Live blog: UW-Whitewater at St. Norbert

Before game: Right now my attention is at this close Packers-Vikings game, but I will blog the game once it gets going.

Well that was a gut punch. Thank you for that one Packers defense.

Now it's on to some basketball. A pretty solid matchup against the UW-Whitewater Warhawks and the St. Norbert College Green Knights.

Norbert has won their last three games and have looked like the team that was picked to win the Midwest Conference at the beginning of the season, using a nice balance of inside and outside play to get them there.

Meanwhile, Whitewater has won two games after their lost to UWSP, one to a below-average Edgewood squad and last night against Northwestern (Minn.), in which they struggled in the first half. 

They will need to be firing on all cylinders against the Green Knights to grab a convincing win. It should be a good one.

20:00 First Half: Starters for UW-Whitewater: Merg, Young, Knoble, Bryson, Harris. For St. Norbert: Fox, Gries, Schwoerer, Anderson, Thorn. It will be interesting to see how well St. Norbert can control Young's penetration and how physical the game is underneath.  

17:55 First Half: Two times down the court, two times into the post for the Green Knights, once to Anderson, once to Thorn. That's how they've done that as of late.

14:38 First Half: Both teams are really being deliberate and trying to get the ball into the paint. Very similar teams playing each other tonight.

12:40 First Half: St. Norbert playing Quardell Young nearly in the paint. Really playing his drive.

10:30 First Half: Whitewater is being a little more chancy on defense, trying to get up the line a little bit and so far St. Norbert is handling it fairly well. Have had a couple of turnovers but also have gotten some good looks off of it, too.

8:45 First Half: Whitewater seems to be in a press defense on dead balls and makes. Trying to speed up St. Norbert a bit.

7:35 First Half: Whitewater calls a timeout. St. Norbert has been very patient on offense and just got a great cut from Andrew Schwoerer to take a 16-14 lead.

6:20 First Half: Whitewater seems a little frustrated by the pack defense of the Green Knights, have seven turnovers. Meanwhile, Green Knights not having a problem with Whitewater full-court press.

5:00 First Half: The Green Knights are getting back in transition early here, not allowing too many opportunities for UW-Whitewater's guards to get to the run in those situations.

4:00 First Half: Brandon Gries hits his second 3 of the night, he has been getting some solid looks in St. Norbert's offense. He's got 8.

3:30 First Half: When Whitewater has gotten it to Luke Knoble, good things have happened. He's got eight as well.

1:55 First Half: St. Norbert is doing a great job of back cutting the Whitewater pressure in the halfcourt. Green Knight timeout, 21-18 St. Norbert.

1:00 First Half: St. Norbert sending three back on the defensive end after every shot, making sure they get back on defense.

Halftime: Big shot by Darnell Harris as time was winding down for the Warhawks. Green Knights go into halftime with a 22-21 lead over UW-Whitewater.

During halftime thoughts: Right now the pace is suiting the Green Knights. They wanted a banging, physical, slow type of game and that's what they've got.

They've done a good job of controlling Young, who really is a catalyst for the Whitewater defense. They've done that by sending three back on defense on the shot and have played him nearly at the paint in the halfcourt.

Whitewater has been successful when they've gotten the ball 10 feet and in. Knoble has been finishing well and leads the Warhawks with 8 points.

Whitewater is going to win this game by getting out in transition and getting to the hole. They need to speed up the game just a tad or St. Norbert could ground them into an upset.

Another stat, both teams shooting around 35 percent. Both playing virtually the same game right now outside of turnovers, where Whitewater has committed 9, versus 6 for Green Knights.

20:00 Second Half: Second half about to start. Lets see if Whitewater can speed up the game.

19:15 Second Half: Seems to have happened already, as Whitewater scores on a fast break after a steal, go up 25-22 after an opening possession jumper.

16:30 Second Half: Very herby-jerky start to the half, both teams trying to find some rhythm offensively.

15:12 Second Half: Warhawks call a timeout. St. Norbert has regained the lead on three scores 28-27.

14:00 Second Half: Quardell Young nails a three-pointer on one end, Schwoerer converts a old fashioned three-point play. This is going to be a good finish.

12:23 Second Half: St. Norbert still playing their pace. They are forcing Whitewater to take a lot of time off of the clock on the offensive end.

11:42 Second Half: It seems to be Quardell Young against St. Norbert right now. He is trying to take over and keep Whitewater around.

10:00 Second Half: Whitewater finally gets the ball to Knoble in the post, his first points of the half. St. Norbert is really just   firing on all cylinders on offense right now. Schwoerer leading the way in that category.

9:02 Second Half: Whitewater timeout. St. Norbert just keeps getting points on the offensive end. Good looks, too. They are up 46-39. Danger time if you are the Warhawks. You need a good score coming out of the timeout.

8:30 Second Half: They got one out of the timeout, too. It's Young again, who has really looked for his shot this half. He needs to keep doing that.

7:00 Second Half: K.J. Evans trying to give some help to Young. But St. Norbert is just getting good look after good look on the offensive end. They are really working it around and inside and outside against Whitewater right now.

6:04 Second Half: St. Norbert has handled everything that Whitewater has thrown at them from a defensive standpoint. They've beaten the full court press and they've also done well handling the half court defense of the Warhawks as well.

5:00 Second Half: St. Norbert has also done a good job defensively on the Whitewater pick and roll. They are sinking to the paint very well and have all game.

3:45 Second Half: St. Norbert calls timeout up 55-46. Whitewater had two chances on offense as of late to cut into the lead and has failed. It's danger time for the Warhawks. Have to get a stop and a score right now.

3:12 Second Half: Another empty possession to cut the St. Norbert lead for Whitewater. Two Harris 3-point misses and a Bryson miss. Just can't get their points when they need them. A lot of that has to do with not being able to get into the spots that they need to attack. St. Norbert's defense has been just that good tonight.

1:58 Second Half: Harris finally gets a shot to fall from deep, cuts St. Norbert lead to 57-49. Don't know if there is enough time on the clock for Whitewater to come back, though.

1:46 Second Half: It's all going to come down to free throws right now for the Green Knights. Whitewater has to foul to get back into the game.

1:15 Second Half: St. Norbert has been poised all game long and especially against the press. Just beat it again beautifully and got a layup from Anderson. 61-49 Green Knights.

:58 Second Half: Well, Whitewater gets a steal and then St. Norbert can't inbounds, Warhawks only down nine. Green Knights just need to stay calm like they have all night and they'll be fine.

0:00 Second Half: St. Norbert wins it 66-55. Very impressive win for the Green Knights. This is the team that everyone thought that they would be when they were picked to be No. 1 in the Midwest this year.

They did it with a very efficient offensive attack that beat the Warhawks in every which way, which shows by having four players in double figures (Gries with 17, Schwoerer with 15 and Thorn and Anderson with 10 apiece). Two of those guys are guards and two of those guys are forwards, which just shows how really balanced and floor-balanced the scoring was for St. Norbert.

They also executed their defense to perfection. They packed it in and prevented the drive as much as possible, forcing Whitewater to beat them from deep. That didn't happen (Whitewater shot just 28.6 percent from deep.)

For Whitewater, this is a tough loss to take, especially with sharpshooter Cody Odegaard on the bench with an injury. Without him, it's one less guy teams have to account for on the outside, which makes their drive and kick game that much easier to guard as teams can take one guy and sink him way in.

It's something they are going to have to learn to do if Odegaard is out for any kind of time. They also have to try and find a way to become a little less reliant on the drive/pick and roll game and more on some screens and cuts, because it didn't work against St. Norbert tonight.

Weekend Analysis 4: A Little Change

And the change will only be for one week and it's kind of a necessity. 

The change for this week is that I won't be doing the "Games I watched" and "Games I peeked at" by conference. This makes sense because none of these teams are playing conference games and a few of them are even playing each other. So there is that.

And also I'm only going to do five this week (two "Games I watched and three "Games I peeked at"). I figured since I'm going to be covering Whitewater in the St. Norbert Tournament Championship, doing a peek at them against Northwestern seemed a little redundant.

So with that, lets get to games.

Games I Watched

Game I watched: St. Norbert 66, UW-Whitewater 55. Top scorer SNC: Brandon Gries (17). Top scorer UWW: Quardell Young (21).

The Skinny: Both teams played even the first 20 minutes of the game.

UW-Whitewater came out with a 6-0 run to start the second half before St. Norbert answered with a run of their own.

Finally, the Green Knights broke through, grabbing a lead midway through the second half, using efficient offense and heady defense that forced UW-Whitewater out of their rhythm and they couldn't recover.

Point 1: They Are Who We Thought They Were!

This is the St. Norbert team that everyone expected when they picked them first in the Midwest Conference at the beginning of the year.

They stumbled out of the gates, but have since turned it on the last four games, winning all four and executing on both ends of the floor.

On offense, they have been doing it a multitude of ways. They've been doing it inside and outside and running their motion set to perfection. They got excellent looks all night, especially in the second half against the Warhawks, who really looked to get up the line on defense. St. Norbert even used that against them, with back cut after back cut. They were a well oiled machine.

Just as impressive was the defense. They really packed it in to prevent the Warhawks' drive and dish/kick game. They made them take outside shots not off of penetration, which just weren't falling for UW-Whitewater. The drive and kick is the bread and butter of the Warhawks and St. Norbert just took it away for most of the game.

If St. Norbert continues this roll that they are on, they could be a team to be reckoned with come the end of February.

Point 2: Missing Odegaard

The Warhawks were missing sharpshooter Cody Odegaard once again and he could be out quite a long time with a broken hand, according to those on the WIAC message board on D3boards.

This is a key loss and was a key factor in Whitewater's loss on Sunday. What Odegaard gives them is one more shooter for drivers like Quardell Young and K.J. Evans to kick to. More importantly, it's one more guy that really spaces the floor with his range and gives the Warhawks those penetration lanes.

St. Norbert, without Odegaard on the floor, was really able to pack the floor on the drive and prevent a whole lot from getting to the rim or creating. And when they were able to create, it was so infrequent that the Warhawks were in no rhythm to hit those shots when they did present themselves.

The Warhawks will have to figure out this dilemma if teams continue to pack in the defense. And maybe this was just a one-game anomaly and the shots will drop (which could very well be the case), but the fact remains, if they don't get to the paint and create, a lot of offense is taken away from Whitewater, which means they need to find a way to create offense outside of that.

Which maybe means getting it inside on the block to Luke Knoble and Darnell Harris, who didn't get a whole lot of touches inside last night (Knoble only took six shots -- and only made one in the second half -- and Harris only took three inside the arc).

Point 3: Pool C You in March?

One thing this game really does for St. Norbert is boost it's Pool C bid for the NCAA tournament on the off chance they don't win their conference tournament title (which has happened before).

This is the kind of win that distinguishes your resume versus others and obviously goes towards in-region strength of schedule and win percentage.

But if they don't win that conference tourney title and they are sitting on the Pool C bubble, what may very well get them in the tournament is this victory over UW-Whitewater (even though the two teams play again later in the season. Weird, right?).

Basically, what I'm saying is that if St. Norbert stays hot and only loses like two-three times the rest of the season prior to the conference tournament and they miss out on the automatic bid, they'll have a very good shot at grabbing a Pool C bid because of this win.

Box Score

Game I watched: North Central (Ill.) 80, UW-La Crosse 72. Top scorer NCC: Aaron Tiknis (20). Top scorer UWL: Lucas Morrissey (20).

The Skinny: The Eagles jumped out to first half lead in a physical game, coming out scalding hot from deep and speeding up the Cardinals on the defensive end of the floor.

The second half was a different story, as North Central stormed back on the back of their big three -- Aaron Tiknis, Derek Raridon and Landon Gamble.

The Eagles didn't have enough firepower to hang with the Cardinals down the stretch, unable to pull off the upset of the No. 3 team in the nation.

Point 1: Recipe for Disaster

Two things killed the Eagles down the stretch: cold shooting and lax defense.

And once again the two go hand in hand. When the Cardinals started making their run, UW-La Crosse started taking quicker, deeper, more contested shots than they did in the first half when they worked the ball around and got better looks from deep. 

This in turn led to runouts for the Cardinals, which forced the La Crosse defense out of position and unable to get consistent stops in the second half when they needed them.

The Eagles even added one more ingredient for the Cardinals win: fouls. La Crosse had three players foul out and committed 28 fouls on the day leading to 38 free throws. NCC made them pay, too, connecting on 33 of those free throw attempts.

Against quality competition like this, the Eagles have to improve their stretch play and handle runs better than they did on Saturday.

Point 2: Defensive Intensity

Another key against a team like North Central is keeping up your defensive intensity.

I know it's one thing to say that but it's another thing to do that. I mean I was a terrible defender myself and had my lapses in defensive intensity.

But to beat a top-5 team it has to be every possession on the defensive end. 

The Eagles followed that formula to perfection in the first half, extending their defense out, really denying in the gaps and getting up into the guy with the ball. 

This led to 10 turnovers and plenty of points off those turnovers.

In the second half, you could see it just wasn't the same for the Eagles on the defensive end though.

Instead of being there before or right on the catch on the close outs, it became an on or slightly after the catch affair. The gap pressure wasn't nearly as hard as it was in the first half.

This allowed the Cardinals to get into more of a rhythm offensively. You want proof? The Eagles held NCC to just 26 points in the first half and gave up 54 points in the second half. 

The Eagles will probably take a good look at that film and realize that if they can play defense like they did in the first half for the rest of the season, they'll be a tough team to beat.

Point 3: Living and Dying by the 3

This is what the Eagles were doing on Saturday. The majority of their field goal attempts were from behind the arc (35 of 56 were from deep).

This worked out just fine in the first half, when the Eagles shot nearly 44 percent from deep.

It didn't in the second half and especially in the middle part of the half, where the Eagles went 2-of-9 in the first 15 minutes of the half. This also included five straight misses from the 13:37 mark to the 5:21 mark of the half.

When the majority of your shots are from deep like it was for the Eagles against the Cardinals, you better be hitting them better than that, especially when NCC is getting it going on the offensive end.

Overall, this game was a good learning game Eagles. They know how good they can be and they know what hurts them. It's the perfect preparation for the rest of the WIAC season.

Box Score

Games I Peeked At

Game I peeked at: UW-Stout 62, Concordia-Wisconsin 42. Top scorers UWST: Aaron Jenny, Jarvis Ragland (11). Top scorer CUW: Steve Zielinski (10).

The Skinny: I wanted to watch this game, but Wisconsin Dells decided not to have a live stream of the game. That sucks.

Anyway, the Blue Devils played an excellent defensive game, holding CUW to just 24 percent from the field.

It took a little while for the offense to get rolling, which it finally did in the second half, when they shot 57 percent from the field after shooting just 32 percent in the first half.

Point 1: Shaking Off the Rust

After going three weeks or so without a game its pretty conceivable that the Blue Devils would be a little rusty coming into their two weekend games.

It showed in their first game against Loras, when they lost 74-67 and shot just 34 percent from the field, including a rough 28 percent in the second half.

They finally got their grove back int he second half of the game against the Falcons on offense. And they did it with balance. Jenny and Ragland each had 11 and Alex Oman and Josh Kosloske each had 10 for the Stout attack.

I'm sure that the Blue Devils were more than thrilled to get back out on the floor and get their legs back underneath them before they get back into conference play on Thursday. They will most certainly need it.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: St. Norbert 67, Marian 47. Top scorer SNC: Austin Elliot (14). Top scorer MAR: Jake Coenen (12).

The Skinny: This one was pretty on sided all the way through as the Green Knights dominated the Sabres on both ends of the floor.

Norbert really got it done on defense, holding Marian to just 30 percent from the field on the day. The Green Knights, meanwhile, shot 46 percent from the field on the night to advance to their own tournament's championship game against UW-Whitewater.

Point 1: Going in Opposite Directions

This was a game of two teams that seem to be heading in opposite directions as far as their play.

St. Norbert seems to be really getting on a role here as of late, extending their winning streak to three games and doing so in a very convincing manner. They have been doing doing it with great offensive efficiency and a solid, sound defensive effort.

Marian on the other hand, seems to be going backward. For a team that had high hopes this season, they have been struggling heading into the second half of the season.

They have lost three of their last four games, two of which were blowouts and the one win was in double overtime. It just seems like they can't get any kind of run of confidence going.

And in a game where they could've gained some confidence by even just staying with Norbert for awhile, they found none.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Wisconsin Lutheran 78, Linfield (Ore.) 73. Top scorer WLC: Tim Demuth (22). Top scorer LIN: A. Batiuk (27).

The Skinny: The Warriors jumped out to a10-point halftime lead on Linfield.

They then held off a furious Linfield charge in the final minutes of the game to collect a win in their second game of the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.

Point 1: Can They Do It?

Wisconsin Lutheran is a wild card in the NAC South race. They are just an interesting prospect as far as what they bring to the table.

They are a very skilled guard team as shown by Demuth scoring 22 and Nate Bauer scoring 19 and if they can catch fire they are a pretty dangerous team. Especially Demuth, who is a deadly three-point shooter when he is open.

And in the wide open South outside of Aurora, they might just have enough to take home the second spot behind the Spartans if they can play like they did on Sunday.

It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out with the Warriors and the res of the NAC South come the first part of January.

Box Score

That's it for my weekend blog. As always you can follow along on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and I'll be back with my midweek blog soon!

Midweek Blog 5: It's Tourney Time!!

Just kidding! But not really. It IS tourney time, just not the one most think about when someone says "Tourney Time."

It's the time for the holiday tournament time. This coming weekend features plenty of the blog's teams playing in holiday tournaments around the country.

1 Big Thing

Holiday tournaments can be a blessing and a curse. 

They are a blessing in many ways. Most notably in the level of competition at the tournaments. More often than not you are going to get at least one great game when you play, and maybe two, depending on the tournament and the team hosting.

You want examples? Okay, my freshman year at Benedictine, we went to the Bahamas for our holiday tournament and played St. Mary's (Md.) (a tournament team that year, this would be 2007-08. Man I'm getting old.) and Wooster (Perennial tournament team, didn't get our revenge three years later), two very good teams that season.

The next year, we played in the Elmhurst College tourney and played against Elmhurst (ranked that year, Brent Ruch's senior season) and Eureka College (not the greatest of competition, but it was the third place game). That tourney also saw No. 1 Wash U. come up. So if we would have beaten the Bluejays (played them to a five-point game) we would've gotten to face off against the No. 1 team in the country.

Those were easily BenU's two toughest holiday tourneys that I was a part of. And there are plenty of those types of matchups awaiting our teams this coming weekend.

One of which pits three teams -- UW-Whitewater, St. Norbert and Marian -- in the same tournament in Green Bay. St. Norbert will get to face off against Marian in one game, and the Sabres are not a pushover. Whitewater gets Northwestern (Minn.), a team that knocked off a ranked Wheaton club not too long ago. So those are two very solid matchups, with the winners (probably Norbert and Whitewater) getting another quality matchup.

These types of tourneys give each team a good barometer of where they are at heading into the stretch run of conference play after the new year, which is perfect.

The only downside to these holiday tournaments is the hurting of in-region record, which is key for in-region rankings, which is key for Pool C bids into the NCAA tournament. I'll explain.

These tournaments sometimes have at least one or two teams that you play that are out of region games and don't count towards your in region total. I'll use another great BenU story to explain further.

My senior year, we played Calvin (Mich.) at the Elmhurst tournament. We beat them but it didn't count in our in-region total. (We were Midwest and I believe that Calvin is in the Great Lakes, plus were in different NCAA administrative regions as well) So what was our signature win up to that point in the season didn't even really count towards our regional rankings when they first came out. If it would have, we probably would've been a decent bet for a Pool C bid.

This situation doesn't affect too many teams in the WIAC, MWC or NAC this year (maybe one or two), but that doesn't mean it hasn't hurt someone before or crop up and hurt someone at some point again.

So, in theory, these games are good and potentially bad for all involved.

2 Small Things

-Is St. Norbert again the team to beat in the Midwest Conference?

It's hard to argue otherwise with how the Green Knights have been playing as of late.

Their last two victories have come against solid Lawrence and who was the conference front runner in Carroll. The most impressive part? These were double-digit victories (Norbert was in control all the way in both of them) and they both came on the road.

Much of that has to do with the emergence of Andrew Schwoerer the past two contest. Schwoerer poured in 23 against the Vikings two weekends ago and put in 21 against the Pioneers last Wednesday. He seems to be getting himself and the Green Knights' offense revved up.

They will get another test this weekend at their own tourney with a game against Marian (still dangerous) and a probably matchup with UW-Whitewater. If they can come out of that tourney having played a tight game against the Warhawks and keep their confidence up, they will be tough to beat as we flip the calendar.

-Can MSOE continue to surprise in the NAC?

The Raiders have probably been the surprise team in the Northern Athletics Conference to this point. They were picked near the bottom of the North division, but are 3-1 in conference before the new year and just picked up a win over Beloit.

How do they do it? They muck up the game as much as they can. Meaning they play a version of Wisconsin basketball. They pack it in defensively, they make you work the clock and they make you take the outside shot as much as they possibly can.

They are also very deliberate on offense, working down the clock. They need to since they are shooting less than 40 percent from the field. But this tactic keeps the games close and low scoring -- they are only giving up 60 points per game.

If the Raiders can continue to uses these two tactics and use them well, they can continue to win in the less than stellar NAC this year.

3 Performances of the Week

Zach Peterson, UW-River Falls (against Pacific Lutheran)

Peterson tallied a double-double for the Falcons in the win, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 boards. He nearly had a perfect game, going 9-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line for UWRF.

Reggie Greenwood, Cornell (against Monmouth)

Greenwood had 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds from his guard position in Cornell's victory over Monmouth. He also tallied five assists in the victory.

Mike Bumber, Aurora (against UW-Oshkosh)

Bumber dropped in 22 points in the Spartans win over the Titans in Vegas last weekend. The senior guard went 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep in the victory.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (9-1, 3-0 WIAC) Words: Finally lost
2. UW-Whitewater (8-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Norbert weekend
3. UW-Stout (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Long layoff
4. UW-Platteville (8-3, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Holding serve

MWC

1. St. Norbert (5-3, 4-2 MWC) Words: Hot, hot
2. Grinnell (7-2, 4-1 MWC) Words: Long break
3. Beloit (5-4, 4-1 MWC) Words: Faux contender?
4. Carroll (7-3, 3-2 MWC) Words: Cold streak

NAC

1. Aurora (9-3, 4-0 NAC) Words: Better schedule
2. Lakeland (8-2, 4-0 NAC) Words: Struggling lately
3. MSOE (6-4, 3-1 NAC) Words: Methodical, slow
4. Concordia-Wisconsin (5-3, 2-1) Words: Staying close

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. Non-conference, championship game of St. Norbert tournament, Sunday, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $10

I'm plugging this one first because I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be St. Norbert against UW-Whitewater (although stranger things have happened) in the championship game in what could be a really solid matchup.

Whitewater will be looking for it's first signature win since losing to Point two weeks ago. And the key here is that they have played a game since then against Edgewood, in which they handled the Eagles handily.

Norbert has been hot coming into this weekend, winning its past two MWC games handily against two solid teams. They will be looking for another feather in their cap in this one.

Two things I'm looking for in this one: 1, which team's bigs control the floor. 2, how well will Norbert's guards contain Whitewater's guards on defense. Those two things will decide who comes out victorious on Sunday.

2. Non-conference, UW-La Crosse vs. North Central in Las Vegas, 6 p.m. Price I would pay: $8

For the Eagles, this could be one of those statement games.

North Central comes into the contest ranked in the top-5 in the nation and have looked the part all season long with their big three inside in Aaron Tiknis, Landon Gamble and Derek Raridon.

But La Crosse has the talent to beat the Cardinals. And coming off a disappointing loss to North Park (Ill.) last weekend, my bet is that the Eagles come out really fired up to show the country and more importantly the rest of the WIAC, that they are to be reckoned with.

It's one of those games that could provide a boost for the rest of the season.

3. Non-conference, Marian at St. Norbert, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $6

Look up a definition of "trap game" and you'll find a picture of this matchup.

Norbert has been riding in hot to their own tournament and with a date with Whitewater the next night with a win over an opponent they should beat, the Green Knights could be looking ahead in this one.

But they better not. Marian is a capable team, with capable scorers, capable of knocking off St. Norbert before their own championship game. And for Marian it's a chance to get back on a role and to show people why they were the NAC darkhorse before the season started.

4. Non-conference, Northwestern (Minn.) vs. UW-Whitewater at St. Norbert tourney, 5 p.m. Price I would pay: $5

Again, read: trap game. Only not quite as much as the last one.

The reason. Northwestern has already pulled off one of the upsets of the year in their takedown of Wheaton (Ill.) earlier this month.

For that reason, it's not as much of a trap game. I'm sure the Whitewater staff is pounding it into the Warhawks' heads that Northwestern has done this before and they will be ready for it.

But if they aren't or get off to a slow start or aren't connecting on shots, look for Northwestern to at least make this one interesting.

5. Non-conference, UW-Stout vs. Concordia-Wisconsin at Wisconsin Dells, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. Price I would pay: $4

Time to see if the Blue Devils can shake off the rust. They will have had a game before this one on Saturday against Loras (Iowa) but it still applies.

Stout hasn't played a game in almost three weeks and it most definitely could show in these two games. But more notably in their second game. I'm wondering how well with the Blue Devils legs hold up after being rested for that long and having to play a back-to-back.

Especially against a team like CUW, who has knocked off WIAC teams in the past and could do it again if the Blue Devils can't get back up for the second game. It will be interesting if Stout will be able to do that.

Thanks for tuning in once again. As always, you can follow me on Twitter at @turkdigg40 for all my basketball (and other) thoughts and we'll be seeing the triumphant return of the Weekend Blog this weekend.

Midweek Blog 4: Snowmaggedon

Well at the time of this post there is about six inches of snow on the ground in Oshkosh in the biggest snowstorm in about two years has come to the Midwest.

Although some people have been freaking out about this storm, I welcome it. Especially because it makes it a White Christmas and the thought of anything else is just dumb.

The snow also won't stop me from putting out my blog. (Duh, because you are reading it) So sit back, enjoy the snow and take in my thoughts.

1 Big Thing

I was stuck in the office on Monday when I saw a tweet from D3hoops that Eureka College (Ill.) was on the verge of upsetting DI SIU-Edwardsville.

Although they didn't pull it off, they came very close and gave DIII colleges everywhere a good name.

Now, I know DIII gets a lot of disrespect from casual or even NBA/DI college fans. They call it glorified high school ball or something on the order of that.

I, for one, used to be one of those growing up as a basketball player. I thought it was DI or bust when it came to my basketball playing career. I didn't want to be one of those guys playing "glorified high school" ball in college.

But as my senior year continued on, I realized I didn't want to stop playing. That's why when I got three phone calls from three DIII schools (Northland, Lakeland, Benedictine), I listened very carefully. Benedictine was the only one that sparked my interest in that it was far away from my hometown (I wanted to get away. I applied to Gonzaga for heaven's sake) and it was the only one of the three that had my major (although looking back my major could've been applied in those other schools as well).

When I finally hit the floor at Benedictine, I finally realized that DIII college basketball is a damn good level of basketball and that people are missing out. 

There are players who are just as skilled, just as athletic as those that play at the DI college level (I even saw some guys in my time that could've played there). It's just for whatever reason -- skill set, size, athleticism (thats the one that held me back) academics, whatever -- couldn't get a scholarship somewhere.

Which is now why, whenever some talks bad about DIII college basketball, I get peeved. These players are just as skilled and they do it for a lot less (no scholarship) than the players playing DII or DI ball. And in some ways the DIII game is a lot purer form of the sport as well. 

And just as Eureka proved on Monday night, these players can compete with those guys as well. I mean, heck, in my four years and BenU we played a DI school (Northwestern) and a DII school (Lewis) and did just fine against them. We were down to Lewis by only four at the break.

So, it's not like there is exactly a huge difference in the talent level between these divisions as everyone, outside of DIII, make it to be.

And, thank you, Eureka for showing that once again.

2 Small Things

-Can UW-Stevens Point survive a tough stretch without Tyler Tillema

I'm going to start this off by saying that I don't know for sure how long he is out for (if anyone has any inside information, that would be clutch), but he didn't play against Edgewood last weekend which means that the injury is at least serious enough to keep him out a whole week.

If he can't come back for the next three games (there is speculation that Point might hold him out until conference play resumes) it will be interesting to see what the Pointers can do. They have another top-5 matchup against St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday and then they head to Texas for two games.

They showed that the were fine against Whitewater, maybe actually performing better with him out last Wednesday, but struggled a bit when Edgewood came up to their place, finally pulling away for good midway through the second half.

So with that small sample size it will be interesting to see how they handle the Tommies if Tillema can't go or is severely limited. It'll be a tough task for sure if he can't go.

-How many losses will the MWC champ have this year?

The wackiness of the Midwest Conference continued last weekend with Ripon going in to conference-leader Carroll's home gym and pulling out a gutsy victory to give the Pioneers their first loss in conference play.

That means that every team in conference will have at least one loss going into the Christmas break only 5 or 6 games in.

Which begs the question, just how many losses will the champion have this year?

My guess is four and could be five or six, especially with how apparently deep the Midwest is this year, with teams like Ripon, Cornell and Illinois College knocking off the better teams and Beloit near the top of the conference as well after being picked near the middle of the conference.

It will be interesting to see if some of those bottom teams can continue to beat up on the top like they have this year.

3 Performances of the Weekend

Joe Ritchay, UW-Stevens Point (against Edgewood)

Ritchay stepped up in Tillema's absence and dropped in 27 points and grabbed five boards in the win over the Eagles. Ritchay was perfect from behind the arc (3-of-3) and went 11-of-16 overall from the floor.

Taylor Koth, Ripon (against Carroll)

Koth went 12-of-21 from the floor for a game-high 29 points in the Redhawks upset over their Pioneers. Koth also snatched down seven rebounds and tallied three assists in the victory.

Michael Woolf, Benedictine (against Knox)

Woolf poured in 25 points as the Eagles picked up their first win in five games. He knocked in five 3-pointers and was 10-of-14 from the field in the win.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (9-0, 3-0 WIAC) Words: No Tillema

2. UW-Whitewater (7-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Still there

3. UW-Stout (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Nearing top

4. UW-La Crosse (8-1, 2-1 WIAC) Words: Hanging around

MWC

1. Grinnell (7-2, 4-1 MWC) Words: Still Grinnell

2. Beloit (5-3, 4-1 MWC) Words: Surprise contender

3. St. Norbert (5-3, 4-2 MWC) Words: Getting hot

4. Carroll (7-3, 3-2 MWC) Words: Cooling off

NAC

1. Lakeland (7-2, 4-0 NAC) Words: Finally losing

2. Aurora (7-3, 4-0 NAC) Words: Smooth, efficient

3. MSOE (5-4, 3-1 NAC) Words: Grinders, defense

4. Rockford (4-5, 3-0 NAC) Words: Needs defense

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. Non-conference, UW-Stevens Point at St. Thomas, Friday, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $10

This game is a chance for the Pointers to show what they are really made off without Tyler Tillema (if he is not back).

St. Thomas comes in as a top 5 team in the D3hoops.com polls as well as the Pointers in a pivotal showdown for possible seeding or hosting capabilities come the DIII tournament (although I'm not sure if the Pointers can host this year because of this crazy thing where if both the girls and the guys get in one year the guys have to get preference to host and the other year the girls do, and I'm thinking this year might be the girls turn.)

Either way, it should be an epic showdown that will come down to how well Stevens Point can cope without Tillema if he can't return.

They've gotten some solid contributions from guys while he has been down in Austin Ryf, Trevor Hass and Joe Ritchay, who had 27 in their last game against Edgewood.

What it may come down to is how well the Pointers can get Clayton Heuer involved in this game. They've been waiting for a huge game from him and they'll need it against the Tommies.

2. Non-conference, Beloit at MSOE, Thursday, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $6

This is a game between two surprise contenders in each of their respective conferences.

Beloit has gone 4-1 to start the MWC season, although some would argue that their schedule to this point in the season has been relatively easy. Their only loss has come to preseason favorite St. Norbert and it was pretty handily.

Either way the Buccaneers have been playing with confidence to start and riding their two big men in James Lazarcik and Tyler Butke.

MSOE, meanwhile, has started the NAC season 3-1 and has been doing it with their defense. They only give up 61 points per game and they only have one person on offense scoring in double-digits (that would be Austin Stueck at 10.2).

This could be a very good game against two teams looking to make even more noise in their respective conferences.

3. Non-conference, Aurora vs. UW-Oshkosh in Las Vegas, Friday, 6 p.m. Price I would pay: $4

This is a game I want to see because Aurora has struggled this season with WIAC and CCIW teams this year, although beating up on almost everybody else.

They get another chance against a Titans squad looking to continue to rebuild from an 0-16 WIAC season a year ago and getting another win against a solid Aurora team would be a nice confidence booster when they get back into conference season.

And this is the type of win that Aurora needs to have. It's a team that they should beat from a conference that is bigger and better than theirs. If they can do it, it could be a shot in the arm.

4. Non-conference, UW-La Crosse at North Park (Ill.), Friday, 6 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

La Crosse hasn't played a game in nearly 12 days when they go to the Vikings home gym.

So needless to say this could have the possibility of being one of those "rust games" coming back from a long layoff. It is for that reason that I want to see how well La Crosse handles that and if they can beat a CCIW team on the road.

The Vikings aren't the greatest the CCIW has to offer, but they do have weapons and like any team, if you are having an off night or they are having an on night, they can beat you.

The Eagles need to show that they can do that and pick up a win to get their end of 2012 on a roll before they get another test in North Central.

5. Non-conference, UW-Whitewater at Edgewood, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $2

Again another long layoff for a WIAC team. By the time this one is played, it will have been 10 days since Whitewater lost to Stevens Point.

So it is key that they pick up a win against Edgewood and forget about that loss in their home gym.

Rust again could be a factor, so don't be surprised if Edgewood hangs around at least for a half, like they did against Point in the prototypical letdown game.

But I do expect Whitewater to pull this one out handily. But if it's close at the end, I wouldn't be entirely surprised.

Thanks for tuning in. However, I will not be doing a weekend blog as most of the games that I would like to see land on Friday and I have plans for that day so I will not be able to watch them.

And besides it is the holidays and I'm sure that all of you will be traveling to see your families or having your family and friends come visit you. So we'll take a break on the weekend blog.

I will be back after Christmas, though, with my midweek blog. So stay tuned for that. And as always you can still check my reactions on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

And with that, it's time for me to go shovel out the car!

Weekend Analysis 3: Twas The Weekend Before the Weekend Before Christmas

You can just smell it in the air, even if their isn't any snow on the ground. It's Christmastime!

And with that normally rounds up the first part of the conference season. Teams now have about four or so conference games in the books and now start up their holiday round of non-conference action.

So here are my recaps of the games.

WIAC

Game I watched: UW-Platteville 86, UW-Oshkosh 48. Top scorer UWP: Chas Cross (15). Top scorer UWO: Jade Royston (12).

The Skinny: The Pioneers jumped out early on the Titans and never looked back, going up by as many as 41 in the second half.

Platteville was on fire from all over the court, especially from the perimeter, shooting 55 percent from the floor in the win while holding the Titans to just 29 percent.

Point 1: Pressing the Right Button

The thing that jumpstarted the Pioneers rout of the Titans was a zone full court press in the first half.

Platteville was able to get some turnovers and also just all around speed up UW-Oshkosh, getting them out of their comfort zone early, never establishing a rhythm.

Now I don't know if the Pioneers have run full-court press this whole year or just on Saturday. But it worked the way it should on the Titans and it may be worth looking at doing periodically the rest of the year if they haven't already.

Point 2: Making it Rain

UW-Platteville has been an inside-out team all year.

Saturday, they were all outside.

The Pioneers hit nearly as many 3-pointers (12) as UW-Oshkosh had field goals (15) in the game. And they were highly efficient in doing so as well, shooting 52 percent from behind the arc.

What was also surprising as how willing the big men Jake Manning and Chas Cross were willing to step out and take a shot. They aren't afraid if no one comes out to challenge them on the perimeter to take a jump shot and are fairly solid at knocking that shot down.

If those big guys can do that every once and awhile the rest of this season, Platteville could have an added weapon to an already solid offensive team.

Point 3: Keep rebuilding

For UW-Oshkosh, with a new coach and coming off of an ugly 0-16 season last year, it's going to be tough.

But even in a loss as bad as this one, they Titans need to stay positive and continue to work.

And their is plenty to be optimistic about down the road, especially with as young a team as they have. They have even already pulled out their first WIAC win in over a year last weekend against River Falls, which is an obvious plus.

They know that they just need to keep grinding and keep working and things will be looking up for UW-Oshkosh very soon.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: UW-Stevens Point 63, Edgewood 48. Top scorer UWSP: Joe Ritchay (27). Top scorer EDGE: Cashton Craig (12).

The Skinny: The Pointers, playing without injured guard Tyler Tillema, had to deal with pesky Edgewood until midway through the second half.

Finally Stevens Point was able to go on their run and put the Eagles down, getting a monster night from Joe Ritchay in the process for the win.

Point 1: All's Good...For Now

The first game without the All-American went all right for the Pointers. They handled the absence on the offensive end once again with Ritchay stepping up this time for 27 points.

But the second and third scorers for the Pointers were noticeably absent. Trevor Hass was next up with 10 and Austin Ryf had 9.

The real absent scoring threat was Clayton Heuer on the inside. He only scored 2 points and when the Pointers are desperate for another scorer and a scorer at a position other than guard (which they have plenty of), they didn't get it tonight.

I'm not sure how long Tillema is out with his injury (if any Pointers fans know, please let me know). But with a rough non-conference schedule coming up, including a game against ranked St. Thomas, it will be interesting to see just what the Pointers do if he can't come back.

Box Score

MWC

Game I watched: St. Norbert 70, Lawrence 52. Top scorer SNC: Andrew Schwoerer (23). Top scorer LAW: Ryan DePouw (13).

The Skinny: The is the Green Knights team everybody thought they would be when the season started. St. Norbert built up a eight-point halftime lead on the Vikings.

They wouldn't look back the rest of the game, opening up a 22-point lead at one point to pick up a much needed Midwest Conference victory.

Point 1: On the Block, Posted Up

The Green Knights had a clear game plan against Lawrence. Get the ball inside.

And it worked to perfection. St. Norbert's bigs and even their wings and guards bodied up and went down to the block and had a lot of success against the Vikings. I mean, they only shot six 3-pointers on the night. That's an incredibly low number for a DIII team.

This led to a lot of things opening up for the Green Knights, including their driving lanes from the outside, which opened up when Lawrence would sink into the post and the St. Norbert bigs would toss it back out. It made their offense look very fluid and very efficient all night.

What gives St. Norbert's the advantage over a lot of Midwest teams is their length at the 3 spot, which can allow them to post those guys up against smaller guards, which the Green Knights did a lot of with Andrew Schwoerer and Paul Appleton all game and it worked out.

It's clear that they need to continue to work on getting the ball inside a lot more to be successful from this point forward.

Point 2: I Schwoerer We Were Guarding Him!

St. Norbert's Andrew Schwoerer was unstoppable all night. He Laettner'd the Vikings, going a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

The sophomore wing did it in a lot of different ways, showing off his versatility in the victory. 

He came of screens and hit jump shots. He posted smaller guards up. He took it off the dribble. He crashed the glass.

He proved just how valuable he is to this St. Norbert's team and although they have a lot of different options to go to at both the guard and post positions, getting Schwoerer involved early and often in the offense is a must for the Green Knights going forward.

Point 3: Cold as Ice

This is exactly what Lawrence was from deep, especially in the first half against the Green Knights.

A lot of this had to do with the Green Knights' defense. They got into the Vikings' guards and forced them off the 3-point line, making it difficult to feed the post.

They also clogged the driving lanes well when LU's guards decided to put their head down and prevented them from turning the corner.

This forced Lawrence into a lot of contested, semi-deep three-pointers that were late in the shot clock. And by the time they did get open looks, they weren't an any rhythm from the shots before to make them.

Those contested 3-pointers turned out to be a big reason why St. Norbert was able to go out and take a lead by the end of the first half.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Ripon 79, Carroll 76. Top scorer RIP: Taylor Koth (29). Top scorers CAR: Jake Bast, Dan Kratz (14).

The Skinny: This was a back and forth affair with both offense's cranked up to 10.

The teams would trade leads for most of the second half until Ripon's Kyle Loughrin nailed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to give the Redhawks the 79-76 advantage.

Carroll's Jake Bast had a shot to tie it, but it was no good and Ripon knocked off the last remaining conference unbeaten on the road.

Point 1: One Last Shot

In an offensive slugfest like this one was, it often comes down to who has the last possession to take the lead.

That's what Ripon did. They had that last full offensive possession. And they got a great look.

Loughrin got free on the left wing and drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to win it for Ripon. 

Both teams were pretty poor on the defensive end all game. Both teams were able to move the ball at will and shots were either semi-contested (which really means it was a poor or long closeout) or not at all.

But in the end, Ripon was able play two good defensive possessions at the end. First, when they got a turnover as Carroll was looking to take the lead. And then on the last possession to clinch the game for the Redhawks.

As for Carroll, that's a tough loss to a team that you should have beat in your home gym. For a team that looked to be the class of the MWC this season, you can't expect to do that and win conference.

Box Score

NAC

Game I watched: North Central 61, Benedictine 55. Top scorer NCC: Aaron Tiknis (14). Top scorer BEN: Michael Woolf (13).

The Skinny: Benedictine kept NCC in their sights all night, cutting the lead to two at one point in the second half.

But the Cardinals proved they were the No. 4 team in the nation, getting two huge 3-pointers from Pat Rourke and closing out the Eagles from the free throw line to remain unbeaten.

They also keep the Chicago/Maple Avenue trophy for the second-straight year.

Point 1: Zoning Out

Benedictine was able to stay in the game by mixing up between man and a 2-3 zone defense against the Cardinals.

For a team that is offensively potent inside the paint with their forwards Aaron Tiknis, Landon Gamble and Derek Raridon and a team that isn't the biggest team in Benedictine, this worked like magic.

The Eagles would come out in the zone after makes and dead balls and man-to-man off of misses. This forced a slower pace, which kept BenU close and also prevented the Cardinals from working the ball inside, which their offense is predicated on.

The Eagles also outworked the Cardinals for most of the game in that zone and really made NCC work the ball around, which game Benedictine a decided advantage in tempo.

Point 2: Foul Trouble

Benedictine was also able to get Raridon and Gamble into foul trouble as well. Both sat out large chunks of the first and second half due to fouls.

This exposed North Central's main weakness. They can't get created offense without those two preseason All-American's on the floor. 

Vince Kmiec and Tiknis are capable scorers, don't get me wrong. But as far as creating, they can't. They need to be fed the ball from either Raridon on the wing creating off the dribble or Gamble out of the post, who is an excellent small space passer.

The Cardinals, with Raridon and Gamble on the bench, went five minutes WITHOUT SCORING. That's not a good sign if you are a North Central fan.

Point 3: Not Capitalizing

Problem for the Eagles, however, is that they couldn't take advantage of that time with those two on the bench. In fact, while North Central wasn't scoring, neither were the Eagles.

At times, Benedictine has trouble getting good looks, not only in this game, but other games as well. They just get a little stagnant on offense. 

This was the problem, again today as they took some rushed, contested shots and they also had a tough time breaking down the Cardinals defense.

It's definitely will be tough for Bunks and the Eagles to take when they know that they could've taken down the Cardinals very easily if they could've just made a few more shots.

Even so, Benedictine can be very happy with the result, especially since they've struggled the past two weeks in conference.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Loras 82, Rockford 59. Top Scorer LOR: Luke Barry (14). Top scorer ROCK: Scott Suchy (23).

The Skinny: Loras got up in the middle of the first half and held the Regents at bay the rest of the way.

Rockford had a poor day from the field, shooting only 29 percent, including a 5-of-20 from deep in the loss.

Point 1: Play some 'D'

Rockford was never an exceptional defensive team when I played against them. Last year, (my first year not playing) they were 10th out of 12 teams in the NAC in scoring defense.

This season, they are allowing nearly 80 points per game on defense (they gave up 82 on Sunday), just too many for a team that is looking to finish near the top of the NAC this year.

They have plenty of offensive weapons, including the top scorer in conference in Scott Suchy. Tory Minnifield and Grant Olsen also average in double figures for the Regents and they like to play an up tempo type of game and get you playing their pace.

But if they are going to win 10 or more games in conference this year (which they have the capability to do), they have to at least get a few stops when they are needed to get the job done.

Box Score

Be sure to stay tuned for my midweek blog and you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

Midweek Blog 3: Pointers Reign

Well, I'm fresh off a throughly invigorating experience of watching two, top-10 teams battle it out in UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater.

And since this is one, if not THE, premier NCAA Division III matchup this December, I figured, "Why not start my midweek blog off with that."

So that's what I'm going for the midweek blog. It'll be done in the form of my three points weekend analysis.

1 Big Thing

Game I watched: UW-Stevens Point 72, UW-Whitewater 61. Top scorers UWSP: Austin Ryf, Trevor Hass (18). Top scorer UWW: Eric Bryson (15).

The Skinny: The first half was a typical top-10 dogfight. Both teams went at each other hard and physical. Both teams came out and executed on the offensive end quite well, running their attacks smoothly and crisply and that led to a tight game at the break.

The second half was a much different story. The Pointers played without leading scorer Tyler Tillema, who left the game with what appeared to be a right ankle injury.

But the Pointers never broke stride, going on a run to start the second half, keyed by Austin Ryf, jumping out to the lead.

This forced Whitewater to try and play catchup which they could never do the rest of the half and the Pointers took home a huge WIAC victory on the road.

Point 1: Hey, We're Pretty Good, Too

Leading up to the game, I thought it would take one of those monster games from Tillema for the Pointers to come out of Whitewater with a win.

Turns out, they were just fine without him.

After going down with an injury late in the first half (albeit, after scoring 10 first half points), Tillema didn't return to the game. Instead, the keys were handed over to Austin Ryf and Trevor Hass. 

And both preformed beautifully, especially Ryf, who had a breakout game for the Pointers. He scored 18 points and ran the Stevens Point offense very comfortably from the point. The Pointers have been waiting for a performance like this out of their sophomore guard. Tonight, they got it in a big spot.

Hass also stepped up in the second half to provide some of the lost scoring when Tillema went down. 

This is a great sign for the Pointers, especially if Tillema is down for any time with the injury. They know that they have plenty of firepower outside of him and that he doesn't have to carry the team on some nights when he does return.

Point 2: A Case of Poor Shot Selection

My BenU coach Keith Bunkenburg (or Bunks, yeah, lets just call him that) always told us that you never come back in a game by jacking the quick three or shot. (I mean that should be common knowledge for a basketball player, but I had never thought about that until he said it in a huddle one time)

Instead, the inverse is true. It hinders your comeback and often puts you in a deeper hole.

That is what happened to the Warhawks on Wednesday night. As soon as the Pointers got up 37-30 in the second half, Whitewater started settling for contested, deep 3-pointers to try and get back in the game, instead of working the lane and getting easier looks. 

They are much better team anyway when the ball hits the paint, whether with the drive, which Quardell Young did a lot in the first half when they were successful, or with the post touch.

They went away from their paint game and started taking poor shots from the perimeter, which allowed the Pointer lead to balloon and put the game out of reach.

This led to a second half 3-point shooting percentage of 14 percent (2-of-13). Not, and I'm quoting Seth Davis on this one, how you get Capone. 

Point 3: Do You Have My Number?

Yes, I believe the Pointers do have the Warhawks number. Stevens Point has beat Whitewater quite a few times in recent years, including twice last year during Whitewater's epic run.

Now, I have no doubt that the Warhawks are one of the best teams in the country still. But this has to be a disturbing trend for Whitewater that they would like to end.

And it looked like the Pointers were the better teams from start to finish. They executed better, especially in the second half, their length caused Whitewater problems on defense and on the glass (Whitewater got out rebounded 36-27, including 24-15 in the second half and 10-7 on the offensive glass).

Those pictures and the fact that Point now has a leg up in the conference race with the win, makes the picture a little bleak for Whitewater's hope at a repeat WIAC crown and if these teams were to meet up in the tournament at sometime, which could very well happen with how good both teams are.

Box Score

2 Small Things

-Can anyone in the NAC challenge Lakeland and Aurora?

My firm belief is that there is absolutely no other team in the NAC that can compete with either of these two teams for the championship of their respective divisions. They are head and shoulders above the rest and each dominate the games in their own specific ways.

Lakeland comes at you with a offensive onslaught for the ages. They have big men who can step outside and play like guards at times. They have guards who can stroke it from deep. You blink and they go on a 10-0 run. It's just unbelievable how offensively gifted the Muskies are.

Their only problem is that they've let teams hang around too long at times, which could come back an bite them for a loss here or there but it shouldn't be an overarching problem, as they know when to flick the switch and close out games.

As for Aurora, they do it with their length and athleticism. They might be the most athletic team in conference and they can use it in a lot of different ways. They can do it defensively, contesting shots and getting steals. They can do it on the glass both offensively and defensively. They score on penetration and kick to the shooters they do have.

I have no doubt that these teams will take losses at some point during the season, but the Division titles and who represents the NAC in the NCAA tournament really comes down to these two teams.

-Will UW-Stout continue to be the surprise team of the WIAC

The Blue Devils weren't picked to do a ton in the conference this year. 

But they have been one of the most surprising teams of all three of the conferences to this point, going 3-1 in the league. They took Whitewater to the wire in their only loss and beat a really solid Platteville team on the road, taking it to the Pioneers.

They do it with a solid, balanced attack, led by their two forwards Jarvis Ragland and Alex Oman. Oman leads the team at 14 points per game, while Ragland averages 11. Both compliment each other well. Oman can go inside and out and is a capable 3-point shooter. Ragland is a very athletic 4-man who can get to the rack and beat you with his athleticism.

They also have rock solid guards in Aaron Jenny and Erik Olson, a volume shooter/scorer off the bench in Chris Hortman, who is third on the team in points, and a capable big man in Josh Kosloske.

They have a lot of solid veteran pieces on this team and if they continue to play with confidence they could be a very dangerous team.

3 Performances of the Week

Cory Nickel, UW-Oshkosh (against UW-River Falls)

The junior guard was on fire from deep, knocking in 8-of-14 from behind the arc and totaling 27 points, as the Titans picked up their first conference win in over a year over the Falcons.

Nathan Kohler, Illinois College (against Grinnell)

The Blueboy guard helped take down the previously conference unbeaten by pouring in 28 points, including 6-of-8 from 3-point land. He also totaled five assists and six rebounds in the win.

Jake Schwarz, Lakeland (against Marian)

The Muskie became the conference's all-time leading scorer in the win over the Sabres, as he poured in 26 points and grabbed a gaudy 17 rebounds for Lakeland.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (8-0, 3-0 WIAC) Words: Whitewater's Kryptonite

2. UW-Whitewater (7-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Still good

3. UW-La Crosse (8-1, 2-1 WIAC) Words: Weed laying

4. UW-Stout (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Extremely surprising

MWC

1. Carroll (7-1, 3-0 MWC) Words: Top dog

2. Beloit (5-3, 4-1 MWC) Words: Grinding away

3. Grinnell (7-2, 4-1 MWC) Words: System loss

4. Illinois College (4-4, 3-2 MWC) Words: Southern sleeper

NAC

1. Lakeland (6-0, 4-0 NAC) Words: Offensive juggernaut

2. Aurora (5-3, 4-0 NAC) Words: Athleticism wins

3. Rockford (3-4, 3-0 NAC) Words: Wild card

4. MSOE (5-4, 3-1 NAC) Words: Chugging along

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. MWC, St. Norbert at Lawrence, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $6

This is a matchup between two middling teams who probably though higher of themselves earlier in the season.

St. Norbert is coming off their loss last Saturday to Grinnell at home. They are trying to right their ship back to where they thought it would be at this point in the season.

As for Lawrence, they beat Cornell last weekend, but have been up and down during conference play to this point.

Both teams have had a week to prepare for this game and both are looking for a signature win to get them back on the right track toward the top of the conference standings.

2. MWC, Ripon at Carroll, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $4

It's pretty easy to look at Carroll and see that they seem to be the class of the MWC this year. They have inside scoring. They have outside scoring. They get points off their bench.

And it has shown in the results, going 3-0 to start conference play.

Ripon has had an up-and-down start to their season, with their big win coming against Lawrence. They have the capability of getting hot and taking down a team like Carroll, especially if the Pioneers aren't careful and are looking ahead to next week's Norbert matchup.

3. Non-conference, North Central (Ill.) at Benedictine, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

I guess the reason I put this game on here is that it holds a special place in my heart since I've played in the game once or twice. It's the old Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue.

It's also worth it to see the No. 4 team in the nation. The Cardinals sport an unbelievable front line in Derek Raridon, Landon Gamble and Aaron Tiknis that can match up with anyone in the country.

It'll be a tall order for the boys from Benedictine, who are struggling coming into the matchup having lost their last three conference games before getting a week off. They will need their A games from Michael Woolf and Tim McGinty to pull it out.

The Eagles have won two of the last three (Yep, I was a part of the last two wins, interestingly enough against this years group of Cardinals), but it will be a tall order come Saturday to make it three of four.

4. Non-conference, Rockford at Loras, Sunday, 4 p.m. Price I would pay: $2

The only reason this one is on here is because I want to see what Rockford is about.

The Regents were picked to be third in the South Division of the NAC behind Benedictine and Aurora. But so far they have performed pretty well, with clutch 2-point wins over Dominican and BenU to slide into the second spot behind Aurora.

They also have one of the top scorers in the conference in Scott Suchy, who is averaging nearly 20 points a contest. It will be interesting to see what they can do out in Loras on Sunday.

5. Non-conference, Edgewood at UW-Stevens Point, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $2

The only reason I'm paying to see this one is if Tyler Tillema will be playing for the Pointers in this one after his injury against Whitewater.

If he is playing, I want to see if it affects him at all. If he's not, I want to see of the Pointers can be as efficient as they were on Wednesday.

The Eagles on the other hand, have really been struggling and are in dire need of something to turn their season around. If they could even get a moral victory out of this game, it could do something to spark the rest of the season.

Stay tuned for my weekend blog and you can always follow me on Twitter for my basketball (and other) comments at @turkdigg40.