Sioux Falls, S.D. – The No. 6 Northern State University men's basketball team will face Ferris State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the NCAA Division II National Championship game. Northern advances to their first NCAA Division II title game in school history in the sport. Fan information for the contest can be found here.
 
Northern State enters the NCAA National Championship game with a 36-3 record overall. The Wolves broke the single season school record for wins, which was set back in 1992-93, with their 79-71 victory over the East Stroudsburg in the quarterfinal round of the Elite Eight. 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. 
 
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. 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 earned a trip to their first Elite Eight since 1998, and second in school history, and recorded their first Elite Eight victory on Tuesday evening versus East Stroudsburg. They advanced to the National Championship with a 105-99 double overtime victory over No. 7 Queens, notching their first finals appearance at the NCAA Division II level in program history. The Wolves are the first team since 2000 to advance to an NCAA Division II National Championship game in the home state. The last team to do so was Kentucky Wesleyan in a match-up with Metro State from Louisville.
 
Pollard leads five Wolves averaging double figures notching 13.2 points per game, while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and a team leading 83.4 percent from the foul line. Smith, Peterka, and Doyle are notching 12.6, 12.3, and 12.3 points respectively per game, while Carter Evans is notching 10.3. Doyle leads the team averaging 6.9 rebounds per game and shooting 67.4 percent from the floor. Peterka leads the Wolves from beyond the arc with 73 made 3-pointers and a 43.7 3-point field goal percentage. Smith became the 55th member of the NSU 1,000 point club on Thursday evening, and leads the team with 169 total assists, averaging 4.3 per game. NSU is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor, 40.4 percent from the arc, and 74.4 percent from the foul line, out-scoring their opponents by 13.7 points and out-rebounding their opponents by 7.8 boards per game this season.
 
About the Bulldogs
                • Ferris State, the GLIAC Champions, heads into the title game with 37-1 record overall, suffering their lone loss of the season to Michigan Tech (NCAA DI) back on October 26.
                • The Bulldogs will also be making their first NCAA National Championship appearance in school history, after a Midwest Regional win over an 80-65 victory over Findlay.
                • Zach Hankins was named to the NABC All-America team, after being named the GLIAC and NABC Midwest Region Player of the Year. Cushingberry, King, and Firlik were also named to the all-conference teams.
                • FSU rolled to the championship game with a 85-79 win over West Texas A&M in the semifinal round.
                • Drew Cushingberry led four in double figures notching 16 points in the win over the Buffalo of WTAM.
                • FSU shot 42.6 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in the match, out-rebounding West Texas A&M 49-42.
                • Ferris is shooting 49.7 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from the 3-point line, and 72.9 percent from the foul line this season, out-scoring their opponents by 16.3 points and out-rebounding their opponents by 6.4 boards per game.
                • Hankins leads three averaging double figures notching 14.9 points per game, followed by Cushingberry and Noah King recording 14.0 and 12.0.
                • Hankins is also pulling down a team leading 9.9 rebounds per game and shooting 63.4 percent from the floor.
                • Cushingberry leads the team averaging 5.6 assists per game with a 3.2 assist/turnover ratio.
                • FSU is led by head coach Andy Bronkema, the GLIAC Coach of the Year, in his fifth season.
 
Last Match-Up
                • The two teams last faced off in 1975-76, with the Bulldogs notching the 86-55 victory over NSU.