ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Men's Basketball (21-11, 12-7 MIAA) is back in the NCAA tournament for a 13th time in program history and the first time since 2021.
MoWest, the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Central Region tournament, will face off against. No. 4 seed St. Cloud State (25-6, 20-2 NSIC) on Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be played at Washburn University's Lee Arena in Topeka, Kansas. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with
Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac on the call, alongside analyst and Hall of Fame coach Tom Smith.
The game will also be streamed for free on the MIAA Network. The regional semifinals are set for Sunday at 5 and 7:30 p.m. The regional final will be held Tuesday, March 17 at 7 p.m.
How We Got Here
MoWest got to 20 wins this season for the first time since 2002-03, finishing fourth in the MIAA regular season standings. The Griffs rank No. 32 in the national KPI, and have a strength of schedule that ranks as No. 2 toughest in the country, per the Massey Ratings.
The Griffons have four wins this season over teams that also made the NCAA tournament this year - Central Missouri, Rogers State, GLVC tournament champion William Jewell and GLVC regular season champion Rockhurst.
The Griffs played 13 games this season against opponents ranked 68th or higher in the KPI - five of those 13 games are wins. In total, MoWest played eight games this season against teams who are in the 2026 NCAA tournament field, going 4-4 in those games.
Chance at More History
Griffon Men's Basketball is back in the Big Dance for just the third time in 16 years. MoWest is 1-15 in the NCAA tournament all-time with the last win coming in 1990. The Griffs look to snap what's currently a 15-game losing streak in NCAA tournament games - the most recent being a loss to Washburn in the Central Region tournament in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 2021.
Setting the Standard
Two MoWest men's basketball players earned all-conference honors, with senior
Noah King garnering second team all-MIAA honors. King, already with all-GLVC and JUCO All-American honors under his belt, sits No. 9 in the MIAA in scoring (16.2). King has scored in double figures in 25 games this year, including 10 games with 20 or more points.
King has made 144 collegiate starts and is up to 2,258 career points - 507 of those points have come this season at MoWest.
Meanwhile, senior
Ty Henry picked up third team all-MIAA honors, averaging 14.1 points per game. Henry has been on fire as of late, scoring 18 points or more in seven of his last 10 games. He's scored 20 or more in eight games this year, including a career-best 31 at Newman on February 28.
Lightin' Up the Scoreboard
MoWest has scored 90 or more in eight games this season, ranking No. 4 in the MIAA in scoring offense (82 ppg). MoWest's 2623 points this season is a new single season record at MWSU.
Takin' Care of Basketball Business
MoWest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 13 in NCAA Division II with only 10.2 giveaways per game. The Griffs rank No. 2 in the MIAA with a +2.56 turnover margin and No. 2 in the league with a 1.38 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Finding Free Throws
MoWest is No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 18 in NCAA Division II in made free throws (534) and No. 1 in the league with 708 attempts for a free throw percentage of 75.4% (No. 2 MIAA). MoWest makes an average of 16.7 free throws per game (No. 1 MIAA), averaging 22.1 attempts per contest (No. 3 MIAA).
The 534 made free throws are second most in a single season in MWSU history, while the 708 attempts are second most in a single season as well.
Marko's Mark
Freshman forward
Marko Pavlovic ranks No. 4 in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.3), No. 1 in field goal percentage (62.6%), and No. 3 in blocked shots (43). Pavlovic ranks No. 5 in the MIAA with 76 offensive rebounds. His 234 total rebounds is good for No. 2 in the MIAA as well. Pavlovic has also logged five double-doubles this season.
Opponent at a Glance
St. Cloud State (25-6, 20-2 NSIC) is the NSIC regular season champion, but was beat in the NSIC tournament championship by Minnesota-Duluth last Wednesday, 76-65 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
That loss not only gave Minnesota-Duluth an automatic bid to the dance, but it snapped what was an impressive 18-game winning streak by the Huskies. Now with back-to-back 20-win seasons under fourth year head coach Quincy Henderson, St. Cloud State is back in the NCAA tournament first the first time since 2019 and the 16th time in their history. Henderson was named NSIC Coach of the Year this season for his efforts in guiding SCSU to their winningest season in eight years.
SCSU is a defensive minded team, ranking No. 1 in the NSIC and No. 26 in NCAA Division II in scoring defense (67.1 ppg allowed). The Huskies guard the perimeter very well, allowing opponents to shoot just 29.4% from long range (No. 1 NSIC, No. 14 nation). Elsewhere, the Huskies rank No. 1 in the NSIC and No. 16 in the nation in rebounds per game (40.3).
Offensively, Luke Winkel, a first team all-NSIC pick, leads the Huskies with 18.7 points per game (No. 6 NSIC). Wyatt Hawks, another first-teamer in the NSIC, is the lead rebounder for the team with 8.7 boards per contest (No. 2 NSIC). At 6-7, he's also the NSIC leader in blocked shots (73 - 6th most in NCAA D2).
Series History
Saturday marks just the second all-time meeting with St. Cloud State and the first ever in the postseason. MoWest beat the Huskies in the second game of the 2024-25 season, 80-73, in the D2CCA Tip-off Classic played at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.
Brooks McKowen coached against St. Cloud State 16 times when his Upper Iowa Peacocks were NSIC rivals with the Huskies. McKowen owns a 9-7 career record over SCSU as a head coach.
