2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship Final Four
Friday and Saturday
March 18-19, 2022
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Fort Wayne, Indiana
DIII Men’s Final Four Preview
March 16, 2022 by C. Jay Prescher
The Marietta College Pioneers men’s basketball team is heading for Fort Wayne, Indiana. Three other basketball teams will join the Pioneers at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum this weekend. All four are there in pursuit of the same ambition; to win the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship.
At 5:00 pm on Friday, Marietta College will tip-off against the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets. Later that evening, with an opening tip scheduled for 7:30 pm, the Elmhurst University Blue Jays will play the Wabash College Little Giants. On Saturday night, the two national semifinal winners will battle for all the marbles. The winner will be crowned the 2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Champions.
Here’s a snapshot look at each of the 2022 NCAA Division III Final Four Teams
Projected Starting Lineups – Top Reserves – Plus Some Key Team Statistics
NCAA Division III Men’s Final Four Snapshot
First, an overview of each team heading to Fort Wayne this weekend.
We’ll wrap things up with a side-by-side chart comparing each statistic and the national rank.
- “Elite 8” team victory photo
- Quick 2021-2022 season recap for each team
- Projected starters and key reserves
- Some key team statistics, including NCAA DIII rank
- 2021-2022 NCAA DIII Tournament scores
- Four fast facts about each team
- Statistics side-by-side – comparing NCAA Division III rank
Marietta College Pioneers (29-2)
The Pioneers’ bus will travel around 280 miles to get to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Early on, making this trip was one of many goals the team had. They are prepared to achieve more. Marietta was being groomed for Final Four-type games right from the first tip-off in Virginia. The Pioneers opened their season against Christopher Newport. Marietta beat the Captains, 86-83, to open the season.
Last weekend, they would ultimately eliminate the Captains in the Elite 8. However, after that opening win against CNU, the Pioneers lost their first game of 2021-2022 the following night against #15 ranked Roanoke. That game was played on the Maroons’ home court. Marietta also played two other Final Four teams during that first month of the new season. On Friday, November 19, the Pioneers defeated Wabash 99-92 in the Great Lakes Invitational.
The following night, the Pioneers played another Final Four team. It was the same Randolph-Macon team Marietta will play in the national semifinal game on Friday. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Pioneers, 82-74, at Ban Johnson Arena. Marietta will attempt to avenge that November loss. It was the only defeat for the Pioneers at home in two years. It was also the last time Marietta lost this season. They’ll hope to keep it that way.
Marietta College Pioneers Starters and Primary Reserves
Marietta College Pioneers Team Statistics
• Opening Round beat Medaille, 91-79
• Second Round beat Rochester, 88-83 OT
• Sweet 16 beat Oswego State, 89-81
• Elite 8 beat Christopher Newport, 81-79
• Marietta made the 11th most 3-point shots in DIII
• Lukas Isaly is ranked 15th in 3-point percentage
• Jason Ellis ranks 20th in Assist to Turnover ration
• Ellis has the 2nd best free throw percentage in DIII
Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets (31-1)
Randolph-Macon will have the longest trip to Fort Wayne, over 500 miles. They will travel through three states, including Ohio, to get to the Final Four. R-MC finished the shortened 2020-2021 season at 12-0. The Yellow Jackets were the season-ending de facto #1 ranked team in the country. Without an NCAA tournament last season, some felt Randolph-Macon’s final victory over #2 Trine was the best case to be made for a national championship game.
In the final 2019-2020 poll, the Yellow Jackets finished ranked #3. That is the most recent postseason reference, but the NCAA canceled the tournament during the Sweet 16 round. Randolph-Macon was set to play Yeshiva. So, across the last three seasons, albeit one cut short, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets have lost a total of three basketball games. The Pioneers will be first in line to try to hand them a fourth.
Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets Starters and Primary Reserves
Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets Team Statistics
• Opening Round beat Mitchell, 99-57
• Second Round beat Babson, 67-51
• Sweet 16 beat UMass Dartmouth, 92-69
• Elite 8 beat WPI, 76-53
• Yellow Jackets are the 2nd best defensive team DIII
• Miles Mallory ranks 37th in double-doubles with 12
• Buzz Anthony ranks 9th in Assist to Turnover ration
• Anthony ranks 13th in 3-point percentage
Elmhurst University Blue Jays (26-6)
Elmhurst University will come from the west side of Chicago, about 180 miles southeast, to Fort Wayne. Along with Marietta and Randolph-Macon, Elmhurst opened the season in the D3Hoops top-10. The Blue Jays received 313 votes, good enough for 10th. Elmhurst slid down in the polls to open up the New Year. The Blue Jays dropped three of their first four in January. Two of those losses were to nationally ranked Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan.
Elmhurst avenged two of their five conference regular season losses by defeating Wheaton and North Central in the CCIW tournament. The latter victory gave the Blue Jays an automatic NCAA bid. Elmhurst was also able to exact revenge for a December loss to Calvin, knocking the Knights out of the tournament in the Sweet 16 round. The Blue Jays are a strong team defensively. The Little Giants high-scoring offense will put them to the test.
Elmhurst University Blue Jays Starters and Primary Reserves
Elmhurst University Blue Jays Yellow Jackets Team Statistics
• Opening Round beat Washington & Jefferson, 95-70
• Second Round beat Pomona-Pitzer, 76-70
• Sweet 16 beat Calvin, 79-77
• Elite 8 beat Mary Hardin-Baylor, 87-84 OT
• Jake Rhode ranks 50th in 3-point percentage
• Rhode is 46th in most three-point attempts in DIII
• Team ranks in top-50 in eight key stat categories
• Jonathan Zapinksi wins NCAA Elite 90 award
Wabash College Little Giants (28-3)
We’re not sure if the Little Giants will take the “Hoosier Heartland Highway” to get to Fort Wayne, but they’ll spend about three hours on the road, regardless. The Wabash men’s basketball team’s journey has been an exciting one as well. Like the Marietta College Pioneers, the Little Giants opened with a tough schedule. Two of those games were at Marietta, one a 99-92 loss to the Pioneers.
After four games, Wabash was also 2-2. Less than two weeks after returning home from their visit to the Ohio River, Wabash would lose for the last time this season. Oberlin upended the Little Giants by two points in Crawfordsville. Wabash has now won 24 straight games. The Little Giants are a high-powered offense that will be difficult to stop. They’ll try to advance to Saturday against a well-seasoned, strong defensive team from Elmhurst.
Wabash College Little Giants Starters and Primary Reserves
Wabash College Little Giants Team Statistics
• Opening Round beat Berry, 91-79
• Second Round beat Emory, 87-86
• Sweet 16 beat Williams, 73-59
• Elite 8 beat Illinois Wesleyan, 81-75
• Fifth highest scoring team in men’s Division III
• Jack Davidson (25.7ppg) is 3rd in DIII in scoring
• 3rd best free throw shooting team in DIII
• 2nd best FG% 3rd best 3-point % in DIII
Final Four Side-by-Side Statistical Comparison
That’s a snapshot of each NCAA Division III Final Four team headed for Fort Wayne.
Below are these key team statistics blocked side-by-side, including the NCAA team rank.
The side-by-side statistical comparison screams of an exciting weekend. We’re expecting three trilling college basketball games at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. If you aren’t able to make the trip to the Hoosier State, pull up a seat at home and visit the NCAA DIII website to stream every game live.
What this quick statistical look says is that we’re in for a thrilling three games this weekend at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. If you aren’t able to make the trip to Indiana, grab a seat and visit the NCAA DIII website to stream every game live.
All four teams bring remarkable resumes to the Hoosier State. Each one excels in different statistical categories. In some, the team ranking is at or near the top of D3 college basketball. Everyone has earned their spot in Fort Wayne. However, only one team will celebrate on Saturday. One will return to campus a champion.
The other three should certainly be proud. Nevertheless, the goal of each is to bring back the ultimate prize in small college basketball. All four are exceptional teams. They all have the talent. From the first tip-off Friday to the final buzzer on Saturday night, we will experience three hard-fought college basketball games. In the end, the team left standing will be the one who had their “Legends Rise”.
The Word Jester is not employed by Marietta College, and is not affiliated with the Ohio Athletic Conference or D3 Hoops.com
The opinions expressed in this article are the exclusive viewpoints of the author.
They do not reflect the points of view, policies, or principles of any outside agency or organization.
