NAIA National Tournament Preview: Marion Bracket A

Teams Inside the Pod
#1 Marian

22-4 Overall
Crossroads League Tournament Champions
Crossroads League Regular Season Runners-Up
#10 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.565)
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.791)
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in Total Rebound Defense (30.154)
Ranks Number 11 in Division I in Turnover Margin (4.231)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Scoring Margin (13.385)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Scoring Defense per Game (68.692)
Ranks Number 16 in Division I in Total Steals (207)
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.491)
Ranks Number 23 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (2134)
Ranks Number 29 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (6.038)
Ranks Number 32 in Division I in Total Assists (371)
Ranks Number 40 in Division I in Steals per Game (7.962)
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Total Total Rebound Offense (941)
Ranks Number 44 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.370)
Ranks Number 47 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (82.077)
#2 Olivet Nazarene

15-4 Overall
CCAC Regular Season Champions
CCAC Tournament Runners-Up
#30 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 3 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.542)
Ranks Number 8 in Division I in Assists per Game (18.737)
Ranks Number 9 in Division I in Blocks per Game (5.105)
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (31.000)
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Total Rebound Defense (31.316)
Ranks Number 13 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.391)
Ranks Number 14 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (8.474)
Ranks Number 16 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.388)
Ranks Number 16 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (88.263)
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Total Blocks (97)
Ranks Number 20 in Division I in Scoring Margin (11.947)
Ranks Number 39 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (39.789)
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Total Assists (356)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.736)
Ranks Number 44 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.427)
#3 Indiana Tech

21-8 Overall
WHAC Tournament Champions
WHAC Regular Season Runners-Up
#37 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 10 in Division I in Total Assists (459)
Ranks Number 11 in Division I in Total Total Rebound Offense (1137)
Ranks Number 14 in Division I in Total Blocks (99)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.495)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (2264)
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (30.241)
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (6.897)
Ranks Number 26 in Division I in Total Rebound Defense (32.310)
Ranks Number 33 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.211)
Ranks Number 34 in Division I in Scoring Defense per Game (70.414)
Ranks Number 35 in Division I in Assists per Game (15.828)
Ranks Number 35 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.422)
Ranks Number 43 in Division I in Blocks per Game (3.414)
Ranks Number 43 in Division I in Scoring Margin (7.655)
Ranks Number 46 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (39.207)

Top Players

#21 Cameron Wolter 6'8 Sr. - 20.5ppg, 9.3rpg
2020-21 1st Team All-Crossroads League
2019-20 DII 3rd Team All-American
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Total
Scoring (512)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Total
Total Rebounds (232)
Ranks Number 22 in Division I in Field Goal
Pct (0.605)
Ranks Number 23 in Division I in Total
Rebounds per Game (9.280)
Ranks Number 30 in Division I in Points per
Game (20.480)
Ranks Number 33 in Division I in Defensive
Rebounds per Game (6.560)
Ranks Number 44 in Division I in Offensive
Rebounds per Game (2.720)

#30 Christian Stewart 6'0 Sr. - 15.4ppg, 3.9rpg, 3.7apg
2020-21 1st Team All-Crossroads League
2019-20 All-American
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.917)
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.735)
Ranks Number 48 in Division I in Total Assists (93)

#45 Alex Gross 6'10 Jr. - 21.6ppg, 11.7rpg, 4.6apg, 3.9bpg
2020-21 CCAC Player of the Year
2019-20 DII All-American
Ranks Number 2 in Division I in Blocks per Game (3.947)
Ranks Number 2 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (9.053)
Ranks Number 3 in Division I in Total Blocks (75)
Ranks Number 4 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (11.684)
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.637)
Ranks Number 15 in Division I in Points per Game (21.579)
Ranks Number 17 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.871)
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Total Total Rebounds (222)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Assists per Game (4.632)

#25 John Contant 6'3 Sr. - 19.6ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.6apg
2020-21 1st Team All-CCAC
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Points per Game (19.632)

#22 Josh Kline 6'9 Jr. - 14.66ppg, 6.6rpg
2020-21 1st Team All-WHAC
2019-20 DII All-American
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.611)
Ranks Number 39 in Division I in Total Total Rebounds (192)
Ranks Number 39 in Division I in Total Blocks (29)
Ranks Number 45 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.690)
Points Per Game Leaders
1. Alex Gross ONU 21.58
2. Cameron Wolter Marian 20.48
3. John Constant ONU 19.63
4. Christian Stewart Marian 15.44
5. Josh Kline Indiana Tech 14.66
Rebounds Per Game Leaders
1. Alex Gross ONU 11.7
2. Cameron Wolter Marian 9.3
3. Rog Stein Indiana Tech 6.9
4. Josh Kline Indiana Tech 6.6
5. Cade Chitty ONU 6.6
Assist Per Game Leaders
1. Alex Gross ONU 4.63
2. Cory McKinney Indiana Tech 4.21
3. Christian Stewart Marian 3.72
4. Christian Stewart ONU 3.68
5. Christian Harvey Marian 3.38
Matchups

Alex Gross leads the Tigers in Points, Rebounds, Assists, and Blocks! Him and John Contant have been a tough inside/outside threat all season long. This opening round matchup is really intriguing, This Tiger group plays with good pace, but also is really efficient offensively as they share the ball, especially in the open floor. This Tiger team will have to offset the Terrific Trio that Indiana Tech has in the opening round though if they want a shot at Marian.
vs.

Tech has had some wild games this season. They have won 11 of their last 12 games including the WHAC Tournament. They are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time of the year and that makes them really dangerous in this Pod!

All-American’s Cameron Wolter and Christian Stewart have the helped lead the Knights to 13 straight wins. Their last loss was a 7 point loss to #1 Indiana Wesleyan at the end of January. During the 13 game win streak, only 1 team has scored more than 75 points on them. The Knights are the favorite in this Pod, but it’s not going to be as easy as some of the other Pod groupings!
vs.
Winner of #2 Olivet Nazarene vs #3 Indiana Tech
If you like really good BIGs then you’re going to love this Pod! We start off with a great matchup with Josh Kline and Rog Stein trying to find ways to shut down Alex Gross of ONU! This Indiana Tech squad is the only WHAC program that played all season long. The trio of Kline, Stein and Grant Smith will go to battle against Gross, John Contant and the Tigers of Olivet Nazarene. ONU was really rolling before falling victim to a buzzer beater by IU South Bend in the CCAC Tournament Title game. They have had some time to let those emotions ware off and get back to business. This is going to be a fun game!
The winner turns around and we get another BIG man clash with Cameron Wolter. Marian won the Crossroads League Tournament behind the play of Wolter and Christian Stewart. The Knights are for real, but no matter who they face in this game it should be a really fun game! If it so happens that ONU wins the opening round game, it is going to be fun watching the battle between Cameron Wolter and Alex Gross. The skillset and footwork by those two is like watching a coaching clinic during the game!
This Pod will come down to which team can execute and make the big play when it’s needed! We expect two really great games from this Pod.