No. 22 Cabrini University Cavaliers (24-3, 16-2 CSAC) vs. The College of Staten Island (17-11, 12-4 CUNYAC)
Springfield College Pride (18-8, 12-2 NEWMAC) vs. Albright College Lions (20-6, 12-4 MAC Commonwealth)
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, First and Second Rounds
Nerney Field House

Game Schedule
Friday, March 2, First Round
Springfield College vs. Albright College, 5:30pm
College of Staten Island vs. Cabrini University, 7:30pm

Saturday, March 3, Second Round
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7pm

Game Day Links: Live Stats, Webcast
NCAA Tournament Bracket
Tournament Central Page
Follow Cabrini Athletics on Social Media

What's At Stake
The winners of Friday's first round games will meet on Saturday at 7pm, ith Saturday's winner securing a spot in the Sweet 16.

How Cabrini Got Here
The Cavaliers are making their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and 13th as CSAC champion. Owners of a 15-13 NCAA Tournament record, the Cavaliers are looking to make the program's seventh appearance in the second round. 

Cabrini is led by CSAC Coach of the Year Tim McDonald and two-time CSAC Player of the Year senior Tyheim Monroe. McDonald has led the Blue and White to 24 wins in his fourth season, and with one more victory, the team will be fifth team in program history to record 25 wins. Monroe leads the nation with 15.1 points per game, 407 total rebounds, 24 double-doubles, two triple-doubles and 11.11 defensive rebounds per game. He also stands just 10 points shy of becoming the sixth player in CSAC history to record 2,000 career points.

Cabrini Last Time Out: Cavs Capture First CSAC Title Since '14 (2/24/2018, Radnor, PA)
Last Saturday's victory marked the first CSAC title for the Blue and White since the 2013-14 season and their 14th overall. 

Junior Anthony Wright-Downing led the way for the Cavaliers as he tallied a career and game high 32 points on 14-of-15 from the field. The Philadelphia native added six rebounds, five steals and three blocks as well.

Sophomore Keith Blassingale finished with 18 points, while Monroe picked up another double double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Classmate Deryl Bagwell narrowly missed a double double as the senior tallied 11 rebounds and eight assists to go along with six points. 

Up 20-16, the Cavaliers used a 7-to-0 run to push the lead to double digits with 9:45 left in the half. Neumann responded with a 14-to-3 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from sophomore Raquan Brown-Johnson, to trim the Cabrini lead back to just 33-30.

The Cavs opened the second half with a 9-to-2 run to push their lead to 51-38 thanks to a pair of threes from freshman DJ Smith. Neumann would twice trim the Cavs lead back to just two points, with the last coming at the 12 minute mark, but a 20-to-6 run that spanned nearly five minutes would end any hopes of a comeback.

How Staten Island Got Here
The Dolphins are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row as champions of the CUNYAC. Staten Island has recorded five NCAA Tournament victories, with the last coming in 2012 when head coach T.J. Tubbs was captain of a squad that advanced to the Sweet 16.

Sophomore Christian Taylor, an All-CUNYAC First Team performer, leads Staten Island with 16.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, while classmate Adeola Latunji added 15.7 points, earning All-CUNYAC Second Team accolades. 

Staten Island Last Time Out: Dolphins Upset No. 1 Seed to Earn Automatic Bid to NCAA Tourney (2/23/2018, New York, NY)
For the second consecutive year the College of Staten Island men's basketball team hoisted the CUNYAC's ultimate prize, scoring a thrilling, 77-75, victory over top-seeded Lehman College.

Down 10-9, a three by Christian Taylor three gave CSI the lead, 12-10, with just over 14 minutes to go in the opening stanza, and although it would be hard to predict, the College of Staten Island would not relinquish that lead. 

A 12-3 CSI run late in the first half that spanned nearly six minutes would give CSI a 39-28 lead at the break.

Facing their largest deficit of the game, top seeded Lehman used a 9-0 run to cut to within three points and make it a 51-48 CSI lead with 14:20 left in the second half. Lehman would go on to eventually tie the game at 69 apiece, but the dolphins managed to hold off the late charge and secure the 77-75 victory. 

How Springfield Got Here
The Pride is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2015, as the club received one of 21 at-large bids after suffering an 84-80 overtime loss to WPI in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinal round. Springfield enters the tournament with an all-time record of 3-8.

Springfield is led by NEWMAC Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year sophomore Jake Ross.  The sophomore led the league with 24.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 228 total field goals, 128 made free throws, 211 defensive rebounds and 64 steals.

Springfield Last Time Out: Pride Fall in NEWMAC Semi's to WPI (2/24/18, Springfield, MA)
Playing as the top seed and host of the NEWMAC Championship for the first time in program history, Springfield fell to WPI by an 84-80 overtime final in conference semifinal. 

Ross put together a herculian effort for the Pride as the sophomore played all 45 minutes and poured in a game-high 34 points to go along with 16 rebounds, four assists, and three steals as one of five players in double figures. Fellow sophomore Heath Post added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Andy McNulty chipped in 12 points and five assists.

After a baby hook in the paint by Garrett Stephensen gave the visitors a 14-7 cushion, Springfield responded with a 13-4 surge, as a triple from the left wing by Ross put the hosts on top 20-16. As they did the entire first half, WPI answered right back as a three-pointer from Downing, which finished off a 6-0 surge.  The teams would then trade buckets before WPI score the final four points of the half to take a 37-35 advantage into the break.

Neither team was able to gain ground in the second half as both squads needed overtime. It was Springfield that grabbed early control of the extra session, as two free throws from Ross put the hosts ahead, 78-74 with 3:13 remaining.  WPI would answer with five-straight, including a huge three-pointer with 1:07 on the clock.  Ross again converted a pair from the line to give Springfield their final lead of the day, an 80-79 edge with 53 second remaining.

A jumper from WPI on their ensuing possession gave the Engineers the lead for good as Springfield would turn the ball over on their next two possessions.

How Albright Got Here
The Lions earned an at-large bid to the tournament after falling to Lebanon Valley College in the championship game of the MAC Commonwealth. This marks Albright's 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2010, when it fell to Clark (MA) 69-67 in the first round.

The Lions are led by MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year senior DeJuan Smith, whose 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds ranked in the league's top five.  Head coach Rick Ferry was also named the league's top coach after leading the club to a pair of wins over nationally ranked teams and the seventh 20-win season in program history.

Albright Last Time Out: Lions Tamed by LVC in MAC Commonwealth Final (2/24/18, Reading, PA)
In a game that featured 11 second half lead changes and two in the final minute of play, the visiting Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen came away with a thrilling 70-68 victory over the Lions. 

Down 67-63, Albright sophomore Fred Rowles cut the Lebanon Valley lead to two on a jumper with 1:14 remaining. A three on the Lion's ensuing possession from Smith put the Lions ahead 68-67. 

After a timeout, the Dutchmen dialed up a midrange jumper that eluded the basket, but a key offensive rebound and eventual game winning putback with nine seconds remaining gave LVC the 70-68 lead. 

The Lions nearly forced OT, but a floater from Smith missed the mark as time expired to allow LVC its first MAC Commonwealth title in 23 years. 

5 Factors for Cabrini

• There have been 30 triple-doubles recorded in Div. III this season. Cabrini is the only program in the country to have multiple players achieve the mark, as Monroe and Bagwell have combined for three.
• The Cavaliers rank 15th in the nation with 88.9 points per game. The team also ranks in the top 20 nationally in scoring margin, assists per game, assist to turnover ration and total assists.
• The Blue and White boast six players who score north of 9.0 points per game: Monroe, Blassingale (17.2), Wright-Downing (14.6), Bagwell (11.1), DJ Smith (9.6) adn Ivan Robinson (9.2)
• Bagwell is one of just two players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in rebounds (8.3), assists (5.0), blocked shots (1.3) and steals (1.5).  Monroe is the other.   
• The Blue and White shoot .477 from the field, third in the CSAC. The team has shot below .450 just once over its last 50 games.

5 Factors for Staten Island

• The Dolphins defeated the No. 6, No. 2 and No. 1 seed in the CUNYAC tournament to earn their bid to the NCAA Tourney. 
• Staten Island is one of just three opponents this season to hold the Cavaliers under 40 percent from the field (39.3%)
• CSI is winners of 5 of their last 6 games, with their only loss coming via a last second layup against Lehman College (83-82) in the regular season finale.
• The Dolphins are outscoring their opponents by just 1.6 points per game this season. 
• Christian Taylor leads CSI with 16.6 points per game and is shooting nearly 55% from the field. 

5 Factors for Springfield

• The Pride received one of 21 at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament and will make their first appearance since 2015.
• Springfield is led by Jake Ross who is averaging 24.3 points per game to go along with 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.5 seals
• Springfield has played to a 12-2 record at home, but owns just a 6-5 record on the road. 
• The Pride have hit at least 10 3-pointers in five of their last six games, highlighted by 12 3's against Wheaton. 
• Cam Earle (51), Jake Ross (49) and Andy McNulty (46) have each hit at least 46 3-pointers this season. 

5 Factors for Albright

• The Lions posted two wins over Top-25 teams this season as they toppled No. 25 F&M 79-63 and No. 20 Lycoming 87-80 in OT. 
• 2018 MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year DeJuan Smith is averaging 16.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.4 apg and 2.2 spg. 
• Albright has won seven of their last eight games, including an 87-80 victory over No. 20 Lycoming College. 
• The Lions boast four players that stand 6'5" or taller, led by 6'9" freshman Isaac Burris.
• As a team, the Lions tally almost nine steals per game, led by Smith's 2.2 steals per game. 

 

		TALE OF THE TAPE
Albright	Springfield		Cabrini	Staten Island
20-6	18-8	Overall Record	24-3	17-11
12-4 MAC-C	12-2 NEWMAC	Confernce Record	16-2 CSAC	12-4 CUNYAC
82.2	75.9	Points per Game	88.9	77.7
8.3		Scoring Margin	11.9	1.6
.450	.459	Field Goal Pct.	0.477	.439
.364	.355	3-Point FG Pct.	0.349	.353
.697	.721	Free Throw Pct.	0.701	.688
41.3	37.2	Rebounds per Game	40.9	38.9
2.1	1.8	Rebound Margin	3	-0.6
16.4	15.2	Assists per Game	18.4	17.1
14.7	12.6	Turnovers per Game	12.4	15.9
0.9	-0.1	Turnover Margin	2.7	0.7
1.1	1.2	Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.5	1.1
17.7	13.9	Points off Turnovers	18.4	18.3
8.7	6.5	Steals per Game	9.5	8.1
3.7	3.7	Blocked Shots per Game	3.6	4.5
		TEAM LEADERS
DeJuan Smith (16.9)	Jake Ross (24.3)	Points	Tyheim Monroe (21.6)	Christian Taylor (16.6)
DeJuan Smith (9.9)	Jake Ross (9.9)	Rebounds	Tyheim Monroe (15.1)	Adeola Latunji (6.0)
Rowles/Smith (3.4)	Jake Ross (3.9)	Assists	Deryl Bagwell (5.0)	Christian Taylor (3.8)
Jared Rappoport (1.9)	Heath Post (1.4)	Blocked Shots	Deryl Bagwell (1.3)	Jade Spencer (1.1)
DeJuan Smith (2.2)	Jake Ross (2.5)	Steals	Tyheim Monroe (2.3)	Edin Bracic (1.8)