Nine years ago, the Ursinus College men's basketball team accomplished the only undefeated Centennial Conference season in league history, running roughshod through all 18 regular-season contests and two more in the tournament to capture its fourth championship on the way to an appearance in the NCAA Final Four.

The Bears, making their first postseason appearance since 2010, have not won a CC playoff game since that magical season, but are hungry to change their recent fortunes when they head to fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins for the first-round contest slated for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Swarthmore is the top seed and will host the first-round winner on Friday, while second-seeded Franklin & Marshall and third-seeded Dickinson will clash at Tarble Pavilion for a spot in Saturday's title game.

Despite – or perhaps because of – recent history, Ursinus is eager for another shot at the Blue Jays, who have won the last eight meetings between the teams. Johns Hopkins swept the regular-season series for the fourth straight year, but all signs point to the third leg going down to the wire.

The Bears dropped the first two meetings by a combined five points, each in agonizing fashion. On January 7, Ursinus trailed by 14 with 8:30 to play but embarked on a 19-2 run that gave them a three-point lead with 15 seconds remaining. The Blue Jays' Kyle Doran buried the game-tying 3-pointer with 6.5 ticks showing before Austin Vasiliadis stepped in front of an errant pass and was fouled with 1.9 seconds on the clock. The graduate student knocked down both free throws to hand Johns Hopkins a 77-75 victory. In the sequel three weeks later, Michael Gardner drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left in regulation as the Blue Jays held on for a 74-71 result in Goldfarb Gym.

Now, the Bears return to the scene of that heartbreak, intent on gaining a third shot at top-seeded Swarthmore in the semifinals.

Senior co-captain Matt Knowles is the team's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, good for third in the conference. Knowles has done damage inside and out this season, ranking second in the CC in free throws made (95) and fourth in 3-pointers made (55).

Sophomore Eric Williams Jr., who ranks second in triples (71) and fourth in 3-point percentage (42.8), gives the Bears a lethal long-range presence, and junior Zach Quattro (12.3 PPG) leads Ursinus in rebounding (7.0) and blocked shots (28); the versatile forward is second in the league in 3-point accuracy, knocking them down at a 44.1-percent clip.

Juniors Remi Janicot (8.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and Brian Rafferty, who is second in the conference at 4.0 assists per game, round out the starting lineup. The Bears also get valuable contributions from freshman Shane Stark, who averages 5.5 points per game and shoots 64.0 percent from the field; sophomore Zack Muredda, who has handed out 69 assists in a back-up point guard role; and junior Joseph LoStracco (4.8 PPG), who is making 60.2 percent of his field-goal attempts.

To bring a win back home from Baltimore, Ursinus will need to defend the arc and maintain their composure against a Blue Jays squad with plenty of playoff experience. Johns Hopkins has reached the CC championship game two of the last three seasons, winning in 2014 and finishing runner-up the following year, and starts a pair of grad students in point guard Austin Vasiliadis and forward Sam Gordon.

Vasiliadis leads the CC in assists per game (4.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), with Rafferty right behind in both categories. Gordon (10.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG) is the team's leading rebounder and one of four Blue Jays who average in double figures, joining junior Kyle Doran (11.8), Gardner (11.2), and senior Ryan Curran (10.9). Gardner tops the conference in 3-point percentage (45.1), where Doran (43.4) is third, and Johns Hopkins hurt the Bears in a big way from downtown during the regular season; the Blue Jays made 24 treys in the two meetings, including 15 in Collegeville.

The Blue Jays are solid in all facets of the game, but are particularly strong defensively, holding opponents to a CC-best 62.2 points per game and ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (.401). Johns Hopkins is third in rebounding margin (+3.9) and field-goal percentage (45.2).

Ursinus has been the CC's top offensive club all season, leading the league in points per game (79.2, and 81.9 in CC play), field-goal percentage (46.6), 3-pointers per game (8.2), and free throws made per game (15.8) while sitting second in 3-point percentage (36.5) and rebounding margin (+5.8). The magic number for the Bears has been 80 – they are 11-0 when they score at least 80 points, and just 3-11 when they do not.

Both squads are coming off tough losses on Saturday, when Ursinus fell 74-69 at Gettysburg and the Blue Jays suffered an 80-78 home defeat at the hands of last-place Haverford. Johns Hopkins was 8-2 at home during the regular season, while the Bears finished 6-5 on the road despite losing their last four away from home.

Ursinus will also be playing against a history that has not been kind to the lowest-seeded entrant into the tournament. Since the championship went to its current format in 2005, number five seeds are just 4-9 all-time in the 4/5 matchup, and none has ever advanced past the semifinals. The Bears are in the first-round contest for the second time and first since 2010, when they fell to fifth-seeded Muhlenberg. Ursinus is 0-3 all-time in first-round games; the Bears are 8-7 overall in the CC tournament and 1-2 on the road.

Johns Hopkins leads the all-time series, 51-44, and is 33-13 all-time at home against Ursinus. The Bears are 2-1 in playoff match-ups, the most recent a 100-82 victory in Collegeville in 2006.