MEDFORD, MA (March 5, 2026) -- The No. 12 Tufts University men's basketball will open up the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon at 6 p.m., while playing host to the tournament's First and Second Rounds inside Cousens Gymnasium.
Tufts will battle Penn State Harrisburg in the opening round, while Catholic University and Western Connecticut State University will square off in the early game at 3:30 p.m. to start the day's competition.
Tournament Details
Tournament Website
Game 1: Catholic vs. WestConn - 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: Tufts vs. Penn State Harrisburg - 6:00 p.m.
Date: Friday, March 6, 2026
Location: Cousens Gymnasium - Medford, Mass.
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How These Teams Square Off
Tufts has never played Penn State Harrisburg before Friday's NCAA tilt, while the Jumbos are 2-1 against Catholic all-time. The Jumbos haven't played Catholic since the 1995 season, a 94-81 win over the Cardinals in New York, while Tufts traveled down to DC to knock off Catholic 88-67 in 1994.
The Jumbos and WestConn have split their previous six meetings, with the last one being one of the most memorable in the history of Cousens Gymnasium in 2020. Tufts rallied from a 20-point deficit in the first half to knock off WestConn 74-72 in the NCAA First Round back on March 6, 2020.
Catholic and WestConn have never played before Friday's match-up, while PSU Harrisburg defeated Catholic in their lone matchup 100-61 back in 2011. PSU and WestConn have never played before.
A Look At The Jumbos (20-5)
Tufts comes int the weekend ranked No. 12 in the last regular season D3hoops.com poll, bringing in the No. 9 ranking in the NPI prior to the selections were determined for the NCAA Tournament. Tufts dropped its last matchup in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) semifinals to No. 3 seed Trinity College, who comes into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and top team in the nation.
Tufts has played very well on its home floor this season, going 9-1 inside Cousens while posting a 22-3 record at home over the last two campaigns.
The Jumbos are among one of the best defensive squads in the nation, ranking 32nd in scoring defense while leading the NESCAC in blocks per game with 5.9. Their blocks total is third nationally, which has helped the Jumbos to the 13th best scoring margin in all of Division III at 14.0 per game. Tufts has led the NESCAC in free throws made per game with 15.6, while attempting nearly 22 a contest.
Tufts has done a great job at taking care of the basketball as well, ranking 20th in Division III in assist/turnover ratio at 1.48 per game. The Jumbos have lost five games this season, but three of them were by four or less points while four of five were less than seven or less points.
With all teams, shooting will be key for the Jumbos as they are 13-1 this season when they shoot over 44 percent overall. Tufts is also 16-1 on the year when they pull down 40 or more rebounds in a game.
Individually, Tufts has two All-NESCAC performers in NESCAC Player of the Year and First Team honoree
Scott Gyimesi and Second Team awardee
Joshua Bernstein. The NESCAC's top two rebounders, Gyimesi became just the second NESCAC Player of the Year from Tufts in program history. He is averaging 16.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per contest, while shooting 56.0 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from three-point land.
Bernstein has stepped up this season, and is averaging 10.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest, while leading the conference in shooting percentage and blocks at a 66.7 percent clip and 47 swats. The pair has combined for 19 double-doubles on the year.
Junior point guard
Jon Medley has also averaged double-figures with 10.6 points and a a team-high 75 assists, adding 26 steals while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. Junior
Dylan Reilly leads the team with 51 made three-pointers, shooting 36.7 percent from three-point land for 9.8 points per game.
Junior
Zion Watt also is posting 8.6 points per game, adding 4.1 rebounds and a team-high 40 steals.
James Morakis,
Ricardo Nieves and
Sidney Wooten have been key reserves in the backcourt.
Tufts is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 10th overall, while its looking for its sixth Sweet 16 trip in program history and first since the 2024 Tournament.
A Look At Penn State Harrisburg (18-10)
Penn State Harrisburg enters the NCAA Tournament after going 10-3 in the United East Conference, winning the United East Tournament with three wins over Notre Dame (MD), Lancaster Bible College and Cairn in the title game, 72-71.
The Lions are one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, coming in ranked No. 21 in the country in rebounding margin at 21st with a 7.9 margin. Penn State Harrisburg also ranked 10th nationally in offensive rebounds per game with 15.39.
Defensively, the Lions have allowed just 64.9 points per game, 18th best in the country. They also rank 26th in the country in steals per game with over 10 per contest. The Lions had three players earn United East All-Conference honors, as Dylan Moore and Jordan Spencer were named to the United East All-Conference Second Team, while Chris Henderson secured all-conference third team honors.
Moore turned in a breakout junior campaign that saw him lead Penn State Harrisburg in scoring this season, averaging 12.1 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting from the field. The versatile guard also grabbed 4.5 rebounds and dished out 1.4 assists per contest.
Spencer built upon his impressive debut campaign with another strong season, averaging 10.7 points per contest on 49.2 percent shooting from the floor to go along with a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game. The forward also dished out 1.8 assists, swiped 1.2 steals and blocked .63 shots per contest.
Henderson continued the strong start to his collegiate career during his sophomore campaign, ranking second among Penn State Harrisburg players in scoring and rebounding at 10.7 points and 4.9 boards per game. The powerful guard added 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
Antwone George also averages 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Lions, while Andre Thomas is the floor general with over four assists per game.
Penn State Harrisburg has made the NCAA four times in program history, making the Second Round in each of their previous three trips. This is their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2023-24.
A Look At The Other Two Teams
Catholic twent 19-7 with a 15-3 conference record in the Landmark, losing in the conference semifinals to Wilkes in a 70-79 game. Majority of their wins come from impressive shooting games from the team collectively. The team focuses on getting good looks for the three ball, with their two best scorers being CJ Ruoff and Brian Herbert. Team is well experienced with three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and are coming off a Elite 8 run last year. Team averages almost 80 points a game and attempts around 8-9 threes a game with a .375 shooting percentage from the three. Team averages 39 total rebounds a game with around 14 assists per game.
Ruoff is the teams top scorer, averaging almost 20 points per game. The team runs the offense through him and second option Brian Herbert. Ruoff was First Team All-Landmark while also being in the top 3 for ppg in the conference. Ruoff has a 43.8 percent shooting percentage making 38.5 from three, with almost half his total shots on the year being three pointers.
Herbert made All-Landmark second team and is second in ppg on the team with 16.7. Herberg shoots .338 from the three but does not rely on it as heavy as Ruoff. Gets the FT line often with 149 attempts on the year, shooting .859. Other significant contributors are forward Charley Hepting (33), who leads the team in rebounds with 141 and is third for PPG with 10.6. Guard Googie Seidman is there 3 and D player, having the second most 3's on the team and having the most steals by a wide margin of 54 steals on the season. Catholic also won the Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honor, led by Aaron Kelly at head coach.
WestConn went 21-6 in overall record and a 12-4 conference record, winning their conference in an 84-68 win over Keene State. Team averages 81 points per game, with a majority of them being FGs rather than the 3pt. WestConn averages 4.5 threes a game, 36 rebounds a game, and 17.2 assists per game. Averages 15 turnovers a game with 12.8 steals. Team is led by Little East Conference Coach of the Year Guy Rancourt. Leading the team to first NCAA tournament since 2020. Center Marcel Henry and Guard Tayejon Lynch are the two stand out players from the team.
Guard Tayejon Lynch averages 13.1 ppg, as he leads the team in 3 pointers made with 30 and has a .361%. Has a 48.1 field goal percentage and leads the team in assists by far with 127 assists and 4.7 a game. The offense is ran through Lynch and he tends to drive and kick to his center Marcel Henry. Lynch made First Team All-LEC. Lynch also leads the team in steals with 61, averaging a little more than two a game.
Henry also made First Team All-LEC as a sophomore, as he leads the in points per game with 15.4 and has a 54.0 field goal clip. He leads the team in rebounds per game with 5.1, while shooting .693% from the FT. Other key contributors are Jaysean Morgan who averages 13.1 ppg but hasn't played since December. Forward Nick Boyce (23) averages 10.3 ppg and leads the team in FTA, while averaging a .679 %. Guard Jahlyl Morgan made all conference defensive team, averaging 1.6 steals per game.
Other NCAA Tournament Games Friday - All Times EST
Yeshiva vs. Bates - Montclair, NJ - 1:00 PM
Susquehanna vs. Redlands - Frederick, MD - 3:00 PM
W&J vs. Mount Union - Newport News, VA - 3:15 PM
Gettysburg vs. NYU - Middletown, CT - 3:45 PM
Cortland vs. F&M - Beverly, MA - 4:00 PM
Amherst vs. WPI - Fredericksburg, VA - 4:00 PM
Hopkins vs. TCNJ - Ashland, VA - 4:15 PM
St. Josephs (ME) vs. Babson - Hartford, CT - 4:30 PM
Rhodes vs. Roanoke - Atlanta, GA - 4:45 PM
Grinnell vs. John Carroll - Bloomington, IL - 5:10 PM
Maine-Farmington at Montclair State - 5:15 PM
Aurora vs. CMS - La Crosse, WI - 5:20 PM
Whitworth vs. Trinity (TX) - St. Thomas, TX - 5:30 PM
Vassar at Hood - 5:35 PM
Otterbein vs. UW-Platteville - Chicago, IL - 5:40 PM
Stevens at CNU - 5:45 PM
UMHB vs. UW-Stevens Point - St. Peter, MN - 5:50 PM
Loras vs. UW-Whitewater - St. Louis, MO - 6:05 PM
Lehman at Wesleyan - 6:15 PM
Neumann at Endicott - 6:30 PM
NC Wesleyan at Randolph-Mason - 6:45 PM
Keuka at Trinity - 7:00 PM
MUW at Emory - 7:15 PM
Worcester State at Mary Washington - 7:30 PM
Heidelberg at Ill. Wesleyan - 7:40 PM
Hope at UW-La Crosse - 7:50 PM
Belhaven at St. Thomas (TX) - 8:00 PM
Penn State-Behrend at Chicago - 8:10 PM
Bethany Lutheran at Gustavus Adolphus - 8:20 PM
Transylvania at WashU - 8:35 PM
--JUMBOS--
