Eric Bulic

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team (23-5) is dancing in March for a NCAA Div. III record 17th consecutive season, as the Fighting Scots were among the 20 NCAA Div. III Pool C (at-large) bids awarded when the 64-team championship field was announced on Monday. Wooster was selected as one of 16 sites to host first-and second-round action on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Wooster will play Baruch College (22-5) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, with Hanover College (21-6) and Wheaton College (Ill.) (19-8) playing in Friday's first game at 5:30 p.m. Tip time for Saturday's second-round game at Timken Gymnasium is at 7 p.m.

"It's very positive news that we're going to get to host," said head coach Steve Moore. "I'm very pleased for our players that they get to play at home again, especially for our seniors, that this past Saturday ended up not being their last game in Timken Gymnasium. It's also very good for our players now that they won't have to miss classes and travel. I'm also very happy for our fans that so many of them will be able to see us play."

Wooster is hosting NCAA Tournament action at Timken Gymnasium for the 16th time, and first since 2014. The recently-renovated state-of-the-art facility has seating for just over 2,600 fans.

Overall, the Scots are making their 28th appearance in the Div. III national tournament, which is tied for second all-time. Longtime nemesis Wittenberg University is making its 29th appearance, while the University of Scranton is also at 28 all-time trips to the national field.

Wooster enters play this week with a 35-28 all-time record in the Div. III national tournament, including a 22-8 ledger at home. The Scots have advanced as far as the national championship game (2011) and were national semifinalists in 2003 and 2007. Last year, Wooster topped Illinois Wesleyan University 72-68 in the first round before bowing out to John Carroll University 91-85. The Scots last made the sectional round in 2016, advancing all the way to the national quarterfinals.

Wooster's won its only prior meeting with Baruch. That came at the Bahama House/Best Western Aku Tiki Shootout in 2010, with the Scots coming away with the 79-77 victory.

Baruch earned the City University of New York Athletic Conference's automatic bid by beating the College of Staten Island 76-74 on Friday.

Wooster and Hanover have met nine times previous, including back on Nov. 20 when the Scots traveled to Indiana and came back home with a 57-47 win in tow. Overall, the Scots are 6-3 against the Panthers.   

Hanover held off Transylvania University 76-73 on Sunday to win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Wooster's also 4-0 all-time against Wheaton, with the most recent contest taking place at the 2013 Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic. The Scots topped the Thunder in that game 77-73.

Wheaton is one of the other Pool C selections, and the Thunder play in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

TICKET INFORMATION: Adult ticket prices are $10. Tickets for senior citizens, students, and youth are $5. Children under 2-years-old are admitted free of charge. Ticket sales will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday. The College of Wooster is not having any pre-sale dates.