WAVERLY, Iowa – Men's basketball will begin American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 24 as the sixth-seeded Knights will take on No. 3 Coe College at 7 p.m. in a first-round matchup in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Tuesday, Feb. 24 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
#6 Wartburg (14-11, 6-10 A-R-C) at #3 Coe (18-7, 10-6 A-R-C) | 7 PM CT |
Live Stream ($) |
Live Stats
All-Time Record vs Coe
- The Knights split the regular season series with Coe
- Defeated Coe 73-72 in Cedar Rapids and fell to Coe 62-55 in Waverly
- Tuesday will mark the fifth A-R-C Tournament matchup between these programs (first since 2020)
- Wartburg is 2-2 in those matchups
- Wartburg leads the all-time series 46-35
- Coe has won seven of the last 10 matchups
- The Kohawks are 23-18 at home against the Knights
A-R-C Tournament History
- 2025-26 marks the 23rd season in program history qualifying for the conference tournament (A-R-C Tournament began in 1999)
- Second most in A-R-C history
- Wartburg has won two A-R-C tournaments in program history (2001 & 2017)
- 10 championship game appearances
- Head Coach Sam Leal has qualified for the A-R-C Tournament in each of his first two seasons at the helm
A-R-C Tournament Schedule
First Round - Tuesday, February 24
No. 5 Buena Vista University at No. 4 University of Dubuque - 7:00 p.m.
No. 6 Wartburg College at No. 3 Coe College - 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Thursday, February 26
No. 4/5 at No. 1 Nebraska Wesleyan University - 7:00 p.m.
No. 3/6 at No. 2 Loras College - 7:00 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, February 28
Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner
Wartburg
- The Knights enter the conference tournament with an overall record of 14-11 and 6-10 in A-R-C play
- Pivotal wins over Central (70-63) and Simpson (75-65) to end the regular season and qualify for the tournament
- Wartburg has the second ranked scoring offense in the A-R-C through 25 games, with an average of 78.8 points per game
- The scoring defense is ranked sixth in the conference, with an average of 74.7 points per game allowed
- Ethan Yungtum (15.8), Austin Bienemann (15.7), Cael Schramm (11.8) and Luke Ladwig (10.8) all average 10 or more PPG this season
- Schramm leads the A-R-C in field goal percentage (60.3%)
- Yungtum and Bienemann ranks sixth and seventh respectively in scoring among the A-R-C
- The Knights have made six or more three pointers as a team in seven-straight games
- Yungtum (35), Bienemann (34), (Ladwig 25) and Mason Matson (21) lead the Knights in three pointers made
- Yungtum ranks inside the top seven in both scoring (sixth, 15.8 PPG) and rebounding (first, 11.4 RPG) among A-R-C players
- Has recorded a double double in 17/25 games this season
- Second in Division III in double doubles this season
- Seventh in Division III in total rebounds
- Bienemann leads the conference in total steals (54) and steals per game (2.1)
- Ladwig's 1.6 steals per game puts him fifth overall in the A-R-C
- Bienemann and Schramm are also ranked tied for fourth overall in the A-R-C in blocked shots per game with 1.2
- Wartburg is second in the A-R-C with 3.36 blocks as a team per game
- Ladwig is currently third in the A-R-C in assists per game (4.3) and ranks fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6)
- Wartburg leads the league in assists per game as a team with 16.1 per game
- Bienemann ranks fifth overall in the A-R-C with 3.6 per game
- 18 different Knights have scored this season and 12 different players have made a three pointer
- As a team, Wartburg is shooting: 45.7% FG (tied for first in A-R-C), 29.6% 3P (eighth in A-R-C) and 63.3% FT (ninth in A-R-C)
- Wartburg leads the A-R-C in combined rebounds (40.9), offensive rebounds per game (13.4) and total rebounding margin (+4.6)
- Both Yungtum (first, 11.4 per game) and Schramm (tied for sixth, 7.2 per game) rank inside the top 10 individually among the A-R-C
- Bienemann and Schramm are also ranked tied for fourth overall in the A-R-C in blocked shots per game with 1.2
- Wartburg is second in the A-R-C with 3.36 blocks as a team per game
Coe
- The Kohawks enter the week with an overall record of 18-7 and an A-R-C mark of 10-6
- Coe closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak and have won eight of its last 10 games
- 8-3 at home this season
- Coe's offense is led by two 15+ points per game scorers in Cooper Nailor (15.6) and Jackson Bowman (15.6)
- Three other Kohawks are averaging 10+ points per game in Cole Hrubes (13), Kanyon Bryte (12.1) and Deuce Walters (10.1)
- The Kohawks rank fourth in both scoring defense (70.4 points allowed per game) and in scoring offense (75.6 points scored per game) among conference teams
- Coe has the individual A-R-C leader in blocked shots and the second overall individual in steals through the regular season
- Bryte (42, 1.7 blocks per game) and Nailor (53, 2.1 steals per game)
- As a team, Coe is shooting 45.7% FG (tied for first in A-R-C), 34.4% 3P (fourth in A-R-C) and 71.3% FT (fifth in A-R-C)
- Nailor is shooting at a very efficient clip this season: 46.3% FG, 42.3% 3P (first in A-R-C) and 88.5% FT (first in A-R-C)
- Bryte ranks third in individual field goral percentage at 56.3% and Bowman ranks fifth at 55.4%
- Nailor leads the conference with 5.6 assists per game and ranks third in the conference in assist to turnover ratio (1.9)
- Coe ranks second in the A-R-C in rebounding margin (+4.1) this season, but ranks fifth on the offensive glass with an average of 10.6 offensive rebounds per game
- Bryte is the team leader with an average of 7.4 rebounds per game (fifth in A-R-C)
- The Kohawks are one of four conference teams with a negative turnover margin this season (-1.08)
