The Linfield College Men's Basketball team is about to meet its toughest opponent yet. Winners of last season's Division III National Championship the No.1 Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves will visit McMinnville on Monday December 17 at Ted Wilson Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Linfield has announced that all fans will receive free admission at the ticket gate.
 
PRAIRIE WOLVES
 
D3hoops.com has Nebraska Wesleyan pegged as the No.1 team in the nation, and rightfully so. The Prairie Wolves are on a 22-game win streak dating back to last season including a championship run through the DIII playoffs.
 
A perfect 9-0 and 2-0 in conference play it's no surprise to see the Prairie Wolves picking up right where they left off a season ago. Nebraska Wesleyan returned all but one starter from the 2017-18 championship team. Leading the Prairie Wolves is fifth-year head coach, Dale Wellman. Wellman was the recipient of the 2018 NABC/NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan spreads the ball well but its leading scorer is junior 6-4 guard Nat Schimonitz. Schimonitz averages 21.4 points per night in his nine starts. He shoots 57 percent from the floor including 47 percent from three-point-range.
 
Keep an eye out for Cooper Cook, Jack Hiller and Ryan Garver who each average more than 12 points per contest. The Prairie Wolves average more than 97 points per game offensively.
 
WILDCATS
 
Despite just one loss and a handful of dominating victories, the Linfield Wildcats remain outside of the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
 
The 'Cats are on a three-game win streak and find themselves 6-1 and 2-0 in the Northwest Conference after downing Pacific Lutheran and Lewis & Clark earlier this month. Linfield is coached by Shanan Rosenberg who is in his sixth year with the program and was the 2017 NWC Coach of the Year.
 
Off to a scorching start, last season's West Region Rookie of the Year and NWC Freshman of the Year Dempsey Roggenbuck is scoring more than 21 points per game in just his second season on the roster. He is joined by Liam O'Reilly, Riley Bruil, Grant Gibb and Will Burghardt in the starting lineup.
 
Linfield does not turn the ball over often. A hyper-efficient club, Linfield leads the NWC and is third in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. The 'Cats are one of three clubs in the nation to have a +10 assist to turnover ratio (10.3).