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Tournament Webpage

No. 1 Metro State will face UC-Colorado Springs at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Notes:
RECENT NOTES
•    Metro State has earned the No. 1 seed in a regional tournament four times and has won the region all four times and has a 17-3 (.850) record at the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed.
•    Metro State has only played a team four times in a season twice in school history and went 4-0 vs. those teams each time (Nebraska-Kearney in 1998-99 and 2003-04).
•    Metro State has made more NCAA tournament appearances over the past 17 years than any other Division II school (16).
•    Metro State's seven Elite Eight appearances since 1998 are more than any other school (Kentucky Wesleyan is second with five).
•    Metro State's .716 winning percentage in the NCAA tournament is the third-best in Division II history.
•    If Metro State was to win the rest of its games this season and win a national championship, it would require a 31-game winning streak.
•    The Roadrunners have had two or more players scored 20+ points in each of the past four games.
•    Metro State earned an automatic bid by winning the RMAC Shootout, its 11th RMAC tournament title and second in a row (Fort Hays State has second-most with four).
•    Metro State has won 25 straight games (longest active streak in Division II).
•    Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) was named RMAC player of the year, becoming the second consecutive Roadrunner to earn the award (Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) in 2013).
•    Jefferson is the sixth Roadrunner to be named RMAC player of the year.
•    Jefferson was named RMAC offensive player of the week on Jan. 13 after averaging 33.0 points and 4.5 assists, while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor, 9-of-16 (.563) from 3-point range and 27-of-28 (.964) at the free throw line in wins over Colorado Christian and No. 11 Colorado Mines.
•    He earned the award again on Jan. 27 after averaging 24.5 points and 4.5 assists in wins over Colorado Mesa and Western State.
•    Jefferson earned his third RMAC player of the week honor on March 3 after averaging 24.0 points and making 12-of-13 free throws Feb. 28-March 1 to help the Roadrunners finish the regular season 22-0 in RMAC play.
•    Jefferson was named RMAC male athlete of the month for January.
•    Jefferson set the school record for consecutive free throws with 34 in a row from Jan. 11 to Jan. 24, and also made 24 straight Jan. 25 to Feb. 15, and 23 consecutive free throws from Dec. 7 to Dec. 21.
•    Jefferson missed consecutive free throws for the first time all season on March 7 vs. Fort Lewis.
•    Jefferson had 32 points and broke the school record for free throws made in a game (19) on Jan. 11 vs. No. 11 CSM.
•    Jefferson earned RMAC defensive player of the week on Dec. 9 after tying a career high with six steals at Regis.
•    Jefferson is averaging 22.1 points and shooting 51.1 percent on 3-point field goals over the past seven games.
•    Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) scored a career-high 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting in a win over Western State on Jan. 25.
•    He was named RMAC defensive player of the week on Nov. 18 and Feb. 3 after having five steals on Jan. 31 vs. Chadron State and two steals on Feb. 1 vs. Black Hills State.
•    McCarron is averaging 18.4 points and shooting 55.6 percent from the floor over the past eight games.
•    Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) was named RMAC defensive player of the week on Dec. 23 after seven steals and two blocks at BHSU and CSC.
•    Kay also won the award on Dec. 2.
•    Kay is averaging 21.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor over the past six games.
•    Kay was named RMAC Shootout most valuable player.
•    Jamal McClerkin (Van Nuys, Calif./Chaminade College Prep) scored a career-high 15 points and hit a career-high three 3-pointers at Fort Lewis on Jan. 18.
•    McClerkin matched his career high with 15 again on Jan. 24 against Colorado Mesa.
•    Metro State suffered its first regular-season, non-conference loss since 2010 (Central Washington), 72-69 at No. 7 Western Washington on Nov. 30.
•    The game at Western Washington was Metro State's fourth game in six days and eighth in 16 days (including exhibitions).
•    Metro State played its first home game of the season on Dec. 13 vs. UC-Colorado Springs after five regular season and four exhibition games on the road.

THIRD PERFECT RMAC SEASON EVER
•    Metro State became the third team in the 42-year history of RMAC men's basketball to go undefeated in conference play.
•    The Roadrunners finished 22-0.
•    Fort Hays State (1996, 16-0 record) was the first team to do so and Metro State (2004, 19-0) was the second team.
•    Metro State also set the RMAC record for conference wins in a season with 22, breaking the previous record of 20 set by Metro State in 2012-13 and Colorado Mines in 2011-12.

CLARK FASTEST TO 100
•    Derrick Clark reached 100 wins in his career faster than any head coach in school history, doing so in 119 games.
•    Only three coaches have reached 100 wins in school history.
    Number of games to 100:
    Name    Games    Record*    100th Win
    Derrick Clark    119    100-19    2/15/14 Regis
    Mike Dunlap    121    100-21    2/6/01 at Colorado Mines
    Bob Hull    148    100-48    12/17/90 MSU-Billings
    *record at 100th win
•    Dunlap finished his nine-year career at Metro State with a 248-50 (.832) record; Hull finished his eight-year career at MSU with a 149-78 (.656) mark

KAY NAMED RMAC SHOOTOUT MVP
•    Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) was named RMAC Shootout most valuable player after averaging 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in three tournament games.
•    Kay had a team-high 22 points and hit 10-of-12 at the line in the championship game.
•    Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) (18.7 PPG) and Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) (17.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.3 APG) were named to the all-tournament team.

RECORDS WATCH
•    Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.)'s current 20.9 scoring average would break the single season-scoring average (20.8, Gene Edwards, 1989-90).
•    Jefferson current free throw percentage (.915) would also break the single season record (.888, C.J. Arellano, 1996-97).
•    Jefferson has already broken the career free throw made record and has 432 (Jesse Wagstaff made 407, 2005-09).
•    Jefferson needs 10 free throws to tie the single season free throws record (196, Mark Worthington, 2004-05).
•    Jefferson needs 21 3-point field goals to tie the single season record (106, DeMarcos, Anzures, 1999-00).
•    Jefferson needs 61 points to tie the single season record (666, Gene Edwards, 1989-90).
•    Jefferson's 3-point percentage (.489) ranks ninth on the single-season records list (.523, Greg Muth, 2004-05).
•    Jefferson broke the single game record for free throws and tied the record for attempts, going 19-for-20 on Jan. 11 in a win over No. 11 Colorado Mines (previous records were 17 and 20).

LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN DIVISION ii
•    Metro State is the longest active winning streak in Division II at 25 games.
•    Southern Connecticut is second with a 16-game winning streak.

RMAC CHAMPIONS
•    Metro State won its eighth RMAC regular season championship in 2014, second-most in conference history.
•    Since the Roadrunners joined in the RMAC in 1996-97, the second-most RMAC titles is three (Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney)
•    RMAC champions since 1972-73:
Colorado Mesa    11
    1976•77•78•84•85•90•91•94•95•99•10
Metro State    8
    1998•00•04•05•07•09•13•14
Western New Mexico    7
    1975•79•80•81•82•86
Fort Hays State    5
    1992•96•97•01•06
Fort Lewis    4
    1987•89•05•08
Colorado Mines    4
    88•90•11•12
Nebraska-Kearney    3
    2002•03•05
Southern Utah    2
    1978•83
Westminster    2
    1973•74
Chadron State    1
    1994
Western State    1
    1993
Adams State    1
    1991
Regis    1
    1978

GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
•    Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) became the second men's basketball player in RMAC history to repeat as the RMAC academic player of the year.
•    Former Roadrunner Jesse Wagstaff (2008 and 2009) was the only previous player to win the award two times.
•    McCarron and Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) both were named Capital One second team Academic All-America, becoming the first teammates to earn that honor in school history.
•    Kay earned his second consecutive RMAC Summit Award, given to the player at the RMAC championship site (final four teams) with the highest GPA.
•    Current assistant coach and former player Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) won the award in 2012, giving Metro State three straight RMAC academic players of the year and five in the eight-year history of the award.
•    Wagstaff and Morse were both two-time Academic All-Americans, the only players besides McCarron and Kay to earn Academic All-America in school history.
•    Kay joined McCarron as first team academic all-RMAC and Eric Rayer (Colorado Springs/Coronado H.S.) was named to the honor roll.
•    McCarron has a 3.87 GPA; Kay has a 3.91 GPA; Rayer is a 3.52 GPA.
•    In addition, McCarron was named RMAC academic player of the year, the fifth time in the award's eight years a Metro State player has earned it. Here is a listing of the RMAC academic player of the year each season:
    2006-07: Patrick Hannaway, UC-Colorado Springs
    2007-08: Jesse Wagstaff, Metro State
    2008-09: Jesse Wagstaff, Metro State
    2009-10: Josiah Parker, Nebraska-Kearney
    2010-11: Matt Morris, Fort Lewis
    2011-12: Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.), Metro State
    2012-13: Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College), Metro State
    2013-14, Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College), Metro State

METRO STATE MAKES HISTORY IN NIT SEASON TIP-OFF
•    Metro State was one of two NCAA Division II teams (Stillman the other) selected for the NIT Season Tip-Off.
•    Last season, Alabama-Huntsville was the first-ever Division II team to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
•    UAH upset North Texas 78-75 in the first round, but lost 87-26 to Kansas State, 71-69 to Cleveland State and 68-54 to Bowling Green.
•    Metro State's four games this season were all exhibitions.
•    Metro State went 3-1 against the Division I teams in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
•    The Roadrunners became the first Division II team ever to win two games at the NIT Season Tip-Off, edging host Elon 75-74 on Nov. 25.
•    Metro State also earned an 83-69 win over Canisius on Nov. 26 to finish the tournament with three straight wins vs. Division I teams.
•    Through the end of the tournament on Nov. 26, non-Division I teams had a 6-205 (.028) record vs. Division I teams this season (Metro State had three of those wins).
•    Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) was the tournament's leader in scoring (27.5), rebounding (9.3), field goal percentage (.727) and field goals (40) in the NIT Season Tip-Off (Metro State NIT statistics on Page 40).
•    Had Metro State knocked off Rhode Island (66-63 loss) in the first round, it would have faced Arizona in the quarterfinals.

TOP-RANKED TEAM
•    Here is Metro State's history of being ranked No. 1:
•    2003-04: Feb. 24, March 2
•    2004-05: Jan. 11, Jan. 18
•    2011-12: Dec. 13, Dec. 21, Jan. 3
•    2012-13: Jan. 22, Jan. 29, Feb. 5, Feb. 12, Feb. 19
•    2013-14: Preseason, Nov. 19, Nov. 26, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4

JEFFERSON AND KAY NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
•    Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) was named Al Kaly Classic most valuable player after averaging 19.0 points in the season's two opening games in Pueblo, Colo.
•    Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) was also named all-tournament and averaged 19.0 points as well.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS IN 2013-14
• Metro State was ranked No. 1 in the NABC and Division II Bulletin preseason top-25 polls, and No. 2 in the Sporting News preseason poll.
• MSU was also the preseason favorite to win the RMAC in the coaches poll and has three preseason all-RMAC players.
•    Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) is the RMAC preseason player of the year.
•    Jefferson and Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) were both named preseason All-America by Sporting News.