Teams Inside the Pod
#1 Faulkner
25-2 Overall
SSAC East Regular Season Champions
SSAC Tournament Champions
#5 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 7 in Division I in Turnover Margin (5.074)
Ranks Number 9 in Division I in Scoring Margin (16.370)
Ranks Number 11 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (2340)
Ranks Number 13 in Division I in Total 3-Pt FG Made (268)
Ranks Number 16 in Division I in Total Assists (412)
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Total Steals (202)
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (86.667)
Ranks Number 23 in Division I in Total Total Rebound Offense (1033)
Ranks Number 26 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (9.926)
Ranks Number 28 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.379)
Ranks Number 31 in Division I in Scoring Defense per Game (70.296)
Ranks Number 32 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.215)
Ranks Number 34 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.037)
Ranks Number 36 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.740)
Ranks Number 46 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.428)
Ranks Number 48 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.322)
Ranks Number 49 in Division I in Assists per Game (15.259)
#2 Warner
18-6 Overall
The Sun Conference Regular Season Champions
#31 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 31 in Division I in Turnover Margin (2.625)
Ranks Number 32 in Division I in Total Steals (190)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Scoring Margin (8.667)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.739)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Steals per Game (7.917)
Ranks Number 48 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (1926)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in Total Blocks (70)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.323)
#3 Tn Wesleyan
16-8 Overall
AAC Tournament Runners-Up
#42 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 10 in Division I in Total
Rebound Margin (9.500)
Ranks Number 14 in Division I in Offensive
Rebounds per Game (13.042)
Ranks Number 30 in Division I in Scoring
Margin (9.500)
Ranks Number 35 in Division I in Total
Blocks (79)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Total
Rebounds per Game (39.875)
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Total
Total Rebound Offense (957)
Ranks Number 39 in Division I in Total
Steals (181)
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Total
Rebound Defense (33.136)
Ranks Number 49 in Division I in Blocks per
Game (3.292)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in Total
Scoring Offense (1922)
Top Players
#4 CJ Williamson 6'4 Sr. - 18.22ppg, 7.6rpg
2020-21 SSAC Player of the Year
2019-20 3rd Team All-American
Ranks Number 41 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.739)
#11 Jordan Hamlette 6'3 So. - 16.46ppg, 3.4, 3.42apg
2020-21 SSAC Newcomer of the Year
2020-21 1st Team All-SSAC
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.843)
Ranks Number 46 in Division I in Total Scoring (428)
#3 Rod Boggan 6'1 So. - 17.32ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.3apg
2020-21 Sun Conference Player of the Year
Ranks Number 38 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.845)
#4 Logan West 6'6 Fr. - 12.75ppg, 6.3rpg
2020-21 Sun Conference Freshman of the Year
2020-21 All-Sun Conference 1st Team
No Top 50 Stats
#4 Bryant Bernard 6'0 Sr. - 21.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.16apg
2020-21 1st Team All AAC
2020-21 AAC All-Defensive team
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Points per Game (21.263)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Steals per Game (1.895)
Points Per Game Leaders
1. Bryant Bernard TWU 21.26
2. CJ Williamson Falk 18.22
3. Rod Boggan Warner 17.32
4. Jordan Hamlette Falk 16.46
5. Darryl Mercer Jr. Warner 15.17
Rebounds Per Game Leaders
1. Billy Balogun TWU 10.5
2. CJ Williamson Falk 7.6
3. Jaquez Dickerson Warner 7.0
4. Logan West Warner 6.3
5. Ty Patterson TWU 6.3
Assist Per Game Leaders
1. Grant Sanderson Falk 3.65
2. Jordan Hamlette Falk 3.42
3. Rod Boggan Warner 3.27
4. Bryant Bernard TWU 3.16
5. Darryl Mercer Jr Warner 2.58
Matchups
Warner is a youthful team that plays hard and competes. They had the Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year in the Sun Conference this season. While Boggan is just a Sophomore, he plays with a lot of confidence and a maturity to him that is affectious. They get put into a Pod with two other teams that play a similar style as them. If they want to make it to Kansas City they are going to have to really crash the glass hard as a team and get stops down the stretch. Either way this is going to be great experience for a young group!
vs.
The Bulldogs had a great AAC Tournament that ultimately got them the vote as the 2nd AAC at-large team. They compete and will play with good pace. If they can take care of the ball and shoot well enough from the outside they can pull off the upsets here!
When you look at National Title Contenders they all have a stud duo or trio that they can count on when things get tough. Faulkner has that in CJ Williamson and Jordan Hamlette. Both are tough players who compliment one another well and put a lot of pressure on defenses. This Faulkner group was set up to do big things last season and never got the chance to play in the National Tournament. They have played hungry all season long and even took #1 Indiana Wesleyan down to the wire! This is a fun group who has won a lot of games the past two seasons and now will look to do it on the National scene.
vs.
Winner of #2 Warner #3 Tennessee Wesleyan
With Faulkner hosting the Pod, both Warner and Tennessee Wesleyan are behind the 8-ball in this Pod. Both teams play tough and scrappy though so don’t overlook them. The young Warner duo of Boggan and West are going to be fun to watch grow over the next few years! This Royal program is in great hands moving forward, but they also don’t have any plans to go home early. This group will fight hard until the final buzzer! They will have to shut down Bryant Bernard in the opening round game. Bernard has shown flashes where he can take over games. TWU will need others to show up as well if they want to win the Pod!
Faulkner, behind their two All-Americans in Williamson and Hamlette cause a lot of problems for opposing teams defenses. This group saw what they can do in their 2pt loss to IWU earlier in the season. They had to scrap back into that game, but Jordan Hamlette was still finding his way at that point in this offense. He showed in the 2nd half of the season how good he really is! The Eagles also get to play on their home court which gives them a huge advantage to reach Kansas City!
