EVANSVILLE, IN (WTRF)–The NCAA Division II Elite Eight men’s quarterfinal match up is just one day away.
WTRF 7News sports reporter Ashley Kaiser is in Evansville Indiana.
The West Liberty Hilltoppers were getting in final work on Monday before the big game.
The Hilltoppers seems focused and determined but their opponents the New Haven Chargers are hungry to make a name for themselves, with this being their first appearance in the Elite Eight tournament.
The Chargers are 23-10 winning their last 3 games.
Head Coach Ted Hotaling says the Hilltoppers success on offense is threatening.
They just have a really good basketball team, and a lot of good basketball players and Bryce (Butler) is one of them. I think all of the guys around him they’re all really good, high IQ. You know people talk about the defense style of West Liberty, but they lead the county in points and assists. I do think Majur in the paint does prevent a lot of rim shots for us.
Ted Hotaling, New Haven Head Coach
West Liberty is one of two Division II teams to average more than 100 points per game and they lead the nation in assists per game.
The Hilltoppers are 31-3 overall with a 16-game winning streak.
Coach Ben Howlett says their practice went well but the biggest challenge is facing a team they have yet to play against.
Number one is stopping them. I think they run different things than we are used to seeing. They don’t have a lot of two guard offense…. but now we’re going to have to guard it. I think they have experience. They have two really good guards who have been there for a while so that’s going to be a challenge… They are very good defensively. They throw in some man, some zone so we have to be able to play with whatever they throw to us.
Ben Howlett, West Liberty Head Coach
The Hilltoppers battle the Chargers on Tuesday at 3:30 eastern time at the Evansville Ford Center.
