Meet the Teams
Chapman enters Saturday's game with a 25-3 record and a No. 12 national ranking according to D3hoops.com. The Panthers are a Pool B 'at-large' selection into the field of 61 as an independent and are currently No. 4 in the NCAA West Region rankings. Whitworth, a member of the Northwest Conference is 26-1 and currently the top-ranked team in Division III according to D3hoops.com and received an automatic NCAA bid by winning their conference tournament.
We Meet Again...In the Playoffs
For the second-consecutive season, Chapman and Whitworth face off in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships. Just like last season after a first round victory, Chapman travels to Spokane, Wash. to play Whitworth. Last year Chapman had a 24-2 record and No. 12 national ranking heading into the game while Whitworth was 25-2 and No. 6 in the country. Whitworth topped Chapman 77-56 in last season's playoff game. The Pirates jumped out to a 21-5 lead in the opening minutes of the game and held on from there. Chapman was able to narrow the margin to four points just before halftime which is as close as they would get.
Familiar Foes
This is the fourth-consecutive season that Chapman and Whitworth have faced off, second in the postseason. Since Chapman made the transition to Division III, Whitworth leads the all-time series 2-1. The Panthers lone win came in 2007 as they defeated the Pirates 56-53 at a tournament in Southern California. Current seniors Riley, Griffin Ramme, Max Pinerand Jon Consani were all freshman on that team.
Chapman Notes
Recap of Last Night's 62-38 win over Redlands
Chapman used a 10-0 second half run to take command of its NCAA Division III first round tournament game against Redlands as it went on to a 62-38 victory on Thursday night at the Hutton Sports Center.
Redlands (16-12) narrowed Chapman's lead to 28-27 at the 14:54 mark of the second half on a three-pointer by senior Stephen Call. Chapman then answered with a 10-0 run to push the lead to 38-27 at the three minutes later. Four Panthers scored during the run, including two buckets from Ramme. The Ontario, Calif. native tied Riley with a game-high 14 points. Riley also had eight rebounds as did junior Ben Ricard to go along with 11 points.
Consani added 12 points and five rebounds for the Panthers. Redlands, making their first playoff appearance since 1985, was led by 10 points from senior F Matt Dietrich. Chapman outrebounded Redlands 40-17 on the night. The Panthers shot 59 percent from the field while holding the Bulldogs to 29 percent shooting.
25 Wins Ties 75-Year-Old Chapman Wins Mark
With last night's win the Panthers are now 25-3 which ties the 1935-36 team for the most wins in school history when Ralph Welch was the head coach. Some of the Panthers opponents in 1935-36...the Beverly Hills All-Stars, Clifton Cafeteria, La Cerne Creamary and Surveyor's Red Devils.
Panthers' NCAA Tournament History
Chapman is making its second consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearance after never making the Division III playoffs prior to 2010. It had been 26 years since the school's last playoff berth when Chapman reached the tournament last March. Chapman defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at home in the first round before falling to Whitworth University (Wash.) on the road in the second round.
In all, the Panthers have made 11 NCAA tournament appearances in school history. The Panthers had an impressive run of six postseason berths in seven years from 1956-63 under head coach Don Perkins. In the midst of that run, Chapman reached the 'Elite 8' in 1958 and lost in the College Division national championship game in 1960. Chapman also appeared in the postseason during the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons under head coach Walt Hazzard.
Players to Watch
Chapman has thrived off of its veteran leadership with seniors Justin Riley and Griffin Ramme leading the team to back-to-back postseason berths for the first time since 1983-84. Riley and Ramme contributed nearly identical point production this season leading Chapman in scoring with 16.2 and 16.1 points a game respectively. Ramme added 2.9 assists ranks No. 23 in Division III with 2.7 steals per game. Riley controlled the inside all season averaging 7.2 rebounds a game and 40 blocked shots. Consani along with juniors Ricard and G Brandon Lin round out the starting five. Ricard, a recent addition to the starting lineup, is averaging 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds which is second on the team.
A Winning Tradtion
This is Chapman's sixth consecutive 20-win season. In fact, the Panthers have gone 73-9 over the past three seasons for a winning percentage of .890. That is one of the five best winning percentages in NCAA basketball (all divisions) during that stretch. The Panthers ranked No. 7 in the nation in winning percentage this season.
Meet Head Coach Mike Bokosky
The past two seasons have been one milestone after another for Bokosky and the Panthers. None was more significant than the Chapman men reaching the NCAA Division III tournament in 2010 for the first time in school history and snapping a 26-year postseason absence. He is the school's all-time winningest head coach - a history that spans nearly 90 years. His 319-140 record over 18 seasons, includes back-to-back 24-3 seasons the past two years.
"Bo" has guided Chapman to five straight 20-win seasons and 17 consecutive winning seasons. Bokosky is also in his ninth year serving as an Assistant Athletic Director at Chapman.
Prior to Chapman, Bokosky served as an assistant coach in the Big West at Cal State Fullerton and U.C. Irvine where he recruited and coached future NBA players Scott Brooks, Tom Tolbert, Bruce Bowan, Bob Thornton and Johnny Rogers.
Whitworth/Chapman vs. Same Opponents this Season
Although Chapman (Independent) and Whitworth (NWC) are not in the same conference, they did share four common opponents in 2010-11. Chapman was 6-0 against opponents on the Whitworth schedule while Whitworth had a 5-0 record against opponents on Chapman's schedule. Both teams faced George Fox, Whittier, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and U.C. Santa Cruz.
Multimedia
Play-by-play coverage for Saturday's second round game will be available through streaming video and audio, courtesy of Whitworth Athletics.
Video: mms://media.whitworth.edu/events
Audi: http://www.ksbn.net/listen.pls
Live Stats: http://www.ksbn.net/listen.pls
Whitworth Notes
courtesy of Whitworth Sports Information
Pirates' NCAA Tournament History
Whitworth is making its fifth consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearance and sixth overall (2003, 2007-11). Prior to its recent history in the NCAA Division III tournament, Whitworth had a longer post-season history as a member of the NAIA. The Pirates played in the 1996 and 1998 NAIA Division II tournaments, hosted by Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. In 1996 Whitworth advanced to the title game before losing in overtime to Albertson (now College of Idaho) College. In 1998 Whitworth lost on a last-second basket to eventual champion Bethel College (Ind.) in the quarterfinals. Prior to the splitting of the NAIA into divisions in 1992, the Pirates played in the NAIA tournament in Kansas City five times. Whitworth advanced to the quarterfinals in 1952 and then suffered first-round losses in 1954, 1955, 1961 and 1991.
Players to Watch
The Pirates have four players that average double-figure scoring led by Division I University of Montana transfer Mike Taylor. The senior is averaging 19.8 points per game and has four 30 point games with a season-high 35 coming in December. In addition to strong guard play, the Pirates have a lot of size. Senior F David Riley (6-5) averages 16.6 points while junior forwards Jack Loofburrow (6-7) and Felix Friedt (6-8) average 12.4 points apiece. Friedt and Loofburrow are the team's leading rebounders averaging seven and 6.2 rebounds, respectively
Meet Head Coach Jim Hayford
In his tenth season leading the Pirates, Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford has averaged more than 20 wins a season for a team that can only schedule 25 games a year. Now 215-56 (.792) at Whitworth (252-83 overall in his 12th year as a head coach), Hayford is only the second coach in school history to reach the 200 win plateau and the second-winningest coach in school history. Hayford has won four NWC Coach of the Year awards at Whitworth (2003, 2007, 2008, 2010), has led the Pirates to four conference championships and five NCAA tournament appearances (2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). Heading into the 2010-11 season, Hayford ranks ninth among all active NCAA Division III men's basketball coaches in career winning percentage (.734).
Complete Chapman game notes available here: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/cu-wu.ncaa_game_notes.pdf
Complete Whitworth game notes available here: http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/BasketballMen/Releases/10_11/Mar2.htm
