WashU senior Drake Kindsvater scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Bears to an Elite Eight win over Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #17 WashU (23-6) | 35 | 45 | 80 |
| #5 Wis.-La Crosse (25-6) | 38 | 28 | 66 |
Steven Millbrook
Special to the Editor
LA CROSSE, WI — The Washington University men’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four for the first time since 2009, after the Bears defeated Midwest Regional No. 1 seed, Wisconsin-La Crosse in the regional championship game, 80-66, Saturday evening at the La Crosse Center.
WashU was led by senior Drake Kindsvater, who delivered the performance of a lifetime, by scoring a career-high 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the win. Teammates Connor May, a freshman, and Ryan Cohen, a sophomore, added 12 points and 11 points, respectively.
Fellow senior Hayden Doyle had nine points, three rebounds, and three assists, while sophomore Jake Davis helped control the paint by grabbing 11 rebounds of his own, as WashU trailed for most of the first half, but dominated the second half to grab the lead for good.
The Bears trailed 46-45 with 13:30 to go, but then went on an 18-6 run over the next four minutes to go ahead 63-52 with just over nine minutes left in the game.
From that point on, the host Eagles never got closer than nine points and trailed by double-digits for most of the rest of the game.
WashU is now 23-6 on the season and will play in the national semifinals on Thursday, March 20, against the No. 1-ranked team in the country, New York University. The Bears and NYU played twice earlier this season and NYU has won both previous matchups.
Thursday’s showdown in the D3 Final Four will be played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. The winner will advance to the D3 national championship game, which will be played on Saturday.
2024-25 WashU Bears Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Results/W-L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Rhodes College | WashU Field House | W 75-53 (1-0) |
| November 15, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Rose-Hulman | WashU Field House | W 84-59 (2-0) |
| November 19, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Webster University | Webster Groves, Mo. / Grant Gymnasium | W 92-66 (3-0) |
| November 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Away | Carroll University | Waukesha, Wis. / Van Male Fieldhouse | W 81-66 (4-0) |
| November 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | Colorado College | Memphis, Tenn. / Mallory Gymnasium | W 69-63 (5-0) |
| December 1, 2024 (Sunday) | 4 p.m. | Away | Rhodes College | Memphis, Tenn. / Mallory Gymnasium | W 60-54 (6-0) |
| December 6, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Colby College | WashU Field House | W 89-77 (7-0) |
| December 7, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | TBD | WashU Field House | W 91-72 (8-0) |
| December 10, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Fontbonne | St. Louis, Mo. / Mabee Gymnasium | W 107-57 (9-0) |
| December 19, 2024 (Thursday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, Ill. / Shirk Center | L 84-68 (9-1) |
| January 4, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Wabash | Crawfordsville, Ind. / Allen Athletics and Recreation Center | W 68-60 (10-1) |
| January 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Home | University of Chicago | WashU Field House | L 71-66 (10-2) |
| January 17, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve | WashU Field House | W 104-66 (11-2) |
| January 19, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | #18 Carnegie Mellon | WashU Field House | W 99-74 (12-2) |
| January 24, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. ET | Away | Rochester | Rochester, N.Y. / Louis Alexander Palestra | W 99-82 (13-2) |
| January 26, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #2 Emory | Atlanta, Ga. / Woodruff P.E. Center | W 81-63 (14-2) |
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Brandeis | WashU Field House | W 83-58 (15-2) |
| February 2, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | #22 New York University | WashU Field House | L 77-62 (15-3) |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 4:30 p.m. | Away | Brandeis | Waltham, Mass. / Red Auerbach Arena | L 86-79 (15-4) |
| February 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #3 New York University | New York, N.Y. / John A. Paulson Center | L 77-58 (15-5) |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 4:30 p.m. | Away | Case Western Reserve | Cleveland, Ohio / Adelbert Gymnasium | W 86-68 (16-5) |
| February 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #18 Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. / Wiegand Gymnasium | W 78-54 (17-5) |
| February 21, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Rochester | WashU Field House | W 78-48 (18-5) |
| February 23, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | #8 Emory | WashU Field House | W 85-75 (19-5) |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. / Ratner Athletics Center | L 76-68 (19-6) |
| March 7, 2025 (Friday) | 6:40 p.m. | Home | Central College | WashU Field House | W 82-75 (20-6) |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 6:40 p.m. | Home | Franklin College | WashU Field House | W 83-54 (21-6) |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 4 p.m. | Neutral | Wisconsin Lutheran | La Crosse, Wisc. / The La Crosse Center | W 59-56 (22-6) |
| March 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 p.m. | Neutral | Wisconsin-La Crosse | La Crosse, Wisc. / The La Crosse Center | W 80-66 (23-6) |
| March 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 p.m. | Neutral | New York University | Fort Wayne, Ind. / Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |