NSU Sharks advance to men's basketball Division-II Final Four
The Sharks are on another streak.
Nova Southeastern University's men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four with a 102-93 win over the eighth-seeded Assumption Greyhounds at Evansville, Indiana.
It was NSU's 21st consecutive victory, the longest active win streak in Division II. The Sharks (34-1) are also the top seed in the Elite Eight tournament, with all games held at the Ford Center in Evansville.
Earlier this month, the Sharks broke the all-time Division II home-winning-streak record of 80, set by Jefferson (Pennsylvania) from 1991 to 1995.
That streak will remain intact at 84 games – at least until the start of next season.
The overall streak will be tested on Thursday as the Sharks will be challenged by fourth-seeded Washburn (30-3) in the national semifinals. The Ichabods, located in Topeka, Kansas, defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 90-78 late Tuesday night.
Tip-off for Thursday is set for 9:30 p.m. (EST). The final is on Saturday at 3 p.m. on CBS.
NSU on Thursday will be playing in its third straight Final Four after the Sharks won the national title for the first time in program history in 2023 and finished second last year.
Elsewhere in the Elite Eight round, second-seeded West Liberty – NSU coach Jim Crutchfield's former team – was upset 86-84 by seventh-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills.
In Tuesday's game, NSU led Assumption 56-36 at halftime.
The Sharks stretched their lead to 25 points early in the second half before the Greyhounds (22-10) cut their deficit to eight points with 11:18 left in the game.
But the Greyhounds never got closer than seven points, and even that margin came with just 32 seconds left in the game.
Tyler Eberhart led NSU with 24 points. Dallas Graziani and MJ Iraldi scored 22 points each; and Ryker Cisarik added 20 points.
Iraldi was named a NABC All-American earlier on Tuesday.
Graziani, who was named to the NABC's All-South Region team, also had a game-high nine assists on Tuesday. And, despite standing just 5-foot-8, he tied Iraldi for a game-high eight rebounds.
Both teams made 35 field goals, and Assumption converted on 14 3-pointers as opposed to just eight for NSU. But the Sharks won the game at the foul line, making 24-of-35 (68.6 percent). Assumption made just 9-of-18 from the foul line.
NSU also outscored Assumption in the paint, 52-42.
Crutchfield, who earlier on Tuesday was named the NABC South Region Coach of the Year, is competing in his 10th Elite Eight, including his fifth with NSU.
'That number stuns me a bit,' Crutchfield said of his 10 trips to the Elite Eight. 'It's hard to get here.
'You have to win a regional championship. One game goes wrong -- you have a bad day – and you don't get here.
'One thing that never changes is that it's exciting. Playing for a national championship never gets old.
'When you get (to the Elite Eight), you know you will be in good games against tough competition. You play as hard as you can, and you try to enjoy the moment.'
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