SALEM, Va. – A trip to the National Championship will be on the line Friday night when Nebraska Wesleyan University meets Springfield College (Mass.) in the 2018 NCAA III Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.  Tip-off between the Prairie Wolves and the Pride is set for 6:30 pm (CT).   24^th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Ramapo College meet in the first semifinal of the night at 4:00 pm (CT).
 
Nebraska Wesleyan, with a school record 28 victories, is making their fifth appearance in the NCAA III Final Four and first since 1997 when they finished as the national runner-up.  The Prairie Wolves boast a 28-3 overall record and enter the semifinal matchup on an 11-game winning streak.
 
Earning a trip to the NCAA III Tournament by winning the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Postseason Tournament, Nebraska Wesleyan is the men's basketball team to represent the Iowa Conference in the NCAA III Men's Final Four.
 
Coming off a sectionals weekend where the Prairie Wolves knocked off a pair of top ten ranked opponents, NWU now leads the nation in field goal percentage at 51.4 percent.  They shot 68.1 percent in the 33-point victory over #1 ranked Whitman College and have shot over 60 percent six times this season.
 
NWU is 7^th in the nation in scoring at 96.2 points per game.  They will be facing a Springfield team that has allowed only one team to score 90 points all season long.  The Pride gave up 90 points in a 92-90 overtime victory versus Hamilton in the Sweet 16.
 
Springfield earned an at-large berth to the NCAA III Tournament.  They are 22-8 overall and have won four games on the road, including two on their opponent's home court to advance to their first ever Sweet 16.
 
The Pride are led by All-American guard Jake Ross who was the Northeast Region Player of the Year.  Ross averages 24.9 points per game to rank 8^th in the nation in scoring.  They have three players scoring in double figures.
 
NWU boasts a starting lineup with all five players scoring in double figures.  Sophomore Nate Schimonitz, a 3^rd-Team All-Region selection, now leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game.  Cooper Cook, the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, is second at 16.5 points with a team-high 72 made 3-pointers.
 
Iowa Conference MVP and 2^nd-Team All-Region performer Ryan Garver is scoring 14.1 points and leads the team in assists (148) and steals (76).  Jack Hiller is coming off a career-high scoring performance of 30 points versus Whitman to raise his average to 13.5 points per game.  Deion Wells-Ross, the only senior on the team, is at 12.5 points per game with a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per contest.
 
The Nebraska Wesleyan vs. Springfield national semifinal matchup can be seen live via webcast on NCAA.com.  It can also be heard live locally on KFOR 1240 AM/103.3 FM or online at kfornow.com with NWU Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Janda calling the action.
 
Saturday's championship game is scheduled for a 5:07 pm (CT) tip-off and will be shown on CBS Sports Network.