Official Bracket

EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ men's basketball team is making a habit of going dancing.
 
The Lions, who find themselves in the NCAA Tournament field for the third straight year, will head to Randolph-Macon for a regional pod this weekend. The NJAC champions will take on Johns Hopkins in the first round at 4:15 P.M. on Friday, with the host Yellow Jackets set to face N.C. Wesleyan in the other first-round contest. The winners will meet Saturday at 6:45 P.M. with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

TCNJ is making its second NCAA Tournament trip to Randolph-Macon in six years. The Lions also went to Ashland in 2019, defeating Marietta in the first round before falling to the 3rd-ranked Yellow Jackets in the second round.
 
TCNJ, which traveled to Hampden-Sydney this time last year, is making its 10^th NCAA appearance all-time and its first run of three straight Big Dance appearances since 1987-88 to 1989-90. The Lions qualified five times between 1985 and 1990, including a run to the national title game in 1989, and again in 1998; TCNJ went more than two decades without getting back until winning the NJAC in 2020. Now, playing on the big stage has become the standard.
 
The Lions will hope to get over the hump after falling in heartbreaking fashion each of the last two seasons; a one-point loss to Eastern in 2024 and a two-point defeat at the hands of Pitt-Bradford a year ago. With experience and a tandem of senior superstars, the blue and gold have to like their chances.
 
Senior point guard Nick Koch and senior forward Matthew Solomon have once again been the team's back bone, an inside-outside duo that ranks among the most formidable in Division III. Koch leads the NJAC in scoring at 22.5 points per game, good for 24^th in the country, and hands out 4.4 assists per game (31^st). Solomon, meanwhile, is 9^th in the nation in rebounding (11.6 RPG) and 6^th with 16 double-doubles.
 
Both first-team All-NJAC selections, Koch and Solomon are among the most accomplished players in Division III. Solomon is the active leader in career rebounds with 1,017, while Koch is 5^th in career points (1,809) and 10^th in assists (394).
 
The Lions are far from a two-man show, however. Junior guard David Alexandre averages 10.5 points per game and was the hero of the NJAC championship game against No. 6 Montclair State, scoring 18 points over the final 10 minutes (24 for the game) and dishing out the improbable assist on Solomon's game-winning dunk in the closing seconds despite nearly falling on his back.  
 
Senior sharp-shooter Jonathan Okocha (10.5 PPG) tops the team with 59 3-pointers, good for fourth in the NJAC, and has made 124 for his career, good for 12^th in program history.
 
Junior forward Khalid Bakare (4.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG) is second on the team in rebounding and provides a physical presence, and the Lions get support off the bench from senior guard Anthony Milligan (3.0 PPG) and first-year guards Mason Mangione (4.7 PPG, 34 3-pointers) and Lucas Dipasupil (4.3 PPG).
 
NJAC champions under first-year head coach Evan Elberg, TCNJ has also won 20 games for the third straight season. The Lions' last NCAA Tournament victory came in 2020, but the blue and gold has not made it to the Sweet Sixteen since the run to the title game in 1989, when Elberg was not even alive.
 
Johns Hopkins is making its 16^th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and first since a Sweet Sixteen run in 2023. The Blue Jays are 20-7 overall and fell to Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference championship game. Senior guard Charlie Jackson leads the way in both scoring (18.9 PPG) and rebounding (7.4 RPG).

TCNJ's matchup with Johns Hopkins will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
N.C. Wesleyan (21-6) won the USA South over top-seeded Pfeiffer in the title game.
 
Randolph-Macon (25-3) is ranked No. 1 in the D3hoops.com poll, but dropped a 1-point nail-biter to Roanoke in the ODAC title game. The Yellow Jackets are a deep squad, with nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per game and only two scoring in double figures.