UWSP vs. Viterbo Preview

Former UW-Stevens Point assistant coach Wayne Wagner returns as the head coach of Viterbo College Friday night when the V-Hawks face the Pointers in a non-conference game. UW-Stevens Point has won six of its last seven games, while Viterbo brings a five-game winning streak into the contest.

Broadcast:

The game can be heard live on WIZD (99.9 FM) with Scott Krueger and John Zellmer providing the call.

The Coaches:

UW-Stevens Point men’s coach Jack Bennett has a 61-28 career record in his fourth season with the Pointers.

Viterbo coach Wayne Wagner is in his first season with the V-Hawks. A former standout player at Viterbo, Wagner spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Bennett with the Pointers.

Series History:

The teams are meeting for the 15th consecutive year and UW-Stevens Point leads the all-time series 11-3. The Pointers have won four straight in the series by 14 points or more. The first 10 meetings were all determined by 12 points or less. UW-Stevens Point shot 62 percent, including 71 percent in the second half, to beat the V-Hawks 79-58 in the title game of last year’s Terry Porter Classic.

Pointer Update:

The Pointers enter a pair of non-conference games over the holiday break against Viterbo and Edgewood having won six of their last seven games, including a 90-81 decision over UW-La Crosse Saturday. Brant Bailey tied the UW-Stevens Point school record with 39 points and set an NCAA Division III record by attempting 31 free throws in the win over UW-La Crosse. His performance earned him WIAC Player of the Week honors as well as a selection to the Division III Basketball Online national Team of the Week. Gabe Frank hit three of four three-point shots Saturday and is shooting 57.1 percent (20-for-35) from behind the three-point arc.

V-Hawk Update:

The V-Hawks are off to a 9-3 start and bring a five-game winning streak into Friday’s game. Viterbo has enjoyed nearly a full week off since its 66-60 win at Lakeland Saturday, marking one of the team’s longest breaks of the season. Viterbo is an NAIA Division II program and a member of the Midwest Classic Conference with six schools from Iowa. The V-Hawks lost to St. Scholastica, Huron (S.D.) and crosstown rival UW-La Crosse. The defeat to UW-La Crosse was a 78-73 overtime decision. Viterbo has victories over defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Augsburg and defending Lake Michigan Conference champion Wisconsin Lutheran. Luke Maher is the team’s top player and was averaging 23.2 points per game through the V-Hawks’ first 10 games. Maher has done much of his scoring from behind the three-point line where he was shooting 33-for-59 for 55.9 percent entering last week. Senior Sean Madigan is also enjoying a solid season in the V-Hawks’ frontcourt at 18.3 points per game, including a 61.9 shooting percentage.

Home Sweet Home:

The Pointers have enjoyed playing at the Quandt Fieldhouse this season, scoring at least 90 points in all three home games for a 91.3 average. The Pointers are averaging 60.0 points per game in away games. UW-Stevens Point is shooting 52.2 percent at home and 38.9 percent on the road. Defensively, however, the Pointers have been solid anywhere they’ve played. They lead the WIAC at 59.6 points per game, giving up 64.3 points per game at home and 58.8 points per game away from home.

Lining it Up:

Bailey finished 25-for-31 from the free throw line Saturday and broke the previous NCAA Division III record for attempts of 30 set by Rob Rittgers of UC-San Diego in 1988. However, Rittgers shot 24 of his free throws on technical fouls. Menlo College was whistled for 12 bench technicals and Rittgers hit all 24 free throws without any time elapsing. The Division I record for attempts is 36 by Ed Tooley of Brown and the Division II record is 45 by Clarence Francis of Rio Grande. Both records were set in 1954.

Game Notes:

UW-Stevens Point’s four three-pointers against UW-La Crosse was the first time this season the Pointers haven’t hit five three-pointers in a game…Viterbo won the MCC and qualified for the NAIA Division II national tournament last season, reaching the quarterfinals of the 32-team field. The V-Hawks finished 21-15 overall…Pointers’ senior Ben Benesh, who scored eight points to key a win at UW-Superior last week, came off the bench with UW-Stevens Point trailing UW-La Crosse by 11 points and helped spark a 15-4 Pointers’ run to close the half...Bailey has 14 assists this season despite entering the year with 18 for his entire three-year career.

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