NCAA Division III Bracket
UW-La Crosse Sweet 16 Website

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team is set to host the 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Sweet 16. 

The Eagles (24-5) host Illinois Wesleyan University (24-5) in the sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 14 in Mitchell Hall.  Wisconsin Lutheran College (27-3) faces Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. (21-6) in the other sectional semifinal at 4 p.m.   The winners advance to play in the Elite 8 on Saturday, March 15 at 7 p.m.

All four teams are ranked in the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll with UWL ranked fifth, Illinois Wesleyan ninth, Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) 17th and Wisconsin Lutheran 22nd. 

UWL is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA III Tournament, including its first trip to the Sweet 16. The Eagles, 3-3 all-time in the national tournament, advanced to this year's Sweet 16 with a 120-93 victory over Greenville University (Ill.) in the first round on March 7 and 77-67 win over St. Norbert College (Wis.) in the second round on March 8. Hosting NCAA Division III Tournament games for the first time in school history, the games were played at The La Crosse Center. 

UWL earned its first win in tournament history with a 90-86 victory over Heidelberg University (Ohio) in the 2022 first round. The Eagles fell, 65-56, at Illinois Wesleyan in the second round in 2022. UWL made its first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2006, falling 79-71 to Calvin College (Mich.) in the first round. The Eagles also appeared in the 2019 national tournament, losing 79-66 to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in the first round. UWL received one of 21 at-large bids in this year's 64-team NCAA III Championships. 

JT Gritzmacher is in his second season as UWL's head coach. The Eagles went 14-12 overall and 8-6 in the WIAC last season, finishing tied for second in the league standings. He spent three seasons as head coach at Bryant & Stratton College (Wis.) prior to arriving at UWL. The Bobcats went 57-30 under Gritzmacher, including a single-season school record 26 wins.     

UWL's 24 victories this year are a single-season school record. The Eagles won 21 games in three different seasons (21-6 in 1975-76 and 2019-20; 21-7 in 2021-22). UWL clinched its eighth 20-win season in school history and first since finishing 21-7 in 2021-22. The Eagles have won at least 20 games in three of the last six seasons.

Starting all 29 games this year, Dustin Derousseau is second for UWL in scoring (14.1 per game) and third in rebounds (5.2) and assists (2.4). He has scored in double figures in 22 contests with at least 20 points in eight games. Derousseau finished with a season-high 27 points versus Bethany Lutheran College, Minn. (Dec. 4). Named to the 2024-25 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) First Team, Derousseau was also one of the five players named to the league's all-defensive team. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in UWL's two NCAA Division III Tournament games. Derousseau had 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals in UWL's 120-93 win over Greenville (Ill.). He finished with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 77-67 victory over St. Norbert (Wis.).  Derousseau leads UWL in steals (1.6) and blocks (1.1) in 2024-25. He has a career-high 32 points versus UW-Stevens Point last season.

JJ Paider has also started all 29 games for the Eagles, leading the team in rebounding (7.7) and assists (2.7) while ranking third in scoring (13.2) and blocks (0.7). Paider, selected to the All-WIAC First Team, also leads in field goal shooting (53.7%, 130-of-242). Scoring in double figures in 20 games this year, including at least 15 in 11 contests, Paider finished with a career-high 28 points in UWL's 120-93 win over Greenville (Ill.). He also recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Paider has 22 points in three different games. He has a season-high 14 rebounds against North Park University, Ill. (Nov. 16) and Keene State University, N.H. (Dec. 30).      

Sam Grieger also earned All-WIAC First Team honors and has started all 29 games this season. He leads the Eagles in scoring (15.6) and assists (2.8) while ranking second in rebounding (5.3), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.9) per game.  Grieger is second on the team in field goal shooting at 52.3% (169-of-323), scoring in double figures in 24 games with a career-high 30 points at UW-Stevens Point on January 11. Grieger has recorded three double-doubles.     

Will Fuhrmann was named to the 2024-25 All-WIAC Honorable Mention Team. Starting all 29 games this year, Fuhrmann is averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is second on the team lead in three-point field goals made (40) while scoring in double figures in 14 contests.   Fuhrmann had a season-high 15 points and four steals versus UW-Stout (Jan. 15). He finished with a career-high 25 points versus UW-Oshkosh last season.  

Karter Thomas, a transfer from Bryant and Stratton (Wis.), earned 2024-25 All-WIAC Honorable Mention accolades in his first season at UWL. He has played in all 29 games with 20 starts while averaging 11.8 points (fourth on team) and 2.6 rebounds per game.  Thomas leads the team in free throw shooting at 83.1% (64-of-77) and ranks third in steals (1.1). He has reached double figures in scoring in 19 games, including at least 15 points in 11 contests. Thomas finished with a season-high 22 points against Hamline University, Minn. (Dec. 29). He had 21 points in UWL's win over Greenville (Ill.).

Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series, 1-0, with UWL. The Titans earned a 65-56 home win over the Eagles in the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round.     

Illinois Wesleyan advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 101-67 first round victory over Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) and a 75-73 win over seventh-ranked Saint John's University (Minn.) in the second round. The Titans played the first two rounds at the University of Chicago (Ill.). 

Nick Rope, Hakim Williams, Harrison Wilmsen and Mason Funk have started all 29 games games for Illinois Wesleyan while Josh Fridman has 21 starts. Roper leads the team in scoring (15.6) and ranks third in rebounding (5.6). Williams is second in scoring (10.2), assists (3.4) and steals (1.7) while Wilmsen is third in scoring (9.9). Funk is second in rebounding (5.6) and tied for fourth in scoring (9.2) with Fridman. Marko Anderson is the team's top rebounder (6.0).