24 DII basketball players featured on Bevo Francis Award top 50

Small College Basketball released its updated watchlist for the Bevo Francis Award for the 2019 season. The first list was cut from the original 100 to 50 players from DII, DIII, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA men's basketball.

The award was created in 2015 and is named after Clarence "Bevo" Francis. Francis played two seasons at what is now the University of Rio Grande. In his first season, he led the team to a 39-0 record averaging 50.1 points per game, highlighted by a 116-point performance against Ashland College in Kentucky.

HISTORY: Francis highlights the best single-seasons in DII lore

Lincoln Memorial's Emanuel Terry was the winner of the 2018 award. Aside from averaging a double-double (16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds per game) for the school that finished atop the DII men's basketball regular season rankings, Terry was known for highlight-reel dunks that garnered the nation's attention.

Twenty-four DII men's basketball student-athletes comprise more than half of the list. Only Northwest Missouri State's Trevor Hudgins is a freshman.

The list will be cut two more times before the winner is announced on April 8. Here are the important dates:

• March 15, 2019: Top 25
• April 6, 2019: Finalists
• April 8, 2019: The 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner announced 

The complete watchlist is below in alphabetical order.

NCAA DII TOURNAMENT WATCH: Sleepers | Standout freshman | Stat leaders | Undefeated teams