Men's Basketball | 3/7/2018 3:33:00 PM

WALLA WALLA, Wash.  The Whitman men's basketball program is on an historic tear that stretches three seasons and has amassed a trove of streaks, records, milestones and shattered precedent, all because of its canny capacity to remain riveted to the moment.

This approach, crystallized in the team's "one-game schedule" mantra, precludes dreaming on the future or dwelling on the past. That's how the top-ranked Blues (28-1) are approaching their NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament sectional semifinal against 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday in Platteville, Wis.

"All of our focus is on this game," Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland said. "The only game we're thinking about is Wisconsin-Stevens Point."

Not what may lie ahead -- the winners of this game and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville/Nebraska Wesleyan winner face off on Saturday for a berth in the national semifinals -- nor what has already come to pass.

Whitman played UW-Stevens Point in a marquee matchup at the eighth annual D3hoops.com Classic on Dec. 29, 2017 in Las Vegas, beating the Pointers 77-64. The Blues dictated tempo throughout, taking a 17-point lead into halftime. They led by as many as 24 points and never by fewer than 11 in the second half, despite shooting poorly from the 3-point arc (28 percent) and middling from the free throw line (63 percent).

Then and there, meet here and now. Anyone who has ever marveled at Whitman's full-court press, at how it tracks and circles and stalks the ball with the cold ardor of pack predators, knows that the "one-game schedule" commands every moment.

In other words, what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas.

"It was good for both teams to get a feel that early in the season," said Bridgeland. "We learned a lot from that game and I assume they did, too.

"They're not the same team now and we're not the same team now."

The Pointers, who won their fourth national championship when Whitman's lone active senior, Tim Howell, was a first-year (2014-15), fell to 6-5 after the Vegas loss -- their third straight defeat at the time.

UW-Stevens Point (21-8) adjusted its rotation and proceeded to win 15 of its next 18 games, including 11 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference widely regarded as the most rugged in the country. The Pointers then won the WIAC conference tournament before dispatching regional opponents North Central (by 17 points) and Bethany Lutheran (by 38) in the national tournament.

"They are well-coached. They have great players. They make great adjustments," Bridgeland said. "Every team that is left in the tournament advanced this far for a reason. Our staff and our players are well-aware: we can be in any game, and we can lose to anyone."

Tale of the tape
UW-Stevens Point plays fundamentally sound defense and commits very few errors. Its style, skill and tactical discipline make foes earn good looks and take each possession seriously.

Under head coach Bob Semling (283-79 in 13 seasons), the Pointers are allowing just 62.8 points per game, which ranks fifth nationally and first among the tourney's surviving 16 teams.

Their 11 turnovers per game ranks 20th nationally and first among the bracket extant.

A trio of veteran guards pace the UWSP offense. Senior M.J. Delmore averages 12.1 ppg and scored 14 against Whitman in December. Junior Nate Dodge had 13 against the Blues and averages 11.9 ppg.

Junior Canon O'Heron scored five points in 22 minutes off the bench against Whitman in the first meeting, after which he became a regular starter. O'Heron (10.9 ppg) was the Pointers' leading scorer in 10 subsequent games. That includes a career-high 30-point explosion in last Saturday's 82-44 romp over Bethany Lutheran.

Whitman ranks third in the country (and first among tourney survivors) in turnovers-forced-per-game, second nationally and first in the bracket in steals-per-game, fourth nationally and first in-bracket in points-per-game, and 49^th nationally and fourth in-bracket in assists-per-game.

The Blues are coming off what Bridgeland called their "best weekend of basketball in recent memory."

"We needed it, too," he added. "I was so impressed with Schreiner. Claremont is a legitimate top-10 team."

Double trouble
At the press conference following Whitman's regional victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps last Saturday, Bridgeland called Howell and Austin Butler, seated to his left and right, respectively, "better than our level."

The two players responsible for the bulk of Whitman's ball-handling have been at their most brilliant in the playoffs.

In two Northwest Conference tournament games and two NCAA tournament games, Howell has scored or assisted on 51 of Whitman's 130 playoff field goals and is shooting 54 percent from the floor. He is scoring 25.2 points per game in the playoffs, almost seven full points-per-game above his season average.

Butler has 31 assists, 10 steals and eight blocked shots in that span. He has scored or assisted on 49 of Whitman's 130 playoff field goals.

Blues and blue bloods
Prior to the 2015-16 season, Whitman had never made the national tournament.

But since wrangling an at-large bid that year, the Blues have few peers -- in excellence or consistency -- on Division III's biggest stage. Only Augustana, lurking on the opposite side of the current bracket, has enjoyed a better three-year national run -- with Year 3's verdict still under jury deliberation.

Merely getting to the tournament is a chore. Defending national champion Babson failed to qualify this season. Eight teams in the current sectional field were not in the national tournament last year.

There are three teams in the current Sweet 16 which advanced to this stage (or beyond) last season: Augustana (which lost to Babson in the national title game), Middlebury (which was eliminated in the sectional championship) and Whitman (which fell to Babson in the national semifinals).

Just two teams in America have been to three consecutive Sweet 16s: Augustana and Whitman. In the 2015-16 national tournament, Auggie advanced to the sectional finals, where it lost to eventual national champion St. Thomas, one round after St. Thomas eliminated Whitman.

In their brief but blazing national adventure, the Blues are 6-0 in the first two rounds, including a true road win at Whitworth in Round 2 of '15-'16. Their 5-0 home record in national tournament games stakes a claim that Augustana, which hosted its loss to St. Thomas, cannot make: Whitman has never lost a national playoff game in its own gym.

The Blues are 8-2 all-time in the national tournament.

Stevens Point, meanwhile, is among NCAA Division III's all-time aristocrats. The Pointers have won four national titles, as have fellow Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference powers UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater.

WIAC teams have won 12 of the last 43 Division III national championships.

Notes
…Power forward Cedric Jacobs-Jones has been playing an expanded and efficient role as the postseason marches forward. After averaging 16.7 minutes per game during the regular season, Jacobs-Jones is playing 19 per game in the playoffs. He has been a force inside. The junior has cashed 12 of 20 field goals and cleared 20 rebounds -- including nine on the offensive glass -- in the postseason.

…Whitman is the national gold standard for pressure defense, even against some of the country's most unflappable squadrons. No team in the nation turned the ball over fewer times per game than Ohio-Wesleyan (8.5), for instance, but the Blues forced 18 turnovers against the Battling Bishops at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps averaged 11.6 turnovers-per-game this season but had 22 against the Blues.

Whitworth, which led the Northwest Conference in fewest turnovers-per-game at 14.0, averaged 23 in three matchups with the Blues, who have forced 92 turnovers this postseason.

…The national writer for d3hoops.com, Ryan Scott, had this to say about Butler on the website's 'West Region' message board: "Butler is truly one of the most talented players in the country. We don't give out a national DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year), but if we did, I think he'd be a shoe-in."

…Wisconsin-Stevens Point has 47 blocked shots as a team this season.
Butler has 54 blocked shots.

…UW-Platteville is 33-6 in playoff games, all time. According to the school's athletic website, that's the best mark in NCAA history.

…Platteville in tucked into the southwest corner of Wisconsin. It's an approximately three-hour commute from Stevens Point (or Chicago).