USI enter tournament ranked 16th

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 16th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team tips off the NCAA Division II Tournament and the Midwest Regional Saturday at 11 a.m. in Louisville, Kentucky. The NCAA II Midwest Regional is being hosted by second-ranked and top-seeded Bellarmine University.

The third-seeded Screaming Eagles (25-4) starts the NCAA II post-season against sixth-seeded University of Findlay (23-6). This will be the third match-up between USI and Findlay in the NCAA II Tournament with the programs splitting the first two tournament games.

In addition to the USI-Findlay match-up, the top half of the bracket features second-seeded Ferris State University (27-4) against seventh-seeded Truman State University (22-9) with a 1:30 p.m. (CST) tip off Saturday.

The bottom half of the regional bracket includes Bellarmine (28-3) hosting eighth-seeded University of Wisconsin-Parkside (22-7) at 5 p.m. (CST). The final first round game has with seventh-ranked and fourth-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan College (28-2) playing fifth-seeded Quincy University (24-6) at 7:30 p.m. (CST).

The semifinals will be played Sunday (March 12) at 4 p.m. (CDT) and 6:30 p.m. (CDT), while the regional championship game is scheduled for March 14 at 6 p.m. (CDT).

Live coverage of USI's games in the GLVC Tournament, including live statistics and audio/video broadcasts are available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard over the airwaves on WEOA 98.5FM/1400AM and 95.7FM The Spin.
 
USI Men's Basketball vs. Week 19 Quick Notes:

• USI in national rankings. The University of Southern Indiana fell in the NCAA Division II rankings this week, dropping four spots to 16th in the final NABC Division II Top 25. USI also was ranked12th in the final the D2SIDA Media Top 25 of 2016-17, while ranking 15th in the HeroSports.com and 11th in the NCAA Division II power rankings.
   
• Eagles leave GLVC Tournament early. USI lost its quarterfinal match-up with Truman State University, 69-68 on a last second shot and free throw.  
   
• Rajala sparked the Eagles versus Truman. Junior forward Julius Rajala led the Eagles versus Truman, hitting for a team-high 20 points. The 20-point performance was Rajala's first double-digit game (12 points versus Saint Joseph's College) since breaking his finger in January.
   
• Stein is hot the last five games. USI sophomore guard Alex Stein is the hottest Eagle offensively over the last five games, averaging 20.8 points per game and shooting 55.7 percent from the field (39-70). He also is shooting 54.2 percent from beyond the arc (13-24).
   
• USI on neutral court  in 2016-17. USI is 6-1 on a neutral site this year, averaging 88.6 points per game and shot 50.0 percent from the field.  Senior guard Jeril Taylor is averaging 20.6 points per game, while sophomore guard Alex Stein is posting 17.4 points per outing. Junior forward Julius Rajala rounded out the double-digit road scorers with 16.1 points per game.
   
• Overall away from the PAC in 2016-17. USI is a combined 13-3 away from the PAC (neutral and road) this year, averaging 88.2 points per game and outrebounded the opposition, 40.3-32.1.  Senior guard Jeril Taylor is averaging 20.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Alex Stein is posting 16.5 points per outing. Junior forward Julius Rajala and senior guard Bobo Drummond rounded out the double-digit road scorers with 12.0 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.  
• USI vs. NCAA II Midwest Regional Field.  Third-seeded USI is 4-3 against the NCAA II Midwest Regional field in 20116-17, 1-0 against the quarterfinal and potential semifinal opponents (defeated Quincy University, 88-85 in January). The USI series records against the regional field all-time are:

  Bellarmine:  50-40 Quincy: 30-10 UW-Parkside: 29-12 Truman: 3-2

  Kentucky Wesleyan: 41-49 Findlay: 2-1 Ferris State: 8-2

• USI vs. GLVC, G-MAC, and GLIAC in NCAA II Tournament. The Eagles are 14-11 against programs from the GLVC and 11-5 against squads from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Eagles have not played a current team from the Great Midwest Athletics Conference (Kentucky Wesleyan was a member of the GLVC when USI has played them in the NCAA II Tournament).