Eagles making 24^th appearance in the big dance
 
Tweet #USIMBB; NCAA II Tournament Game Notes; NCAA II Tournament Bracket

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 15th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team appears in its 24^th NCAA Division II Tournament when it plays Wayne State University Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Springfield, Missouri. The Midwest Regional portion of the big dance is being hosted by top-seeded Drury University.
 
The Screaming Eagles (22-7) enter national tournament play having won six of their last eight games despite a tough loss in the GLVC Tournament championship game. Junior forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) led USI during the GLVC post-season with 21.0 points per game, including a season-high 33 against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and was named to the All-Tournament team.
 
Senior center Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) joined Rutledge on the All-Tournament team after averaging 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Junior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12.0 points per outing.
 
For the season, Rutledge is posting a team-best 16.6 points per game, while DeWitt is second at 14.4 points and a team-best 9.1 rebounds per contest. Thomas and junior forward Taylor Wischmeier (Brownstown, Indiana) also reached double-figures this season with 11.9 and 10.2 points per appearance, respectively.
 
The seventh-seeded Warriors of Wayne State (17-9) are a familiar foe for the Eagles in the NCAA II Tournament. USI has played Wayne State, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, three times in the NCAA II Tournament, twice on its way to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight finals (1994 and 2004).
 
Wayne State has slipped in the rankings over the last month, losing six of the last nine games. The Warriors started the post-season with a first round loss to Lake Superior State University at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The Eagles and Warriors match-up is the second game of the Midwest Regional first round, following third-seeded Bellarmine University (22-7) against sixth-seeded University of Indianapolis (20-8) at noon.
 
Saturday's evening games start at 6 p.m. with Drury (25-4) hosting eighth-seeded University of Findlay (22-7). The first round of the regional concludes with fourth-seeded Michigan Tech University (20-8) playing fifth-seeded University of Wisconsin-Parkside (20-8) at 8:30 p.m.
 
The semifinals will be played Sunday (March 17) at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., while the regional championship game is scheduled for March 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for reserved seats, $8 for adult general admission, and $4 for student general admission per session. Fans can reserve tickets by calling the USI Ticket Office at 812/465-7165 between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
 
Coverage of the Eagles' NCAA II Tournament games, including live stats and audio/video broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com. The USI action also can be heard on ESPN 106.7FM and WPSR 90.7FM.