By: Tyler Scott, SOU Sports Information Director
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – A first-round upset gave 18th-ranked Southern Oregon a second-round matchup against host College of the Ozarks on Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST at the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships.
Southern Oregon clinched its program-record 25th win during a first-round matchup on Wednesday, upsetting 14th-seeded Madonna 83-66 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for only the second time in team history. The Raiders, 25-9 this season, advanced to the Elite Eight in 2005 before falling to Cedarville.
Friday's game will be live-streamed online through the NAIA website for a fee, with live stats also available for the game. Links to both can be found on the SOU Athletics site. For fans in the Rogue Valley, Red Zone Sports Bar and Grill will be showing the game beginning at 5:30 p.m. local time.
College of the Ozarks comes into the game with a 22-12 record. The Bobcats tied for fifth in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference with an 8-9 league mark and earned the biggest upset of the tournament so far by knocking off third-seeded Northwood 57-49 on Wednesday.
Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) led the way for the Raiders in their first-round win, racking up 30 points and nine rebounds while sinking five three-pointers.
Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) added 20 points to surpass 500 for the season and give SOU two 500-point scorers (along with Thompson) for the first time in team history.
Southern Oregon boasts one of the top offenses in the nation, ranked fourth in overall shooting percentage (.494) and sixth in three-point percentage (.389), 10th in assists (16.6 per game) and 18th in scoring (80.1). The Raiders rank 14th in three-point defense (.306) and 29th in overall shooting defense (.415) while ranking 28th in rebounding margin (+3.5).
College of the Ozarks boasts the top scorer in the NAIA this season. Mike Wiebe has scored a Div. II-leading 759 total points and ranks second in per-game scoring (23) to lead a Bobcat team that averages 76.2 points per game. The Bobcats rank 12th in the nation in shooting percentage (.482) and 25th in shooting percentage defense (.412). Nathane Simniok leads the team in rebounding (8.5), steals (1.3) and blocks (1.2).
The winner of Friday's contest will advance to an Elite Eight matchup on Saturday at 5 p.m., taking on either 6th-seeded Saint Xavier or 11th-seeded Indiana Wesleyan.