A year ago, the UW-Superior men's basketball team saw their 2010-2011 campaign come to an end with a playoff loss to UW-Stevens Point at Quandt Fieldhouse in Stevens Point. This season, the Yellowjackets kick off WIAC Tournament action in the same location last season ended as they take on the Pointers in their postseason opener Wednesday night.
Wednesday's contest marks the third time the two teams have faced off this season with the Pointers having won both previous contests.
In their first meeting back on December 11 of last year, UW-Stevens Point jumped out to a big lead in the early going and held UW-Superior to just 37.8 percent shooting from the floor for the game in posting an 85-47 victory.
Brendan Bauer (Eleva, Wis./Gilmanton) was the only Yellowjacket to score in double-figures in their first meeting, tallying 10 points for UW-Superior. The Pointers, who connected on 55.4 percent of their shots in the first game, were led by Dan Tillema with a game-high 21 points. Trevor Hass added 20 points while Jordan Giordana pitched in with 14 points for UW-Stevens Point.
The two teams met again on January 28 at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium with the Yellowjackets hanging tough throughout before falling 67-58. Three Yellowjackets scored in double-figures, led by Bauer with 16 points while Ben Aalfs (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) added 13 points and Dustin Ritchie (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) 11 points for UW-Superior.
UW-Stevens Point was led by Tyler Tillema with 21 points while Jordan Brezinski had 14 points and Dan Tillema 10 points for the Pointers.
Wednesday night will also mark the sixth-all time meeting between the Pointers and Yellowjackets during Matt Siverling's tenure as UW-Superior head coach. Siverling is 0-5 vs. UW-Stevens Point in his first five games against the Pointers.
By The Numbers
|
|
Yellowjackets |
Pointers |
|
Overall Record |
14-11 |
19-6 |
|
WIAC Record |
8-8 |
12-4 |
|
Home Record |
9-3 |
10-2 |
|
Road Record |
3-8 |
8-4 |
|
Neutral Court Record |
2-0 |
1-0 |
|
Points For (Average) |
1666 (66.6) |
1835 (73.4) |
|
Points Against (Average) |
1662 (66.5) |
1630 (65.2) |
|
Field Goals-Made (Percentage) |
616-1307 (47.1) |
631-1303 (48.4) |
|
3-Pointers-Made (Percentage) |
170-461 (36.9) |
174-450 (38.7) |
|
Free Throws-Made (Percentage) |
264-387 (68.2) |
399-507 (78.7) |
|
Rebounds (Average) |
806(32.2) |
802 (32.1) |
|
Assists (Average) |
289 (11.6) |
310 (12.4) |
|
Blocks (Average) |
76 (3) |
63 (2.5) |
|
Steals (Average) |
133 (5.3) |
159 (6.4) |
|
Turnovers (Average) |
320 (12.8) |
305 (12.2) |
|
First Half/Second Half/OT Points For |
773/893/0 |
880/935/20 |
|
First Half/Second Half/OT Points Allowed |
789/873/0 |
690/914/26 |
The Coaches
UW-Superior head coach Matt Siverling is in his second season leading the Yellowjackets' program. UW-Superior has gone 29-23 (.558) overall and 14-18 (.438) in WIAC conference play during Siverling's first two years at the helm.
UW-Stevens Point head coach Bob Semling is in his seventh season with the Pointers. His teams have gone 164-39 (.808) during his tenure, including posting a 90-22 (.804) mark in WIAC conference action. He is also a two-time WIAC Conference Coach of The Year, was named WBCA Division III coach of the year in 2009 and was named NABC/UPS Division III, D3hoops.com Division III, and Molten/DIII News Coach of The Year in 2010 while leading the Pointers to their third national title.
All-Time Series
The Pointers lead the all-time series 98-37. UW-Stevens Point has also won the last 17 meetings between the two schools. The Yellowjackets' last victory in the series came during the 2003-2004 campaign, when UW-Superior defeated UW-Stevens Point 61-52 on February 21, 2004 at Quandt Fieldhouse.
2011-12 Meetings
December 3 at Stevens Point: Stevens Point wins 85-47
January 28 at Superior: Stevens Point wins 67-58
WIAC Playoff History
The Yellowjackets have appeared in the WIAC Tournament nine times and have gone 4-9 (.308) in those postseason appearances. UW-Stevens Point has gone 24-6 (.800) in 12 previous appearances and has gone on claim the WIAC Tournament title on six different occasions.
Head-to-head, the two teams have met four times in WIAC Tournament play with the Pointers claiming all four meetings.
2011: WIAC semis at Stevens Point, UWSP 84, UWS 52
2005: WIAC quarters at Stevens Point, UWSP 88, UWS 68
2004: WIAC quarters at Stevens Point, UWSP 83, UWS 73
2000: WIAC semis at Stevens Point, UWSP 80, UWS 73 (OT)
Yellowjacket Quick Facts
1) UW-Superior is the only team in the WIAC to have defeated both top-seed UW-Whitewater and second-seed UW-River Falls during the regular season.
2) Sophomore Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) led the WIAC in field-goal percentage, connecting on 117 of 182 shots, a .643 shooting percentage.
3) The Yellowjackets' 8-8 regular season WIAC record was the team's best since the 2000-2001 season when UW-Superior also finished 8-8 in league play.
Pointer Quick Facts
1) UW-Stevens Point is the only program in the WIAC to have won more than 20 games in WIAC Tournament action. UW-Whitewater is second to the Pointers in WIAC Tournament wins with 15.
2) The Pointers have racked up a 65-6 (.915) record at home since the start of the 2007-2008 season.
3) The brother tandem of Dan Tillema and Tyler Tillema has combined to score .457 percent (839 of 1835) of UW-Stevens Point's offensive points this season.
On the Air
Wednesday's game will be carried locally on 91.3 FM KUWS. The audio feed of the game will be streamed by the iFan Sports Network. Matt Johnson and Monte Stewart will have the call.
