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Patriots Dance Continues with Elite Eight Matchup Against Ashland

UT Tyler will get the chance to battle it out in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in program history and face off with Ashland on Monday night.

UT Tyler vs. Ashland
UTT: 27-7, 18-4 LSC | AU: 34-0, 20-0 GMAC
Monday Mar. 20th | 6 P.M.
St. Joseph, Missouri | St. Joseph Civic Center		 ROSTER SCHEDULE STATS


WHAT A RIDE
 
The Patriots have danced their way all the way to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in program history in just their second year of Division II eligibility, and there has been no shortage of excitement along the way.
 
UT Tyler finished the regular season second in the LSC standings, and made their second consecutive LSC tournament semifinals appearance. That work gave them their first every NCAA South Central Regional Tournament invitation, and they jumped all over that chance by taking home the title and punching their ticket to St. Joseph, Missouri.
 
In that regional, the Patriots dispatched the top offense and conference runner up from the RMAC in Colorado School of Mines. The work kept rolling as the Patriots handled no. 1 seeded Angelo State on their home floor to claim a spot in the regional tournament final. In that final, the Patriots went to double overtime before sending Lubbock Christian home and moving on to the Elite Eight.
 
A BIG TASK AT HAND
 
UT Tyler was handed the no. 8 seed at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on Tuesday, and they will face off with no. 1 seed Ashland in their matchup. The Patriots are the only non-number one seed from their respective regional tournament, as all seven other one seeds made the Elite Eight.
 
STATISTICALLY STRONG
 
The Patriots continue to post one of the top defenses in the country, and that shows in the statistics as they are 7th in all of NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense and 30th in scoring defense. On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots hold the 36th best team free throw percentage, and boast the 49th most three pointers per game and 42nd best turnover margin.
 
WHAT COACH ALVIDREZ IS SAYING
 
On being in the Elite Eight: "This is what we dream about. Our team is excited to be here, just two years into Division II. We're excited and we are going to take it one game at a time. We're going to battle it out tomorrow and see what happens and try not to get to high."
 
On what it takes to be in the Elite Eight: "When you have a balanced team, it makes coaching even better. I think it's tougher to guard that team. We want to be able to move to the ball and stretch a defense."
 
On being the underdog yet again: "Winning is hard. Making it this far is pretty special. By being special you have to sacrifice and do extra aside from practice. To be able to compete at a high level and take it one game at a time. We want make sure we are the toughest team and work the hardest and see what happens."
 
THE SCOUTING REPORT
 
Ashland is one of the top teams across the country, and their statistics back it up. The Eagles are first in Division II in field goal percentage and three point percentage. They make the second most three pointers per game and have the number one scoring margin.
 
The Eagles head into this contest at 34-0 on the season, and are led on offense by a quartet of double figure scorers. Leading all of them is Annie Roshak, who averages 14.1 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding while leading the team in blocks. She shoots 63.9% from the floor and 48.3% from three.
 
The head coach of Ashland is Kari Pickens, who is in her 10th season at Ashland and is in her fifth season as head coach. Pickens has coached the program to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, with this year being her first appearance in the Elite Eight.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
 
For UT Tyler, they are in search of their first NCAA Final Four appearance not just in the Division II era, but in program history. Monday's matchup will be the second Elite Eight game in program history, following the successes of the 2015-2016 season.
 
The winner of Monday night's game will move on to the NCAA Division II Final Four, which will take place on Wednesday night in Missouri. The winner will face off with the winner between no. 4 Tampa and no. 5 Glenville State. That Wednesday night contest will take place at either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.
 
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