CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – In the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament, the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) saw No. 25 Coe College, No. 20 Loras College, and No. 19 Nebraska Wesleyan University advance to the second round. The University of Dubuque lost in heartbreaking fashion to end their excellent season.
 
Loras earned the A-R-C’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 3-0 record during the conference tournament this past week to claim their first tournament title since 2008. Coe, Dubuque, and Nebraska Wesleyan all picked up at-large bids to earn a spot in the 64-team field. First round recaps and second round previews are listed below for each regional. Trine Regional – Angola, Ind.
The No. 25-ranked Coe College Kohawks (22-5) pulled off a 79-74 overtime win over (RV) Wabash College (20-9) on Friday evening to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Kohawks will play No. 13 Trine University (24-4) on Saturday, March 2^nd. Tip time is set for 7:10 p.m. (CST) from the MTI Center on the campus of Trine University. Trine advanced to the second round after a 91-81 victory over Fontbonne University (20-8).
 
Coe led for most of the game before the Wabash Little Giants were able to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Kohawks were led in scoring by TJ Schnurr with 23 points. Cael Schmitt followed closely behind with 17 points and Josh Schloe and Bennett Sherry each had 11 points. Sherry led the team in rebounds as he pulled down 11 boards to record a double-double.

First & Second Round Schedule – All times in CST.

Friday, March 1 – First Round
Game 1 – No. 25 Coe, 79 vs. (RV) Wabash, 74 (OT)
Game 2 – No. 13 Trine, 91 vs. Fontbonne, 81

Saturday, March 2 – Second Round
Game 3 – No. 25 Coe vs. No. 13 Trine @ 7:10 p.m.
 

(Top-25 Rank) Team	Location	Record	Conference
(No. 25) Coe College	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	22-5	American Rivers Conference (A-R-C)
Fontbonne University	St. Louis, Mo.	20-8	St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC)
(No. 13) Trine University	Angola, Ind.	24-4	Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA)
(RV) Wabash College	Crawfordsville, Ind.	20-9	North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)

*Rankings and records as of March 1^st, following first round games
*Top-25 rank from D3hoops.com. WashU Regional – St. Louis, Mo.
The University of Dubuque Spartans (21-7) lost in a heartbreaker (59-57) in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The (RV) Illinois College Blueboys (24-4) threw up a final second shot that went in to defeat the Spartans on Friday evening.
 
The Spartans were led in scoring by Jaylin McCants with 21 points followed by Brock Simon who finished with 11 points. McCants was just two rebounds short of recording a double-double in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
 
The Dubuque Spartans end the season with an overall record of 21-7 while posting an 11-5 conference record.
 
First & Second Round Schedule – All times in CST.

Friday, March 1 – First Round
Game 1 – Dubuque, 57 vs. (RV) Illinois College, 59
Game 2 – (RV) WashU, 71 vs. (RV) Wisconsin Lutheran, 68 (OT)

Saturday, March 2 – Second Round
Game 3 – (RV) Illinois College vs. (RV) WashU @ 6:50 p.m.
 

(Top-25 Rank) Team	Location	Record	Conference
University of Dubuque	Dubuque, Iowa	21-7	American Rivers Conference (A-R-C)
(RV) Illinois College	Jacksonville, Ill.	24-4	Midwest Conference (MWC)
(RV) Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, Mo.	19-7	University Athletic Association (UAA)
(RV) Wisconsin Lutheran College	Milwaukee, Wis.	24-5	Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC)

*Rankings and records as of March 1^st, following first round games.
*Top-25 rank from D3hoops.com UW-Platteville Regional – Platteville, Wis.
The No. 20-ranked Loras College Duhawks (24-5) advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after an 89-64 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College (18-11) on Friday evening. The Duhawks will play No. 11 UW-Platteville (24-4) on Saturday, March 2^nd. Tip time is scheduled for 7:50 p.m. from Bo Ryan Court in William Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Pioneers advanced to the second round after defeating (RV) Bethany Lutheran 89-52 on Friday night.
 
In front of a Loras-filled crowd at William Fieldhouse, the Duhawks were led in scoring by Tyler Bass who finished with 23 points. Gavin Sarvis scored 16 points, followed by Ali Sabet with 14 points. Declan Ciurlik and Myles Berry finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bass also led the team in rebounds as he pulled down eight boards.

First & Second Round Schedule – All times in CST.

Friday, March 1 – First Round
Game 1 – No. 20 Loras, 89 vs. Gustavus Adolphus, 64
Game 2 – No. 11 UW-Platteville, 89 vs. (RV) Bethany Lutheran, 52

Saturday, March 2 – Second Round
Game 3 – No. 20 Loras vs. No. 11 UW-Platteville @ 7:50 p.m.
 

(Top-25 Rank) Team	Location	Record	Conference
(No. 20) Loras College	Dubuque, Iowa	24-5	American Rivers Conference (A-R-C)
(RV) Bethany Lutheran College	Mankato, Minn.	24-4	Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC)
Gustavus Adolphus College	Saint Peter, Minn.	18-11	Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)
(No. 11) University of Wisconsin-Platteville	Platteville, Wis.	24-4	Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC)

*Rankings and records as of March 1^st, following first round games.
*Top-25 rank from D3hoops.com Trinity (Texas) Regional – San Antonio, Texas
The No. 19-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves (24-4) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament after a 58-41 victory over Centenary College (La.) (17-12) on Friday evening. The Prairie Wolves will play the University of Texas-Dallas (19-9) on Saturday, March 2^nd. Tip time is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. (CST). The Comets advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after defeating the host, Trinity University (18-10) by a score of 67-63.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan led 26-24 at the half before pulling away to the 58-41 victory. The leading scorer for the Prairie Wolves was Jack Groeteke who finished with 20 points. Peter Lash followed with 16 points and Carter Glenn had 13 points. Lash recorded a huge double-double as he pulled down a game-high 21 rebounds.
 
First & Second Round Schedule – All times in CST.

Friday, March 1 – First Round
Game 1 – No. 19 Nebraska Wesleyan, 58 vs. Centenary (La.), 41
Game 2 – No. 15 Trinity (Texas), 63 vs. UT-Dallas, 67

Saturday, March 2 – Second Round
Game 3 – No. 19 Nebraska Wesleyan vs. UT-Dallas @ 7:35 p.m.
 

(Top-25 Rank) Team	Location	Record	Conference
(No. 19) Nebraska Wesleyan University	Lincoln, Neb.	24-4	American Rivers Conference (A-R-C)
Centenary College of Louisiana	Shreveport, La.	17-12	Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC)
University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, Texas	19-9	American Southwest Conference (ASC)
(No. 15) Trinity University (Texas)	San Antonio, Texas	18-10	Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC)

*Rankings and records as of March 1^st, following first round games.
*Top-25 rank from D3hoops.com