Notes

Link to live stats, rosters, and complete schedule: https://www.athletics.walsh.edu/sports/mbkb/2022MidwestRegional

KIRKSVILLE, Mo.--The Truman Men's Basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season (qualifying for the third straight year) and will look to make another deep run after making the Elite Eight last season. The first opponent that the Bulldogs will face is a familiar foe—GLVC rival Missouri-St. Louis, who is one of the hottest teams in the entire country with ten straight wins and winners of 13 of their last 15 since the last meeting between these two teams in January. The Bulldogs enter the game 20-9 overall and 13-6 in GLVC play, while UMSL enters 24-6 and 14-5 in GLVC play. Their last game was a loss in the GLVC Quarterfinals to Indianapolis 94-90.
Truman is the top scoring offense in the GLVC with 79.7 points per game. The Bulldogs were first in shooting percentage at .500 and second in free throw shooting at .778 and three point shooting at .395. On the flip side, UMSL had the top scoring defense in the GLVC with only 65 points against per game.
 
Truman in the NCAA Tournament:

This will be the 9^th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the Division II era, while they made six appearances in the national tournament before the Division II era. In 1946-47 & 1947-48 the Bulldogs were in the NAIB Tournament, and in 1954-55 & 1955-56 in the NAIA Tournament. In 1959-60 & 1970-71 the Bulldogs were in the NCAA College Division Tournament. In the NCAA Division II era the Bulldogs have qualified in 1978-79, 1980-81, 1998-99, 2005-06, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21 and now 2021-22. In 1998-99 Truman made it to the Final Four, and made it to the National Quarterfinals in 1959-60 and in 2020-21.
 
 
About the Players:
 
Cade McKnight is averaging 19.4 points per game, which finished at the top tied with Bryson Bultman of McKendree. He began the season 20^th on the all-time scoring list in the history of the Bulldog program, but has now moved up to 4^th this season—passing Brian Basich against Rockhurst Saturday. He now has 1594 career points, chasing Seth Jackson's 1655. With 6.5 rebounds per game this year, he set a new career high.

Masen Miller continues to be one of the top sharpshooters in the GLVC, shooting .453 from downtown—fourth among qualified players (one made three per game). At 3.3 makes per game, he leads the GLVC in made threes per contest. He continues to lead the Bulldogs in minutes per game with 35.4, which ranks fourth in the GLVC. His current career shooting percentage from three point range is .446, which puts him second on the all-time list.

Hunter Strait remains one of the top distributors in the GLVC with 4.8 per game, second behind Mitch Ganote of SBU. He also has moved to seventh in assists in Bulldog history—passing Chip Sodemann with 337 for his career. He also averaged a career high 3.6 rebounds this season.

Elijah Hazekamp continues to be an all-around player for the Bulldogs—third in points per game with 13.1 and leads the team in rebounds with 7.1. His mark on the boards is good for sixth in the GLVC. He has scored in double figures in ten straight games.

Eric Northweather scored in double figures in seven straight games, and is averaging 9.5 points per game. He also set a new career high with nine boards at Rockhurst earlier this season, and leads the team with 25 blocked shots this season.

Keaton Mitchell is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds off the bench this season, and set new career highs with 16 points against Rockhurst in the GLVC first round and ten rebounds against Central Christian.

Dylan Peeters has started 17 games this season, and is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game and 7.8 points per game. He's reached double figures 12 times this season and had four double-doubles. He's also set a new career high with 37 assists this season.

Sam Lock is averaging 7.3 minutes per game this season, and 2.2 points per game. He scored in double figures twice this season—against Upper Iowa and Central Christian.

Sam Nissen is averaging 10.3 minutes per game this season, with 1.2 points per game. He has a career high nine steals this season and 23 assists this season.

Josh Ollendieck has appeared in 19 games this season, and is averaging 7.6 minutes per game and .5 points and .4 rebounds per game.

Devin Fields has been in six games this year and made three shots from downtown. 

Scouting Reports

Walsh: The Cavaliers won the top seed in the region with a 23-6 overall record and 16-4 record in the GMAC and won the GMAC title—with seven straight wins. Darryl Straughter leads with 14.4 points per game, Garrison Keeslar averages 8.2 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game.
Truman's record vs Walsh: 0-0

Ferris State: The Bulldogs enter the game with a 21-8 overall record and 16-4 record in the GLIAC. Walt Kelser leads the team with 18.8 points per game, Dorian Aluyi leads with 7.7 rebounds per game while Jimmy Scholler leads with 4.6 assists per game. The only time Truman has met Ferris was in the NCAA Tournament in 2017.
Truman's record vs. Ferris State: 0-1

Hillsdale: The Chargers enter the Tournament 20-7 and 15-5 in the GLIAC. Patrick Cartier, who was also named All-District along with Cade McKnight, leads the team with 21.9 points per game. He's second on the team with six rebounds a game and Austen Yarian leads with 7.4 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per game. The first meeting between the two was back in 2013.
Truman's record vs. Hillsdale: 0-1

Missouri-St. Louis: The Tritons enter the tournament 24-6, and won the GLVC Tournament to punch their ticket to the tournament. Marty Jackson leads the team with 16.9 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. Steve Webb leads with 2.5 assists per game. Truman is 2-0 against UMSL this season, and won five straight in the series.
Truman's record vs UMSL: 21-27

Cedarville: The Yellow Jackets enter the game 19-12 and were 12-8 in the GMAC. Branden Maughmer leads the team with 16.2 points per game and over three assists per game and Conner TenHove leads with 6.0 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs opened the season against them and the Bulldogs won 87-80.
Truman's record vs. Cedarville: 3-2

Findlay: The Oilers come into the tournament with an overall record of 19-10, and 12-7 in the GMAC. Nathan Burns leads the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game and 7.5 points per game. Joey Edmonds leads with 3.2 assists per game. Truman defeated Findlay 90-61 in the second game of the season.
Truman's record vs. Findlay: 2-2

Davenport: The Panthers played their way into the NCAA Tournament with a surprising run to the GLIAC Tournament title. They enter the Tournament 17-13. Chris Rollins leads the team with 15.4 points per game, with Jakub Dombek leading with 6.9 rebounds per game. Rollins leads with over 3.5 assists per game. The only meeting came in 2019.
Truman's record vs. Davenport: 0-1