History will be made for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team takes the court at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana for its first-ever NCAA DII Elite Eight contest on Tuesday.
But the Chargers are motivated to make sure a historic run doesn't come to a close on Tuesday night -- Hillsdale wants to keep its season going all the way through Saturday if possible, and play for the national title.
Hillsdale will be heavy underdogs on Tuesday night against a Crimson Hawks team with past Elite Eight experience and a talented, battle-tested team that ran roughshod over the Atlantic Region for the school's seventh regional title in its history.
But the Chargers are regional champions, too, and are used to pulling upsets, having taken the Midwest Region title as the #3 seed last week. Hillsdale is hoping the clock won't strike midnight on its Cinderella run just yet.
The game will be broadcast on NCAA.com, which is linked below, and live stats are also available. If you live in the Hillsdale area, 101.7 FM Radio Free Hillsdale also will have a broadcast of the Elite Eight game, which is at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. Eastern), and the school is planning a watch party as well at Plaster Auditorium on the Hillsdale College campus, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. If you are planning to attend the game and cheer the Chargers on in person, there's also a link to purchase tickets below as well.
Schedule
Quarterfinal 1: #4 Bentley (25-4) vs #5 NW Missouri St. (31-5) | 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 22 | Ford Center | Evansville, IN
Quarterfinal 2: #1 Nova Southeastern (31-0) vs #8 Black Hills St. (25-7) | 3:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 22 | Ford Center | Evansville, IN
Quarterfinal 3: #7 Hillsdale College (23-7) vs #2 Indiana (Pa.) (32-2) | 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 22 | Ford Center | Evansville, IN
Quarterfinal 4: #3 Augusta (31-3) vs #6 Chico St. (22-4) | 9:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 22 | Ford Center | Evansville, IN
Follow/Watch
Streaming Video | Live Stats | Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | 2021-22 Hillsdale Stats | Indiana (Pa.) Roster | 2021-22 Indiana (Pa.) Stats | Tournament Central
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (22.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 apg); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (9.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.8 apg); #3 Jack Gohlke, Jr., G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg); #2 Kyle Goessler, Jr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (9.9 ppg, 2.8 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Jr., G, Brookfield, WI/Central (4.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Indiana (Pa.): #1 Dallis Dillard, Fr., G, Harlem, NY/St. Raymond (5.5 ppg 3 rpg); #3 Armoni Foster, Jr., G, Meadville, PA/Meadville (18.3 ppg, 5 rpg, 6.6 apg, 1.6 spg); #5 Dave Morris, Jr., G, Erie, PA/Strong Vincent/Tennessee St. (12 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.3 spg); #10 Tomiwa Sulaiman, Fr, F, London, England/West Nottingham Academy (6.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg); #11 Ethan Porterfield, So., F, Sharon, PA/Sharon (17.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1 spg, 1.4 bpg)
Scouting the Opposition
#2 Indiana (Pa.): One of the top teams in the Atlantic Region for the last decade, the Crimson Hawks are hoping the third time is the charm under head coach Joe Lombardi after two previous Elite Eight trips in 2010 and 2015 ended in runner-up finishes.
Indiana (Pa.) enters the Elite Eight on a 17-game win streak after an impressive season to date that saw the Crimson Hawks suffer only two losses and win the PSAC East, PSAC Tournament, and Atlantic Regional Tournament titles.
The Crimson Hawks did all this without arguably their best player, Shawndale Jones, who went down with a season-ending injury in early December. In his absence, guard Armoni Foster has taken charge, blossoming into an All-American-caliber player, while sophomore Ethan Porterfield has also stepped up, averaging 17.1 points and shooting 56% from the floor and nearly 50% from 3-point range.
Along with those two stars, IUP has depth as well, including pesky guard Dave Morris, one of the Atlantic Region's top defenders, and a pair of rapidly emerging freshmen in Tomiwa Sulaiman and Dallis Dillard.
The Crimson Hawks are deep as well, with two players who started regularly earlier in the year, Kyle Polce and Tommy Demogerontas, giving IUP two high quality subs.
While the Crimson Hawks are not to be underestimated offensively, IUP hangs its hat on its elite defense. It's giving up just 61.9 points per game, fourth best in the nation in NCAA DII. The matchup with Hillsdale, who also prefers a more deliberate style and is close behind in terms of points per game given up at 65 a game, will be a fascinating one to watch.
IUP is coached by Joe Lombardi, who has a 365-104 record in 16 seasons, with six PSAC Tournament titles -- including three straight -- 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Atlantic Region Championships. The all-time winningest coach in Crimson Hawk history, Lombardi came to IUP after 21 years of success as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, most recently at Pittsburgh under Jamie Dixon.
Scouting the Chargers
#7 Hillsdale: The Chargers are in unprecedented territory, reaching the NCAA DII Elite Eight for the first time in program history by capturing the Midwest Regional crown with a 73-63 win over Missouri-St. Louis on Monday.
Now, Hillsdale looks to keep the run going and make a shock Final Four appearance – though it will have to find a way to upset an excellent Indiana (Pa.) team on Tuesday to do so.
Hillsdale is led by junior forward Patrick Cartier, who has already been named G-MAC and Midwest Region Player of the Year and is a near shoe-in to be a consensus All-American for the second-straight season when those teams are announced next week.
The 6-foot-8 post player is the most efficient volume scorer in the country, averaging 22.1 points per game, the 10th best mark in the country, on 65.9 percent shooting from the floor, the sixth-best mark. No one else is in the top 15 in both categories
Cartier running mate in fellow first team All-G-MAC forward Austen Yarian, whose versatility, passing ability and outside shooting touch causes significant matchup issues of his own for opposing defenses. The emergence of juniors Jack Gohlke and Kyle Goessler as consistent outside shooting threats in the second half of the season has been key to the Chargers making it this far, while Cole Nau is an unselfish and steady hand at the point.
Off the bench, another big storyline for the Chargers has been 2021-22 G-MAC Freshman of the Year Joe Reuter, a big wing who has provided much-needed scoring punch during Hillsdale's late-season run. Another key piece off the bench is forward Tavon Brown, whose defense, rebounding and energy were critical to the team's success in 2020-21.
The Chargers have been dominant defensively so far, giving up 65 points per game, second lowest in the G-MAC and 23rd in the nation in Division II. Continuing to play tough defense and finding ways to break through offensively will be key to Hillsdale's hopes of continuing to advance this week.
Directing the Chargers for the 15th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 274-143 record, and has led Hillsdale to four NCAA Tournament appearances. Returning as assistants on Hillsdale's bench this year are associate head coach Keven Bradley, assistant coach Eric Weiss, and assistant coach David Choi.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale is one of two teams (Black Hills St. is the other) making its first appearance in the Elite Eight this season. The most veteran team at this stage is five-seed Northwest Missouri State, who's won three of the last four NCAA DII Championships. The Bearcats are the only past national champion in the field, though second-seeded IUP has been runners-up twice, in 2010 and 2015, and third-seeded Augusta once, in 2008.
- The Chargers are 5-6 all-time in six prior NCAA Tournament appearances, though 4-1 combined in 2020-21 and this season. Hillsdale's first berth came in 1995, losing to Southern Indiana 95-86. The Chargers also earned berths in 2000-01, 2001-02, 2011-12, 2017-18, and 2020-21. Prior to this year's regional title, Hillsdale had two tournament wins – over Gannon, 60-58, on March 8, 2001, and over Mercyhurst, 67-48, in last year's tournament on March 14.
- This is the first time Hillsdale and Indiana (Pa.) have met on the basketball court, though the Chargers do have experience with PSAC opponents, having played Gannon and Mercyhurst several times over the years. Interestingly, Hillsdale reached the Sweet 16 in the Atlantic Region last year – and were only moved into the region in 2020-21 when the PSAC elected to sit out the campaign due to concerns over Covid-19, meaning IUP was not eligible to make the tournament.
- The 2020-21 G-MAC Male Athlete of the Year, Patrick Cartier was selected as the conference's Player of the Year for the second season in a row, and has since added D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year honors, Midwest Region Tournament MVP honors, and CoSIDA Academic All-American honors to a growing trophy case. His 65.2% field goal percentage is Hillsdale's career record in the stat by over four full percentage points, his 1,606 career points rank eighth all-time at Hillsdale, and his 633 career field goals are sixth. For the season, his 663 points in 2021-22 are the fifth-most in Hillsdale history, and his 259 field goals are fourth all-time in a single season.
- Senior Austen Yarian joined Cartier on the list of Charger players to surpass 1,000 points for his career, becoming the 40th with 11 points against Northwood on Dec. 20. The 2020-21 first-team All-G-MAC player now has 1,178 for his career, good for 27th all-time and, with 779 rebounds, is also eighth in Charger basketball history. Yarian is a versatile player who leads the Chargers this season in rebounds per game (7.4), assists per game (3.8) and blocks per game (0.7), also ranking in the top 10 in the G-MAC in all three categories.
- Charger freshman Joe Reuter, the 2021-22 G-MAC Freshman of the Year has impressed in carving out a role off the bench for Hillsdale in his first season on campus. Reuter's impressive second half kicked off with a huge game on Saturday, Jan. 8 against Malone, scoring 21 points on 10 of 12 shooting. It's the first time a true freshman has led the Chargers in scoring since teammate Austen Yarian scored 19 points in a 77-61 win over Trevecca Nazarene on Jan. 27, 2018 and the most points by a true freshman since Andrew Taylor scored 24 in a 75-71 loss to Ashland on Feb. 1, 2007. Reuter enters the Elite Eight having scored in double figures in 10 of his last 15 contests, including 17 in a home win over Trevecca Nazarene on Jan. 20, and 20 on the road in a win over Lake Erie on Feb. 15.
- In 15 starts since moving into the lineup on Jan. 15, junior Jack Gohlke has hit double figures 11 times, and he was sensational in the Midwest Regional, averaging 16 points a game and hitting nine 3-pointers in three wins. Twice Gohlke has hit seven 3-pointers in a game this season, the most by a Charger in a single game since Stedman Lowry hit seven 3-pointers in an 82-72 road win over Cedarville on Jan. 20, 2018. The junior is currently third in the G-MAC in 3-point percentage with 42.1 percent shooting beyond the arc.
- A stalwart player for Hillsdale throughout the season, junior Kyle Goessler is playing some of his best basketball late in the season, with seven double-figure games in his last 10 starts. Goessler was perfect from the field – 5 of 5 from the floor, 2 of 2 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 from the foul line – to help the Chargers win on the road in its season finale at Ashland, a victory that quite possibly locked up Hillsdale's NCAA Tournament bid, and had big contests in Hillsdale's 90-74 regional semi upset of Ferris St., and in the 73-63 regional final victory over Missouri-St. Louis.
- Hillsdale's team identity under John Tharp is well-known, and it starts with defense – the Chargers are second in the G-MAC in scoring defense and are 23rd in the nation in DII at 65 points per game. Unselfishness and taking care of the ball are also core tenets of the Hillsdale style of play, and the Chargers are also sixth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59), and its 17.7 assists per game is sixth among all teams in the country at the DII level.
- The Chargers are impressively efficient at both ends of the floor – they are tied for first in the G-MAC in team shooting percentage (48.9%) and top of the league in opponent field goal percentage (41.4%). Hillsdale is also third in the G-MAC in blocks per game (2.90), a reflection of the size of Hillsdale's front-line, and also its athleticism.
- Hillsdale is one of the cleanest teams in the nation in terms of fouls– its 12.6 fouls per game are the second-fewest in DII.
- While John Tharp is leading Hillsdale to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time, it's not his first Elite Eight trip, as he led Lawrence University (Wis.) to the NCAA DIII Elite Eight as its head coach in 2003-04. Tharp left Lawrence as the program's all-time winningest coach, a distinction he still holds, to come to Hillsdale in 2007, and is a member of Lawrence University's Hall of Fame.