National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 3, 1997

Division II

Tigers strong choice to win again

Event: 1997 Division II Men's Basketball Championship.

Overview: In only its second trip to the NCAA Division II tournament, Fort Hays State marched all the way to the championship last year. The Tigers began the 1996-97 season on the same roll, winning their first 15 games before losing at Nebraska-Kearney. Fort Hays State reclaimed its No. 1 ranking soon after and compiled a 23-1 record through late February. Coach Gary Garner's squad leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense (35.4 percent). The Tigers also lead the country in scoring defense (57.1 points per game) and winning percentage. Senior Alonzo Goldston, who become the Tigers' career leading scorer earlier this season, leads the team with 16.8 points and 9.3 rebounds a contest ... With the exception of a play-in game, West Georgia hasn't been to the tournament since 1987, but the Braves are poised to return under fourth-year head coach Ed Murphy. The Braves, at 20-4, have been ranked as high as third in the national poll. Senior guard Mantevius Jackson, who leads West Georgia with 18.0 points a game, potentially could meet his twin brother, Mantavius, in a regional game against Clark Atlanta. Braves senior forward Shawn Jackson leads the Gulf South Conference in rebounding with 11.0 boards per game ...Cal State Bakersfield, a quarterfinalist last year, and Northern Kentucky, runner-up to Fort Hays State, also are contenders.

Field: Forty-eight teams. Six qualifiers in each of eight regions will play to determine the quarterfinalists that will advance to the Elite Eight. Twenty-two conferences have been granted automatic qualification. The remaining teams will be selected at large.

Dates and sites: Regional tournaments will be March 6-8 or 7-9 at on-campus sites. The Elite Eight will be March 19-20 and 22 at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Television coverage: The championship game will be broadcast at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern time) March 22 on CBS.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1244 for the bracket/schedule, 5056 for quarterfinal results, 5057 for semifinal box scores and 5058 for championship-game results. Game scores and pairings also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Regional scores will appear in the March 17 issue of The NCAA News. Elite Eight results will be in the March 31 issue of the News.

Championship note: Fort Hays State won 49 straight games before it lost.