Game #28 - ECAC Quarterfinals
Franciscan (21-6 | 12-4 PAC) vs. New Jersey City University (14-12 | 10-8 NJAC) 
Saturday, March 7th | 5:30 p.m. 
John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center | Jersey City, NJ  

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The Latest
- The Barons fell 75-65 in the PAC Semifinals to the eventual champion Washington & Jefferson
- Shooting struggles plagued the Barons in the loss, as they were 19-57 from the field and only 4-24 from three-point range
- Sawyer Butler led the way with 17 points, and Nathan Richards scored a career high 15 points
- Zach Oliver also added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds
- Despite the loss, the Barons still qualified for the ECAC Tournament for the second straight year and third time overall
- They earned the #4 seed in the tournament, and they will face #5 New Jersey City University (NJCU)

The Bracket
Scouting the Gothic Knights
- NJCU comes into this matchup 14-12, with a 10-8 NJAC record
- They lost in the NJAC quarterfinals to Rowan University
- Senior guard Bakhi Rogers-Robinson leads the offense with 20.6 points per game, which ranks second in the NJAC
- Junior forward/center Donovan Crawford also averages 10.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 8.4 per game
- The Gothic Knights are second in the NJAC in points allowed, giving up only 68.1 points per game
- These two teams have never faced each other before

Tale of the Tape
- The Barons and Gothic Knights come into this matchup as two drastically different teams
- Franciscan led the PAC in three-point percentage at 35.5%, while NJCU was eighth in their conference at 27.4%
- The Barons made 235 threes, while the Gothic Knights made only 90
- Franciscan also gave up the lowest three-point percentage in the PAC at 28.2%, while NJCU was ninth in their conference at 33.3%
- While the Gothic Knights allow slightly less points per game, the Barons have been the much better offensive team this season
- They average 80.5 points per game to NJCU's 68.7 per game

With a Win…
- The winner of this game will face #1 Pitt.-Greensburg
- The Bobcats come into the tournament 22-5, with a 13-3 record in the AMCC
- They made it to the AMCC Championship game, where they were defeated 66-61 by Penn State Behrend
- Franciscan faced Behrend earlier this season, winning 80-65
- The Barons are 9-17 all-time against Pitt.-Greensburg, who they regularly faced in their time in the AMCC
- The last time the two teams faced in 2022-23, the Barons won 93-82, led by 24 points from Travis Lien and 21 points from Colton Hage

Award Season
- The Barons achieved their most highly decorated season in program history
- They set a Division III program record with 21 wins and made the semifinals for the first time in program history
- Sawyer Butler won PAC Player of the Year, and he made First Team All-PAC for the second straight year
- Zach Oliver led the conference in rebounds per game and earned Honorable Mention All-PAC
- Coach Joe Wallace earned his first career PAC Coach of the Year honors in his 10th year with the program after guiding the Barons to a historic season

Big Time Butler
- Sawyer Butler has scored 20+ points in 33 of his 75 career collegiate games. He has scored 30+ points seven times.
- He has scored 591 points this season, which is the most by a Baron in a season all-time
- He looks to be the first PAC player to score 600 points in a season since Geneva's Lyle Tipton in 2022-23
- With 1,438 career points, he sits tied with Josh Zimmerman for 5th on the all-time scoring ranks that go back to 1947
- Butler broke the program record for most free throws made by a Baron. He sits at 432 makes while shooting 84.5% for his career.
- He is third all-time in field goals with 435
- His 21.9 points per game is the highest ever single-season average by a Baron in the Division III era
- With 135 made three-pointers, he has passed Keoni Sablan for second all-time 

Player of the Year
- Butler was voted PAC Player of the Year, becoming the first Baron to win a conference player of the year award
- He led the PAC in scoring for the entire season, currently standing at 21.9 points per game coming into Saturday's matchup
- He scored 30+ points four times, including a stunning 49-point performance in a win over Juniata in December
- Butler also finished second on the team in rebounds with 5.7 per game and led the team in assists with 2.2 per game
- He became the first Baron to make 200 free throws in a season 

The Coaching Matchup
- NJCU Head Coach Marc Brown has had a legendary career at the helm of the Gothic Knights
- In 18 years, he has accumulated a 249-191 record, four NCAA tournament berths, seven ECAC tournament berths, and 12 NJAC tournament berths
- He has led the Gothic Knights to two NJAC tournament championships and one ECAC championship
- He has won ECAC Coach of the Year once, NJAC Coach of the Year four times, D3hoops.com All-Region Coach of the Year twice, and All-Met Division III Coach of the Year twice
- On the other side, Franciscan Head Coach Joe Wallace is closing in on 100 wins in his time coaching the Barons, as he now has 96
- This week, he won his first PAC Coach of the Year honors 
- His players have earned all-conference honors 14 times, as well as one conference Newcomer of the Year award and one PAC Player of the Year award

In the Garden State
- This will be the first time that the Barons compete in New Jersey since the 1971-72 season.
- On January 8, 1972, the Barons beat Montclair State by a score of 64-59.
- Montclair State won the NJAC this season while beating NJCU twice this season to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
- Franciscan has one player who played high school ball in the Garden State. Volodymyr Trotsko played at Colts Neck, which is just an hour south of NJCU.
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