Men's Basketball Program
Traditionally an Eastern small-college basketball power, the
St. Lawrence University's men's basketball team has often been atop its league. The Saints had NCAA tournament appearances in 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2010, while advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2009 and the Elite Eight in 1998.
The Saints won the regular-season conference race in 2001 and hosted the league tournament. They played in ECAC post-season tournaments from 2001 through 2003 and won the ECAC Upstate championship in 2002. The 2006 squad won the Liberty League conference tournament and earned the opportunity to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games.
The Saints were led in 2008-09 by captains Tom Wopperer, Rich Williams and Bela Vonnak. All three were 1,000-point scorers, and Wopperer (upper right) was a unanimous Liberty League All-Conference choice and an NABC All-East Region First Team pick. Second Team All-American and Liberty League Player of the Year Josh Sharlow then guided the Scarlet and Brown to both the conference regular season and tournament titles in 2010.
The Saints traditionally play a very tough schedule in addition to the Liberty League slate, where they were 55-15 from 2005-06 through 2009-10. The 2009 team finished with the 16th toughest strength-of-schedule among over 400 NCAA Division III institutions, playing eight teams that participated in the NCAA tournament, including Ithaca, Brockport, Richard Stockton and Middlebury.
St. Lawrence plays their home games in the recently renovated Burkman Gymnasium, which includes a new parquet floor and new seating and amenities.