DWU Men Working Hard to ‘Make it Easy’

MITCHELL, S.D. – The 2014-15 season has been an incredible ride for the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team, which closed out the regular season with a win over Mount Marty College at home on Wednesday to clinch at least a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference title for the first time since 2009-10.

After rolling through the first 11 games of the season, DWU entered conference play and proceeded to get the best shot from every team in the league each time out. The Tigers (27-3, 17-3 GPAC) stood tall and proved their clam to sit atop the GPAC.

"It's hard to win a conference championship and I am just really proud of our guys," DWU Coach Matt Wilber said. "It's a culminating effect starting in the offseason from last year. What flashes back for me is all of the work that this team has done. The best part was seeing those guys you get to work with every day have that moment."

The nearly 40,000 people that have entered the Corn Palace to see the Tigers play this season have undoubtedly bared witness to Head Coach Matt Wilber emphatically telling his team to "make it easy." At times this season DWU did just that, performing at a level that indeed looked effortless, but Wilber knows it's the hard work of his players that has translated to proficiency on game day.

"We've got guys that can make plays," Wilber said. "The easier they can make it, the easier the game comes. They don't have to hit home run early in a possession. I think if you move the ball and let the ball do the work, things will open up for us and that's when we are at our best."

The Tigers sit atop the NAIA Division II rankings in six categories and are second in four more, the most impressive of which may be the 2.37 assist to turnover ratio. The NCAA has tracked this statistic since 1993 for all Division I, II and III schools and the best number produced is 2.10, which was accomplished Alaska-Anchorage and Oakland City last season. Wilber said he has not seen a team finish a season above 2.10 before, not even on the professional level of the NBA.

The Tigers really showed off their efficiency on offense on Jan. 31 when they finished a win over Doane College with zero turnovers and 19 assists. In the GPAC clinching win over Mount Marty, DWU was nearly perfect again with 16 assists and just two turnovers. Individually, sophomore Tate Martin (Mitchell, S.D.) is No. 1 in the country in assist to turnover ratio at 4.03, while teammate Joey Mitchell (Tulare, S.D.) is second at 3.59. Junior guard Trae Bergh (Crooks, S.D.) is seventh in the NAIA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.28.

"I can't imagine that an assist-to-turnover ratio that we have is going to carry over to every year, but I think it's just a perfect storm with types of kids we have and it just makes the game easier to play that way," Wilber said.

DWU is also leading the nation in total assists as a team per game. The Tigers mark of 21.40 per contest is a full assist better than the next best team, Rio Grande (Ohio) at 20.35. DWU is also No. 1 in total assists with 642.

A great pass is only an assist when the shooter makes it count and no team in the NAIA Division II has been better at putting the ball in the basket. DWU is No. 1 in field goal percentage at 52.2 percent, which is on pace to break the school record of 50.6 percent.

Senior forward Jalen Voss (Worthington, Minn.) has made 58.4 percent of his shots to lead DWU with most of his work coming from in close. The Tigers are dangerous from all over the floor as the team is also tops in the nation in total 3-point filed goals made at 316. Junior forward Jade Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) leads DWU, hitting an NAIA second-best 48.9 percent of his long-range shots, while senior guard Kris Menning (Corsica, S.D.) is seventh at 47.1 percent.

"The name of the game is making baskets and we've got guys that are confident shooters, but we also have guys that trust each other," Wilber said. "You just don't see guys shooting the ball with a lot of pressure. They feel like they can rely on each other and I think that's been the biggest key."

Great passing, potent shooting and limiting turnovers has translated into more points this season than any other school, as DWU leads the NAIA with 2,638 total points through 30 games, an average of 87.93 (fourth in the nation).

DWU also ranks second in four categories, including free-throw percentage (77.9 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (41.1 percent), scoring margin (18.6 points per game) and 3-point field goals per game (10.53).

It's not all offense with this Tiger team, as DWU leads the GPAC in scoring defense at 69.27 points allowed per game. The team is fourth in the country in total defensive rebounds per game at 29.83 and 12^th in blocks per game with 3.86.

DWU heads into the opening round of the GPAC tournament with 27 wins and a perfect 15-0 home court record in 2014-15. One more win will match the DWU record for victories in a season at 28. The Tigers opponent for the first round of the GPAC tournament will be determined after the league wraps up play on Saturday. The game will be at the Corn Palace on Wednesday at a time to be determined.