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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's basketball team returns to the NAIA National Championship for the first time since 2010 with a first round game against No. 11-seed Benedictine (Kan.) on Wed. at 6 p.m. MDT. All 31 games of the 2014 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship will be played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Wednesday's game will be streamed live on the web by the NAIA through the streaming partner, NeuLion. The cost to view the game is $9.95 per day or $24.95 for the entre tournament. There will also be a free live audio stream available to listen to the tournament. Live stats will also be available during the tournament.

VIEWING PARTY
Fans are encouraged to come watch the game in the Shaw Student Center on the Westminster campus. Westminster will show the game on the big screen.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster enters their first round game at 19-12 on the season and ranked No. 21 in the final regular season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on March 12. They lost in the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament, but they have won six of their last eight contests.

For the year, Westminster is scoring 74.36 points per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field to rank 21st in the NAIA. The team connects on 34.7 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 66.9 percent at the foul line. They are dishing out 12.26 assists per outing and place ninth in the NAIA with a 3.90 turnover margin.

The Griffins rank 20th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 70.10 points per game and 49th by limiting opponents to 44.3 percent shooting. Westminster forces 16.12 turnovers per game by averaging 8.84 steals per game – 19th in the nation. They also lead the Frontier by blocking 2.81 shots per game.

Seniors Tallon Robertson and Blake Skidmore are the top two scorers on the team as they combine to average 33.74 points per game. Robertson is scoring 18 points per night and he is seventh in the NAIA by shooting 56.8 percent. Skidmore scores 15.74 points per game and is shooting 41.4 percent from three – 37th in the country. Colton Moon leads the team with 102 assists and is 22nd in the nation with 60 steals. Moon also places 19th nationally by grabbing 2.0 steals per game.

GRIFFINS IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Westminster will be playing in the NAIA National Championship for the 12th time in school history and the first since 2010. Including this season, the Griffins have qualified for the 32-team field 10 times since the program was reinstated for the 1999-200 season. In those trips, Westminster is 4-11 with one trip to the quarterfinals (2009). They have won two-straight first round games heading into Wednesday's game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Westminster's average of 34 points per game in the paint accounts for 41.3 percent of the team's total scoring average. They have totaled at least 30 points in the paint during 19 games during the year and nine times reached 40 points in the painted area. The Griffins are also getting 17.4 points from opponent turnovers during games which are 21.1 percent of the season average.

RUN THROUGH ROBERTSON
Senior Tallon Robertson has been the focal point of the Griffin offense this season. The forward is averaging 18 points per game this season to rank third in the Frontier Conference and 38th in the NAIA. He has recorded 13 games with at least 20 points this season. Robertson closed the regular season with a career-best 36 points in the win at Montana Tech. That is tied for the sixth-most points ever scored in a game by a Griffin and he established a new school-record by making 16 field goals.

Robertson leads the Frontier and ranks seventh in the NAIA by shooting 56.8 percent and his 7.55 rebounds per game are 39th nationally. He has pulled down double-digit rebounds on 10 occasions with nine double-doubles. Robertson leads the Frontier at 1.1.29 blocks per game – 30th in the NAIA – and he is 28th nationally with 40 total blocks. That total ranks third for a single season in school history and he is second all-time with 60 career blocks.

SKIDMORE A STARTER
Blake Skidmore is second on the team and 10th in the conference by scoring 15.74 points per game. He has scored in double figures 24 times and reached the 20-point mark in nine contests. Skidmore led the Griffins with 28 points in the Frontier Conference semifinals win over Lewis-Clark State on March 7. For the season, Skidmore is 37th in the nation by making 41.4 percent from beyond the arc with his 65 made threes is fourth in the Frontier.

MOON TIES THE RECORD
Junior Colton Moon has notched 60 steals this season to tie Michael Stock for the school record for a single-season. Moon is 22nd in the country with that total and he places 19th by getting 2.0 steals per game. He has led the team in steals in 13 games and nine times posted at least three steals in a contest. Moon is up to sixth in school history with 106 career steals and needs two rips to move into fifth all-time.

FRONTIER AWARDS
Tallon Robertson, Blake Skidmore and Jordan Pryor were each recognized by the Frontier Conference when Commissioner Kent Paulson announced the 2013-14 All-Conference Men's Basketball team. Robertson was named First Team All-Conference and the Defensive Player of the Year. Skidmore was selected to the second team and Pryor was the Sixth-Man of the Year in the conference.

LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of Wednesday's first round game between Westminster and Benedictine will advance to a second round game on Fri. at 5:15 p.m. MDT. The opponent in that game will be the winner between No. 6-seed Vanguard (Calif.) and Life (Ga.).