Ithaca Men's Basketball To Open NCAA Playoffs Against Host Staten Island
ITHACA’S INVITATION: The Ithaca men’s basketball team (14-13) earned the Empire 8 automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III playoffs. The Bombers will travel to a four-team regional on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3. Ithaca will face host College of Staten Island (24-4) in the semifinals on Friday with the winner to face the winner of the semifinal between Rhode Island College (22-6) and Salem State (20-7). The final will be played Saturday.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for students (with an ID), senior citizens and children under the age of 12.
ITHACA vs. REGIONAL FIELD: The Bombers have never faced CSI or Rhode Island College. Salem State owns a 1-0 series record over the Bombers with an 88-66 victory in the 1966-67 season.
ITHACA vs. 2012 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: Ithaca has faced three NCAA playoff teams this season, going 2-3. The Bombers accounted for two of Hartwick’s three losses this season, including a 79-67 upset victory in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament semifinals. Ithaca defeated the Hawks, 73-71, on Jan. 13 before falling to the conference opponent, 78-75, on Jan. 28. Ithaca opened the 2011-12 campaign with a 92-67 setback at Hobart before dropping a 74-71 decision at Oswego.
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are making their 11th appearance in the NCAA playoffs, including their fourth under head coach Jim Mullins. Ithaca is 3-14 in NCAA playoff competition. Ithaca returns to the postseason for the third time in four years. The Bombers hosted MIT in 2011 suffering an 82-78 setback to the Engineers.
THE 2012 PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 62-team, single-elimination tournament that includes 42 winners of conferences whose champions earn automatic qualification (including Empire 8 champion Ithaca, CUNY champion CSI and MASCAC champion Salem State) and 20 teams that did not win their conference title but received at-large bids, including Rhode Island College. The first round of competition begins Thursday, with four teams playing. The winners of those two games will meet the two teams that received first-round byes on Saturday. The remaining 56 teams will play at 14 host institutions, with the first round to be held Friday and the second Saturday. Following this week’s regional round, four schools will host four-team sectionals, to be held March 9-10. The four sectional winners advance to the semifinals and final, March 16 and 17. All games except the semifinals and final will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The final will be conducted at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
ITHACA LEADERS: The Bombers are led by two-time Empire 8 first-team selection junior Sean Rossi. Rossi leads the nation in assists with 9.3 per contest and ranks 13th on both the NCAA Division III season assists list with 252 and on the career assists list with 736. Rossi, who has four double-doubles on the season and 18 over the course of his career, adds 9.5 points and 3.6 boards per game. Three are averaging double digits for Ithaca. An All-Empire 8 second-team selection, sophomore Frank Mitchell has a team-leading 16.3 points per game, while junior Andrei Oztemel chips in 13.2 points per game and senior Jordan Marcus 11.9. Mitchell leads the Blue & Gold with 7.2 rebounds a game and team-highs of 32 steals and 21 blocks. Oztemel and Marcus combine for 139 of the Bombers’ 246 three-pointers this season. Ithaca is averaging 74.5 points and 33.4 rebounds per game.
Full bracket (pdf)