MIDDLETOWN, CT.- The third-seeded Wesleyan men's basketball team makes the NESCAC tournament for the second consecutive season where they will host sixth-seeded Colby at Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals are coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2021-22, where they were crowned NESCAC Champions and earned a birth in the NCAA Tournament. They will look to repeat that postseason success again in 2022-23, starting with a matchup against the Colby Mules in the quarterfinals.

• LOCATION: Wesleyan University - Silloway Gymnasium
• TIME: February 18^th at 2 pm
• LIVE STATS
• LIVE VIDEO

 
WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT

• Wesleyan will compete in their 15^th NESCAC Tournament
• They won their 2^nd NESCAC tournament in 2021-22, knocking off #6 Colby in the quarterfinals 82-71, before winning instant classics against #7 Trinity in the semifinals (70-67) and #4 Williams in the championship (78-75 OT)
• They return three of their top five scorers from the 2021-22 championship team

 
CARDINALS TO WATCH

• Nicky Johnson '25 is back to run the show for Joe Reilly's squad this year, dishing out a NESCAC-leading 6.3 assists per game which ranks 10^th nationally. The sophomore guard does a bit of everything for the Cards, averaging 13.5 points, six rebounds, and a NESCAC-leading two steals per contest
• Preston Maccoux '23 is the leading scorer for Wesleyan, coming into the tournament averaging 15.9 points per game which ranks top five in the NESCAC. At 6'5 Maccoux has the ability to score and grab rebounds inside (5.8 RPG), while also showing the ability to score from beyond the arc (40 3PM, 33.1%)
• Gabe Ravetz '23 has been a sniper for the Cardinals over the course of his career, but has taken it to a different level in 2022-23 knocking down 64 triples at a 37.6% clip heading into tournament weekend. The senior guard now holds the title of Wesleyan's All-time Leader in 3PM with 204 and counting. Ravetz is second on the team in points per game with 15.1 while also bringing down 4.5 rebounds
• Shackylle Dezonie '23 epitomizes the phrase "big guard" at the division III level, coming In listed at 6'5 215 pounds. The senior is 6^th in the conference in rebounding at 6.7 per game, while putting up 9.6 points and two assists per game for the Cards
• Jared Langs '25 and Fritz Hauser '26 have shared minutes in the frontcourt for the Cardinals this year. Fritz (18.7 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) shows the ability to stretch the defense (35.3% 3pt) while Langs (16.4 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has been solid in the middle of the floor for the Cardinals
• Shane Regan '25 (16.4 mpg, 6.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) has been an important piece off the bench for Wesleyan this year averaging the 6^th most minutes on the team despite not starting a single game. Regan holds the best field goal percentage among qualified Cardinals at 48.2%.

COLBY SCOUTING REPORT

• Colby will compete in their 4^th straight NESCAC Tournament
• The Mules defeated #8 Hamilton 64-58 in the first round of the 2021-22 tournament before falling to #1 Wesleyan 82-71 in the quarterfinals
• They are the 2^nd highest scoring team in the NESCAC, putting up 76.1 points per game

 
MULES TO WATCH

• The Mules are led in the scoring department by freshman Max Poulton (12.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg). Poulton does most of his damage from three-point range, knocking down 54 triples at a 38.3% clip which ranks top five in the NESCAC
• Colby has another guard that loves to live beyond the arc in Noah Tyson (11.7 ppg). The senior guard has put up a NESCAC-leading 180 threes on the year, hitting at 32.2 %. At 6'3 Tyson can battle for rebounds as well, leading the Mules with 6.2 boards a game
• Senior Will King (12 ppg) is the point guard for Colby, dishing out six assists per game that only trails Johnson for the conference lead. King is uber-efficient, connecting on 46.5% of his shots from the field while knocking down 38.6% of his three-point attempts

 
SERIES HISTORY

• This will be the 55^th meeting between these two NESCAC schools with the Cardinals holding a 18-36 record against their counterparts
• Wesleyan is 12-14 against the Mules in games played at Silloway Gymnasium
• The Cardinals have only met with Colby once in the NESCAC Tournament, winning a NESCAC Quarterfinal matchup against them last year (2021-22), 82-71
• Wesleyan has won five of the last seven meetings between these two schools dating back to the 2016-17 season

 
2022-23 REGULAR SEASON MEETING (Wesleyan 79, Colby 59  -  Waterville, ME l Box Score l Recap)

• Nicky Johnson scored a career-high 28 points (9-16 FG)
• That win was the sixth of 11 straight victories for the Cardinals that stretched from December 10^th to January 27^th
• The Cardinals won their 3^rd straight game over the Mules

 
NESCAC TOURNAMENT INFO

• Quarterfinal action occurs at the top four seeds on Saturday, February 18th. Semifinals and championship games conducted on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26, respectively

• Visit the NESCAC website for Tournament Central and the NESCAC Seeding Announcement