Wittenberg today also announced ticket information for the second round game. A pre-sale will be held in the lobby of the HPER Center from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday. The ticket window for all other purchases will open at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Ticket prices are as follows: reserved seats are $5, general admission is $4 and students, senior citizens and children are $3. No season passes of any kind will be accepted.

Wittenberg advances to the tournament for the first time since 1997, when the Tigers took a 22-5 record into the national competition but were upended in a tight contest at Mount Union, 73-65, to close out the season in the second round.

This year, the Tigers were awarded the No. 2 seed in a six-team sub-regional bracket and one of 16 byes in the first round of the 48-team tournament. Ohio Northern, champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference and the No. 1 team in the Great Lakes Region for the last month, is the No. 1 seed. The Polar Bears will host the winner of Defiance vs. Calvin in a second round game on Saturday as well.

For Wittenberg Head Coach Bill Brown, there is a feeling of relief but also of pride. The selection committee recognized the Tigers - winners of the NCAC regular season title and 16 straight games before Saturday's loss - for their accomplishments and track record of success. Wittenberg, which carries a 23-3 overall record in the tournament, has played in 20 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournaments, won 40 tournament games and appeared in six Final Fours, all record totals for Division III schools.

"We felt we belonged in the field, and we are ecstatic at the respect the selection committee gave our program," said Brown, who guided the Tigers to their last Final Four in 1994, his first year coaching his alma mater. "We thought we deserved to be in, and we are very pleased with the way things played out in the draw."

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