SERIES HISTORY vs. MADONNA: Friday's matchup is the second meeting between College of Idaho and Madonna. The two teams played in Caldwell last year as part of the College of Idaho Taco Bell Shootout. The Yotes won that contest by an 82-68 margin. In that game,
Johnny Radford knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to 24 points to lead College of Idaho.
Charles Elzie added 14 points and handed out five assists and
Samaje Morgan handed out 10 assists,
Tyler Robinett added 11 points and
Jake O'Neil nearly had his second-straight double double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Madonna was led by a 31 point, 17 rebound effort from Brendan Young.
YOTES vs. WHAC: Friday's contest will mark the second-straight opponent from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for College of Idaho. Last Saturday, College of Idaho defeated Cornerstone, who defeated Madonna in the WHAC Tournament Championship game, 88-73 on March 5. The two teams had split the regular-season meetings. All-time College of Idaho is 5-0 against the WHAC with two wins over Cornerstone and one each over Indiana Tech, Siena Heights and the Crusaders.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: College of Idaho is making its 26th appearance - third-consecutive year - in the NAIA National Tournament with an all-time mark of 36-22. The 26 appearances is tied for fifth among the most in the NAIA followed by Georgetown (Ky.)-42, Cumberlands-30, Oklahoma Baptist / Central Washington-27; Northwestern (Iowa)-26.
RECORD: 5-5 • STREAK: W4
Previous meetings in the NAIA Third Round:
1988* - Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 99, College of Idaho 96 (OT)
1989* - Saint Mary's (Texas) 81, College of Idaho 68
1993! - Northern State (S.D.), 88, Albertson College of Idaho 87
1996! - Albertson College of Idaho 87, Wisconsin Lutheran 79
2001! - Northwestern (Iowa) 88, Albertson College of Idaho 79
2015! - Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 88, College of Idaho 80
2018! - College of Idaho 75, Marian (Ind.) 47
2019! - College of Idaho 62, Morningside (Iowa) 59
2022* - College of Idaho 71, Grace (Ind.) 66
2023* - College of Idaho 98, LSU Shreveport 50
* - Indicates a single division
! - Indicates years competing as Division II.
BLAINE IN MARCH: Yotes head coach
Colby Blaine has posted a 19-3 record (.863) in the month of March since taking the reigns of the program in 2018-19.
30 WINS: With Saturday's win over Cornerstone, College of Idaho picked up win No. 30 on the season. With the exception of the 2020-21 season due to COVID, College of Idaho has had an unprecedented six-straight seasons with 30 wins.
PLAYERS IN THE NAIA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT:
Caden Handran (12 GP/10 GS...3.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.2 apg, 45.8 FG%)
Samaje Morgan (8 GP/2 GS...10.5 ppg, 3,1 apg)
Jake O'Neil (12 GP/8 GS....11.9 ppg, 7,9 rpg, 4 double doubles)
Johnny Radford (11 GP...7.2 ppg, 31.4 3-PT FG%)
Tyler Robinett (12 GP/12 GS...8.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 41.3 3-PT FG%)
Straton Rogers (9 GP...4.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
Paul Wilson (12 GP...4.4 rpg, 56.7 FG%)
Drew Wyman (12 GP/12 GS...11.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 10 games in double figures)
ALL-AMERICANS IN MARCH: Drew Wyman, a second team selection, is one of just four All-Americans returning to Kansas City in 2023-24. He is joined by first team selection Kaleb Lowery (First Team, The Master's), Jasden Lietzke (First Team, Oklahoma Wesleyan), Elijah Malone (Second Team, Grace). Wyman is the only Academic All-American, a second team selection, returning to Kansas City.
YOTES vs. the FIELD: College of Idaho has faced nine of the 16 remaining teams in the 64-team field with an all-time record of 61-45. The Yotes are joined in the final 16 with fellow CCC foe Lewis-Clark State, who they have an all-time mark of 54-39.
1,000-POINT PLATEAU: Jake O'Neil became the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark in the 79-51 win over Multnomah in program history. He was joined in the 1,000-point club by
Johnny Radford, who reached the mark with his second 3-pointer in the win over Walla Walla.
Drew Wyman became the third Yote with over 1,000 career points with his 13-point effort at Bushnell. It is the first time in program history that the Yotes have had three 1,000-point scorers on the roster in the same year.
Tyler Robinett is four points away from 1,000 going into Friday's matchup against Madonna.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS: All six College of Idaho fall sports teams (men's and women's cross country; men's and women's soccer; football and volleyball) secured spots in the postseason. The only other team in the NAIA with this similar feat is fellow final site participant, Indiana Wesleyan. Most recently, the College of Idaho women's cross country team became the fourth team in school history to win a national title.
