FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One win away from punching the program's third ticket to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, the No. 1 Sharks Men's Basketball team (32-0) faces a familiar foe in third-seeded Alabama-Huntsville for the South Region Championship on Tuesday evening from the Rick Case Arena.
The 2022-23 season tipped off between the then ranked No. 4 Sharks and #24 Chargers from the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. NSU handled Alabama-Huntsville, opening the season with a 101-81 victory.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
No. 1 Nova Southeastern has continued to roll through their schedule and taken their game to a new-level in tournament play. NSU earned the program's second consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament crowns, before being named as the top-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sharks opened NCAA play against eighth-seeded Miles on Saturday, March 11. Sunshine State Conference and D2CCA Player of the Year,
RJ Sunahara led NSU with 22 points, shooting 58% from the field, while recording four steals and five rebounds.
Jonathan Pierre hit three, three-pointers, while
Kobe Rodgers made his return to the lineup and added 13 points.
Will Yoakum and
Dallas Graziani led Nova Southeastern to the Sweet 16, as the duo combined for 11 three-pointers. Graziani shot 70% from beyond the arc, while setting a career-high in three-pointers (7) and points (28). Yoakum scored 27 points and is shooting 50% from three-point territory in the NCAA Tournament.
Alabama-Huntsville, the third-seed in the South Region Tournament, defeated both sixth-seed Embry-Riddle and No. 17 West Alabama (two-seed) to advance to the South Region Championship game for the seventh-time in program history
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
In the season opening matchup,
RJ Sunahara began his Player of the Year campaign by scoring 23 points and shooting 75% from the field.
Dallas Graziani hit six three-pointers and recorded 20 points, while dishing 11 assists, as the Sharks defeated the Chargers.
Five Sharks are averaging double-digits in the NCAA Tournament. Yoakum leads NSU with 22.5 points-per-game and is shooting 54% from the field.
Graziani, following a 28-point outburst against West Georgia, is averaging 16 points and eight assists in the NCAA Tournament.
Chaney Johnson, the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, has led the Chargers to the South Region title game. The forward is scoring 17 points-per-game and grabbing five rebounds.
CJ Williamson, who was not a part of the Chargers during the season opening matchup, is averaging 7.5 points for UAH during the tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
WATCH
Tip-off for the NCAA South Region Tournament Finals is set for 7 p.m. from the Rick Case Arena.
