Posted: Feb 19, 2018

MBB Preview: Storm host Wartburg in IIAC Tournament

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The fourth-seeded Simpson men's basketball team hosts the fifth-seeded Wartburg Knights in the first round of the Iowa Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Cowles Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The game will be video streamed on SimpsonAthletics.com. Todd Guessford will have the call with pregame getting underway at 6:45 p.m.

The Storm (13-11, 9-7) and the Knights (16-9, 9-7) finished with identical conference records, but Simpson was awarded the No. 4 seed thanks to its 102-97 overtime win over top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 27. The teams split their regular season meetings, with Simpson winning 86-81 on Jan. 13 in Indianola and Wartburg winning 85-77 on Feb. 3 in Waverly.

The winner of Tuesday's game advances to play top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan on Thursday, Feb. 22 in Lincoln. Sixth-seeded Central visits third-seeded Buena Vista in the other first round matchup. The winner of that game will play second-seeded Loras. For more, visit the IIAC Tournament Homepage.

GAME #25

vs. Wartburg (16-9)
Tuesday, Feb. 20 — 7 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse — Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

SIMPSON IN THE IIAC TOURNAMENT

Simpson is making its 15th appearance in the IIAC Tournament, qualifying for the third-straight season after missing out in 2014 and 2015.
Simpson is 7-14 all-time in the tournament and 0-2 against Wartburg. Simpson is looking for its first win in the conference tournament since 2012.

QUICK HITS

Simpson and third-year head coach Brad Bjorkgren finished with a winning record for the third-straight season, a first for the program since 2001-04.
The Storm go into Tuesday's game on a three-game home winning streak. The Storm are 7-2 at Cowles Fieldhouse this season.
Simpson is fourth in the league in scoring (82.8) and seventh in points allowed (81.5).
Simpson turns the ball over just 10.3 time per game, fifth-fewest in Division III.
Sam Amsbaugh's 33-point outburst against Coe gives him 478 points on the season. He needs just 22 to become Simpson's first 500-point scorer since David Otte set the single-season record with 797 in 1994-95.
Amsbaugh also has a team-hight 95 assists this season. He is the only player in school history with 95-plus assists and 415-plus points in a season.
Point guard Conor Riordan leads the IIAC with a 2.96 assist-to-turnover ratio. His 19.5 ppg rank fourth in the league, one spot behind Amsbaugh.

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS

Wartburg and 21st-year head coach Dick Peth finished the regular season 16-9 and enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed.
Last season, the Knights became the first No. 6 seed to win the conference tournament when they won three-straight road games to take the title and eventually advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Wartburg finished the season strong, winning 4 of 5. The Knights came back from 20 points down to beat Central 93-92 on Saturday.
Wartburg is seventh in the league in scoring (76.3) and first in points allowed (74.1).
Jaran Sabus leads the team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 ppg).

SERIES NOTES

Simpson and Wartburg are meeting for the 139th time in a series that dates back to the 1945-46 season
Wartburg leads the all-time series 92-46 and is 2-0 against Simpson in the IIAC Tournament
Wartburg beat Simpson 85-72 in the 2004 semifinals and 73-70 (ot) in the 2005 quarterfinals.