Jose Figueroa

John Carroll Men’s Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament with Grinnell

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – John Carroll (22-6) claimed the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament title with an 84-66 victory over Denison (18-9) on Saturday, February 28, in Granville, Ohio. As conference tournament champions, the Blue Streaks earned the NCAC's automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.
 
John Carroll will open play with a first-round game against Grinnell (22-3) in Bloomington, Illinois on Friday, March 6. The Pioneers earned the Midwest Conference automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This will be the first meeting for John Carroll and Grinnell. The winner of the Blue Streaks/Pioneers first-round contest will move on to face the winner of host Illinois Wesleyan (23-4) versus Heidelberg (16-12) on Saturday, March 7, in the second round.
 
John Carroll is making its fourth-consecutive and 19th overall NCAA tournament appearance and holds a 25-20 (.556) record on the national stage, while Grinnell will be making its second-consecutive and fourth overall appearance in the NCAA tourney, entering with an 0-3 record.
 
Led by head coach Pete Moran, who is in his ninth season, John Carroll brings a high-octane attack into the NCAA tournament, averaging 89.7 points per game. The Blue Streaks are paced by graduate guard Luke Chicone (Mentor, OH/Mentor), who is putting up 24.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game while shooting .539 percent from the floor and .350 from the three-point line. His assists, points and steals per game currently rank ninth, 13th and 16th in Division III. Senior forward Kasey Hunt (Sylvania, OH/Sylvania Northview) provides a complementary scoring option at 14.1 points per game. Defensively, senior forward Sean Collins (Mentor, OH/Mentor) leads the team with 16 blocks and the team’s third-most steals with 32, while sophomore forward Mike Lamirand (Avon Lake, OH/Saint Ignatius) chips in with the team’s second-most steals (44) and blocks (15). Collins has also dished 47 assists and is averaging 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds and Lamirand is averaging 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: