No. 1 IPFW Plays No. 5 North Dakota State In Summit League Tournament Semifinal

Monday, March 7

Sioux Falls, S.D.

7 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

No. 5 North Dakota State (Semifinal)

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media

No. 1 IPFW Plays No. 5 North Dakota State In Summit League Tournament Semifinal

3/6/2016 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – IPFW, the top seed for the 2016 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in program history, will play No. 5 seed North Dakota State in the first semifinal of the league tournament Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Midco Sports Network/ESPN3). The Mastodons of second-year head coach Jon Coffman have an overall record of 24-8, advancing to the semifinals with an 86-70 win past No. 8 South Dakota in the quarterfinals. The Bison have a record of 19-12, and advanced to the semifinals with a 60-45 win past No. 4 IUPUI.

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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV: Midco Sports Network/ESPN3
Radio: ESPN 1380 AM / 100.9 FM
Play-by-Play: Brett Rump
Video: espn.go.com
Stats: summitstats.com
Audio: espnfortwayne.com (Listen Live)

Quick Hits
• IPFW, seeded No. 1 for the first time in program history, is playing No. 5 seed and two-time defending Summit League Tournament champion North Dakota State for the 24th time. The Bison lead the closely-played series, 12-11, as the two teams split a pair of games this season ... each winning on its home court ... the Mastodons 79-74 in Fort Wayne (1/21) and NDSU 62-46 in Fargo (2/6).
• IPFW is 6-8 in Summit League Tournament games since joining the league in 2007-08, including 1-1 under Coach Coffman. The Mastodons and North Dakota State have met once previously in a Summit League Tournament game, as the Bison defeated IPFW 60-57 in the 2014 Championship contest (3/11/14).
• IPFW is enjoying its finest season as a Division I program (2001-02) with its 24-8 record, the most regular season wins in Division I, while only the second 20-win season in Division I (25-11, 2013-14).
• IPFW was ranked No. 18 in last week's The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, and is among the Top 25 for a record ninth-straight week. The Mastodons previous high ranking was at No. 14 earlier this month (2/22).
• IPFW has four scoring in double figures, including Max Landis (19.5, 116 3FGs, 3.8 assists), John Konchar (12.9, 9.1 rebounds), Joe Reed (10.5, 4.8 rebounds) and Michael Calder (10.2, 3.8 rebounds).

Scouting The Bison
No. 5 seed North Dakota State is 19-12 overall, following a Summit League Tournament quarterfinal win past No. 4 seed IUPUI (60-45) March 6. The Bison are coached by David Richman, who is in his second season as head coach at NDSU. North Dakota State has three scoring in double-figures, including sophomores Paul Miller (15.8) and A.J. Jacobson (13.1), along with senior Kory Brown (10.8). The Bison have averaged 69.1 points, while allowing 64.3 points, and are 3-0 in neutral site games this season.

Scouting The Mastodons
No. 1 seed IPFW is 24-8 overall, following a Summit League Tournament quarterfinal win past No. 8 seed South Dakota (86-70) March 5. The Mastodons are coached by Jon Coffman, who is in his second season as head coach, fifth year at the school and 19th overall. IPFW has four scoring in double-figures, including Landis (19.5), Konchar (12.9), Reed (10.5) and Calder (10.2). The Mastodons have averaged 80.6 points, while allowing 76.2 points, and are 2-1 in neutral site games this season.

Last Time Out
Landis scored 24 points to lead No. 1 IPFW to an 86-70 Summit League Tournament quarterfinal win past No. 8 South Dakota. The Mastodons led just 39-33 at halftime before scoring the first eight points of the second half to take a 47-33 advantage with 17:46 remaining, getting a pair of three-pointers from Reed along with a basket by Konchar. IPFW extended the second-half run to 23-9 for its largest lead of the night at 62-42 with 13:29 left to play. Five different players scored during the outburst, including freshman Charles Ruise Jr. with a nice baseline dive and slam dunk. It was still a 20-point margin at 67-47 with 10:13 left after a three-point field goal by Landis, before nine-straight points by the Coyotes closed the gap to 67-56 with 7:30 to go. Back-to-back baskets from Konchar, including a left-handed slam dunk, along with a three-pointer by Landis and a layup from Reed, assisted by Landis, made it 76-60 at 4:13. Junior DeAngelo Stewart closed with a pair of free throws and his fifth three-pointer, followed by a driving layup from Landis and a late three-pointer by freshman Kason Harrell to provide for the final margin. Landis led IPFW with his game-high 24 points for his 13th 20-point game this season, including 4-10 three-pointers to increase his new school season record to 116, adding a game-high six assists. The 13 20-point games have come over the last 21 games, and the standout guard has scored in double-figures in 29 of 31 games this season, while scoring nine points in each of the other two contests. Stewart finished with 19 points for the Mastodons, including 5-9 three-pointers, adding seven rebounds. Konchar and Reed each added 16 points, with Konchar grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds for his 13th collegiate double-double, along with a game-high four steals and three assists. The 16 rebounds tie the sixth-highest total in Summit League Tournament history, and are the most since 1998. Reed added seven rebounds, while Ruise Jr. contributed six points. IPFW shot 51% (31-61) from the field, including 39% (12-31) on three-pointers and 80% (12-15) at the free throw line. The 12 three-pointers tied the fourth-highest total in a Summit League Tournament game.

Who's Hot
IPFW … with 24 wins for its second-highest win total since moving up to Division I (2001-02). Landis ... averaging 23.8 points and 4.5 assists in his last six games, including one 30-point game among six 20-point games, while shooting 46% (44-96) from the field, 39% (24-62, 4.0) on three-pointers and 86% (31-36) at the line. Konchar ... averaging a double-double of 16.7 points and 11.3 rebounds (four double-doubles) in his last six games, while shooting 65% (35-54) from the field (2-9 3FGs) and 80% (28-35) at the line. Calder ... averaging 15.8 points and 3.8 assists in his last six games, including two 20-point games among five double-figure games, while shooting 44% (32-73) from the field, 38% (13-34) on three-pointers and 90% (18-20) at the line. Stewart ... averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in his last six games, including a career-high 23 points among four double-figure games, while shooting 51% (26-51) from the field, 53% (18-34) on three-pointers and 81% (13-16) at the line. Reed ... averaging 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in his last six games, including four double-figure games, while shooting 63% (20-32) from the field (6-9 3FGs) and 79% (22-28) at the line.

NCAA RPI Ratings
IPFW has an NCAA RPI of 62 as of March 6, ranking 2nd among the Summit League's top five teams behind only South Dakota State (36), and followed by Omaha (131), North Dakota State (140) and Oral Roberts (146).

Raining 3's
IPFW has made 333 three-point field goals this season, ranking 4th in Division I, and the Mastodons rank 6th nationally in three-point percentage (.415, 333-803) and three-pointers per game (10.4). Landis ranks 2nd in Division I made three-pointers (116) and three-pointers per game (3.74), and is 7th in Division I three-point percentage (.462, 116-251). He has 14 games this season with at least four three-pointers.

What A Game By Landis
Landis scored a school-record 44 points at South Dakota on Feb. 4, tying the eighth-highest total in Division I this season, while also the sixth-most ever in a Summit League game. His 11 three-point field goals in that game equal the second-most in Division I this year, and ties the Summit League record, as well. Landis has two games this season with nine three-pointers (9-12 vs. Austin Peay, 12/12; 9-12 at Omaha, 1/16), tying for seventh-most in Division I in 2015-16.

Elite First-Year Player
Konchar is ranked 1st among Division I freshmen in minutes played (1132), while 5th nationally in double-doubles (13) and tied for 6th in rebounding (9.1). If he qualified for field goal percentage (minimum 5.0 made per game-Konchar is just below at 4.78), he would rank 4th (.591, 153-259) among the nation's freshman class. Some names of those just ahead of him include Ben Simmons at LSU, Henry Ellenson at Marquette and Dedric Lawson of Memphis.

Ironmen
IPFW has two starters who have ranked among the Division I leaders in minutes played all season, including Landis (16th, 1157) and Konchar (26th, 1132). Landis has played 40 or more minutes 10 times this season, while Konchar has played 40 or more minutes four times.

Road Warriors
IPFW has played 19 games away from Fort Wayne, including 16 true road games (10-6) and three neutral-site contests (2-1). The Mastodons' brutal early-season schedule (10 of the first 14 away) included trips to Valparaiso; Clarksville, Tennessee; Oxford, Ohio; Greensboro, North Carolina; San Luis Obispo, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Bloomington and Kalamazoo, Michigan -- all before Christmas. IPFW has since traveled to Denver, Colorado; Brookings, South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Vermillion, South Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota; Macomb, Illinois and Indianapolis for league games, along with this trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the league tournament.

Frequent Flyers/Travelers
IPFW has flown 11,716 miles this season for games in North Carolina (1,402), California and Utah (3,599), Denver (2,086), South Dakota and Nebraska (1,192), Oklahoma (1,486), South Dakota (again) and North Dakota (1,332), along with South Dakota (619, yet again). In addition, the Mastodons have traveled 3,928 miles this season on Charter Buses for games in Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan. Over 2,000 miles (2,060) of the bus rides have occurred during the trips to California (700), South Dakota/Nebraska (238), South Dakota/North Dakota (364) and Illinois/Indiana. IPFW has played games in 13 different states this year.

The Team Three-Point Stat
IPFW has made at least one three-point field goal in 389 consecutive games, dating back to a road game at Miami (Ohio) (12/21/03, 0-9). The Mastodons' 333 three-pointers this season include 20 games with at least 10 three-pointers, including a school-record 20 made three-pointers at South Dakota (2/4, 20-36, 56%). The season-low is six, three times, most recent vs. Navy (11/29, 6-26) in Greensboro, North Carolina. Through March 6, UNLV has the current Division I record at 971 straight games, dating back to Nov. 26, 1986.

Among Indiana / Mid-Majors
IPFW has posted 65 wins over the past three seasons since 2013-14, ranking 3rd among Indiana's 10 Division I programs, behind Valparaiso (72) and Notre Dame (67). The Mastodons are 2nd among those schools considered to be mid-major programs in Indiana (Valparaiso). The two-plus campaigns are also the most successful seasons in the program's Division I history, including consecutive post-season appearances in the 2014 and 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournaments -- the first and only consecutive post-season appearances, as well.

Up Next
A win would advance IPFW to the 2016 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship game on March 8 at 9 p.m. ET at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Complete game notes available via linked pdf.