AEC PREVIEW | Marywood Faces Off Against No. 1 Neumann

Marywood looks to make first conference finals appearance

Scranton, Pa. – Fifth-seeded Marywood University will face No. 1 Neumann University on Wednesday in the Atlantic East Conference men's basketball semifinal. This is the second straight year the Pacers have made it to the semifinals game. On Monday, Marywood earned its second-ever conference playoff win, after breaking a 31-year drought last season.The broadcast will be aired on the Atlantic East Network.

Marywood upset Centenary University on Monday in the Atlantic East Conference first round. Brendan Franko led the Pacers with 23 points and eight rebounds. Franko made 7 of 14 from the field with two assists and two steals. Michel Loftin scored 16 points with four steals. Corey Perkins had 11 points.

Marywood (14-12) tied for the fourth most wins in program history. All of Marywood's conference playoff wins have come under coach Jon Showers.

The Basics

Marywood vs. Neumann // Wednesday, Feb. 26 // 7 p.m. ET // The Mirenda Center // Aston, Pa. // AtlanticEastNetwork.com

Preview on the Pacers

The Pacers have 14 wins this season which is tied for the fourth-most in program history.
Marywood went 5-7 in conference play.
The Pacers' offense ranks third in the conference with 75 points per game. They are fourth in the conference with a 1.4 scoring margin.
Brendan Franko ranks fourth in the Atlantic East with 14.1 points per game. He ranks second in the Atlantic East in field goal percentage and tops the league with a .833 free-throw percentage.
Corey Perkins leads the Atlantic East with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Michel Loftin averages 10.6 points and 2.3 steals per game in February.
Among active NCAA Division III players, Corey Perkins ranks 36th in assists (362) and 47th in assist average (3.85). Trevor Seitz is 34th with a school record 217 3-pointers.
Brendan Franko joined the 1,000 Point Club with 1,251 career points.
Marywood is ranked 23rd in Division III with 17.3 assists per game.
Marywood is ranked 216th in the NPI Rankings this season. The Pacers are 2-9 versus teams ranked above and 11-3 versus teams below them. Marywood's top win came against Marymount (#106).

Scouting the Knights

Neumann checks in with an 18-7 record. The Knights are 9-3 in conference play and split with Marymount and Gwynedd Mercy in the last week to prevail in a three-way tiebreaker for first place.
Neumann swept the Pacers in the regular season. The Knights defeated Marywood 92-81 in Scranton and eked out a 77-76 win in Aston.
Wednesday's game will be the second time the two teams have faced off in conference playoffs. Neumann won 89-62 against a short-manned Marywood team during the 2021-22 postseason. Marywood won a 91-79 play-in game to get into the Atlantic East playoffs in 2019-20.
Neumann has not lost at home to Marywood since the 2004-04 season. The Knights have won 21 straight games over the Pacers at the Mirenda Center.
Donte Dupriest leads the Atlantic East with 18.3 points and 15.6 rebounds per game in conference play.
Neumann is ranked sixth in NCAA Division III with 18.5 free throws made per game.
Neumann is ranked 153rd in the most recent NPI rankings. The Knights are 2-3 versus teams ranked above and 13-4 against teams ranked below. Neumann's top win came against No. 66 Gwynedd Mercy.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Brendan Franko: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#01 Corey Perkins: G; 6' 1"; Fifth Year

#04 Trevor Seitz: G; 6' 0"; Fifth Year

#11 Michel Loftin: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#21 Brendan Franko
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#01 Corey Perkins
: 6' 1"; Fifth Year
: G

#04 Trevor Seitz
: 6' 0"; Fifth Year
: G

#11 Michel Loftin
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G