FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 3-ranked Indiana Tech Men's Basketball team makes their eight appearance, and their first since the 2015-16 season, at the NAIA Division II National Championship as the number two seed in the Duer Bracket and will take on seventh-seeded West Virginia University Institute of Technology in a first round matchup on Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. EST from the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Last Time Out: Tech fell to Rochester, 84-68, in the semifinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament back on Feb. 24.
 
Following the Warriors: Links to live stats and video, provided by the NAIA Network, can be found at www.IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow along on Twitter at @INTechMBB and @INTechWarriors.
 
Head Coach Ted Albert: Ted Albert was named the 12th head coach in Indiana Tech program history on May 23, 2017, and took over a program that had won 20 or more games in back-to-back years for the first time since 2011-13. Albert comes to Tech following an 11-year stint at conference rival Cornerstone, where he played four years for the Golden Eagles and then spent the next six years on the bench next to NAIA Hall of Famer Kim Elders. He won two NAIA DII National Championships at CU, once as a player (2011) and once as an assistant coach (2015).
 
Series Notes: This is the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
 
Scouting the Opposition: WVU Tech finished the season with a 20-11 and went 12-5 in River States Conference (RSC) action and received an at-large berth to the national tournament for their second consecutive, and second-ever, appearance, in the championship. Junior Thomas Collins is Tech's leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, while senior Michael Scott dominates the boards for the Gold and Blue, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. The Golden Bears are currently ranked 25th in the current NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
 
Poll Thoughts: The Warriors fell three spots in sixth in the final edition of the Top 25 Poll and received 264 points. Tech spent all but one edition of the coaches' poll in the top-10 and rose as high as third in the rankings.
 
Tournament History: The Warriors are making their first appearance in the national championsip since the 2016 event and hold 3-7 record all-time in the tournament. Tech fell to Dakota Wesleyan, 93-89, in overtime in the first round in Branson, Missouri, in their last appearance. Tech's furthest appearance game back in the 2005 championship when they made it to the quarterfinals.
 
Conference Honors: The Warriors impressive season was not ignored by the conference coaches, as three individuals, Darren Groves, Dylan Phair and Joel Wincowski, were named First-Team All-Conference Wednesday. Groves was tabbed as the WHAC Newcomer of the Year while Wincowski garnered All-Defensive Team accolades. Additionally, Ted Albert was voted as the Champions of Character Coach by his peers while Scott Schwieterman was named to the Champions of Character and All-Academic Team.
 
First-Year Magic: Head coach Ted Albert has engineered an impressive season in his first season at the helm for the Warriors, leading them to a second-place finish in the WHAC after being picked to finish sixth. Albert, who won two NAIA DII National Titles at conference foe Cornerstone, one as a player and one as an assistant coach, has led the Orange and Black to one of their best seasons in program history, with just the 2003-04 and 2004-05 teams having more wins with 27, and 29, respectively.
 
A Look at the Rankings: Darren Groves and Joel Wincowski find themselves in a number of top-50 rankings in the nation. Wincowski ranks ninth in total steals (61) and 28th in steals per game (1.9), while Groves is 12th in total rebounds (286), 18th in defensive rebounds per game (6.4), 21st in total rebounds per game (8.9), 42nd in field goal percentage (.547) and 50th in offensive rebounds per game (2.5)
 
A Look at the Rankings Continued: Tech's stellar season to date has them ranked in the top-50 in 13 different categories, including four in the top-10. As a team, the Warriors rank fifth in total rebound defense (30.4), fifth in total rebound margin (9.9), ninth in scoring defense per game (70.3) and 10th in total rebound offense (1,292)
 
Everyone Plays: The Warriors go 10-deep in their rotation, with seven players averaging at least 22 minutes per night and nine points or more per game. Only two players (Joel Wincowski and Dylan Phair) average more than 30 minutes per game while five individuals are averaging double figures in scoring.