INDIANAPOLIS,
Ind. – Following its 87-64 victory over Western New England in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament Championship the Nichols men's basketball team is headed to Middlebury, Vt. to take on Rochester (NY) at Pepin Gymnasium in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday, March 3 at 3:40 p.m.
Nichols clinched an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the CCC Tournament for the sixth season in a row. Rochester received an at-large bid into the tournament after failing to qualify for the University Athletic Association (UAA) Tournament. In the other matchup in the pod, No. 25 Middlebury, who is the host, will take on Worcester State.
The Bison are currently riding a 17-game win streak, which ties the program record. Nichols is led by graduate student
Matthew Alectus, averaging a double-double on the season with 17.1 points per game (ppg) to go along with 12.3 rebounds.
Ty Rucker is the leading scorer for the Bison averaging 17.2 ppg. Three other Bison,
Tavon Jones, 2021-2022 CCC Player of the Year
Jakigh Dottin, and
Quincy Ferebee score in double-digits. Nichols has advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times in program history, with their 2019 Elite Eight appearance being the furthest the team has ever advanced in program history.
Rochester started out the season 5-0, including wins over UT Dallas and St. John Fisher. The Yellow Jackets continued their hot start, winning six of their next seven games, picking up a win over nationally ranked, and region host, Middlebury. Rochester headed into UAA play with a 10-1 record but dropped their first conference game to Emory. The team struggled the rest of the way, going 6-7 to finish the season with a 16-9 (6-8 UAA) record. Rochester is led by senior guard Ross Gang who is averaging a stat line of 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Graduate student Ryan Algier and junior Matt Wiele average in double digits for the Yellow Jackets with 14.1 and 10.7 ppg, respectively. The upcoming game against Nichols is the first meeting between the schools in program history.
No. 25 Middlebury is set to host the region, making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2019-2020 season. The Panthers have spent the entire season inside the D3Hoops.com top 25 after winning 19 games. A member of the New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC), Middlebury was knocked off by Tufts in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. The Panthers started the season 5-0 before losing at Rochester on December 4. The team headed into NESCAC play with a 10-1 record, dropping their first conference game to Hamilton before winning their next six. On January 16 the Panthers traveled to No. 4 Keene State and left with an 86-82 victory. The team finished the season with a 19-5 (7-3 NESCAC) record. Middlebury and Nichols met on November 19 in the Rick Martin Hampton Inn Classic at Westfield State, with the Panthers coming away with a 91-80 win. The two teams also met in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament with the Bison coming out on top, 74-71.
The Worcester State Lancers are headed to the NCAA Tournament after winning the MASCAC Tournament Championship, 65-53, over Westfield State. The Lancers started the season 8-5 before heading into conference action. The team got rolling in the MASCAC, winning all 12 regular season games before claiming wins over Fitchburg State and Westfield State to win the MASCAC Tournament and secure an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Worcester is led by Aaron Nkrumah who is averaging 18.9 ppg this season. Ryan Rubenskas, Erik Bjorn, and Zion Hendrix all score in double figures for the Lancers. The program is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 1993-94 season. The Lancers have matched up with Nichols 88 times, with Worcester State leading the all-time series 53-35.
The winner of Nichols vs Rochester on Friday will take on the winner of Middlebury and Worcester State in the second round at Middlebury with a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
