2019-20 Men's Basketball Notebook - Week 19

LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS: All games of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship will have Live Video (pay-per-view) and Live Stats for fans unable to travel to South Dakota. Live Video can be purchased through the NAIA Stretch Internet Portal ($9.95 per day or $34.95 for an all-tournament pass), with Live Stats available through the NAIA Dakstats Portal. No radio broadcast to the Treasure Valley will be provided.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
WATCH PARTY: Stewart's Bar and Grill (2805 Blaine Street – Caldwell) will be holding a watch party for the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday evening. Seating is first-come, first-serve, so make sure to arrive early to watch the Coyotes.
 
TRAVEL / TICKET INFORMATION: The Coyotes traveled Sunday afternoon to Sioux Falls via Delta Airlines through Salt Lake City and arrived Sunday evening, with the team staying at the Hilton Garden Inn South (5300 South Grand Circle, Sioux Falls, S.D., 57108; (605) 444-4503). Ticket prices per session are $16,00 for adults, $11.00 for seniors and $6.00 for students, with an all-tournament pass available for $99.00 – tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster or on-site at the Sanford Pentagon ticket office.
 
IN THE POSTSEASON: The Coyotes secured their 22nd-straight season with a postseason berth and the 37th playoff appearance in 38 years in 2019-20. C of I has an 88-52 all-time playoff record, including a 35-17 mark in the CCC Championships. The Coyotes are making their fourth-straight trip to the NAIA Championships, having advanced to 23 NAIA National Tournaments. Including two-straight trips to the NAIA semifinals. C of I has played 60 all-time postseason games at home (between Kirkpatrick Gym, O'Connor Fieldhouse and the Activities Center), posting a 51-9 all-time record.
 
ALL-TIME AT NATIONALS: With the Cascade Conference regular-season title, the Yotes clinched an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship. It is the Coyotes 15th trip to the NAIA Division II Championships, having posted a 20-13 record in the tournament – including trips to the quarterfinals in 1993, 2001 and 2015, semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019, and winning the 1996 NAIA title. C of I also made eight trips to the NAIA National Championships prior to the creation of two divisions in 1992 – going 5-8 – including trips to the national quarterfinals in 1988 and 1989.
 
FINAL YEAR IN SIOUX FALLS: For the third-straight year, the NAIA Division II National Championship will originate from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The 3,200-seat venue is the home of the NBA G-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce and features a parquet floor, a throwback scoreboard and houses the South Dakota High School Basketball Museum. It is the third of a three-year contract between the NAIA and Sioux Falls, before the association combines the NAIA Division I and II into one division in 2020-21 – with 16 four-team Opening Round sites across the nation culminating with a 16-team National Championship in Kansas City, Mo.
 
32 TEAMS IN THE BRACKET:, In the 32-team tournament, 24 teams earned automatic bids (Antelope Valley (Calif.) – Cal Pac champ; College of Idaho – Cascade champ; College of the Ozarks (Mo.), Association of Independent Institutions runner-up; Concordia (Neb.) – Great Plains Athletic Conference champ; Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) – AII third-place team; Holy Cross (Ind.) – Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season runner-up; Indiana East – River States Conference tournament champ; Indiana South Bend – CCAC tournament champ; Indiana Tech – Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference regular-season champ; Indiana Wesleyan – Crossroads League champ; Keiser (Fla.) – Sun Conference regular-season runner-up; Lincoln (Ill.) – AII tournament champ; Madonna (Mich.) – WHAC tournament champ; Marian (Ind.) – Crossroads runner-up; Mayville State (N.D.) – North Star tournament champion; Montreat (N.C.) – Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season runner-up; Morningside (Iowa) – GPAC regular-season champion; Oklahoma Wesleyan – Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament champion; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) – CCAC regular-season champ; Ottawa (Kan.) – KCAC regular-season champ; Southeastern (Fla.) – Sun regular-season champ; Southern Oregon – CCC regular-season runner-up; Union (Ky.) – AAC regular-season champ; West Virginia Tech – RSC regular-season champ), seven teams earned at-large bids through the final Top-25 poll (Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Grace (Ind.), Indiana Kokomo, Oregon Tech, St. Francis (Ind.), Spring Arbor (Mich.), Washington Adventist (Md.)), and one team, Northwestern (Iowa), received a host bid.
 
AGAINST THE FIELD / AGAINST THE TOP-25: The Coyotes have played 11 of the 31 other teams in the tournament, combining for a 118-75 all-time record. Outside of CCC rivals Oregon Tech (55-43) and Southern Oregon (56-25), the Yotes have a winning record against Dakota Wesleyan (3-2), Olivet Nazarene (1-0), Mayville State (1-0), Morningside (1-0) and Marian (1-0), with a losing mark against Northwestern (0-2), Union (0-1), College of the Ozarks (0-1) and St. Francis (0-1). C of I has played seven games this season against Top-25 opponents – going a combined 5-2, winning twice against Top-10 Southern Oregon and three times against Top-10 Oregon Tech. Two of the Coyotes three losses were at the hands of Top-25 NAIA Division I foes – No. 7 Lewis-Clark State and No. 20 The Masters.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWESTERN: C of I drew quite possibly the toughest No. 32-seed in the history of the tournament – meeting host Northwestern College of Orange City, Iowa. The Red Raiders (20-11) enter the tournament on a 3-game losing streak, including a quarterfinal loss in the Great Plains Athletic Conference tourney to eventual champion Concordia (Neb.). The two-time NAIA national champions are making their 19th tournament appearance – paced by All-GPAC guard Trent Hilbrands (17.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg) – part of a team that makes 11 3-pointers per game and average 85 points a night. Guard Jay Small (14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg) earned second-team All-GPAC honors, with the tandem of forwards Craig Sterk (14.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Grant Rohrer (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) tough match-ups on the inside. The Red Raiders averages three more rebounds than their opponents – but commit two more turnovers a game than their foes. The two teams have met twice in the NAIA Championships – as C of I lost an 88-79 decision in the 2001 quarterfinals and a 99-77 decision in the first-round of the 2007 tourney.
 
VS. IOWA SCHOOLS / GPAC SCHOOLS: Northwestern is one of three Iowa school C of Is has faced in program history—earning a win over Graceland in 1994, defeating Morningside in last season's NAIA quarterfinals, while losing games to Northwestern in the 2001 and 2007 NAIA Championships. The Yotes are 4-5 all-time against teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference - recording a 3-2 mark vs. Dakota Wesleyan, the 0-2 record vs. Northwestern, a 1-0 record over Morningside and a 0-1 mark vs. Jamestown.
 
AGAINST THE HOST SCHOOL: It marks the third time the Coyotes have played a school at the NAIA Championships within a 100-miles of the venue – with C of I posting a 1-1 record. In 2014, the squad earned the No. 2 overall seed and drew host College of the Ozarks in Branson, with C of O earning an 88-84 win. In 2018, C of I faced Dakota Wesleyan from Mitchell, S.D., in the second-round of the tournament in Sioux Falls – with a Roosevelt Adams 3-pointer with 11 seconds left lifting the Yotes to a 62-60 win in front of a sellout crowd in the Pentagon.
 
IF THE YOTES WIN: A win would push the Coyotes into a second-round game on Friday against the winner of Madonna (Mich.) or IU-Kokomo (Ind.) at Noon (CDT). Madonna, the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament champion, is making just their third tournament appearance and searching for their first tourney win. The Crusaders (25-8) are paced by the high-scoring tandem of Dwight Burton (23.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Joshua Reynolds (19.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg). IU-Kokomo, an at-large selection from the River States Conference, dropped a 70-65 decision to IU-East in the RSC title game. The Cougars (26-7) are led by guards Akil McClain (15.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Trequan Spivey (15.3 ppg, 3.0 apg), along with big-man Desean Hampton (11.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg).
 
WIN STREAKING: Tuesday's win over Oregon Tech in the CCC title game was the Coyotes 24th win in a row – extending a new school record – as the squad has surpassed the previous mark of 18-consecutive wins by the 1954-55 C of I squad led by Elgin Baylor and R.C. Owens. The 24-straight wins is the longest current win streak in the NAIA and the third longest in college basketball – trailing only Division II Lincoln Memorial (32) and Division III Yeshiva (29). The Coyotes will start next season with a 10-game road win streak – the longest in program history – ahead of the 8-game streaks the team compiled during both the 1954-55 and 2003-04 seasons. The 24-game win streak is the longest in CCC history, ahead of a 22-game win streak by OIT in 2002-03 and a 20-game win streak by OIT in 1996-97.
 
PERFECTION: The Coyotes became the first Cascade Conference team in the 27-year history of the circuit to complete an unbeaten conference season – finishing a perfect 20-0. Prior to the season, only two teams finished with a one-loss record (the 1995-96 C of I team ended 13-1 and the 2001-02 Evergreen team posted a 17-1 mark). To complete an unbeaten conference season is rare in Northwest college basketball – as no Frontier Conference or Pac-12 team has achieved the mark in the last 20 years (the last Pac-12 team to finish unbeaten was UCLA in 1978) and Great Northwest Athletic Conference or Mountain West Conference team has ever finished with an unbeaten record. Since 2000 – only Weber State (2003), Gonzaga (2004, 2009, 2019), Puget Sound (2009), Whitworth (2010) and Whitman (2017, 2018, 2019) have completed perfect conference schedules. The school record for consecutive league wins is 23 – beginning Feb. 26, 1954 and ending Jan. 16, 1956 in a triple overtime loss at Pacific – when the Yotes were a part of the Northwest Conference, which ranks as the third-longest streak in the 95-year history of the NWC.
 
YOTES START AND FINISH THE DIVISION II AT #1: On Oct. 11, 1991, C of I became the very first NAIA Division II No. 1 ranked men's basketball team after the association split into two divisions prior to the start of the 1991-92 campaign. Last Wednesday, the Yotes were ranked No. 1 for the third-straight week and will close the NAIA Division II as the unanimous No. 1 in the land. C of I extended their mark to 21-straight weeks in the Top-10 and the 28th-straight week ranked in the Top-25.
 
ALL-TIME CCC TITLES: With their win over Evergreen on Feb. 13, the Coyotes clinched the Cascade Conference regular-season title – their sixth all-time CCC title and their ninth all-time conference championship. The 2020 C of I team joins the 1996, 2004, 2014, 2015 and 2018 teams to win the CCC regular-season crown, with the 1947, 1955 and 1956 teams claiming Northwest Conference titles. In addition, the Yotes have won 16 conference or district tournament titles (1960, 1962, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019).
 
BEST STARTS BY A C OF I TEAM: The Yotes head into the NAIA Championships with a 30-3 record – equaling the best 33-game start in program history and marking the second time in program history that a C of I team has recorded 30 wins in their first 33 games. C of I joins the 1995-96 national championship team at 30-3, a squad that finished the season with a school-record 31-3 mark – including a 7-0 run through the postseason.
 
30-WIN SEASONS: With C of I's win March 3 vs. Oregon Tech, the team secured their third-straight 30-win season and the fourth they've surpassed 30 wins in a season (1996, 2018, 2019, 2020). The Coyotes have recorded 26 all-time 20-win seasons and 12 25-win seasons.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Coyotes have posted a 110-12 record inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center – including a record-setting 18-1 home mark this season (most wins ever at home in a season) and a 37-game win streak from 2013-15. Since the JAAC opened in 1991, the Yotes are 326-95 all-time in the arena and have posted a 442-104 in home games since 1981-82 (including a 56-game home win streak in the 1980s). C of I closed the regular-season averaging 1,461 fans a game over a 16-game schedule that led the Cascade Conference in attendance – ahead of Oregon Tech (1,183), Southern Oregon (645) and Northwest (460) - and ranks second in the NAIA behind Dakota Wesleyan (2,131). The Yotes rank ahead of 107 NCAA Division I programs in attendance – and would be No. 3 in attendance in the Ivy League, Northeast Conference, Patriot League and Southland Conference, ranking No. 5 in the Big Sky (ahead of both Idaho State – 1,246 and Idaho – 1,021). C of I ranking ahead of 291 of the 309 Division II schools (ahead of all Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams – and double the attendance of rival Northwest Nazarene - 669) and ahead of 418 of 419 Division III schools (ahead of Whitworth (840) and Whitman (590)).
 
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: The Coyotes became the second CCC team to win three consecutive league tournament titles, dispatching Oregon Tech, 82-77, in the championship game. C of I extended their league record for tourney titles to nine – winning the crown in 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
 
PINCKNEY REPEATS AT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Guard Talon Pinckney became just the third player in CCC history to win back-to-back CCC Defensive Player of the Year honors, as the all-league teams were announced last Wednesday. The senior joins former Yote, Bryan Champ (2007, 2008) and Warner Pacific forward Kaylone Riley (2009, 2010) as the only CCC players to win two Defensive Player of the Week awards. Pinckney leads all CCC players with 65 steals and is coming off a season-high 23 points in the conference title game vs. Oregon Tech. It marks the fourth-straight season a C of I player has earned the top defensive award in the circuit – joining Emanuel Morgan in 2017 and Aziz Leeks in 2018. He was also recognized as a first-team All-CCC pick for the second-straight year.
 
BLAINE EARNS COACH OF THE YEAR: The top single-season effort within the CCC netted C of I head coach Colby Blaine CCC Coach of the Year honors. Blaine becomes the fourth skipper to earn the top CCC award – joining Marty Holly (1995), Mark Owen (2004) and Scott Garson (2014, 2018) – and takes a 61-9 all-time record to the NAIA Championships.
 
OTHER ALL-CCC PICKS: Nate Bruneel was honored as a first-team selection – the third year he has been named to the CCC team. The guard led the Yotes in scoring (13.6 ppg), connecting on 61 3-point baskets on the year. Both Ivory Miles-Williams and Jake Bruner were named honorable mention selections – Miles-Williams serving as C of I's sixth-man, averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, with Bruner averaging seven points and five rebounds per game as the Yotes inspirational leader. Oregon Tech's Mitchell Fink earned Player of the Year honors with Walla Walla's Kiandre Gaddy earning Newcomer of the Year honors.
 
OVER 100 WINS: Two Coyotes have surpassed the 100-win mark during their playing career – establishing a new record with every C of I win. With last Tuesday's win, Jake Bruner improved to 109-24 in a Coyote uniform, with Talon Pinckney right behind him with a 108-23 mark. Bruner is just two games played away from surpassing Emanuel Morgan's school record of 134 all-time games played, set from 2013-16.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Defense has been the calling card for the 2019-20 Coyotes, as C of I leads the NAIA Division II in defensive field goal percentage (.394), ranks No. 3 in scoring defense (66.3) and No. 7 in rebound margin (+8.5). The Yotes have held 7-straight opponents under 37-percent shooting from 3-point range, a combined 31-for-127 effort (.244) – with teams averaging just 62 points per game. C of I has held foes under 40-percent shooting 20 times this season, while teams have made 50-percent of their field goals against the Yotes just twice.
 
UNDER 60 / OVER 95 EQUALS WINS: C of I currently has a 47-game win streak in games where opponents fail to reach 60 points – and a dominating 204-12 mark in such games over the last 40 years. During the same stretch, the Coyotes are 57-2 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 47 of their last 48 contests (dating back to 2006) when scoring 95 points in a game.
 
SPEAKING OF 3-POINTERS: Since college basketball adopted the 3-point line at the start of the 1986-87 season, the Coyotes have made a 3-pointer in every game but one – a loss to Idaho State during the U.S. Bank Tip-Off Tournament at Boise State on Dec. 2, 1988. Since then, C of I has run a string of games with a trey to 1,037– one of five programs (UNLV – 1,103, CCC rival, Corban – 1,090, Duke – 1,090, Arkansas – 1,043 and Western Kentucky – 1,041) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,030-or-more straight games.
 
RECORD BOOK: Four Yotes are ranked among the Top-60 in the career book, paced by Talon Pinckney, who sits at No. 3 in assists (555), steals (245) and in games played (131), No. 4 in games started (98), No. 7 in field goal attempts (1,120), No. 8 in field goals made (491), No. 9 in points scored (1,357), No. 18 in 3-point attempts (343), No. 20 in free throws made (254), No. 21 in free throw attempts (329), No. 24 in 3-pointers made (117), No. 37 in blocked shots (28) and No. 58 in rebounds (372). Nate Bruneel is No. 2 in games started (104), No. 5 in 3-pointers made (184), No. 7 in 3-point attempts (432), No. 11 in points scored (1,318), No. 15 in field goals made (442), No. 16 in field goal attempts (935), No. 20 in free throw attempts (346), No. 21 in free throws made (250) and in games played (104), No. 34 in both rebounds (479) and No. 30 in blocked shots (36); Connor Desaulniers is No. 10 in blocked shots (76) and No. 33 in rebounds (449\52); with Jake Bruner No. 2 in games played (133), No. 11 in games started (81), No. 21 in blocked shots (43) and No. 22 in rebounds (512); Ricardo Time is No. 41 in 3-pointers made (75) and Derek Wadsworth is No. 55 in 3-pointers made (54). Desaulniers has cracked the single-season Top-35 – ranking No. 12 in blocked shots (42), with Pinckney No. 20 in steals (65) and No. 24 in assists (127) and Time No. 20 in 3-pointers made (75).