Teams Inside the Pod
#1AZ Christian
24-2 Overall
Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champions
#7 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 4 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (32.346)
Ranks Number 4 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (12.769)
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (44.769)
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in Scoring Margin (18.577)
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.386)
Ranks Number 7 in Division I in Total Total Rebound Offense (1164)
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (2305)
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (88.654)
Ranks Number 18 in Division I in Total 3-Pt FG Made (260)
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.492)
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Total Assists (406)
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Total Rebound Defense (32.000)
Ranks Number 24 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (10.000)
Ranks Number 25 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.423)
Ranks Number 28 in Division I in Scoring Defense per Game (70.077)
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Assists per Game (15.615)
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Total Steals (179)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Total Blocks (75)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.323)
#2 Carroll
17-7 Overall
Frontier Conference Runners-Up
#26 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Total
Rebound Defense (29.667)
Ranks Number 8 in Division I in Scoring
Defense per Game (65.458)
Ranks Number 10 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg
Pct (0.402)
Ranks Number 23 in Division I in Offensive
Rebounds per Game (12.458)
Ranks Number 28 in Division I in Total
Rebound Margin (6.083)
Ranks Number 48 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.135)
#3 TX Wesleyan
10-5 Overall
5th Place in SAC
Late Add to Tournament
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Steals per
Game (9.267)
Ranks Number 27 in Division I in Offensive
Rebounds per Game (12.400)
Ranks Number 29 in Division I in Field Goal
Pct Defense (0.417)
Ranks Number 31 in Division I in Scoring
Margin (9.267)
Ranks Number 35 in Division I in Scoring
Offense per Game (83.800)
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Total
Rebounds per Game (39.867)
Ranks Number 45 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg
Pct (0.368)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in Total
Rebound Margin (4.333)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg
Pct Defense (0.323)
Top Players
#5 Da'Ron Kyle 6'4 Sr. - 17.9ppg, 4.4rpg
2020-21 All-GSAC
2019-20 All-American
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Total 3-Pt FG Made (68)
Ranks Number 36 in Division I in Total Scoring (449)
#1 Angelo Johnson 5'8 Jr. - 12.2ppg, 4.7rpg, 5.0apg, 1.8spg
2020-21 All-GSAC
Ranks Number 20 in Division I in Total Assists (115)
Ranks Number 24 in Division I in Assists per Game (5.000)
Ranks Number 29 in Division I in Total Steals (44)
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Steals per Game (1.913)
#21 Jovan Sljivancanin 6'5 Jr. - 17.83ppg, 9.3rpg, 2.65apg
2020-21 All-Frontier 1st Team
2019-20 All-American
Ranks Number 20 in Division I in Total Total Rebounds (223)
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (9.292)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (6.458)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.833)
Ranks Number 46 in Division I in Total Scoring (428)
#23 Shamrock Campbell 6'1 Jr. - 14.17ppg, 3.13apg
2020-21 All-Frontier 1st Team
2020-21 Frontier Defensive Player of The Year
2018-19 Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year
Ranks Number 3 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (4.688)
Ranks Number 18 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.492)
#2 Vydal Bradford 6'5 Sr. - 15.6ppg, 5.3rpg
2020-21 2nd Team All-SAC
No Top 50 Stats
Points Per Game Leaders
1. Kyle De’Ron ACU 17.9
2. Jovan Slivancanin Carroll 17.83
3. Vydal Bradford TWU 15.6
4. Peyton Salle TWU 15.4
5. Shamrock Campbell Carroll 14.17
Rebounds Per Game Leaders
1. Jovan Slivancanin Carroll 9.3
2. Sebastian Karwoski TWU 8.67
3. Robby Wilson ACU 6.9
4. Darrius Goudeau ACU 5.9
5. Xander Bowers ACU 5.3
Assist Per Game Leaders
1. Angelo Johnson ACU 5.0
2. Shamrock Campbell Carroll 3.13
3. Jovan Slivancanin Carroll 2.65
4. KeyVaughn Williams ACU 2.65
5. Robby Wilson ACU 2.46
Matchups
The Fighting Saints are the 2nd place team out of the Frontier Conference. They do have a Top 10 win on the season as they defeated #10 Providence towards the end of the regular season. Jovan and Shamrock give them two guys with a lot of tournament experience and Head Coach Kurt Paulson has already reached one NAIA National Championship game in his short tenure. This veteran ball club is not to be overlooked as they carry great tradition and a winning pedigree.
vs.
After originally missing out on the 1st release of the 48 teams who made it into the NAIA National Tournament, the Rams were selected a few days later to replace College of the Ozarks in the bracket. This is a pretty good step up in competition for the rest of the bracket as Texas Wesleyan was in the RV category of the Top 25 Polls late in the season. The Rams are led by Vydal Bardford and sharp-shooter Peyton Salee. They have to travel a long ways out to Idaho for this game, but you would think they will come in highly motivated after not making it into the tournament initially.
Arizona Christian is one of the West Coast teams who not only were able to play a lot of games, but they also played a very tough schedule. They have played a tough schedule this season and if they are allowed to play physical defensively like past tournament officials have allowed, this is a team that can make a deep run at a National Title!
vs.
Winner of #2 Vanguard vs #3 BenU Mesa
From a tradition and program standpoint, this is an awesome first round matchup. Both of these teams have played for National Titles within the past 10 seasons. While tradition is fun to talk about, it won’t have a lot of affect on the actual outcome of this game. This is another game in which the team that can control the tempo and pace of the game should have a great shot at winning the game.
Waiting for the winner is an Arizona Christian Firestorm squad who sits at 24-2 with their only losses being to #1 Indiana Wesleyan and #4 Lewis-Clark State. This is also a team that had a good NCAA D1 New Mexico State team down 1 with less than a minute to play in the game. They are talented and when they are hitting the 3, they are tough to beat.
This is a really interesting Pod with a lot of teams who have had a lot of great recent success in the NAIA DI National Tournament. Arizona Chrisitan has been a Top 10 team all year long, but as well coached as this entire Pod is, you shouldn’t be surprised if one of the lower seeds pulls out an upset in this Pod!
