Teams Inside the Pod
#1 Providence
17-2 Overall
Frontier Conference Regular Season Champions
Frontier Conference Tournament Champions
#11 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 2 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.816)
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.311)
Ranks Number 28 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (84.895)
Ranks Number 29 in Division I in Assists per Game (16.421)
Ranks Number 32 in Division I in Scoring Margin (9.263)
Ranks Number 33 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.421)
Ranks Number 40 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.480)
Ranks Number 47 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (4.579)
Ranks Number 50 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.367)
#2 Tx A&M Texarkana
11-3 Overall
RRAC Regular Season Runners-Up
RRAC Tournament Runners-Up
#22 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 3 in Division I in Steals per Game (10.643)
Ranks Number 4 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.279)
Ranks Number 7 in Division I in Scoring Defense per Game (65.429)
Ranks Number 11 in Division I in Scoring Margin (14.857)
Ranks Number 18 in Division I in Turnover Margin (3.429)
Ranks Number 19 in Division I in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.407)
Ranks Number 25 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.380)
Ranks Number 46 in Division I in Assists per Game (15.357)
#3 Bethel (IN)
20-10 Overall
4th Place finish in the Crossroads League
#29 Overall Seed
Ranks Number 2 in Division I in Total Scoring Offense (2745)
Ranks Number 4 in Division I in Total 3-Pt FG Made (300)
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Total Total Rebound Offense (1216)
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in Scoring Offense per Game (91.500)
Ranks Number 9 in Division I in Total Assists (463)
Ranks Number 21 in Division I in Total Steals (199)
Ranks Number 23 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.747)
Ranks Number 24 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (10.000)
Ranks Number 27 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (40.533)
Ranks Number 30 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.378)
Ranks Number 35 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (29.100)
Ranks Number 37 in Division I in Field Goal Pct (0.481)
Ranks Number 39 in Division I in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.169)
Ranks Number 43 in Division I in Assists per Game (15.433)
Ranks Number 44 in Division I in Offensive Rebounds per Game (11.433)
Ranks Number 49 in Division I in Total Rebound Margin (4.433)
Top Players
#2 Zachheus Darko-Kelly 6'6 Sr. - 18.4ppg, 9.1rpg, 5.4apg, 1.4spg, 1.3spg
2020-21 Frontier Conference Player of the Year
2019-20 NAIA 1st Team All-American
2017-18 NAIA 2nd Team All-American
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.918)
Ranks Number 11 in Division I in Defensive Rebounds per Game (8.000)
Ranks Number 14 in Division I in Assists per Game (5.389)
Ranks Number 28 in Division I in Total Rebounds per Game (9.111)
Ranks Number 40 in Division I in Blocks per Game (1.333)
Ranks Number 42 in Division I in Total Assists (97)
#3 Marcus Stephens 6'3 Jr. - 14.9ppg, 4.1rpg
2020-21 1st Team All-Frontier Conference
Ranks Number 36 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.846)
#1 Kobe Powelll 5'9 Jr. - 15.2ppg, 5.6rpg, 3.7apg
2020-21 1st Team All-RRAC
Ranks Number 12 in Division I in Steals per Game (2.357)
#5 Connor Ouellette 6'3 Jr. - 15.0ppg, 5.1rpg,
2020-21 2nd Team All-RRAC
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in 3-Pt FG Pct (.529)
#11 Trevion Crews 6'0 Sr. - 24.72ppg, 5.2rpg, 5.0apg
Ranks Number 1 in Division I in Total 3-Pt FG Made (102)
Ranks Number 2 in Division I in Total Scoring (717)
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Total Assists (145)
Ranks Number 5 in Division I in Points per Game (24.724)
Ranks Number 6 in Division I in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (3.517)
Ranks Number 9 in Division I in Total Steals (56)
Ranks Number 17 in Division I in Free Throw Pct (0.871)
Ranks Number 24 in Division I in Assists per Game (5.000)
Ranks Number 36 in Division I in Steals per Game (1.931)
Points Per Game Leaders
1. TreVion Crews Bethel 24.72
2. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly Prov 18.39
3. Zac Owens Bethel 18.35
4. Kobe Powell A&M 15.21
5. Connor Ouellette A&M 15.0
Rebounds Per Game Leaders
1. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly Providence 9.1
2. Jaxen Hashley Providence 6.7
3. Dio Caldwell A&M 6.0
4. Nathan Aerts Bethel 5.93
5. Kobe Powell A&M 5.6
Assist Per Game Leaders
1. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly Providence
2. TreVion Crews Bethel 5.0
3. Kobe Powell A&M 3.71
4. Jared DeHart 3.23 Bethel
5. Cap Uzan 3.11 Providence
Matchups
Ryan Wall and the Eagles will head to Omaha to represent the Red River Athletic Conference in the NAIA National Tournament. They have been a Top 25 team all year long and face a Bethel Pilot team that has really struggled down the stretch. The good news is that as good as Trevion Crews is, the Eagles have played against great guards from LSU Shreveport 3 different times this season. If Powell and Ouellette can knock down 3’s they are very capable of winning the Pod. What will be the biggest key for them is if they can get their press locked in and be really good defensively.
vs.
Really don’t know what to expect from this Bethel squad who come into the National Tournament losing 7 of their last 9 games. They were really cruising and playing well before they have had multiple guys go down with knee injuries. Trevion Crews is electric, he’s a Top 10 player in the NAIA and you can bet he won’t go down without a fight. He is very capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them for 40 minutes. I talked about it on the Podcast, that he is capable of having a Steph Curry, while he was at Davidson, type of tournament blow up! It may take that for Bethel to find their way to Kansas City. Either way we are glad that we get to see Crews finally play in the National Tournament! No matter how it ends, it’s been a heck of a career!
The Argos are really talented and have arguably a Top 2 player in the NAIA, in Zaccheus Darko-Kelly. There are scouts who we have talked with who actually think he is the best pro prospect in this NAIA Senior class. ZDK is really fun to watch, but he’s also got Marcus Stephens who plays a very good Robin to ZDK’s Batman. This UP team has to travel a bit to get out to Omaha, but they are poised for a nice run in the National Tournament.
vs.
Winner of #2 Texas A&M Texarkana vs #3 Bethel
There are a lot of questions surrounding Game 1 in this Pod. Bethel, at full strength, is probably the more talented team. Without a full squad they are going to lean heavily on Trevion Crews to help get them past Texarkana. The main question with Texarkana still remains on how good are they really? This team lost three times to a very good and talented LSUS team, but they went into The Fort to knock off LSUA. They really do a good job defensively of taking teams out of what they want to do, and can create havoc that way. If they can continue with that trend, they can be a team we see make it to KC.
The Argos of Providence though are the team to beat in this Pod. While they too haven’t played much outside of their own league games, they have the best player in the Pod. A ZDK vs Crews matchup would be amazing from a fans standpoint. However, watching Ryan Wall and his defense try to slow ZDK down! Either way, a couple of great games and great players are what are going to make this Pod a lot of fun to watch this weekend!
