NCAA Tournament Preview: UMHB men’s basketball faces UW-Stevens Point in Friday’s opening round

ASC Tournament photo courtesy of HSU Athletics

UMHB vs. UW-Stevens Point

When: Friday, 4:50 p.m. CT

Where: Gus Young Court / St. Peter, Minnesota

Records: UMHB (20-7), UW-Stevens Point (19-7)

Series: UWSP leads 1-0. The Pointers played UMHB in Belton during the 1998-99 season, when UWSP picked up a 76-51 win over the Crusaders, who were brand-new members of Division III at the time. 

Watch: NCAA.com 

It is NCAA Tournament time for UMHB men’s basketball, who is back in the 64-team field for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The Cru begins its run on Friday in the upper Midwest, playing at the Gustavus Adolphus Regional about 70 miles southwest of Minneapolis. It marks the first time since the 2008 tournament appearance that the Crusaders will play their first round game outside of Texas, as their previous six first round games all came in Belton. 

UMHB matches up with UW-Stevens Point in an ASC/WIAC clash, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s second round against the winner of Bethany Lutheran and Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus is ranked No. 7 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, and is the No. 12 overall seed in the tournament. 

The Cru is 4-0 on a neutral court this season, and will look to carry over its momentum from last weekend’s victories at the ASC Tournament. UMHB comes in with a three-game win streak and has won its last two games against the WIAC, with victories over UW-Stout (2023) and UW-Platteville (2019). 

It goes without saying that this is the biggest stage of the season for Sam Patterson’s squad, who is 20-7 and has faced one of the strongest schedules in the country in 2025-26. UMHB played seven games against NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season, picking up wins over Whitworth, Belhaven, and Redlands. Now comes another major test in UWSP, who is the 20th overall seed and a No. 6 seed in the Mary Washington quadrant of the bracket. UMHB enters as the No. 36 overall seed, and an 11-seed in the quadrant. 

But while the seeds may favor UWSP, everything points to this being a 50-50 game. The two squads are separated by just four spots in offensive efficiency (both ranking in the Top 25), nine spots in adjusted efficiency margin (both ranking in the Top 50), and have nearly identical overall records. D3Datacast.com has UWSP as the favorite by just one point, and highlighted this matchup as part of their First Round picks slate on Tuesday’s show. All signs point towards a thriller in St. Peter, with the season on the line and a trip to the second round at stake. 

Projected Starters

About The Cru: 5 things to Know

Watch out for the second half: UMHB’s second half performances have emerged as a recurring storyline from the start of the 2025-26 campaign, with the Crusaders storming back over the final 20 minutes of a number of key matchups this season, including double-digit comebacks in wins over Whitworth, Redlands, and Hardin-Simmons. In Saturday’s ASC final, UMHB trailed 27-10 early before outscoring HSU, 57-37, in the second half of a 90-81 conference title-clinching victory. The Cru has scored 50-plus points in the second half nine times this season. 

Been here before: UMHB last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, reaching the Sweet 16 with wins over Schreiner and ETBU. Senior wing Zachary Engels is the lone Crusader on the current roster to have seen minutes for UMHB during that run, playing a total of 22 minutes in those three games. However, Hudson Johnson and Connor Zamiara were also on the roster that season as freshmen. While head coach Sam Patterson is in his first year in Belton, he has no shortage of tournament experience from his time on staff at Baylor and Oral Roberts, coaching in 21 Division I tournament games. Baylor and ORU were a combined 13-8 in those 21 games, which included ORU’s Cinderella run to the 2023 Sweet 16. 

Dominance on the glass: UMHB ranks No. 2 in the nation in rebounds per game, averaging 46.0 per contest. It has been a team effort for a squad that doesn’t have a player in its main rotation standing above 6-foot-6, as Engels (7.9 RPG), Zamiara (6.5), Grant Jessen (5.7), and Donta Coady (5.6) have each contributed significantly. The rebounding prowess has paid dividends for UMHB, especially on the offensive end with The Cru averaging 15.6 second-chance points per game. That average is the second-most amongst NCAA Tournament teams. 

Pushing the pace: Amongst the key traits to UMHB’s style of play is the up-tempo nature at which the Crusaders move down the floor upon taking possession. Unafraid to get out and run ahead of the retreating defense, The Cru’s speed in the open court has produced an average of 18.2 fast-break points per game, the 13th-most in Division III and the fifth-most when counting only NCAA Tournament teams. UMHB tallied 25 fast-break points in Saturday’s win over HSU, and over the last four games, has averaged 19.3 PPG on fast-breaks. 

The ASC’s best: UMHB won an American Southwest Conference Tournament championship for the fourth time in program history in Abilene Saturday night, defeating rival HSU for the second time this season. It was quite a run for The Cru through ASC play, as UMHB went 5-1 en route to a regular season title before claiming the tournament title a week later, proving the doubters wrong after being picked to finish third in the conference in the league’s October preseason poll. The individual honors have followed as well, with senior guard Hudson Johnson named ASC Player of the Year, and senior guard Elijah Lawrence selected as ASC Newcomer of the Year. Engels and Johnson were also named First Team All-ASC. 

About the Pointers: 5 things to know

Getting back into the national spotlight: UWSP is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018, snapping a drought of six straight seasons without playing in March. It’s been a little while, but the Pointers remain one of Division III’s legenary programs, a four-time national champion that has played in 15 NCAA Tournaments since 1997 (this season will be No. 16). UWSP’s last national title came in 2010, when the Pointers took down Williams in the championship game. 

An efficient shooting squad: UWSP ranks 19th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, and wrapped up in that metric is the Pointers’ consistency in shooting the ball. Coming into the tournament, UWSP has shot 45.0% or better from the field in five of its last six contests, including a 60.7% mark in the Feb. 14 win over UW-La Crosse, the No. 13 overall seed in the national tournament. UWSP’s true shooting percentage of 58.3% (per CBB Analytics) ranks 21st in the country. 

Butler is the name to know: Junior guard Josiah Butler leads the way for UWSP’s scoring attack, averaging 18.6 PPG. The Appleton, Wisconsin native has scored 20-plus points in five of his last six games, including a 28-point performance in a win over eventual WIAC champion UW-Whitewater at the end of the regular season. Bulter, who wears #4 for the Pointers, is averaging a team-high 35.0 minutes per game. 

Combs a steady presence in the backcourt: UMHB’s defense will key in on Butler from a scoring standpoint, but point guard Carter Combs is a force in his own right for UWSP on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he has helped UWSP’s highly-rated offense average just 10.1 turnovers per game, posting a 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio with 83 assists this season. On the defensive end, Combs has a team-high 30 steals and played his way onto the WIAC’s All-Defensive team, which was released Wednesday. The sophomore is also UWSP’s top rebounder, averaging 5.9 boards per contest. 

Success against tournament teams: UWSP has faced five NCAA Tournament teams over the course of this season, and picked up at least one win over all five. The Pointers knocked off Bethany Lutheran and Trinity (TX) in non-conference play before beating UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Platteville in WIAC play. UWSP also has wins over UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh, who were both ranked in the Top 25 at the time of the game. 

Numbers of Note

7 — games this season played out of the state of Texas by UMHB, with The Cru posting a 6-1 record in those contests. Minnesota will be the fifth state UMHB has played in during its 2025-26 campaign, joining Washington, Louisiana, Nevada, and Virginia. 

9 — NCAA Tournament appearances for UMHB, including this season’s run to March. The Cru first reached the tournament in 2007, before earning the program’s first NCAAT win a year later on March 7, 2008, defeating Fontbonne, 65-62. 

337 — spots of difference in adjusted tempo between UMHB and UW-Stevens Point per D3Datacast.com. The Cru ranks in the Top 50 nationally in tempo while the Pointers rank in the bottom 50, which should provide for an intriguing clash of playing styles in Friday’s matchup. 

Follow True To The Cru on X and Facebook (@TrueToTheCru) for game updates throughout Friday’s contest. To check out the complete 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament bracket, click here.