DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team has qualified for the NCAA II National Tournament for the third consecutive season, something only a select few teams can lay claim to. The Eagles, who qualified in 2019-20 before COVID canceled the tournament, made their debut last season, advancing to the NCAA II Sweet 16. Embry-Riddle is 20-19 all-time in national tournaments, including a 2-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are seeded sixth this year, and are matched up against third-seeded Alabama Huntsville, a team they met twice last year.

The Eagles (19-11, 10-10 Sunshine State Conference)
• Head Coach Steve Ridder has been at the helm of the ERAU men's basketball program since 1989, and has compiled an overall record of 759-317 in 34 seasons. Ridder's 759 career victories place him tied for 39th along with Edgar Diddle (Western Kentucky) all-time on the men's college basketball coaching list, and is eighth among active NCAA coaches, and second in the Division II ranks.

• ERAU is one win shy of 20 victories on the year. If the Eagles were to get a win on Saturday it would mark the 24th 20-win campaign in program history.

• The Eagles were picked third in the preseason SSC Coaches' poll, ultimately finishing in a tie for fifth.

• The Eagles are 12-1 against Gulf South Conference opponents since joining the NCAA II ranks in 2016-17. ERAU is 4-0 against West Georgia, and 3-0 against Lee having played them in the SSC-GSC Classic over the last three years. ERAU is also 2-1 against Auburn Montgomery, 1-0 versus Mississippi College, and 2-0 against Alabama-Huntsville.

• The Eagles are 1-3 against participants in the NCAA II National Tournament this season: 1-0 against West Georgia and 0-3 against Nova Southeastern.

• Chris Murray (2nd Team) earned All-SSC accolades this season as a senior.

• Murray ranks No. 14 in NCAA II in free throw attempts (202) this season.

• Murray, like former Eagle Romeo Crouch a year ago, could become the first player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists. He currently sits behind Malcolm Whitlow by 57 points, while pacing the team in both boards (227) and assists (105).

• The Eagles have three 1,000-point scorers on the roster in Whitlow (1,621), Wesley Simpson (1,129), and Murray (1,126).

• Murray is one of just five Eagles ever to score 1,000 points, grab 700 rebounds, and dish out 200 assists.

• Whitlow's 18.1 points per game lead the way for ERAU, and his 62 made three-pointers are also a team-best this year.

• Whitlow has made a three in all but five games this year, and has scored 20-plus points 13 times.

• Michael McCalister is averaging 9.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in his sophomore season.

• Dru Nickson returned to the Eagles this season and has been a huge addition to the ERAU lineup, averaging 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and hitting 40 triples this year.

The Alabama Huntsville Chargers (25-7, 19-5 Gulf South Conference)
• The Chargers are led by Head Coach John Shulman in his fourth season at UAH (89-27). Shulman boasts a career record of 234-173 in 13 seasons.

• UAH started the season ranked in the top 25 and finishes the year also ranked in the top 25, currently No. 23.

• UAH won the GSC regular season crown, but fell to West Georgia in the GSC Tournament semifinals.

• Chaney Johnson was named the GSC Player of the Year after averaging 15.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and a 50% field goal clip as a sophomore.

• Luke Burnett leads all of NCAA II with 104 made three-pointers this year.

• As a team, the Chargers rank sixth in NCAA II with 11.1 made three-pointers per contest.

• Prior to their GSC Tournament semifinal loss, the Chargers had won 10 consecutive games.

• Of their seven losses this season, all but one came on the road or at neutral sites; UAH is 1-2 in neutral site games this year (ERAU has not played one yet).

• Like Embry-Riddle, the Chargers have lost just once this season when scoring 80-plus points (101-81 loss to Nova Southeastern).

• Behind Johnson and Burnett, Max Shulman is the third Charger scoring in double-figures, averaging 12.1 points per game in addition to 5.0 rebounds.

• The Chargers and Eagles have played four common opponents this season, UAH went 4-2, while the Eagles went 2-6:
  • Nova Southeastern - UAH (0-1) (L, 81-101) | ERAU 0-3 (L, 76-88; L, 90-98; L, 69-92)
  • West Georgia - UAH (2-1) (W, 58-57; W, 89-66; L, 69-71) | ERAU 1-0 (W, 70-65)
  • Saint Leo - UAH (1-0) (W, 65-57) | ERAU 0-2 (L, 75-76; L, 79-85)
  • Tampa - UAH (1-0) (W, 80-71) | ERAU 1-1 (L, 77-8 OT; W, 87-72)