Miles will get a fourth chance to make a run towards a NCAA Division II national title beginning this week. But the journey will begin with an extremely tough task...beating the No. 1 team in the county.

The Golden Bears were tabbed as the No. 8 seed for this week's South Region Tournament and will take on the host school, Nova Southeastern, on Saturday. Miles earned its opportunity after winning the Southern intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship on Saturday to get an automatic bid into the Division II dance.

This will mark Miles' third trip to Nova and the second time the Golden Bears and the Sharks have battled in the national tournament. In 2019, Miles played well and had a lead early in the second half before fading late in an 80-66 defeat. Last year, the Golden Bears were the No. 5 seed in the tournament and trailed by just two at halftime before dropping a 65-50 decision to Union.

Nova enters the tournament as the consensus No. 1 team in the country. The Sharks are 30-0, the only undefeated team in Division II, and just won the Sunshine State Conference tournament for the second consecutive year. Last season, NSU won its first 31 games, taking the South Region Tournament before falling in the national quarterfinals.

The two teams have contrasting styles. Nova likes to get out in transition and put points on the board. The Sharks are the top scoring team in the country, averaging more than 104 points per game. They also lead the country in scoring margin (26 points per game) while also being among the best in shooting the 3-ball, making more than 10 per game and shooting 40 percent from downtown. Meanwhile, Miles is fourth in the country in points per game allowed (58.8), second in the nation in defensive field goal percentage (38.491) and third in defensive 3-point field goal percentage (29.3).

But while NSU scores a lot of points, they can give up a bunch as well, allowing at least 80 points more than 10 times with two teams scoring more than 100. While the Golden Bears are offensive juggernauts to the level of the Sharks, they have scored more than 70 points 10 times with two contests seeing them eclipse 80 points.

Miles will also look to lean into some familiarity when it comes to this trip to Florida. Five players (Yasim Hooker, Mykayle Carter, Chase Ballard, Truitt Spencer, and Todd Burt) all played in last season's NCAA Tournament contest.