BRANSON, Mo. – The fourth-seeded and 16^th-ranked Indiana Tech men's basketball team starts it journey towards a national championship on Thursday when they kick off the 2016 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship against the defending national runner-up, fifth seed and No. 19 Dakota Wesleyan at 8:30 p.m. EST.
 
4^th seed/#16 Indiana Tech (22-8, 17-5 WHAC)
 
Thursday, March 10, 8:30 p.m. EST vs. Dakota Wesleyan (22-10, 13-7 Great Plains Athletic Conference) – Point Lookout, Mo. (Keeter Gymnasium, College of the Ozarks)
 
Following the Warriors: The NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com, subscription required), powered by Stretch Internet, will be the exclusive video home for all of the live streaming for the Division II Men's Basketball National Championships, except for the national finals, which will be broadcast on ESPN3, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. Live stats will be provided as well, with links available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. Make sure to follow along on Twitter with @INTechWarriors and @INTechMBB as well.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors fell in the semifinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Championship to second-seeded Cornerstone in Grand Rapids, 90-65. Tanner Watkins led Tech with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor and grabbed three rebounds. Miles Robinson scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Tyrece Edwards chipped in nine points and four rebounds. Dominique Walls, Milos Milidragovic, Lavonte Davis and Scott Schwieterman combined for 26 rebounds, with Walls leading the way with eight and Davis and Schwieterman adding six points each.
 
Head Coach John Peckinpaugh: Now in his second season at the helm for the Orange and Black, as well as his second stint with the program, head coach John Peckinpaugh went 11-19 in his first season as the head man for the Warriors. Peckinpaugh returned to Indiana Tech after serving as an assistant for the Warriors during the 2012-2013 season, where he served as the recruiting coordinator He was instrumental in recruiting all of the returning Tech players for the 2014-2015 season during this time. In between stints with Tech, the Muncie, Indiana native served as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) during the 2013-14 year. While with the Mastodons, he was part of a coaching staff that helped the team achieve its most successful season in program history with a 25-11 record and rising to as high as 19th in the NCAA Division I Mid-Major poll. IPFW made it all the way to the Summit League Tournament Championship game, losing to North Dakota State, who would go on to upset fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mastodons would make the postseason for the first-time ever as a Division I program that season as well when they hosted Akron in the College Insider.com Tournament and defeated the Zips, 97-91.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Dakota Wesleyan – The defending national runner-ups a year ago, the Tigers finished the 2015-16 season third in the GPAC and find themselves in the National Championships for the second straight year. Matt Wilber's team boasts four scorers in double digits, led by Trae Bergh (21.4 points per game) and Jade Miller (20 ppg). Both shoot over 47% from the field and over 37% from three-point territory. Bergh is third in the NAIA in total three-pointers made (112), averaging 3.6 per game, the fifth-most in the country. Tate Martin shoots 42.6% from downtown and averages 14.8 ppg while leading the nation in assists (216) and assists per game (6.8). Terrell Newton pulls down a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, while Miller is right behind with 6 rpg. As a team the Tigers are first in the country in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.0), third in three-point field goals made per game (11.2), third in total three's made (358) and seventh in scoring (88.5 ppg)
 
Series History: Dakota Wesleyan – This will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
 
Back in Branson: This will be the sixth time the Warriors have made the trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship (Division II first started in 1992) with their last appearance coming in 2012, where they lost in the first round to St. Thomas, 58-55.
 
National Championship History: Tech has made the national tournament four times since the turn over the century (2012, 2008, 2005, 2004) while also making the field in 1998 and 1995. The Orange and Black hold a 3-6 record at the championships, including a 2-4 record in first-round games. The Warriors best finish came in 2005 as the #14 seed when they advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Oregon Tech.
 
Taking Home the Awards: The newcomer duo of Miles Robinson and Dominique Walls has been at the forefront for the Warriors all season long and both were honored as First-Team All-Conference and All-Newcomer Team selections by the WHAC, with Robinson being named Newcomer of the Year. Walls was also named Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in rebounds (9.6 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg) while ranking fifth in steals (1.4 spg).
 
Coaching Prowess: Second-year head coach John Peckinpaugh was named WHAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to a 23-9 record and a third-place WHAC finish with a 17-5 mark, a nine-game improvement in conference play and a 12-game improvement overall from his first season at the helm. He is the first Indiana Tech coach to receive the honor from the WHAC since Jason Kline in 2004.
 
Winning Ways: The 23 Tech victories this season are the most since the 2011-12 season, when they won the same number of games. The 2004-05 team won 29 games and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championships.
 
Awards Part Two: Seniors Tyrece Edwards and Milos Milidragovic, and juniors Lavonte Davis and Tanner Watkins, were named to the WHAC All-Academic Team on Tuesday. Watkins also named to the Characters of Champion Team for the conference.
 
Rankings Update: The Warriors dropped one spot to number 16 in the final regular season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll after jumping up five spots to 15 in the previous poll.
 
Mr. Everything: Miles Robinson has been among the most consistent players for the Warriors this year and his name appears everywhere on the box score. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and leads the team in scoring (19.9 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg) while hitting 41.6% of his shots and 37.2% of his three-point attempts while pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game.

Mr. Double-Double: Dominique Walls has a knack for reaching the double digit plateau in both scoring and rebounding and that combination has gotten him 12 double-doubles on the year, the most in the WHAC and is tied for 20^th nationally. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.2 ppg while shooting 57.3% from the field, the second-best mark in the conference while ranking 19^th in the country. On the glass, he is pulling down 9.1 rebounds a night and has recorded double-digit rebounds in 15 games, including a career-high 18 against Marygrove.
 
Locking it Down: Tech is holding its opponents to just 66.4 points per game this year, the fifth-best mark in the land while holding its opponents to just 39.9% shooting, placing the Warriors sixth. Their three-point defense is just at stingy, limiting foes to 32.9% from downtown, 26^th in NAIA Division II.
 
Block Party: The Warriors imitating frontline duo of Dominique Walls and Lavonte Davis has been swatting opponent shots all season long and the duo rank among the best in the country. As a team Tech leads the nation in total blocks (198) and second in blocks per game (6.2). The pair rank second (77) and third (73) in blocks, respectively, and are fourth (2.4) and seventh (2.3) in blocks per game, respectively.
 
Weekly Honor: Dominique Walls was named the WHAC Player of the Week on Feb. 8 after averaging 12 points, 14.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.7 blocks in three Tech victories. He had two double-doubles and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds against Marygrove while adding 20 points and three blocks. Against the 22nd ranked Saints on Saturday he pulled down 15 rebounds and chipped in 11 points and three more blocks.
 
Twice as Nice: Miles Robinson was named the WHAC Player of the Week for the second week in a row on Jan. 25 after averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists and three steals against Lourdes and Davenport. Against the top-ranked Panthers he set career highs in points (30) rebounds (12) and steals (5) while getting his second double-double of the season. The Grand Rapids native scored 13 points against the Gray Wolves while collecting six assists and five rebounds.
 
Back at It: Junior forward Lavonte Davis return from injury has made a huge impact this year for the Warriors. He is second on the team in blocks (2.3) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) while chipping in 8.9 points per game. The Ypsilanti, Michigan native is logging 30.3 minutes a night while shooting 50.7% from the floor.
 
Tough Sledding: The Warriors have faced off with nine teams that were ranked or receiving votes in any of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll: Davenport (#3 and #1), Saint Francis (#4), Cornerstone (#7, #9 and #8), IU East (#10), Aquinas (#24 and #22), Grace (RV) and Rochester (RV). Tech is 4-7 in those games, with all seven loses coming to teams ranked in the top-10, and three of those coming against top-five opponents.
 
Getting to Know One Another: Peckinpaugh hit the recruiting trail hard in his first true offseason and went to great distances to find his current crop of players. Tech has student-athletes from six different states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, and three countries: Australia, Serbia and the United States. Ohio tops the list with five players hailing from the Buckeye State, while Indiana is next with four. Michigan and Florida have contributed two apiece while Illinois and Kentucky each have one.
 
Poll Thoughts: Indiana Tech was picked to finish in a tie for seventh the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll. Tech picked up 62 votes to tie with Michigan-Dearborn. The Warriors finished 11-19 last year with an 8-14 mark in conference play.
 
Lots of New Faces: While the Warriors returned eight players from last year's squad, that didn't stop Peckinpaugh from hitting the recruiting trail hard as he added five freshman and four transfers to the mix. Among the transfers, junior Jantzen Goodwin (Vincennes University), senior Jaelan Manson (Vincennes University) and senior Dominique Walls (Ashford University) will all look to make an immediate impact for Tech, while junior Edmond Early, Jr. (Owens Community College) will redshirt this season.