EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 1 ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks (33-0) punched the program’s third ticket to the NCAA National Tournament Elite Eight by defeating Alabama-Huntsville 87-62 in the NCAA South Region Finals. The Sharks are set to match up against the eighth-seeded Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday evening in the Elite Eight.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
NSU (33-0) defended its titles as the Sharks repeated as Sunshine State Conference regular season, tournament, and NCAA South Region Champions. No. 1 Nova Southeastern features a pair of D2CCA All-Americans, RJ Sunahara and Will Yoakum. This is the third time in program history that the Sharks have made the Elite Eight, all coming under Head Coach Jim Crutchfield.
Missouri-St. Louis (24-10) enters the Elite Eight as the eighth-seed after defeating Parkside, Ferris State and McKendree in the NCAA Tournament Regional round. The Tritons make their return to the Elite Eight for the first-time since 1971-72.
WHAT TO WATCH
No. 1 Nova Southeastern has reached a new level during the NCAA tournament, having an average margin of victory of 32.6 in the NCAA South Region Tournament, which is seven-points higher than the Sharks average during the regular season.
Will Yoakum, a second-team D2CCA All-American, has been scorching hot during the Sharks postseason run. The Delaware, Ohio-native is averaging 24.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 58% from the field and 55% from beyond the arc.
NSU is top-10 in NCAA Division II in several categories, including scoring average (103.1), steals-per-game (12.3), second in assists-per-game (21.9), fourth in field goal percentage (51.4), and sixth in three-point percentage (40.1).
Missouri-St. Louis has three players averaging double-digit points, Isaiah Fuller (15.9), Victor Nwagbaraocha (11.2) and Bown Sandquist (11.0)
UPCOMING
No. 1 Nova Southeastern tips-off against Missouri-St. Louis at 7 p.m. (ET) with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
