A Look At Friday's Game• The Lindenwood men's basketball team will face No. 13 Northwest Missouri on Friday evening at 6 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The ninth-seeded Lions are looking to advance to the MIAA semfinals for the first time against the top-seeded Bearcats.
• Lindenwood won its first MIAA postseason game last Tuesday with a 77-68 win over Pittsburg State. The victory was also the 16th win this season over an NCAA Division II program, which set a new program record. Lindenwood will head to Kansas City with a 16-13 overall record.
• Northwest Missouri ran away with the conference title this year, winning the league by five games. The Bearcats have won 12 straight contests, and they are 22-5 on the season.
• Lindenwood and Northwest Missouri split their regular season meetings. The Lions won 68-52 in St. Charles back in December. In early February, Lindenwood had a shot to win the game at the buzzer, but it didn't fall in a 75-73 Northwest Missouri win.
• Northwest Missouri leads the all-time series by a 9-1 record. The two teams have never met at a neutral site before, and have not met in the MIAA Tournament.
Lindenwood Notes• Lindenwood is making its third appearance in the MIAA Tournament, and its second straight appearance in the quarterfinal round. Last year, it received a first-round bye, and this season, the Lions won their first MIAA postseason game with a 77-68 win over Pittsburg State on Tuesday.
• Lindenwood leads the MIAA in scoring defense (65.6), field-goal percentage defense (.407), and blocks (5.00). It is eighth in NCAA Division II in scoring defense, 22nd in field-goal percentage defense, and 11th in blocks.
• Lindenwood also ranks in the top-25 nationally for fewest fouls (12th). It is 32nd in free-throw percentage and 33rd in rebounding margin.
• Lindenwood is 1-9 this season when it makes fewer free throws or the same amount of free throws as its opponents. The lone victory was last Tuesday's win over Pittsburg State.
• Seventy has been the magic number for Lindenwood. It is 11-3 when scoring 70 or more points, and 5-10 when scoring under that mark. Defensively, the team is 14-8 when allowing under 70 points, and 2-5 when allowing over that mark.
• Lindenwood has outrebounded 26 of its 29 opponents this year.
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Cory Arentsen was named the co-MIAA Player of the Week on Monday, his fourth weekly award of the season. He averaged 37.5 points in two games, and shot 56 percent from the field. He made seven three pointers and was 12-of-13 from the line. Arentsen also added 11 rebounds and eight assists.
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Cory Arentsen is currently averaging 23.8 points a game, which would be the highest total in school history. The current Lindenwood single-season record is 23.3 set by Tom Wallace in 1979-80.
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Stanislas Heili has already broken the school's single-season blocking record. He is also moving up the school's rebounding list, as his 233 rebounds this season is currently seventh.
• In the latest NCAA Division II statistics,
Cory Arentsen is 12th in scoring and fifth in free-throw percentage.
Stanislas Heili is 12th in blocked shots.
• Four Lions rank in the top-30 in the MIAA in rebounding.
Stanislas Heili is fourth,
Zachary Biggs is 11th,
Cory Arentsen is 16th, and
Sam Mader is 25th.
• The MIAA Tournament moves to Kansas City for the final three rounds. The quarterfinals will take place on Friday, semifinals on Saturday, and championship game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
A Glance At Northwest Missouri• Northwest Missouri is second in the MIAA by allowing 66.1 points a game. Offensively, it leads the conference by shooting 49.6 percent from the field.
• Justin Pitts was named the MIAA Player of the Year earlier this week. He is averaging 20.9 points and 4.8 assists a game.
• Other all-conference honors went to Connor Crooker (second-team), Zach Schneider (third-team), and Chris-Ebou Ndow (honorable mention). Ben McCollum was named the MIAA Coach of the Year.
• Northwest Missouri leads the MIAA with 8.8 three-pointers a game. Zach Schneider leads the league with 3.1 three-pointers a game. Justin Pitts and Conner Crooker are also in the top-ten.
