CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men's basketball faces top-seeded, and No. 2 nationally, Minnesota State on Thursday afternoon with a spot in the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship on the line. The Buffs (30-4) and Mavericks (33-2) are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
LIVE COVERAGE
The semifinals of the Division II Men's Basketball Championship will be carried on CBS Sports Network while the final will be carried on CBS. Live Stats will be provided on NCAA.com.
Fans wanting an audio broadcast can tune in to The Sports Star 102.9 FM for the games. Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey will be on the call for the Buffs' Elite Eight contest.
WT ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
The Buffs are making their third Final Four appearance on Thursday and first since 2021. WT is 25-22 in the NCAA tournament including 1-1 in Final Four games. Both previous trips to the Final Four (2018, 2021) have come under head coach
Tom Brown. WT reached its lone National Championship game under Brown in 2021.
W, 90-76 -- #14 North Georgia, 2024 Elite Eight
L, 54-80 – #4 Northwest Missouri State, 2021 National Championship
W, 87-86 – #13 Lincoln Memorial, 2021 Final Four
W, 97-83 – Daeman, 2021 Elite Eight
L, 84-94 – Southern Indiana, 2019 Elite Eight
L, 79-85 – #2 Ferris State, 2018 Final Four
W, 87-73 – Lemoyne, 2018 Elite Eight
L,55-63 – #7 UC Davis, 1998 Elite Eight
A LOOK AT THE ELITE EIGHT BRACKET
Tuesday's action saw No. 6-seed Cal State San Bernardino upset No. 3-seed Gannon 99-65 while No. 2-seeded Nova Southeastern rallied past No. 7-seed Southern New Hampshire, 68-60. Top seed Minnesota State rolled past Ferris State 98-70 before WT defeated North Georgia 90-76 in the nightcap. Cal State San Bernardino and Gannon tip off at 1 p.m. on Thursday followed by Minnesota State and WT at 3:30 p.m.
SCOUTING (1) #2 MINNESOTA STATE
Minnesota State enters Thursday's game on a 14-game winning streak after going unscathed in the Northern Sun Tournament and NCAA Central Region. On Tuesday, the Mavericks rolled past Ferris State 98-70. Minnesota State advanced to the program's second Final Four appearance in school history with the win. The Mavericks are led by 23
rd-year head coach Matt Margenthaler who is in his 23
rd season at Minnesota State. Margenthaler holds a 486-211 (.697) record at the helm of the Mavericks' program with a career record of 486-211 (.697).
On the season, MSU averages 85.0 points per game on 49.0 percent shooting from the field while holding opponents to 69.9 points per contest. Four Mavericks average double-digit scoring with senior guard Malik Willingham leading the way with 18.9. Kyreese Willingham (14.8), Justin Eagins (12.3), and Dylan Peeters (10.4) also average double digits with Elijah Hazekamp right behind at 9.8. Peters leads the team in rebounding and blocks, grabbing 6.9 boards per outing with 36 totals blocks. Malik Willingham paces the team in assists (147), steals (55), and threes made (88).
THE SERIES
WT has never faced Minnesota State in the program's 102-year history as Thursday's game marks the first meeting between the two programs.
NABC TOP 25 POLL
Nova Southeastern received all but one first-place vote for a total of 399 points followed by Minnesota State (381), Gannon (358), Northwest Missouri State (355, 1 fpv), and Fort Lewis (337). Colorado Mesa, Charleston, California (PA.), West Texas A&M, and Minnesota Duluth round out the top 10.
WT is one of five South Central regional programs ranked with Fort Lewis leading the way at No. 5. Colorado Mesa (6
th), WT (9
th), DBU (12
th), and Colorado School of Mines (23
rd) earned spots in the rankings. Eastern New Mexico and Lubbock Christian also received votes in the poll.
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach
Tom Brown is in his 10th season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation. He has guided the Buffs to eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 266-61 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 81.3%. Brown registered his 250
th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau. Brown is 19-6 in the NCAA postseason.
LAST TIME OUT
West Texas A&M men's basketball advanced to the program's third NCAA Division II Final Four with a 90-76 victory over the North Georgia Nighthawks on Tuesday night. With the Elite Eight victory, the Buffs improve to 30-4 on the season. The 30-win season is the fourth in program history and first since the 2019-20 season. Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Tuesday night led by a game-high 25 from
Larry Wise.
Ryland Holt (21),
Zach Toussaint (19) and
Ahamed Mohammed (18) also ended their night in double figures. Mohammed recorded his first collegiate double-double, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds while Wise dished out seven assists.
RECORD WATCH
Zach Toussaint is moving his way up the ladder in the program's 3-point career leaderboard. The Johnsburg, Ill., product ranks second all-time with 382 threes after passing former Buff Jordan Evans (2015-2018) in the Buffs' win over Arkansas Fort Smith on Nov. 30.
Larry Wise also moved into the top 10 of 3-point shots made, ranking sixth with 189 made threes.
David Chavlovich (2014-18) is the program's all-time 3-point leader with 388.
Toussaint and Wise both broke the 1,000-point mark during the 2022-23 season. Currently, Toussaint ranks second with 1,819 after passing Qua Grant and Ryan Quaid during the Buffs' game against Cameron on March 7. Wise continues to move up the scoring list as the Waxahachie, Texas now ranks fifth with 1,690 points, passing Joel Murray in WT's victory over Angelo State on March 16.
Toussaint is also the program's all-time games played leader after breaking the record on Jan. 27, 2024 against UT Tyler.
ON THIS DAY: MARCH 28
Thursday's Final Four game marks just the second time the Buffs have played on March 28. WT is 1-0 on this date with its lone contest coming in the TIAA Championship Playoff in 1931. In that game, the Buffs defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 35-29 in Commerce, Texas.
W, 35-29 – Texas A&M-Commerce, 1931
POSTSEASON HONORS
WT earned grabbed eight All-Lone Star Conference awards at the men's basketball awards banquet hosted by the league. Of those honored,
Larry Wise was named the LSC Player of the Year while Holt earned Defensive Player of the Year and
Kieran Elliott earned Freshman of the Year. Head coach
Tom Brown was named the LSC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career.
West Texas A&M seniors
Ryland Holt and
Larry Wise were named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-South Central Region teams. Holt earned second-team honors while Wise was named the South Central Region Player of the Year as well as a first team member.
Additionally, Wise earned National Association of Basketball Coaches First Team All-District honors. The senior guard then became one of 16 players to be named to the NABC All-America team, becoming the first Buff since Qua Grant and Joel Murray in the 2019-20 season to be honored as a NABC All-American. Wise also earned D2CCA All-America Second Team honors for the first time and follows former Buff
Julius Brown who earned the accolade last season.
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 25 WATCH LIST
On Friday morning, Small College Basketball announced West Texas A&M senior
Larry Wise was among one of 25 players remaining on the 2023-24 Bevo Francis Award watch list. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
On April 5th, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 8th.
TREVOR HUDGINS TOP 25 WATCH LIST
Small College Basketball announced West Texas A&M senior
Zach Toussaint was named to the Trevor Hudgins Top-25 Watch List. Toussaint becomes the first Buff to be named to the watch list after the award was announced in November 2023.
The Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.
UP NEXT
A win would put the Buffs in the National Championship for the second time in four years after reaching the title game in 2021.
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Buff action on online and on social media. Follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops), Instagram (@WTAMU_MBB), and Facebook (/WTAMUMBB).
