FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 4 seeded Valdosta State Blazers will travel down to the Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to play the No. 5 seeded Lynn University Fighting Knights in the first round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday night's game will be free to watch on the SSC Digital Network. There will also be a press conference that fans can watch post game by accessing the link on the men's basketball schedule page.
 
The South Region is loaded yet again, as Nova Southeastern is the top seed with them hosting for the first three rounds of the tournament for the fourth straight season at the Rick Case Arena. The Sharks love to play at home as they just set a NCAA Division II record by winning 81 straight games at home that is still active. The South Region Tournament schedule will go as follows:
 
NCAA SOUTH REGION TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND - March 15

(3) Florida Southeastern vs. (6) Montevallo – 12:00 p.m.
(2) Alabama Huntsville vs. (7) Tampa – 2:30 p.m.
(1) Nova Southeastern vs. (8) Savannah State – 5:00 p.m.
(4) Valdosta State vs. (5) Lynn – 7:30 p.m.

NCAA SOUTH REGION TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND - March 16

Winner of FSC/UM vs. UAH/UT – 5:00 p.m.
Winner of NSU/SSU vs. VSU/LYN - 7:30 p.m.

NCAA SOUTH REGION TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP - March 18

Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 winner - 7:00 p.m.
 
The Blazers are making their 14^th appearance in the tournament and are 8-12 overall with the 2020 postseason being canceled due to COVID-19. VSU hasn't won a tournament game since 2010 when they defeated Clark Atlanta, Arkansas Tech, and Rollins to win the South Region before falling to Indiana (Pa.) in the quarterfinals. The Blazers and Fighting Knights have squared off a total of ten times since 1995 as VSU leads the series 8-2 with head coach Mike Helfer being 5-2 against Lynn.
 
Lynn is making their seventh appearance in the big dance, where they are 13-6 overall and won the South Regional in 1997 and 2005. The Fighting Knights most recently made the tournament in 2019, when they defeated Alabama Huntsville and Florida Southern before eventually falling to Nova Southeastern in the South Regional Championship.
 
A Look Into the First Round Matchup:
Lynn University is led by head coach Bill Morsoco, who is in his first year at the helm of the Fighting Knights. In his first season, Morosco led the team to a 20-8 record while going 14-6 in the SSC before falling in the SSC semifinals to Florida Southern. Morosco's squad loves to shoot from distance, as the Fighting Knights are second in the nation in three pointers made per game at 13.2 per contest. Lynn set a new program record for three pointers made in a season as they have knocked down 369 triples on 1,011 attempts for a .365 clip. Morosco has emphasized taking care of the ball in year one, as they are third in the nation in assist to turnover ratio as they hold a 2.06 ratio and only turn the ball over 9.4 times a night.
 
Lynn is averaging 89.0 PPG while allowing just 76.3 for a +12.6 scoring margin. The Fighting Knights are shooting a .455/.365/.727 clip. Lynn is also averaging 19.4 assists which is fifth and nation and second in the SSC.
 
Individually, Leo Bleath has been a stud in his lone season in Boca Raton, Fla. The Malibu, Calif. native is averaging 18.1 PPG and 9.1 RPG on .464 from the floor, .329 from deep, and .747 from the line. On Feb. 12 versus Florida Tech, Bleath tallied 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists which was the only triple double recorded in the Sunshine State Conference this year. The 6'8 forward hauled in an All-SSC First Team Honor and an appearance on the All-SSC Tournament Team. It isn't a one man show in Boca Raton, as Carson Smith can light it up on any given night as the guard is averaging 16.8 PPG and has made a team high 91 three pointers on 219 attempts for a .416 clip. The 6'1 graduate student leads the team in steals as he has corralled a total of 55 for 2.0 a game. Junior Braydon Iuli leads the team in assists as he has dished out a total of 92 for 4.8 a night. The New Zealand product is third on the team in scoring with 12.1 PPG on .519 from the field, .357 from long range, and .750 from the charity stripe.
 
Something's Gotta Give:
The Blazers are one of the best teams in the country at forcing the other team to cough it up with VSU averaging 17.9 turnovers forced with 11.3 of those being live ball turnovers with steals. The Fighting Knights on the other hand, are only averaging 9.4 turnovers per game and hold a +3.1 turnover margin to Valdosta State's +6.7. Both teams know how to score as they are both top 15 in the country in points per game with both teams scoring in different ways.
 
Behind the Blazers' Numbers:
The Valdosta State Blazers travel to the Sunshine State with an overall record of 25-6 and 18-4 in the GSC as they finished second in the regular season standings and lost to Alabama Huntsville in the title game on Sunday in Birmingham. Head coach Mike Helfer is in his 20^th season leading the Blazers and is making his eighth appearance in the NCAA South Regional Tournament. Drew Mills and Carlos Hart were both named to the GSC All-Tournament team as they powered the Blazers through the first two rounds while putting up strong numbers in the championship.
 
As a team, VSU is fifth in the nation in scoring offense as they are averaging 93.8 points per game. Nova Southeastern is leading the nation in scoring as the Sharks are putting up 105.2 per night heading into this weekend. The Blazers are shooting .470 from the floor, .339 from distance, and .762 from the charity stripe. Under coach Helfer's new full court press, Valdosta State has set a new single season record for steals in as season as they are at 349 which shattered the previous record of 283 that was achieved back in the 2009-10 season. The Blazers also set a record for the most points in a season on Sunday as they have scored a total of 2,907 points which surpassed the record of 2,877 set during the 2017-2018 season.
 
Senior Carlos Hart earned another award this morning, as he was named to the D2CCA All-South Region First Team after being named to the All-GSC First Team and All-Tournament Team last weekend. Carlos Hart has broken multiple single season records as he holds the record for most steals in a season at 78 and also holds the record for makes and attempts as he is 186-239 on the year for a .778 clip. Hart is averaging 19.0 points per game on a shooting split of .503/.242/.778. Hart is also the top defender as he averages 2.5 steals per game which is second in the league and is sixth in the nation in total steals.
 
Drew Mills is ranked second on the team in scoring as the forward is averaging 14.5 points a night on an efficient .526/.420/.735 shooting clip. The Baltimore native is sixth in the GSC in field goal percentage on 189-359 from the field. Mills is second on the team in rebounds as he has hauled in a total of 175 while grabbing 5.6 per contest.
 
Braxton Williams leads VSU in three pointers as he has knocked down 61 on 178 attempts for a .343 percentage. One of two returners from last year's team, Williams has stepped up his game with a 3.7 PPG increase from last year in his first season in Valdosta. The Thomasville, Alabama product has scored 20 or more points seven times and has hit three or more three pointers ten times, as the Blazers are 8-2 in those games.
 
Guard Maalik Leitch has been dangerous off the bench for coach Helfer, as the guard is scoring 10.6 points per game on just one start in 17.8 minutes per game. The lefty is shooting .370 from distance and is second on the team in three pointers made at 40.
 
Point guard MJ Jones has been underrated all year, as the guard has made winning plays at the lead guard spot. Jones is averaging 7.8 points per game on a shooting clip of .474/.322/.705 and is ranked second in the team in steals at 61, which is 35^th in the nation. In games in which Jones tallies three or more steals, Valdosta State is 12-0.