Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 6 Northern State University men's basketball team will make their NCAA Elite Eight debut on Tuesday, March 20 at 8:30 p.m. from the Sanford Pentagon. The Wolves earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will face No. 6 seed East Stroudsburg out of Pennsylvania.
 
NSU enters the NCAA Elite Eight with a 34-3 record overall, tying the single season school record for wins, which was set back in 1992-93. The 1992-93 squad went 34-2 on the year under head coach Bob Olson. Paul Sather was a junior on the squad appearing in all 36 games for the Wolves. Northern State won both the NSIC Overall and North Division Conference Championships, notching the first overall title since 2002-03 and first division title in program history. They also grabbed their first NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament title since 2004-05 with an 81-75 win over Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Head Coach Paul Sather was named the NSIC and NABC Central Region Coach of the Year, while Ian Smith was named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, and Darin Peterka, DJ Pollard, and Logan Doyle were named to the All-Conference second team. Smith was named to the D2CCA  and NABC All-Region second team, while Pollard was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America first team. 
 
The Wolves finished the regular season leading the NSIC in scoring defense (66.8), scoring margin (+14.6), field goal percentage defense (43.5), and rebounding margin (+9.3). NSU rolled to the NCAA Central Region Tournament Championship after three wins over Washburn University, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State. Northern will make their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 20 years, after last qualifying in 1998. Doyle and Smith were both named to the Central Region All-Tournament team, with Smith being honored as the tournament MVP after averaging 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
 
The Wolves enter the contest shooting 51.2 percent from the floor, 40.1 percent from the arc, and 74.8 percent from the foul line, while averaging 80.2 points, 36.5 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 11.2 turnovers, 5.1 steals, and 4.1 blocks per game this season. NSU is out-scoring their opponents by 14.1 points and out-rebounding their opponents by 7.8 boards per game in 2017-18. Northern ranks nationally sitting top-20 in scoring defense (66.1) and rebounding margin (+7.8), top-10 in scoring margin (+14.1), and top-5 in field goal percentage (51.2). Pollard leads four Wolves averaging 12.0 points or more and five in double figures, notching 12.9 points per game. Peterka, Doyle, and Smith are notching 12.3, 12.2, and 12.1 points per contest, while Carter Evans is notching 10.4. Doyle leads the team averaging 6.9 rebounds per game and shooting 67.2 percent from the floor. Peterka leads the team from beyond the arc, hitting 67 3-pointers on the year, and shooting 43.5 percent. Smith has dished out a team high 157 assists, averaging 4.2 per game.
 
About the Warriors
                • East Stroudsburg enters the game with a 27-5 record overall and NCAA Atlantic Region Championship win over Shippensburg, 84-72.
                • The Warriors make their first Elite Eight appearance in school history, and sixth NCAA Tournament appearance.
                • ESU won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship, going 18-4 in league action.
                • Steve Harris was named to the All-PSAC East first team, while Jakwan Jones was named to the second team. Head coach Jeff Wilson was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
                • The Warriors are shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, 36.1 percent from the 3-point line, and 72.8 percent from the foul line, while averaging 92.6 points, 36.0 rebounds, 14.6 assists 14.6 turnovers, 11.5 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game this season.
                • Steve Harris leads three averaging double figures, notching 15.0 points per game and a team high 7.4 rebounds per game.
                • Kobi Nwandu and Nick Giordano are recording 12.3 and 11.2 points per game.
                • Harris is shooting a team high 65.8 percent from the floor, while Marc Rodriguez is shooting a team high 42.7 percent from the arc.
                • Jakwan Jones and Kitt Najee Walls each have tallied over 100 assists on the year, recording 182 and 105 respectively.
                • East Stroudsburg is led by head coach Jeff Wilson in his 16th season with the program. Wilson is a 1986 alumna of the institution and was named the 2014 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times.
 
Last Match-Up
                • The match-up will be the first meeting between the two squads.