At A Glance - Having already clinched at least
a share of the Sunshine State Conference title, the
18th-ranked Rollins men's basketball team heads into the
regular season's final week with two chances to claim the crown
outright. The first hurdle is on the road, a date with Florida Tech
on Wednesday. Rollins then returns home to face Lynn on senior day
in the hopes of being the only men's team cutting down nets by
day's end. The Tars (21-5, 12-2) had its 12-game winning streak
snapped by Florida Southern on Saturday, 75-67. The run of
victories was Rollins' longest since winning 14 in a row in
2002-03. The streak did establish a new school record for most
conference wins in a row and puts the team within striking distance
of the school record 13 SSC wins recorded in 2002-03. The Tars
produce a SSC fourth-best 77.5 points a game while ranking second
in scoring defense at 68.1 points a game. Rollins is also the best
shooting team in the SSC, hitting 49 percent from the field, but is
seventh from 3-point range (33 percent)...Florida Tech (18-10, 8-6
SSC) has won six of its last seven, but is coming off a 65-63 loss
to Eckerd on Saturday. Tech ranks third in the SSC in scoring (78.2
ppg) and sixth in defense (73.8 ppg). They are also one of the top
rebounding teams in the league, sitting second with a +6.0
rebounding average. The Panthers are tough at home, posting a 14-3
mark in the Clemente Center.
The Series - Rollins leads Florida Tech in the
all-time series 56-22 with the Tars currently riding a 12-game
winning streak over the Panthers. On Jan. 19, Rollins posted a
75-61 home victory over Tech. Nick
Wolf led Rollins with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Matt
Robertson posted 17 points and eight boards. Justin Sedlak led
all scorers with 30 points, to go along with 10 rebounds.
The Stars - After capturing the SSC Player of
the Week award for the fifth time this season, Rollins' Nick
Wolf heads into the two games as the frontrunner for the
conference Player of the Year award. The senior leads Rollins and
the conference with 20.2 points a game and is second in rebounding
with 10.2 a night. He also averages 36 minutes a game, easily tops
in the SSC. Against Palm Beach Atlantic, Wolf moved into third on
the Tars' all-time scoring list and now has 1884 points (and 990
rebounds) in his career. Matt
Robertson is second on the team with 15.1 points and 6.2
rebounds per game while Myk
Brown (13.3 ppg) leads the SSC with a .878 free throw shooting
percentage...Justin Sedlak, who is also in the SSC POY discussion,
leads Tech and is second in the SSC with 20.2 points per game, just
a percentage point behind Wolf. The senior is also fourth in the
conference with 7.7 rebounds a night. Anthony Jackson adds 12.9
points a game and Simon Cummings chips in 12.3 a night.
The Coaches - Rollins legend Tom
Klusman (Rollins '76) is in his 31st year at the helm of the
program and has a record of 571-315, all with the Tars... Billy
Mimms (Charleston Southern '81) is in his fourth year leading Tech
and is 65-46.
The Rankings - Rollins remained No. 18 in the
latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll and was ranked second in the
latest NCAA Division II South Region Rankings (a new poll will be
released last Wednesday afternoon)...Florida Tech was not in the
NABC rankings or NCAA Division II South Region Poll.
