Ari Stern

Ryan Wobbe

Complete NCAA Div. III Championships bracket

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster (21-6) is dancing once again in March as the Fighting Scots earned one of the 21 NCAA Div. III Pool C (at-large) bids when the 64-team championship field was announced on Monday afternoon. Wooster will travel to John Carroll University in University Hts., Ohio for first- and possibly second-round action on March 2-3. The Scots are slated to open play against Illinois Wesleyan College (19-7) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Host John Carroll (23-5) will play Thomas More College (23-5) in the other first-round game at 7:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's game will square off on Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to next week's sectional semifinal.

"It's great to be playing in March," said head coach Steve Moore. "I know our players are going to be very excited. We're going to have a great week of practice to be ready to play on Friday."

With the selection, Wooster extended its NCAA Div. III record out to a 16th consecutive tournament. Among all divisions, Wooster boasts the sixth-longest active streak of NCAA Tournament appearances as the University of Kansas (27), Duke University (21), Michigan State University (19), Gonzaga University (18), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (18) - all Div. I programs - are the lone programs with longer such streaks.

Overall, the Scots are making their 27th appearance in the Div. III national tournament, which ranks third all-time. Longtime nemesis Wittenberg University is making its co-leading 28th appearance, while the University of Scranton is also at 28 all-time trips to the national field.

Wooster enters play this week with a 34-27 all-time record in the Div. III national tournament. The Scots have advanced as far as the national championship game (2011) and were national semifinalists in 2003 and 2007. Last year, Wooster dropped its first-round game to North Central College 77-72, but did advance to the sectional final (Elite Eight) two years ago.

Wooster and Illinois Wesleyan have met twice before in the NCAA Tournament with both games taking place during the sectional semifinal (Sweet 16). In 2004, the Scots topped the Titans 58-53 before falling to the Blue Streaks 70-64 - a John Carroll team that featured current first-year head coach Pete Moran as the starting point guard. The Titans bested the Scots 69-67 in the 2012 sectional semifinal. In that game, Wooster dug out of a 17-point deficit early in the second half and had three late possessions when it could have taken the lead for the first time all game, but a jumper by the Titans' Eliud Gonzalez broke a 67-67 tie with :18 remaining and held up as the game-winner. Illinois Wesleyan went on to dispatch Wittenberg 70-49 in the sectional final at Timken Gymnasium before  falling to Cabrini College 81-78 in the national semifinal. Overall, the Titans are 2-1 against the Scots.

"Illinois Wesleyan plays in a tough conference," said Moore. "We know that conference well with playing North Central last year in the NCAA Tournament. We've played Illinois Wesleyan over the years and know they're very good. We'll have to be ready to go."

Wooster is 22-7 all-time against John Carroll and 4-0 against Thomas More. Wooster and John Carroll last met on the first night of the 2012 E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic with the Scots topping the Blue Streaks 81-67. In NCAA Tournament action, John Carroll is 3-2 all-time against Wooster with the Scots' two wins coming in years the Black & Gold advanced to the national semifinals. Most recently, Tom Port and Tim Vandervaart scored 16 points each during an 83-73 win in the 2007 sectional semifinal at Pittsford, N.Y., and prior to that, Wooster edged out John Carroll 77-75 in a 2003 second-round game at Timken Gymnasium.

"It's a very good thing for our fans playing close to home, and the less missed class time is a positive," added Moore.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets prices are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, students, and children. Children under two-years-old are admitted free of charge. Ticket sales will begin 90 minutes (4:00 p.m.) prior to Friday's first game.

MEDIA COVERAGE: Media coverage information will be posted when available.

GAME NOTES: Wooster's game notes will be available on Wednesday afternoon.