CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park men's basketball will travel to WashU in St. Louis, Mo. to open play in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Vikings were looking forward to potential hosting duties but, instead, they'll travel to match up with the University of the South on Friday, March 3, at 4:25 PM CT. The winner of North Park / Sewanee will face the winner of host WashU / Coe on Saturday, March 4, at 6:55 PM CT.
The University of the South earned the automatic qualifier with an 86-82 over Berry in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Tournament Championship on Sunday.
The Tigers' leading scorer is sophomore guard Russ Marr, who has totaled a Division III ninth-best 599 points and 25th-best 21.4 points per game. Additionally, Marr ranks ninth in total 3's made (82), and 19th in made free throws (129).
As a team, North Park holds numerous top 10 national stat rankings, including: turnover margin (3rd, +7.8), steals per game (5th, 13.1), turnovers forced per game (6th, 19.93), and free throw opportunities per game (6th, 25.0). The Vikings cracked into the top 25 on Monday evening, securing the 19th spot in the D3hoops.com National Poll.
Senior guard Marquise Jackson ranks fourth in steals per game (2.96) and fifth in total steals (74). Junior guard Shamar Pumphrey ranks 14th in A/TO ratio (2.69), 18th in steals (67), 23rrd in steals per game (2.48), and 30th in assists (132).
Sophomore guard Kolden Vanlandingham is the Vikings' lead scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game including three games with 30+ points. Senior forward Jordan Boyd commands the boards with 152, including nearly half (70) on the offensive glass. From deep, Vanlandingham totals 55 threes while senior guard Jalen Boyd follows with 44.
Make sure to tune in for the tournament opener on Friday, as the Vikings head to the Big Dance for the first time since 1990.
