MARIETTA, Ohio — With only 16 teams still playing in NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, Marietta College is excited to host the Sectional Tournament this Friday and Saturday in Ban Johnson Arena.

The seventh-ranked Pioneers (26-4) advanced to this round by defeating Calvin (83-66) and Guilford (88-64). Marietta faces No. 13 Rochester (23-4) at 8 p.m. Friday. The Yellowjackets downed Albertus Magnus (89-66) and Union (82-60) in last weekend's first- and second-round games.

Top-ranked Whitman (29-0) faces Hardin-Simmons (24-6) at 5 p.m. Friday. The Blues defeated Rhodes 111-98 and Claremont-Mudd Scripps 79-73 in Walla Walla, Washington. Hardin-Simmons downed LaGrange 109-103 and Emory 95-85 to reach the Sweet 16.

The winners of each game will play at 7 p.m. Saturday to see who advances to the Final Four. Rochester is the only program playing in Marietta that has reached the championship game. The Yellowjackets won the national championship in 1990 and finished runner-up in both 1992 and 2005.

Only Marietta and Whitman have faced off this season. The Blues defeated the Pioneers 72-71 in Daytona Beach, Florida, during the winter break.

Marietta College employees will be able to purchase pre-sale tickets in the lobby of Ban Johnson Arena from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Thursday. All tickets must be purchased in person and are limited to TWO tickets per person. NCAA Tournament single game ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens (age 62 and older) and students. All ticket purchases are cash-only transactions. Employees wanting to purchase more than two tickets may do so when tickets go on sale to the general public from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday.

The gates will open at 3:30 p.m. for game one and as quickly as possible prior to game two. The arena will be cleared between games.

Whitman (29-0) vs. Hardin-Simmons (24-6)
5:00 p.m., Friday, March 10th

About Whitman
Conference: Northwest Conference
Nickname: Blues
Coach: Eric Bridgeland, ninth season (166-74); 14th season (346-100), career
Winning streak: 29 games

About Hardin-Simmons
Conference: American Southwest Conference
Nickname: Cowboys
Coach: Craig Carse, ninth season (152-95); 26th season (442-285), career
Winning streak: 9 games

There's no hotter team in America than Whitman, as the Blues have not lost a game this season. Marietta came the closest, but Whitman won 72-71 in Daytona Beach. The Blues also needed overtime to defeat rival Whitworth 86-83 in the Northwest Conference Tournament championship game.

Junior Tim Howell is Whitman's top offensive threat as he is averaging 20.2 points a game. Sophomore Joey Hewitt has also enjoyed a strong season with 13.3 points a game and 3.8 rebounds. Other threats are junior Jase Harrison (12.7 points) and sophomore Austin Butler (10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds).

Whitman has been an offensive juggernaut all season, averaging 91.5 points a game, while opponents are scoring just 74.3 points.

Don't overlook Hardin-Simmons' offense, though. The Cowboys have six players scoring in double digits and they are averaging 89.4 points a game as a team. Five of the top six scorers are seniors.

Senior Nathaniel Jack, the American Southwest Conference West Division Player of the Year, is averaging 18.8 points and 12.1 rebounds a contest. Senior center Justin Jones, the ASC West Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

Seniors Christian O'Neal (16.2 points), Dashun Dixon (12.7 points) and Duane Hopper (12.2 points), along with junior Caleb Spoon (11.6 points) round out an explosive offensive unit.

Rochester (23-4) vs. Marietta (26-4)
8:00 p.m., Friday, March 10th

About Rochester
Conference: University Athletic Association
Nickname: Yellowjackets
Coach: Luke Flockerzi, seventh season (121-61); 10th season (151-107), career
Winning streak: 2 games

About Marietta
Conference: Ohio Athletic Conference
Nickname: Pioneers
Coach: Jon VanderWal, 10th season (190-89)
Winning streak: 17 games

This will be just the second all-time meeting between the two schools. Rochester defeated Marietta 67-56 during the 1994-95 season.

Before last week's tournament, the Yellowjackets had lost three of its final five games. But UR found its rhythm in the NCAA Tournament. Senior Zach Ayers scored a career-high 26 points, while sophomore Jacob Wittig had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the second-round win.

Senior Sam Smith-Borst is UR's top scorer this season. He is averaging 16.1 points a game to go with 5.6 rebounds a contest. Senior Mack Montague is scoring 15.6 points a game and pulling down 4.1 rebounds. Ayers is at 12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Rochester is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the last appearance coming in 2012-13.

Marietta is one of the top scoring teams in all of Division III and enter this weekend averaging 88.9 points a contest. The Pioneers have eclipsed the 100-point mark six times.

Sophomore Anthony Wallace (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) was Marietta's most consistent scorer last weekend as he poured in 19 points in both victories. However, senior Keith Richardson (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) may have been the Pioneers' MVP over the two games. He scored 34 points and had 15 assists combined.

Senior A.J. Edwards (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) is still Marietta's main offensive threat, though. He is averaging 17.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game, while Richardson is averaging 15.4 points. Wallace is averaging 14.5 points.

The Pioneers probably played their best defense of the season last weekend as they allowed an average of 65 points.