Men’s Basketball Faces Central for Third Shot at IIAC Title in Four Years
Feb 24, 2016
UD Schedule and Stats
Central Schedule and Stats
DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque will host No. 5 seed Central on Thursday in an Iowa Conference Semifinal that features two teams who have combined to win the last three IIAC Tournament titles.
The No. 1 seed Spartans (18-7, 11-3 Iowa Conference) last won the IIAC tournament in 2015 and 2013, both as the No. 3 seed, while Central won the title in 2014 as the No. 1 overall seed. The upcoming battle favors the host in UD after the pair split during the regular season with the win going to the home team each time.
Last season’s IIAC MVP and back-to-back IIAC scoring champion, senior Andre Norris, comes in with some added motivation and sits 29 points away from becoming UD’s all-time leading scorer. With a win, Norris will have another chance as the Spartans aim for their third IIAC tournament title in four years. The Plainfield, Ill. native averaged 22.4 points during IIAC play in 2016.
Central (17-9, 7-7 Iowa Conference) upset No. 4 seed Loras on the road, 84-79, in the first round to secure their first tourney win and semifinal trip since 2014. Forward Colby Taylor led Central with 18.3 points per game during 14 IIAC regular season games. It will be the Dutch's fourth trip to Dubuque in nine days after playing UD once and Loras twice.
"Central is a very dangerous team because of their ability to shoot the basketball and they really space the floor well," said Head Coach Robbie Sieverding. "This is a fun time of the year to be playing and our team knows we will have to play good in order to advance on Thursday."
2016 Head-to-Head
February 20 – Spartans won at home, 67-57
January 13 – Dutch won at home, 72-67
Iowa Conference Tournament History (last 5 seasons)
|
Team |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011* |
|
UD |
IIAC CHAMPS |
#2 seed |
IIAC CHAMPS |
#3 seed |
#3 seed |
|
Central |
#4 seed |
IIAC CHAMPS |
Did not qualify |
#4 seed |
#6 seed |
*#3 Spartans defeated #6 Central, 64-44, in 1st round of 2011 IIAC Tournament
Norris Chasing Scoring Title
-Career Points: 1899 points, 2nd in UD history
-Needs 29 points to break the 30-year-old, all-time record of 1927 points
|
Scoring Against Central |
Games |
PPG |
FG% |
High |
|
2016 |
2 |
23.5 |
15-32 (46.9%) |
25 pts |
|
Career |
8 |
20.1 |
55-106 (51.9%) |
32 pts |
