Flagler notes (PDF)

NW Missouri notes (PDF)

Flagler College takes on the defending champion Northwest Missouri State University in the last semifinal of the NCAA Division II National Tournament at Evansville, Indiana. The winner advances to Saturday's championship game at 12 p.m. against the winner of the West Texas A&M-Lincoln Memorial game. Tonight's game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the final will be on CBS.

Here is how you can watch tonight's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal game between Flagler College and Northwest Missouri State University, which tips at 9:45 p.m.

If you have cable, you can watch it on these channels, but you may need the upgraded sports package, so please check with your provider first:

XFINITY: Channel 735
AT&T U-Verse: Channel 643
CenturyLink: Channel 643
Directv: Channel 221
DISH Network: Channel 158

The game is streaming at https://www.cbssports.com/cbs-sports-network/, but you need to have access to CBS Sports Network to be able to authenticate the stream.  

SCOUTING FLAGLER (18-2)

Flagler, ranked No. 8 according to the NABC D2 Top 25 poll, has a 16-game winning streak, the program's longest since a 17-win streak in the 2003-04 season. The Saints won their first-ever NCAA Division II Championship Tournament game last night to advance to a national semifinal game against D2-power Northwest Missouri. 

Flagler is currently 5-0 in the post-season (including the PBC Tournament, the South Region Tourney, and last night's quarterfinal). The Saints are averaging 75.4 ppg and have a +11.6 scoring margin in those five games. Jaizec Lottie, a consensus All-American, is averaging 26.5 pg and is shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range. His back-court mate, Derrick Ellis, Jr., is averaging 12.6 ppg and is 77.3 percent from the charity stripe. 

The Saints had four of its members on the All-Peach Belt Conference Teams, including Lottie who earned first-team honors and was the PBC Player of the Year. Metzger earned second-team honors while Jalen Barr and Derrick Ellis, Jr. were third-team selections. Barr was named the PBC Defender of the Year and Chad Warner was named the PBC Coach of the Year.

Flagler has had four different leading scorers this season: Lottie (14x), Metzger (2x), Marcus Henderson (3x), Ellis (1).  Lottie has scored 30 or more points eight times this year. 
Metzger is second in NCAA D2 in field goal percentage (72.3) and Lottie is seventh in scoring (24.9 ppg). Lottie is eighth in free throws attempted (146) and 10th in free throws made (108).
Flagler is sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense at 39.4 and 14th in turnovers forced (16.35). The Saints are 15th in assists per game (16.6), 19th in scoring margin (+10.3), and 28th in steals per game (7.9).
 
SCOUTING NW MISSOURI STATE (26-2)

Northwest Missouri State, the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the No. 4-ranked team in the country, has the most successful program in NCAA Division II over the last several. The Bearcats are 95-3 in the last three seasons and they won the 2019 NCAA Division II national title. They also hold the longest winning streak on a neutral floor, regardless of division, with 41 consecutive games. Northwest Missouri is 157-8 over the last eight years.

The Bearcats have won two national titles (2017 and 2019), made 21 NCAA tournament appearances, won 21 MIAA regular season titles, nine MIAA tournament crowns, and made five elite eight appearances.

They boast the 2021 NABC Division II Player of the Year in junior guard Trevor Hudgins. He has averaged 20.2 points per game and has been deadly from 3-point range making 51.5 percent of his attempts. Nationally, Hudgins is first in 3-pointers made (86), minutes played (1043:03), third in points (566), third in assists (132), fourth in free throws made (122), and fifth in 3-pointers attempts (167). 

Hudgins' teammate, 6-foot-7 forward Ryan Hawkins, is equally talented. He leads the nation in rebounds (235), points (627), field goals made (226), and field goals attempted (418). He is third in 3-pointers attempted (173), second in 3-pointers made (81) and minutes played (991:05), eighth in field goals attempted (327), and sixth in steals (52). Hawkins also has a triple-double this season.
The team leads the nation in field goal percentage (53.7), free throws made (425), 3-pointers made (297), and is second in 3-pointers attempted (696) and free throws attempted (531). 
The Bearcats' only two losses came to Washburn University. The first was an 84-82 overtime loss at home on Jan. 7 and the other came in the MIAA Tournament, 69-68, on March 6 on a 55-foot heave at the buzzer.     

WHAT REGION ARE WE IN???: Since joining the Peach Belt Conference for the 2009-10 season, Flagler has played in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region. Due to the pandemic, regions went under a major realignment to even out other regions that had only a few, if any, teams or conferences playing men's basketball. Because of that, Flagler is in the South Region for the first time since it was an independent in 2008-09.  

FIRST TIME DANCING: This is the first time the Flagler men's basketball program has advanced to the NCAA region tournament. Last year was the first time the Saints made the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.  

LAST TIME AT A NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: The last time Flagler advanced to a national postseason tournament in men's basketball was the 2004-05 season. The Saints played in the NAIA Division II National Tournament at Point Lookout, Missouri. Flagler defeated Alberston College (now the College of Idaho) 82-70 in the first round (3/10/05) and then lost to Concordia University of Nebraska, 70-63, in the second round (3/11/05). That was the third consecutive NAIA D2 National Tourney appearance by Flagler. 

WE ARE NO. 3!: Flagler goes into the NCAA D2 National Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The rest of the field looks like this: 1) West Texas A&M, 2) Northwest Missouri State, 4) Lincoln Memorial, 5) Colorado School of Mines, 6) Truman State, 7) West Liberty, and 8) Daemen.  

NCAA POST-SEASON: Flagler has competed in the NCAA Division II regionals in the following sports: volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's cross country, men's cross country, softball, women's golf, men's golf, women's tennis, and men's tennis. The following have gone on to the national championship portion: volleyball, women's soccer, women's cross country, and softball. Flagler was first eligible for NCAA Division II post-season competition in 2008-09. 

COVID CAN'T STOP US: Since COVID-19 appeared a little over a year ago, many conferences and teams have struggled to play games. That hasn't been the case for the Saints. Only four games were affected by the pandemic, and one of those was due to a team opting out of the season (UNC Pembroke). Flagler head coach Chad Warner had to miss three games (vs. Francis Marion, at Augusta, and at Lander) due to having to quarantine.

200!: Head coach Chad Warner won his 200th game of his career on Feb. 27 when Flagler rolled to an 85-63 win at Francis Marion University to close out the regular season. 

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Flagler is ranked No. 8 in the March 9 NABC Division II Top 25 poll. This is Flagler's best ranking in the D2 era. The Saints debuted in the polls on Feb. 10 with a No. 21 ranking. The last time Flagler had been ranked prior to Feb. 10 was in mid-January of the 2005-06 season when the Saints were ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Division II poll.

WE'RE STREAKING!: Flagler has rattled off 16 consecutive wins. That's the longest streak in the program's history since the 2003-04 won 17 in a row.

WHO SAID IT WAS OVER?: Flagler trailed by 16 points with four minutes left to go at Lander on Feb. 17. The Saints used a 19-3 run to force overtime and go on to a 98-91 win. Chase Fiddler hit a three-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer to force the extra period. 

SAINTS VS. RANKED TEAMS: Flagler has won all three of its games vs. ranked competition (vs. No. 10 Augusta, No. 12 UAH, and No. 7 Truman). Since joining NCAA D2, Flagler is 6-11 vs. top 25 teams.

RETURNING TO EVANSVILLE: The Ford Center is not a mystery to two Flagler players. Marcus Henderson transferred to Flagler after playing the 2019-20 season at the University of Evansville. The Aces play their home games at the Ford Center. Derrick Ellis, Jr. played guard at Mercyhurst University for two seasons, including the 2018-19 team that advanced to the elite eight. He scored eight points in a 55-51 loss to Northwest Missouri State in a quarterfinal game. 

FLAGLER AND NCAA DIVISION II: Flagler's last season as member of the NAIA was the 2005-06 campaign. Flagler would serve three years of provisional status, but was eligible for postseason competition in 2008-09 as an independent member of the South Region. Flagler became members of the Peach Belt Conference for the 2009-10 season.

FLAGLER FINAL FOUR: Flagler has had two teams reach the final four with the volleyball team being the first to do it in 2009 and the women's soccer team in 2019.