MANKATO, Minn. - When Bethany Lutheran and Northwestern meet in Saturday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball Championship game it won't be unfamiliar territory for either team. Over the past 14 seasons, every UMAC Championship game played has seen at least one of the two teams present and every game has seen one of the two come away victorious and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern won seven straight titles from 2010-11 to 2016-17, but Bethany has had the slight edge over the past seven seasons, claiming four championships while Northwestern has three.
TICKETS
• $15 | Adults
• $10 | Seniors
• $10 | College Students
• $10 | Youth (Ages 6-18)
• Free | Ages 5 and Under
• Free | Any UMAC students, faculty, and staff with a valid and current institutional ID.
• No other passes will be accepted.
The Series
Bethany has met up with Northwestern more than any other school in the conference and Saturday will mark the 51st meeting between the two squads. Northwestern holds a 34-16 all-time edge, but the last
20 matchups have seen UNW hold just a slim 11-9 advantage.
Scouting the Vikings
Bethany enters the contest with the Eagles off a low scoring 68-64 affair with North Central in the UMAC semifinals Wednesday. Drew Sagedahl had 19 points in the contest and leads Bethany and the UMAC through 26 games with 20.6 points per game. The senior has also played well against Northwestern this season, as he averages 25.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the two prior matchups. Jax Madson, Bethany's second leading scorer at 16.9 points per game struggled in the team's UMAC-opening loss at Northwestern with just five points, but he rebounded in a big way with a 25-point effort in the rematch that saw Bethany victorious on February 12th in Mankato. The three point ball will be an important piece for the Vikings on Saturday, as they currenly rank as the third best shooting team from distance in the conference (.353) while the Eagles allow the highest percentage of threes to be made against them (.378)
Scouting the Eagles
Northwestern is coming off an 87-77 win over Morris in the UMAC semifinal Wednesday. The Eagles got 17 points form Japheth Nyamari in the contest while Lewis Wolbert came off the bench and scored 16 points and added seven rebounds. Nyamari is the team's leading scorer at 18.7 points per contest and has put up 21 and 24 in the two matchups with Bethany this year to average 22.5. AJ Greene has also played well in the two contests, as he averages 13.0 points per contest but has averaged 18.5 in the two previous matchusp with the Vikings. As a team, the Eagles have been the most efficient team from the field in the conference this season as they're shooting 47.3 percent from the field and they create an even bigger gap on shots coming inside the arc as they shoot 52.7 percent from two point range.
