Heavyweight matchup for Bucs

It would seem that simple geography, rather than some suspect seeding system, is responsible for affording Whitworth University fans the rare opportunity to watch two teams ranked among the top 12 in the latest D3hoops.com poll butt heads early in the second round of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament.

“It’s probably the best second-round matchup in the whole country,” Whitworth coach Jim Hayford said about today’s 7 p.m. round-of-32 showdown between his fourth-ranked Pirates (25-2) and No. 12 Chapman University (24-2) in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

“You’ve got two highly ranked, talented teams with contrasting styles, so it should be interesting.”

Chapman, a D-III independent school in Orange, Calif., is making its first tournament appearance. But the Panthers come in riding the momentum of a 14-game winning streak after disposing of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 58-47 in a first-round game Thursday.

CU’s streak pales in comparison to that of Whitworth, which has won a school-record 24 straight – the longest winning streak in the nation, at any level.

Adding to the intrigue of tonight’s game is the fact that Chapman finished 22-3 last season, only to be informed by the NCAA’s selection committee that they were a win shy of making the tournament.

“And we beat them (62-47), so I’m sure they’ve got some revenge on their minds, thinking we kept them out of the tournament last year,” Hayford said.

The Panthers returned almost every key player from last season and have had the same five players – three seniors and two juniors – start every game this winter. Justin Riley, a 6-foot-5 junior guard, is Chapman’s top scorer (15.1 ppg) and rebounder (9.2 ppg). But the Panthers have another offensive threat in Ramme Griffin, a 6-3 junior guard, who is averaging 13.8 points and shooting 46.5 percent (60 for 129) from 3-point range.

Chapman ranks third in the nation is scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of just 56.5 points per game, and has outrebounded its opponents by a nation-leading margin of 12.7 per game.

“They’re one of the best in the country at that, but I don’t think they’ve been having to rebound against teams that have the kind of size we have,” Hayford said. “Chapman is one of those teams, though, that if you aren’t tough, they’ll make you pay the price.

“So, I’m hoping my big guys will look at that as a challenge.”

The winner will meet either seventh-ranked Eastern Mennonite (23-4) or Wilmington of Ohio (22-7).