FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It’s time to dance in South Florida. The NCAA South Region tournament is set to tip off on Saturday afternoon at the Rick Case Arena, as the “Road to Evansville” officially begins. The second-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Men’s Basketball team, the top-seeded team in the South Region, will play the eighth-seeded Savannah State Tigers in the first round on Saturday evening. The Sharks clinched their spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) tournament for the fourth consecutive season, while the Tigers won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) for the second time in program history.
NSU is 1-0 all-time against the Tigers, having defeated Savannah State 113-62 in the first round of the 2022 NCAA South Region Tournament.
No. 2 Nova Southeastern (30-1) | Sunshine State Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champions
The Sharks have advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in each of the last three seasons as champions of the South Region. NSU enters Saturday evening’s match-up against the Tigers having won 17 consecutive games including the SSC title game. Nova Southeastern continues to prove that the Rick Case Arena is among the best home-court advantages in all of college basketball, having won 81 straight home games – dating back to February 26, 2020 – setting the NCAA Division II record for consecutive home wins.
Head Coach Jim Crutchfield, a four-time recipient of the Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year award, leads DII’s highest scoring offense (105.2 points per game) and the Sharks lead NCAA Division II in assist/turnover ratio (2.28), assists per game (24.7), and scoring margin (24), while ranking top-10 in field goal percentage (2nd/0.525), steals per game (3rd/12.3), effective field goal percentage (5th/0.583), fastbreak points per game (6th/20.52), and turnovers forced per game (6th/19.52). All five starters for the Sharks average double-digit points per game, led by Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year MJ Iraldi (24.1), while Ryker Cisarik (18.3), Ross Reeves (13.8), Dallas Graziani (12.7) and Tyler Eberhart (12.2) make up a unit that averages over 80 points on a nightly basis.
Iraldi, who was named the D2 CCA South Region Player of the Year, in addition to earning SSC Player of the Year honors, leads the NSU offense while being the most prolific scorer in the South Region. The senior, who set the Sharks single-season scoring record in the SSC title game, ranks second nationally in points (746) and eighth in points-per-game. Iraldi is a candidate for both the Bevo Francis Award and the Trevor Hudgins Award, alongside Cisarik for both awards and Graziani for the Bevo Francis award.
Graziani, the only NSU point guard to record 300 assists in a single season, leads NCAA Division II in assists (300/NSU program record), assists per game (9.7), and assist/turnover ratio (5.66). Graziani leads NSU in double-doubles (14) and has recorded a double-double in each of his last two games.
Cisarik has been sensational on both ends of the floor for Nova Southeastern throughout the 2024-25 season, leading the Sharks in field goal percentage (0.604), rebounds (230), rebounds-per-game (7.4), and blocks (45), while ranking second on the team in scoring.
Savannah State (18-11) | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history and for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Savannah State has won each of its last eight games, including narrowly edging out Tuskegee in the final seconds of the SIAC Conference Championship game.
Savannah State has limited opponents to just 62.3 points per game throughout the 2024-25 season, which ranks third nationally, but the Tigers will have their hands full against the top-scoring offense of Nova Southeastern. SSU began the campaign with games against Saint Leo, Florida Southern and Embry-Riddle, going 1-2 against the Sunshine State Conference programs.
The Tigers had three players earn all-tournament honors, led by Qua King who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Joining King on the all-tournament team was Ayjay Plain and Javontae Landy. Plain and King, the leading scorers for SSU, both average over 12 points per game. In the SIAC title game, the duo combined for 42 points, with King accounting for 19 points, in addition to eight rebounds.
It’s the Sharks. It’s the Tigers. It’s time to dance in the NCAA Tournament. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Men’s Basketball, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_MBasketball. To purchase tickets for Saturday evening’s game between NSU and Savannah State, click here. To support the Nova Southeastern Men’s Basketball program, click here
