March 8, 2005

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WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY MEN'S BASKETBALL (19-11)
vs.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS EDWARDSVILLE (23-8)
NCAA GREAT LAKES REGIONAL • MARCH 12-15

MATCH-UP AT A GLANCE:
Arena Croy Gymnasium/Houdeshell Court (2,500)
Tip-off Saturday, March 12, 8:30 pm
Site Findlay, Ohio
Series Record 1-1
Last Time SIUE won 67-60 on 12/29/01 in Edwardsville
Radio Broadcast WDTK (1400 AM)
Internet Broadcast www.teamline.cc/teampages.php?teamcode=4820
Radio/Internet Play-By-Play Matt Williamson

THE TOURNAMENT
Wayne State will make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in 11 years when the Warriors face Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the Great Lakes Regional opening round in Findlay, Ohio, on Saturday, March 12. WSU enters the tournament as the fifth seed coming off its GLIAC Tournament runner-up performance, while the Cougars, the No. 4 seed, lost in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

Last year, the Warriors were the eighth seed in the region and pulled off the upset of top-ranked Lewis. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen where they fell in the final seconds to the eventual national runner-up Southern Indiana.

WSU had one of the toughest schedules in the nation this season with nine games against Top 25 teams at the time of the contest, five of those were in the top six in the country, including a 79-72 win over No. 2 Findlay, handing the Oilers their only GLIAC loss of the year. In the latest NABC/Division II poll, WSU received one vote and SIUE picked up 18.

WAYNE STATE POST-SEASON HISTORY
WSU owns an overall post-season record of 22-22 dating back to the 1938-39 season. Head coach David Greer owns a 4-5 post-season mark after leading the Warriors to the Sweet Sixteen in 2004.

INTERVIEW POLICIES
Media representatives should contact the Sports Information Office for all player and coach interviews. Players and coaches may be interviewed prior to or directly after practice during the season, but requests must be made through the Sports Information Office ahead of time.

THE SERIES
Wayne State and SIU Edwardsville have met just twice with each team winning on its home court. WSU defeated the Cougars, 81-68, on Nov. 22, 2000, in Detroit and SIUE won 67-60 in Edwardsville on Dec. 29, 2001.

WARRIORS VS. THE REGIONAL FIELD
Wayne State has faced five of the other seven schools in the regional and owns a 6-4 record.
#1 Findlay 1-2
#2 Southern Indiana 0-1
#3 Ferris State 2-0
#4 SIU Edwardsville 0-0
#6 Indianapolis 1-0
#7 Gannon 2-1
#8 Quincy 0-0
TOTAL 6-4

SENIOR GUARDS' RECORD CHASE In the Warriors' quarterfinal victory over Gannon, point guard Darrell Evans became the single-season assist record holder and now has 219. The former mark of 200 was set by Terrance Walker in the 1993-94 season. Evans is currently second in the nation in assists at 7.6 a game.

Classmate Morris Hall has hit 73 triples this year and is five three-pointers away from tying the single-season school record of 78 held by Charles LeSure (1999-00).

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
In the middle of the season, SIUE put together a 14-game winning streak, but the Cougars are 6-5 in their last 11 games.

SIUE averaged a GLVC-low 69.6 points per game, but on the other hand, the Cougar defense was the best in the conference, allowing just 61.2 ppg.

A balanced scoring attack is led by senior Tim Bauersachs at 12.0 points per game and GLVC Freshman of the Year J.B. Jones who adds 11.1 ppg and a team-high 5.7 assists per game. Bauersachs is second in the GLVC in field goal shooting at 64.2 percent.

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Warriors and SIUE have faced three similar opponents during the 2004-05 season.
Opponent WSU SIUE
Indianapolis 1-0 0-2
Saginaw Valley 1-0 0-1
Southern Indiana 0-1 1-1

GLIAC TOURNAMENT RECAP
Wayne State defeated Gannon and Ferris State to advance to the GLIAC Tournament title game for the first time since 1999, but lost to Findlay who won its second straight tournament title.

Senior point guard Darrell Evans had a record-setting tournament as he broke the Wayne State single-season assist mark against the Golden Knights in the quarterfinal. He then set the GLIAC Tournament game mark with 11 in the win over FSU on Friday night and was selected to the all-tournament team along with backcourt mate Morris Hall. Hall, a All-GLIAC South First Team selection, averaged a team-high 18.0 points per game in the tourney.

In the semifinals, Wayne State trailed Ferris State by seven in the second half before going on a 10-point run to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs went without a field goal for nearly six minutes in the second half. WSU went 5-for-6 at the line in the final 19 seconds to hold on for the win.

The Warriors also hit a tournament-record 93.8 percent (15-of-16) of their free throws for their ninth straight win over the Bulldogs. For the tournament, WSU made a record 80.8 percent (42-of-52) of its shots at the line.

One final tournament record the Warriors set was by junior center Erik Parker, who shot a record of 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the floor in the three games.