No. 5 Midwestern State battles No. 15 Arkansas Tech Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum as the Mustangs will be going for their third consecutive NCAA Division II South Central Region championship.
 
The Mustangs have advanced to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2011 while the Wonder Boys are making their first appearance in a region final.
 
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
WHERE TO FIND THE GAME
 
100.9 BOB-FM -- The broadcast features the play-by-play voice of two-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Bill Powers. The Taco Casa Pregame Show begins at 6:45 p.m.
ON THE WEB -- BOB-FM's audio broadcast simulcasts on BOBRadio.fm.  LINK
LIVE STATS -- Live stats are available courtesy of the Midwestern State Athletic Communications Office.  LINK
 
AROUND THE NCAA DIVISION TOURNAMENT
 
FIRST TO CLINCH  No. 12 Western Washington clinched the first berth in the 2012 NCAA Division II Elite Eight field by knocking off Seattle Pacific 56-50 Monday night in Bellingham, Wash. The Vikings will face the winner of the Midwestern State/Arkansas Tech matchup next Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights, Ky.
 
FAMILIAR LOOK?  This season's Elite Eight field just might have a similar look to last year's Elite Eight. Six teams from last year's field have returned to the regional final including West Liberty in the Atlantic, Midwestern State in the South Central, Alabama-Huntsville in the South, Bellarmine in the Midwest, Anderson (S.C.) in the Southeast and Bloomfield (N.J.) in the East. Midwestern State was the lone team to return to the Elite Eight in 2011.
 
NATIONAL RANKING MEANS NOTHING, RIGHT?  Of the 16 teams to advance to region finals, thirteen were amongst squads in the final 2012 NABC Top 25. The only unranked teams include East Region finalists Stonehill (Mass.) and Bloomfield (N.J.) and Seattle Pacific, who fell 56-50 to No. 12 Western Washington Monday night.
 
AS IT SHOULD BE  Six of the eight region finals include ranked vs. ranked matchups including two Top 10 clashes as No. 3 West Liberty (W. Va.) faces No. 7 Shaw in the Atlantic and No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville takes on No. 8 Christian Brothers in the South. Other ranked battles include No. 5 Midwestern State against No. 15 Arkansas Tech in the South Central, No. 14 Anderson (S.C.) and No. 22 Montevallo (Ala.) in the Southeast, No. 4 Bellarmine (Ky.) and No. 18 Kentucky Wesleyan in the Midwest and No. 1 Colorado Mines faces off against No. 13 Metropolitan State in the Central.
 
CHALK, CHALK AND MORE CHALK  The top seeds dominate the Sweet 16 as seven No. 1s remain -- only East Region No. 1 Franklin Pierce has fallen. Distribution of the other seeds include four No. 2s, three No. 3s, a No. 5 (Bloomfield -- East) and a No. 7 (Kentucky Wesleyan -- Midwest). As opposed to last year when three No. 6 seeds advanced to the Elite Eight including Midwestern State out of the South Central, Anderson (S.C.) out of the South and BYU-Hawaii out of the West.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
Midwestern State has won its last six games and 12 of its last 13 heading into its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II South Central Region final.
 
The Mustangs are also looking for their third consecutive regional championship after brushing past St. Mary's (Texas) 62-54 in the quarterfinals before eliminating Washburn (Kan.) 72-63 in the semifinals.
 
MSU has advanced to the last two NCAA Division II Elite Eights after claiming South Central final wins over Central Missouri in 2010 and Central Oklahoma in 2011.
 
Senior guard Michael Loyd has paced the Mustangs in the postseason by averaging 11.6 points in five postseason games including the Lone Star Conference and South Central Regional tournaments. He is coming off of a season-high 21-point performance in Sunday's win over Washburn.
 
Junior guard JaMichael Rivers has come on strong to score 10.2 points a game on 40.4 percent shooting, while senior forward David Terrell, the LSC Postseason Tournament MVP, is averaging 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a contest.
 
Junior guard Kevin Grayer has been MSU postseason sensation coming on to score 6.8 points a game while connecting on 13-of-14 free throws while giving the Mustangs 16.3 valuable minutes a night off of the bench.
 
Senior forwards Thomas Colbert (6.2 points, 7.8 rebounds) and Darrick Thomas (4.6 points, 3.2 rebounds) have been pillars in the paint for the Mustangs.
 
Midwestern can complete its eighth unbeaten home campaign with a win over Arkansas Tech while improving to 59-2 on its home floor since the start of the 2008-09 season.
 
A win over the Wonder Boys would avenge a 76-71 loss for the Mustangs in the NAIA Southwest Independents Region championship on March 5, 1996 under the dome. ATU also beat the then-Indians 60-58 in an NAIA national tournament first-round game on March 14, 1995 in Tulsa, Okla.
 
ABOUT THE WONDER BOYS
 
Arkansas Tech streaks into the NCAA Division II South Central finals having won six straight and 15 out of its last 16.
 
The Great American Conference champion Wonder Boys have already beaten a pair of Lone Star Conference opponents in the South Central Regional. ATU beat West Texas A&M 79-68 in the opening round before taking down No. 9 Tarleton State 64-63 Sunday night in overtime.
 
Arkansas Tech is paced by Daktronics second-team all-region performer Johnie Davis. The 6-1 senior from Canton, Ohio averages 19.8 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds. Davis is coming off of a 15-point effort in a 64-63 OT win over Tarleton State.
 
Junior guard Jared Williamson adds 12.2 points and 4.9 boards per game for the Wonder Boys, while 6-10 senior center Will Paul scores 10.5 points and pulls down 5.4 rebounds a contest.
 
ATU boasts just six players averaging better than 20 minutes per game which also includes senior guard Matt Haney (9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds), senior guard Mykel Cleveland (8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists) and junior guard Jeremy Hoard (7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds).
 
Arkansas Tech's Doug Karleskint has compiled a 51-11 record (.822) in his second year at the helm of the Wonder Boys.
 
A-Tech is making its first NCAA Division II regional final appearance.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
 
Midwestern State and Arkansas Tech meet for the third time and for the first time since 1996 on the hardwood in Tuesday's NCAA Division II South Central Region championship game at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
The Wonder Boys claimed an NAIA National Tournament opening round 60-58 win on March 14, 1995 then took a 76-71 win the next season in the NAIA Southwest Independents Region championship game on March 5, 1996 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.