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TICKETS
Saturday (All day pricing)
Adults - $20 // Youth (ages 3-18) - $12 // Senior Citizens (62+) - $12
Students of participating institutions (with school ID) - $12
Sunday (All day pricing)
Adults - $20 // Youth (ages 3-18) - $12 // Senior Citizens (62+) - $12
Students of participating institutions (with school ID) - $12
Tuesday
Adults - $16 // Youth (ages 3-18) - $12 // Senior Citizens (62+) - $12
Students of participating institutions (with school ID) - $12

** NO COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS **
 

STORYLINES
• Last time out: Cal U suffered a 70-64 loss at eventual-PSAC Champion IUP in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament on March 2.
• The Vulcans are making their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including their first since 2008, and hold an all-time record of 13-14 in the NCAA Tournament.
 
ABOUT THE VULCANS
• In his fourth year as head coach, Danny Sancomb has led Cal U to a combined 40-20 mark over the last two seasons following an eight-win campaign in 2019.
• Cal U ranks among the top 20 in the country in field-goal defense this season, allowing opponents to shoot only 40 percent from the floor.
• Sophomore Philip Alston ranks third in the region in scoring at 21.4 points per game and sits second with 10.7 rebounds per game.
 
ABOUT THE FIGHTING FALCONS
• A veteran coach in the MEC, Tim Koenig has guided both Notre Dame and Fairmont State to league championships. He boasts a 61-19 mark with the Fighting Falcons.
• The Fighting Falcons rank No. 10 in the country in scoring offense at 87.4 points per game and commit just 11.0 turnovers per game, third-best in the region.
• Senior Isaiah Sanders ranks fourth in the region in scoring at 21.3 points per game while leading the region with an .891 free-throw percentage.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
• Cal U and Fairmont State are meeting for the second time this year with the Fighting Falcons posting a 95-92 road victory on Nov. 18.
• The Fighting Falcons have won all three meetings against the Vulcans in recent years, including wins in West Virginia during both 2018 and 2019.
• Cal U posted a 2-1 record against MEC programs this season behind a pair of victories at the tip-off tournament hosted by Charleston on Nov. 12-13.
 
BACK IN THE DANCE
Cal U returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 when it captured the East Region Championship. The Vulcans previously made the NCAA Tournament 11 times in a 17-year span from 1992-08, advancing to the Final Four in both 1992 and 1996. In its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Cal U served as host for the East Regional before suffering a 55-52 loss in the Elite Eight to No. 4 Alaska Anchorage.
 
RIGOROUS SCHEDULE
The Vulcans earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament in part due to a schedule that featured 11 games against 20-win teams. This year, Cal U played the toughest schedule in the Atlantic Region (.565 strength of schedule) and ranked third in RPI behind only IUP and West Liberty. The NCAA factors win-loss record, opponent winning percentage and opponents' opponent winning percentage when calculating RPI.
 
BREAKOUT SOPH
Cal U sophomore Philip Alston has emerged as one of the premier players in the country this year. He is the only player in the Atlantic Region averaging a double-double this season, posting 21.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. In his first year as a starter, Alston is the first player since the 2002-03 campaign to lead the PSAC in both scoring and rebounding, plus sits second in the league with 1.97 blocks per game. The Ohio native was one of only four players (Butler, West Liberty; Foster, IUP; Robinson, West Liberty) in the region last month to advance to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List.
 
DANCING, AGAIN
Fairmont State is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 10 years. The Fighting Falcons advanced to the 2017 NCAA National Championship after winning their first regional title in nearly two decades. Fairmont State lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to Mercyhurst in both 2019 and 2021 and was scheduled to face Shippensburg in the first round before the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled.
 
FLASHBACK
In 2017, Danny Sancomb led sixth-seeded Wheeling to the regional final against top seed and host Fairmont State. The Fighting Falcons earned an 86-80 victory after leading by as many as 17 points in the second half. Then-freshman Preston Boswell scored 13 points off the bench for Wheeling in the loss. Sancomb led the Cardinals to a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2018 following the program's first MEC Championship.
 
PROLIFIC BACKCOURT
Cal U boasts one of the most prolific scoring backcourts in the country behind the trio of Boswell, junior Zyan Collins and senior Brent Pegram. Pegram ranks seventh all-time in school history with over 1,600 points, while Collins sits among the top 20 with more than 1,250 points. A graduate transfer, Boswell has scored over 1,500 points in his career after previously playing at Wheeling and West Liberty.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
Fairmont State is anchored by the play of two-time All-MEC First-Team guard Isaiah Sanders. He ranks second in the league and fourth in the Atlantic Region with 21.3 points per game, highlighted by a career-high 42 points in the semifinals of the MEC Tournament on Saturday. Sanders, who played his freshman year at Notre Dame (Ohio) under Tim Koenig, scored 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting in the meeting at Cal U earlier this season.
 
HIGH SCORING
The Vulcans and Fighting Falcons both rank among the top 10 in the Atlantic Region in scoring offense this season. Fairmont State sits third in the MEC, and fifth in the region, with 87.4 points per game, while Cal U is third in the PSAC and 10th in the region at 82.1 points per game - its most since the 1997-98 campaign. The Fighting Falcons have scored at least 90 points five times since February.