, starting 1, while scoring 6.7 points per game.
Nahcs Wahwassuck - Freshman - Royal Valley - Emportia State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Associatoin
Nahcs played in all 30 games, starting 1. He scored 2.8 points per game while grabbing 15 steals.
Mason Thiessen - Junior - Inman - Emporia State Univ. - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Mason is an Academic All-District honoree. He played in 28 games, starting 1. He scored 48 points and grabbed 35 rebounds this year.
Jordan Brown - Freshman - Free State - Emporia State - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Jordan is a freshman who has yet to see action in a game.
Ethan Hildebrand - Sophomore - Stafford - Emporia State Univ. Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Ethan is a sophomore who has yet to see action in a game this year.
University of Missouri-St. Louis
The 21 and 10 Tritons are an at-large team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. They will play the 21 and 8 Univ. of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers in the first round. Parkside is an at-large team from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They meet up at 1:30 on Saturday. You can follow the game here.
The local connections are:
Matt Enright - Freshman - Webster Groves - Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Matt played in all 31 games, starting 30, logging the third most minutes on the team. He averaged 7.4 points per game and dished out 81 assists. That got him a spot on the conference all-freshman team.
Mayson Quartlebaum - Junior - Lawrence - Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Mayson played in all 31 games, starting 17. He averaged 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Sam Bledsoe - Sophomore - Charleston - Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Sam played in 10 games this year, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Caleb Thompson - Freshman - Westminster Christian Academy - Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Caleb, as a freshman did not see playing time this year.
Bentley University
The 17 and 12 Falcons are an at-large team representing the Northeast-10 Conference. They will play 21 and 8 Dominican University-NY at 1:30 on Saturday. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Matt Leritz - Graduate - St. Louis University High - Bentley University - Northeast-10 Conference
Matt is an Academic All-District honoree. He pulled down the second most rebounds in his conference and had the third highest shooting percentage. For that he was named to the second team of his conference.
University of West Georgia
The 20 and 9 Wolves are an at-large team representing the Gulf South Conference. Their first round game is at 6:30 on Saturday when they take on Lee University. The Flames are 20 and 7 and are also an at-large team from the Gulf South Conference. Lee was 2 and 0 against West Georgia during the conference season. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Kolten Griffin - Sophomore - Lafayette-St. Joseph - Univ. of West Georgia - Gulf South Conference.
Kolten started 28 of the Wolves’ 29 games. He averaged 5.3 points per game.
Tuskegee University
The Golden Tigers are 20 and 8 this year. They enter the tounament as an at-large team representing the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They will play West Alabama in the first round. The 26 and 5 Tigers are the champions of the Gulf South Conference. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
D’Anthony Pennington - Sophomore - North Kansas City - Tuskegee University - Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
D’Anthony played in 27 games, starting 16. He averaged 9 points per game and dished out 62 assists.
University of North Georgia
The 20 and 7 Nighthawks are an at-large team from the Peach Belt Conference. They will play North Carolina-Pembroke in the first round at 1:30 on Saturday. The Braves are 26 and 3 this year and represent Conference Carolinas as an at large team. You can follow that game here.
The local connection is:
Eric Jones - Junior - Liberty-Mountain View - Univ. of North Georgia - Peach Belt Conference
Eric has not seen action on the court this year.
Angelo State University
The 25 and 6 Rams are an at-large tournament entrant representing the Lone Star Conference. They will play their first round game at 7:30 on Saturday against Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks are 25 and 5 and are representing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as an at-large team. You can follow the game here.
The local connection is:
Steve Webb - Graduate - Westminster Christian Academy - Angelo State Univ. - Lone Star Conference
Steve started 24 games this year, averaging 4.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. But, his greatest contribuitons came on the other side of the court where he got 52 steals. His overall defensive play led him to be honored at the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year.