NCAA First and Second-Round Web Site

The Carthage College men's basketball team (22-5, 12-2, 1st place College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 14th in the March 2 "D3hoops.com” poll, will play host to first and second-round games in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship on Friday-Saturday, March 5-6 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage will play Aurora University (18-10) on Friday, March 5 at 8 p.m., preceded by No. 3 the University of St. Thomas (23-3) taking on No. 23 Anderson University (22-5) at 6 p.m. The Saturday, March 6 second-round game gets underway at 7 p.m.

Looking at the NCAA First-Round Teams: James Lancaster (295-133, 16 years) coaches the Aurora University Spartans. Aurora (18-10) won the Northern Athletics Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with a 70-64 win over Dominican University (Ill.) in Aurora, Ill. The Spartans (18-10) won the NAC South Division title with an 11-5 mark. This is Aurora's eighth NCAA appearance, and the Spartans lost to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), 96-73, in the first round of last year's championship. Carthage leads the Aurora series, 11-4, and the Red Men won the last meeting, 95-87, on Dec. 1, 1998 in Aurora, Ill.…Steve Fritz (562-244, 30 years) coaches the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Tommies. No. 6 St. Thomas (Minn., 23-3) won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 19-1 record but lost to Carleton College, 73-67, in the semifinals of the MIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Tommies have a 53-4 record over the past two seasons. This is the 11th NCAA appearance for St. Thomas (Minn.) and its fifth in a row. Last year's team defeated Aurora University, 96-73, in a first-round game; won over Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 53-30, in the second round; defeated the University of Puget Sound, 86-69, in the sectional semifinals; and lost to eventual-national-champion Washington University (Mo.), 79-64, in the sectional-championship game at Wheaton College's King Arena in Wheaton, Ill. This would be the first meeting between Carthage and St. Thomas (Minn.)…Tom Slyder (69-63, 5 years) coaches the Anderson University Ravens. No. 24 Anderson (22-5) won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a 13-3 mark but lost to Defiance College, 70-65, in the HCAC Men's Basketball Tournament title game. This is Anderson's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. This would be the first-ever meeting between Carthage and Anderson.