Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team returns to Division II NCAA Tournament

The Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team, which made the Elite Eight of the 2019 Division II NCAA Tournament, will begin its 2020 playoff run in Lakeland on Saturday.

Second-seeded NSU (23-6) will face seventh-seeded Embry-Riddle (20-10) in the Sharks’ South Region opener.

NSU split two games with Embry-Riddle this season, with each team winning at home. NSU won 83-82 on Jan. 18. Embry-Riddle won 98-89 on Feb. 29 at Daytona Beach.

The Sharks are led by 6-6 senior forward Mark Matthews and 6-8 redshirt freshman RJ Sunahara.

Matthews, a first-team All-Sunshine State Conference player, leads NSU in scoring (22.0) and field-goal percentage (62.4). He scored 42 points in NSU’s game, setting a school record for most points in an SSC tournament contest.

Sunahana, the league’s Freshman of the Year, averaged 12.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds.

Embry-Riddle is led by junior guard Romeo Crouch and senior center Luka Majstorovic.

Crouch, the SSC Newcomer of the Year and a first-team all-league player, leads his team in scoring (19.2), assists (5.9) and steals (3.0).

Majstorovic, also a first-team all-league player, averaged 30.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games against NSU. For the season, he is averaging 17.7 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds.

This is NSU’s second appearance in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, and it’s the first for Embry-Riddle.

If NSU gets past Embry-Riddle, it would need two more wins to reach the Elite Eight, and that could include host and top-seeded Florida Southern.

NSU went 1-2 against Florida Southern this season, winning in overtime and losing by six and then by nine points in the most recent matchup in Sunday’s conference tournament final.

The national quarterfinals and semifinals will be held in Evansville, Indiana. The final is set for April 5 in Atlanta.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Barry’s men’s basketball team, which finished its season at 18-10, was knocked out by Embry-Riddle 80-64 in the conference quarterfinals. Senior Tylan Birts, a 6-6 wing, made first-team All-SSC and completed his college career by leading Barry in scoring (19.4) and rebounds (8.9).

▪ Barry’s baseball team (15-4, 6-3) is off to a strong start and is ranked 13^th in the nation.

▪ The St. Thomas University baseball team (16-5) is ranked second in the nation in NAIA.

▪ The Johnson & Wales women’s basketball team (22-7) set a school record for victories and won its first Sun Conference title this season. The next step is JWU’s first appearance at the NAIA national championships, which will begin Thursday in Sioux City, Iowa, against a Nebraska school, Hasting (30-3). The winner advances to the Sweet 16 round.