ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Loras College men's basketball team will take on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament this evening inside the Field House on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

The Warhawks come into tonight's game with a 20-7 overall record, posting a 10-4 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Whitewater secured the regular season WIAC crown but fell 81-78 in the tournament championship to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

The No. 21-ranked Warhawks are led by junior Collin Madson, a First Team All-Conference selection, who shoots 55.6 percent from the floor and 45.0 percent from behind the arc, all while averaging 18.0 points per game. Seniors Luke Bara and Isaac Verges average 10.3 and 10.0 points per game for the Warhawks. Verges garnered First Team All-WIAC honors in addition to earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team after dishing out a team-high 47 assists, averaging 1.2 steals per game, and shooting 52.7 percent from the field across 25 games. Over the course of the season, Whitewater has held an advantage in nearly every statistical category over its opponents including, points per game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, rebounds per game, and steals per game.

Loras owns a 20-7 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play coming into tonight's game. The Duhawks earned the American Rivers Conference's (A-R-C) automatic bid to the national tournament after defeating the Coe College Kohawks, 72-71, in the tournament semifinal and then taking down crosstown rival, the University of Dubuque, 83-62 in the tournament championship.

Jack Haynes leads Loras on both sides of the ball averaging 16.9 points per game along with 9.2 rebounds per game. The First Team All-Conference pick shoots 56.9 percent from the floor and 71.3 percent from the foul line. Gavin Sarvis, a First Team All-Conference selection, and Nolan Berendes, a Second Team All-Conference honoree, average 13.1 and 12.9 points respectively for the Duhawks. Sarvis also leads the team in assists (73), while Berendes ranks first on the team in steals (34).  The Purple and Gold have led their opponents over the past 28 games in multiple statistics such as points per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, assists per game, and steals per game.

The last time these two squads met was in 2018. The Warhawks won that contest 114-104, however the overall series is tied at 2-2.

Loras and UW-Whitewater will face off at 5:05 p.m. The winner of the contest will play the winner of the second game between Washington University in St. Louis and Transylvania University in the Round of 32 on Saturday, March 7 at 7:35 p.m.