Forty years after Wabash College celebrated winning the NCAA Division III national championship and 24 years since its last NCAA Tournament appearance, the Little Giants are back in the DIII tourney. Wabash plays Berry University in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 4 at 4:40 p.m. at the Woodruff P.E. Center on the campus of Emory University.

Wabash earned its berth in the 64-team tournament by winning the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Little Giants, the regular season NCAC champions, defeated Hiram College 101-79 in the quarterfinal round of that tournament before earning a 98-74 win against Denison University in the semifinal round. Wabash ended The College of Wooster's 18-year run of NCAA Tournament appearances by defeating the Fighting Scots 85-84 in overtime in the NCAC championship game.

Wabash, ranked 15th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, enters Friday's matchup against 21st-ranked Berry with a 20-game winning streak intact, the longest in school history. The Little Giants rank fifth in the nation in scoring under head coach and NCAC Coach of the Year Kyle Brumett. The Little Giants average 90.9 points per game and are 16th in scoring margin with a differential of plus-13.6 points. Wabash is second in the nation in field goal shooting percentage (52.1), and three-point field goal shooting percentage (40.9). Wabash also ranks third in free throw shooting percentage (81.2). 

Senior guard Jack Davidson is the straw that stirs a very potent drink for Wabash. Davidson broke the NCAC Tournament record for total points by scoring 97 in the Little Giants' three games. He was also named the Division III Men's Basketball Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for his efforts in the tournament. Davidson averaged 32.3 points per game and shot 56 percent from the field in the three games. He made 16-of-26 three-point attempts (61 percent) and shot 90 percent from the free throw line by going 19 of 21. Davidson also averaged 6.7 rebounds and four assists. 

The National Player of the Year and Bevo Francis Small College Player of the Year nominee also earned NCAC Player of the Year and First Team All-NCAC honors. Davidson leads the conference and ranks third in the nation in scoring with a 25.2 points-per-game average. The senior guard is the nation's top three-point field goal shooter, hitting 49.5 percent of his three-point tries. Davidson ranks second among Division III players in free throws made this season with 167 and is fifth in Division III in free throw percentage (91.8). He is second in the nation in total points scored this season with 680 through 27 games.

Wabash is far from a one-man show with Davidson. Fellow senior guard Tyler Watson was also named to the All-NCAC First Team. Watson averages 15.9 points a game, the sixth-best total in the conference. He averages 5.3 assists a game to rank second in the conference and 39th among Division III players. He broke the Wabash single-game assist record by handing out 14 in the Little Giants' victory over Hiram on February 6, picking up a double-double in the game by also scoring 18 points against the Terriers. Watson's assist-to-turnover ratio for the season is 2.92 to rank second in the NCAC and 12th in the nation.

Kellen Schreiber earned Second Team All-NCAC honors. He enters Friday's NCAA Tournament ranked fifth in the nation in field goal shooting percentage. He is shooting 69.7 percent from the field for the season. Schreiber is ninth in scoring with a 15.1 points-per-game scoring average and owns a 4.9 rebounds-per-game average.

Junior Ahmoni Jones is fourth Wabash player averaging double figures in scoring. Jones averaged 14.1 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game through the regular season. He earned a place on the Great Lake Invitational Team at the start of the season with a 21-point scoring average in two games against Emory and Marietta College, both schools participating in this year's NCAA Tournament. 

Berry (23-2) won the Southern Athletic Association conference championship for the second consecutive season to earn its spot in the 2022 NCAA DIII Tournament. The Vikings held on to defeat Oglethorpe 63-62 in the conference tournament championship game. The Vikings average 74.4 points a game and hold opposing teams to 62 points a contest, the 15th-best mark in the nation. Berry ranks 11th among DIII teams in three-point field goal defense, only allowing teams to shoot 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. 

Austin Brooks is the leading scorer for Berry. The 6-foot, 8-inch graduate student averages 12.9 points along with a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Chase Ellis averages 12.7 points a game, and senior guard Michael Johnson adds a 10.5 points-per-game scoring average to the offensive mix. Junior Riley Costas was named the SAA Defensive Player of the Year after making 17 steals and blocking nine shots.

The winner of Friday's first game at Emory will play the winner of the other first-round game between the host Eagles and Averett University at 7:10 p.m. on Friday. The second-round game between the two winners from Friday night tips off Saturday, March 5, at 7:10 p.m.

GAME DAY INFORMATION

Woodruff P.E. Center

All games take place at the Woodruff P.E. Center on the Emory University campus. 

The address of the Woodruff P.E. Center is:
26 Eagle Row
Atlanta, GA 30322

DIRECTIONS TO THE WOODRUFF P.E. CENTER

Directions To Emory University (link)

Parking

The Peavine Parking Deck will be open for free, general parking on Friday beginning at 4:00 PM and all day Saturday.

If you are planning on parking on campus before 4:00 PM on Friday, there is a visitors' lot located near the Woodruff P.E. Center at the intersection of Eagle Row and Dickey Drive. It is a pay lot between 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. If you enter that lot after 5:00 PM on those days, there is no charge.  Please remember to hold on to your parking tickets -- lost tickets are charged at $25.

Pay lot rates:

15 minutes - 1 hour $4.00
1 - 2 hours $6.00
2 - 3 hours $8.00
3 - 4 hours $10.00
4 - 24 hours $12.00

Masking Requirements 

Masks are still required at this time, regardless of vaccination status, in all indoor public and common spaces on campus at Emory University. 

Ticket Information (Credit Card Only - No Cash)

Ticket prices are per session.

Session 1 includes both First Round games on Friday. Saturday's Second Round game is a separate session.

Adults - $15.00
Student w/ ID - $10.00
Seniors - $10.00
Children (3-12) - $10.00
Children under 2 - Free

Pre-Game Wabash Fan Gathering

Wabash fans can gather at Taco Mac in Decatur, Georgia before the game. It is an 11-minute drive from the restaurant to the Woodruff P.E. Center on the Emory University campus. Fans can gather at any time on Friday, but current Wabash parents and Atlanta residents Chris Sullivan and Sarah Crossman-Sullivan will be there to host at 1:30 pm.

Taco Mac
240 W Ponce de Leon Ave
Decatur, GA 30030

https://tacomac.com/locations/240-w-ponce-de-leon-ave-decatur-ga-30030/