SWARTHMORE MEN
Swarthmore (20-8, 14-4Centennial) vs. Virginia Wesleyan (19-8, 9-7 ODAC)
Hartford, Conn., 4p.m., Friday
Virginia Wesleyan: The notion of being better than their record indicates will resonate with the Marlins, who finished sixth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and are one of four tournament qualifiers. They sealed that with an upset of No. 7Guilford in the first round of the ODAC tournament before falling to top-seeded Hampden-Sydney. They’ve beaten Guilford twice and No. 4Randolph-Macon once. Three of their losses are to Hampden-Sydney, the No. 1 team in the nation. Expect a tight affair: The Marlins are eighth in D3 in scoring defense (59.2ppg), while Swarthmore is 27th and hails from a Centennial Conference that has six of the top 27defenses. Virginia Wesleyan is 40th in field goal percentage defense; Swarthmore is 35th. The Marlins had to adjust after the injury to leading scorer Omari DeVeaux in November. Khai Seargeant has stepped in to average 11.7ppg, while Jordan Crump (9.5) and Waylo Wilson (9.0) follow.
Swarthmore: Defense has been a hallmark for the Garnet, as is rebounding. Swarthmore is 13th in the nation in rebounding margin, at plus 8.2. Virginia Wesleyan is minus 0.6, with only one regular taller than 6-6. That puts forward Michael Caprise (15.3 ppg, 9.2rpg) in the spotlight. Vinny DeAngelo leads the Garnet with 17.4ppg. The 3-point shooting of Eddie Paquette and Cal Hanson, each of whom shoot 33.6percent, could be a difference maker. Winner gets: Winner of Utica (24-3) and host No. 3 Trinity (26-1)