Live Blog: Benedictine vs. Aurora

Well it's NAC tournament time and I figured what better way than to live blog the rivalry matchup between Aurora and Benedictine.

Be sure to follow along throughout the game for my comments and the like. Join in if you'd like to as well.

Before game: This is the third meeting between the two conference rivals this year, with Aurora taking both contests by double digits.

However, this is a completely different Benedictine team from the last time they played, which was over two weeks ago. They seem to have found their stride late, winning their last four games to sneak into the NAC tournament as the seven seed.

They have been getting solid play out of their two big posts in Tim McGinty and Luke Johnson. Michael Woolf has also stepped up his game as well to take more control of the BenU offense.

Aurora, meanwhile, has been rolling through conference, falling only twice, once to Marian in January and then to Lakeland in Lakeland the first game of Februrary.

They have multiple weapons, led by Marious Lobdell. Mike Bumber is also one of those guys and as a transfer from BenU and a senior, I'm sure he's not going to want to lose to the team he played for.

Game is being played at Thornton Gymnasium. Oh how I miss playing in that gym. Rivalry always seemed more real on the road for me because the Aurora fans usually packed it and there was nothing better than interacting with them after a big shot.

Two keys that I outlined in my uber-blog: Pace and bench play. Benedictine has to take care of the ball to slow down Aurora's transition and they must be able to shutdown their penetration. If Aurora can do both those things, its going to be a blowout.

Aurora also has a more potent bench then Benedictine does, so it's important for the Eagles bench to match at least their energy and shut them down a bit, otherwise Aurora is going to run away.

Eight minutes until the starting lineups are announced. I'm getting way too excited. Probably just the competitive juices.

Three minutes to starting lineups and I nearly lost the rest of my Chipotle burrito bowl. Good thing though, I saved it.

My pick for this game is Aurora. My heart wants BenU to pull it off but Aurora is too deep for the Eagles and win in a lot of different ways. But the game will be close.

20:00 First half: And away we go.

16:42 First half: Pace is to Aurora's liking, have already been able to get up and down the court a couple of times at the speed they want to.

14:00 First half: Tough for Benedictine's two big guys when one of them has to guard a smaller, quicker guy...might have to adjust if you are the Eagles.

13:30 First half: Former Eagle Bumber with a dunk. Not good giving that guy confidence if you are Benedictine.

11:20 First half: Aurora is really leaking a guard out on every Benedictine shot. Like the guy is just releasing. Spartans have burned Eagles a few times with that guy.

10:00 First half: Aurora is really playing tough defense. They are making Benedictine shoot over them and not allowing them any easy looks on penetration at the rim.

8:30 First half: Aurora now hitting their midrangers thanks to the built-up confidence from going to the rim. They are up 11.

7:15 First half: Our first timeout, to Benedictine because they can't get the ball in. Aurora is really taking it to them on both ends of the court. Need a run to the end of the half if you are the Eagles.

6:34 First half: Spartans just hit a 3-pointer. Bunks has seen enough and calls a timeout. Danger time if you are BenU. Have to cut it to 8 before half. That has to happen or their is no shot.

5:00 First half: Everything on the offensive end coming too easy for the Spartans. BenU not playing much defense at all.

2:30 First half: BenU trying to come back, but they are ice cold right now from anywhere except at the rim when they get there, which isn't very much. Not a good recipe.

Halftime: Eagles put on a little spurt at the end, but I'm not sure it's going to be enough. Aurora is up 44-31 heading to the break.

Couple of observations. Benedictine, when they get to the paint are a lot better in this game. The offense picked up at the end of the second half and the were able to get some kick outs and hit some shots.

Problem was they couldn't stop anybody. Aurora is murdering them and BenU's penetration defense is awful. No help and everyone is out of position on the closeout, allowing the Spartans to take it right to the rack.

Aurora is also hitting their shots, too. Especially Bumber, who has 11 points to lead the Spartans. He is on a mission.

Some eye-popping stats. Benedictine is shooting just 30 percent from the field and less than 20 from beyond the arc. Aurora didn't turn the ball over in the half.

Also of note (and if anyone knows why it would be appreciated), Marious Lobdell not in the lineup for the Spartans. Not sure why that is because he was in the last game against Dominican.

For the Eagles, you have to be a little happy with where you are at. You played a terrible half and are only down 13. Could've been a lot worse.

If your Aurora you just have to keep doing what you are doing. You are getting everything at will on the offensive end and defensively your are causing enough havoc.

Also of note, both students sections today are shells of what they used to be for games like this. I'm a little disappointed and can't understand why.

Almost time to start the second half. Keep following along.

20:00 Second half: It's Spartans ball to start the second stanza.

17:30 Second half: Benedictine just fouled a 3-point jump shooter. Can't be doing that when you are trying to comeback.

16:30 Second half: McGinty is playing big for BenU, trying to keep them close. Thing is, whenever you think the Eagles are making a run, they give up an easy shot to the Spartans. Poor defense continues.

14:40 Second half: BenU makes a three-pointer to cut it to 12, but then gives up two layups in scramble situations. Just no consistency, which isn't going to get you back into the game if you are the Eagles.

13:03 Second half: BenU cuts it to 11. Aurora with at timeout with Eagles going to the line to make it a single digit game. BenU has been playing better defense in the stretch.

11:30 Second half: It's a 10-point Spartan. Aurora has stopped the bleeding a bit and has been trading baskets. Critical time here if BenU can extend the run a little further.

10:00 Second half: Aurora has extended the lead out to 13 points. Kind of getting away from BenU right now.

8:40 Second half: Shot selection has become new problem for BenU. Kind of just jacking it. Aurora is up 16 right now. Danger time for Eagles.

7:40 Second half: Huge three from Bumber by Aurora makes it a 19 point lead for Spartans.

6:20 Second half: Aurora calls timeout, they are up 71-56. BenU trying to make one last push here but I think the damage has been done.

3:30 Second half: A short 5-0 run by Aurora extend their lead out to 79-63. That is too much to overcome for the Eagles.

0:00 Second half: Aurora win this one and moves on to the semifinal round.

In the end that first half killed Benedictine. They weren't able to recover. Too many poor defensive stretches from the Eagles that really hurt them.

But they will bounce back next year. They are a young team and lose only two seniors this year. Thinks are looking up for Benedictine.

As for Aurora, they imposed their will on yet another team and established themselves as a favorite to win the NAC tournament title. If they can keep the pace of play up, I'm sure that they will find themselves with a dang good shot to do it.

Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check out my other blog posts and stay on the look out for new material.

Terry's First Uber-blog

Well, work had me in a vice this week, so I couldn't space out the few blogs I wanted to do this week.

So I'm going to combine them all into my first ever Uber-blog. This blog is going to fill you in on everything that is going to be important this weekend.

So here we go. Get ready for the information overload.

1. The seeding in the NAC tournament has left me speechless

The NAC tournament is almost a travesty because of the seeding process this year. With no conference crossover games, the tournament seeding has been left in shambles.

No. 1 on my list of travesties is the fact that Dominican, with a 7-9 record in a weak South division this year, received the No. 3 seed in the tournament thanks to a head-to-head win over Concordia-Wisconsin, who finished with a 12-4 record in a much harder North.

Now I know that those detractors will say CUW should have just beat Dominican and there wouldn't have been a problem.

But as we all know, basketball is a sport where you can have a bad game and lose. Is that game it really indicative of the season you had? No.

The fact that the conference, who voted on it this way for this year, rewards a 7-9 team with the No. 3 seed over a 12-4 team, almost makes me sick. It shouldn't be like that.

Marian also has a gripe in this department, getting the 8-seed, despite having a better record then Benedictine, all because of a H2H win.

Another gripe is that Aurora got the No. 2 seed despite having a better record than Lakeland, who beat them in the H2H. Although not as bad as the other two, if if were to come down to those two teams in the conference tournament title game, Aurora will have to go all the way up to Lakeland, which is tough.

These problems would've all been solved if they would have just had the conference crossover game like in years past. Those teams in question would've had a shot to rectify their situations with wins over those teams and it would've been a much more fair process.

Thank goodness this won't happen anymore with Maranatha leaving after this year.

2. The only WIAC tiebreaker you need to worry about

That would be UW-Stout, UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse for the third, fourth and fifth seeds.

Currently: UW-Stout is in third with a 10-5 record. UW-Platteville is in fourth with a 10-6. UW-La Crosse is in fifth with a 9-6 record.

Ahead: UW-Stout hosts UW-Oshkosh, Platteville is on the bye and La Crosse hosts UW-Superior

Scenarios

UW-Stout win, UW-La Crosse win: Stout gets the No. 3 seed and La Crosse, by virtue of a better record against Stout than Platteville, gets the No. 4 seed

UW-Stout loss, UW-La Crosse win: Three-way tie goes to cumulative W-L record between the teams. Stout would get the No. 3 seed with a 3-1 record against those teams. UW-La Crosse gets the No. 4 seed with a 2-2 record and Platteville is the No. 5 with a 1-3 record.

UW-Stout loss, UW-La Crosse loss: Stout holds H2H tiebreaker over Platteville and gets the No. 3 seed. Platteville is the No. 4 and La Crosse is the No. 5.

3. Worth the Price of Admission #1

NAC tournament, Benedictine at Aurora, 2 p.m. Price I would pay: $10. Pick to Click: Luke Johnson, Benedictine

I may be a bit biased, but this rivalry game is always a good one. And now that it is in the tournament, it makes it even better.

If I was Aurora I would be more than a little scared. First, it's a rivalry game and anything goes in rivalry games.

Secondly, Benedictine is a completely different teams than it was a few games ago when they last played. The Eagles have one four straight to sneak their way into the tournament and have looked really good in those games, especially against the solid Marian just a weekend ago.

Their new pieces are fitting in nicely and they are one of the scarier No. 7 seeds in recent memory.

Aurora has been good after falling to Lakeland a couple of weeks ago and enter with some confidence, too.

Two keys to this game: Pace and depth. If Benedictine wants to win, they are going to have to be smart with the ball and slow down Aurora's penetration and transition game.

The depth may be a bigger problem for the Eagles. Aurora has bona fide weapons coming off the bench, and more than one. The Eagles may be a bit thinner in that department, but have gotten better as of late, and they will need to match the Spartans bench energy and production if the Eagles want to win.

This should be an exciting one and I will be live blogging it, so stay tuned for that.

4. The only MWC tiebreaker you need to worry about

That would be St. Norbert and Grinnell for the No. 1 seed.

Currently: Both are tied atop the standings at 14-3, but the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker thanks to H2H.

Ahead: Grinnell travels to Lawrence, St. Norbert is at Illinois College.

Scenarios

Grinnell win, St. Norbert win OR Grinnell loss, St. Norbert loss: Grinnell gets the No. 1 seed either way.

Grinnell loss, St. Norbert win: St. Norbert gets the No. 1 seed thanks to a better record.

5. WIAC Performer of the Week

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

Nickel was instrumental in the Titans two overtime win over the Falcons last Saturday, scoring 26 points in the win. He hit five 3-pointers and went 9-of-17 overall from the field for UW-Oshkosh.

6. Worth the Price of Admission #2

NAC tournament, MSOE at Concordia-Wisconsin, 2 p.m. Price I would pay: $8. Pick to Click: Mark Pace, Concordia-Wisconsin.

This is a match up of two good teams going at it. Both enter the tournament with wins.

But the bigger fact is that MSOE beat CUW not too long ago. Granted that matchup was at MSOE but it still fresh enough in everyone's minds.

Concordia-Wisconsin will need to use their post to collect victory. That's what got them the victory in the first matchup between the teams and that's what will get it done again.

For MSOE, their ground-and-pound game will have to be good and they will have to get big shots from their guards, especially Austin Stueck, and limit the Falcons' posts to have a shot.

It should be a good one, even though this should've been a semifinal matchup at the very least.

7. Quick NAC tournament preview

The seeds: No. 1 Lakeland, No. 2 Aurora, No. 3 Dominican, No. 4 Concordia-Wisconsin, No. 5 MSOE, No. 6 Rockford, No. 7 Benedictine, No. 8 Marian.

The Favorites: Lakeland, Aurora.

Pretty much a no-brainer. These teams have been the best two teams in conference all year and have figured things out as of late and go into the tournament with win streaks.

Both teams have high powered offensive attacks and can go off on any given night.

The key for these two teams is how well they play defense when they need the stops. In which case, I give Aurora the slight edge because of their length across the board.

The Dark Horses: Benedictine, Concordia-Wisconsin.

I picked Concordia-Wisconsin because they are solid enough of a team to win three games in a row. They have a nice inside game and solid contributors of the bench.

What it may come down to with the Falcons is what kind of guard play they get on the offensive end. Their guards aren't top-notch scorers like their three posts are but if they get a little hot they could easily take this tourney.

I went a little with my heart with Benedictine. But it's hard to argue the roll that they are on. They won their last four games to get into the tournament and are playing as well as anyone right now. Their new guys are figuring it out and are starting to mesh with the guard that is already there.

Another key to the run is that they get Aurora in the first round. If they can beat Aurora, a huge rival, on their home court, it could give them a huge confidence boost they need to go on a run.

The Winner: Lakeland

Ultimately, it's going to be the Muskies. It's probably going to be Aurora and Lakeland in the championship and that home court advantage is just too much to over look.

8. MWC Pool C chances

Non-existent. And here is why.

St. Norbert had the the best shot thanks to being regionally ranked. But they probably would've had to have won out to the conference tournament title game and lost to Grinnell to have had a shot.

But they blew that and even though they are still regionally ranked, they have a lot of people to leapfrog to even get a seat at the Pool C table.

And who's to say if they get there that their resume is better than anyone else's. Because their SOS isn't great and they only have one signature win in UW-Whitewater.

Grinnell's shot is even worse thanks to their SOS and the fact that they didn't (rather couldn't) play anyone in the non-conference part of their schedule.

It's a tough thing to say as both teams have had solid seasons, but I just don't see it happening unless a miracle occurs.

9. Worth the Price of Admission #3

MWC, Grinnell at Lawrence,  3 p.m. Price I would pay: $6. Pick to Click: Griffin Lentsch, Grinnell.

The No. 1 seed is in the sights of the Pioneers. All it takes is a win over the Viking at Lawrence.

Grinnell has been playing solidly lately and would like nothing better than to bring Carroll, Ripon and St. Norbert to Iowa for the conference tournament, where they have a decided advantage.

But for Lawrence, who is now out of the tournament, I'm sure that they would like nothing better than to spoil the Pioneers plans and keep the conference tournament in Wisconsin.

As always the keys are beating Grinnell's press and limiting their 3-pointers. Lawrence has the team that can beat Grinnell, it's just a matter of getting those two things done.

10. MWC Performer of the Week

Luke Yeager, Grinnell (against St. Norbert)

I'm normally hesitant to give this award to a Grinnell player because of inflated numbers (so sue me). But Yeager's performance was too impressive to not give it to him, as he scored 31 points and hit two big threes in overtime to lift Grinnell to victory. He hit 6-of-10 from deep in the win for the Pioneers.

11. UW-Stout's Pool C chances

Everyone thinks to seem that they are solid. But I'm a little hesitant about the Blue Devils' resume.

It is good. SOS is there and they play in one of the toughest conferences in America in DIII hoops.

But two glaring things stand out to me. One, the lack of a signature win. They had four chances in conference, twice against UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point and couldn't capitalize.

Secondly, the horrendous loss to Loras in non-conference. It's the kind of loss that just stands out on a resume.

There is no doubt in my mind that they will get a seat at the Pool C table at some point in the selection process. But how much will those two things standout when they are up there against everyone else? That's what scares me about UW-Stout.

12. Worth the Price of Admission #4

MWC, St. Norbert at Illinois College, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $5. Pick to Click: Brandon Gries, St. Norbert.

This is the game the Green Knights need to have if they want any chance at the MWC No. 1 seed.

St. Norbert's only hiccup this past half of the season in conference was to Grinnell, but it was enough to put them in this spot. Other than that, the Green Knights have been playing stellar, balanced basketball all season and have been one of the top teams in the conference all season.

But this is a long road trip to a team that plays pretty well at home and a team with nothing to lose, and probably wanting to play spoiler.

It all comes down to how invested the Green Knights are in this game. They need to come out and establish themselves early and take away any hope the Blueboys have. If they don't it could be a long trip back up to Green Bay.

13. NAC Performer of the Week

Khirey Floyd, Concordia-Chicago (against Wisconsin Lutheran)

Floyd was absolutely brilliant for the Cougars in the victory, scoring 29 points and helping my Eagles make the tournament. Floyd was 10-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep and had five steals for CUC.

14. Worth the Price of Admission #5

WIAC, UW-Oshkosh at UW-Stout, 4 p.m. Price I would pay: $4. Pick to Click: Erik Olson, UW-Stout.

This is just one of those games that kind of standouts out for no particular reason.

Stout SHOULD win this game. They are at home and are playing for everything. Which is why it should also be so scary for the Blue Devils.

Oshkosh really can just go out and play with a reckless abandon against Stout and if the Blue Devils are any kind of tight and are missing shots and Oshkosh gets hot, who knows.

And if Stout were to lose this game, you can kiss those Pool C chances down the drain. I don't think there would be any recovering from that.

Thanks for tuning in and I hope that it was pretty informative going into an exciting weekend of hoops. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

Hope you enjoy the games.

Blog Special 2: NAC Tiebreaker Scenarios

Well we are coming right down to it with teams having only two games left to go in the season and for the NAC, only one regular season game, it's time to look at some possible tiebreaking scenarios.

As this is the first one here is how it's going to go for subsequent ones. I'm going to take the biggest tiebreakers and run you through the possible scenarios with the teams involved.

So here we go.

1. Rockford, Benedictine, Wisconsin Lutheran for the final two tourney slots in the South division

Currently: Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford are tied at 6-9, while Benedictine chases at 5-10. Rockford already has one of the two spots locked up in the South division, just a matter of what seed.

Ahead: Rockford faces off against Benedictine at Benedictine while Wisconsin Lutheran takes on last place Concordia-Chicago in River Forest Tuesday.

Scenarios

1. Rockford Win, Wisconsin Lutheran win: Rockford will get the No. 3 spot (and possibly the number No. 2 slot, more on that later) in the South based on head-to-head with Wisconsin Lutheran. Lutheran gets the No. 4 spot (And possibly the No. 3 spot, again, more later).

2. Rockford Loss, Wisconsin Lutheran win: Lutheran gets the No. 3 spot because it has a better record than Rockford as Lutheran would be 7-9 while Rockford would be 6-10. Rockford gets in over Benedictine thanks to better record against Dominican (1-1 to 0-2).

3. Benedictine Win, Wisconsin Lutheran loss: The only way BenU sneaks in. All three would tie at 6-10 and form mini-conference. Three-way tie dictates the record in the mini-conference as the first tiebreaker. This means that Rockford would be 3-1 virtue a split with BenU and a sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran and get the No. 3 spot, BenU would be 2-2 thanks to two splits and get the No. 4 spot and Wisconsin Lutheran would be 1-3 and the odd man out.

2. MSOE and Marian for the No. 3 spot in the North division

Quick tangent: If I'm reading everything correctly on the conference website as far as tiebreakers and how the tournament seeding goes (looks to be the same except with no crossover game this year), Both these teams will miss out on hosting a game this year and, again if I'm reading this correctly, Dominican (if they win on Tuesday), by virtue of a H2H victory over Concordia-Wisconsin is the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. (If anyone knows any different I'd love to know)

To me the fact that these two 10-win teams won't host a tournament game over someone from the South other than Aurora is a travesty and if that last part is also true than it is even more of a travesty to have Dominican as the No. 3 seed. Thank goodness this will never happen again because Maranatha is leaving, but someone is going to be right PO'd if they lose first round of the tournament. Even though having to travel is no excuse, it still is sad that these teams who have had good seasons won't be hosting a game. Tangent over.

Currently: Marian and MSOE are tied at 10-5, a game behind Concordia-Wisconsin for the No. 2 spot but I'm going to assume that the Falcons beat Maranatha, because they should.

Ahead: MSOE is at fifth-place Edgewood and Marian is at North division leader Lakeland on Tuesday.

Scenarios

1. MSOE win, Marian win OR MSOE loss, Marian loss: Both teams would be 11-5 or 10-6. Marian would be the two spot via head-to-head with Raiders, who they beat twice.

2. Marian loss, MSOE win: MSOE gets in via the better record

3. Dominican, Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford for the No. 2 spot in the South

Currently: Dominican is a game up on Lutheran and Rockford for the No. 2 spot at 7-8, while the other two are 6-9.

Ahead: Dominican gets South Division leader Aurora at home Tuesday, Rockford and Wisconsin Lutheran we have covered already.

Scenarios

1. Dominican loss, Rockford win, Wisconsin Lutheran loss: A Stars loss and a Regents win would put both teams at 7-9 in conference the two split the season series, so the tiebreaker heads to the top of the division on down. Rockford would get the No. 2 spot thanks to a sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran.

2. Dominican loss, Wisconsin Lutheran win, Rockford loss: Same as above with the record, but Lutheran would get the two spot based on H2H with Dominican.

3. Dominican loss, Wisconsin Lutheran win, Rockford win: All three would be 7-9 so we head to the mini-conference. Rockford would be 3-1 and get the No. 2 spot, Wisconsin Lutheran would be 2-2 and get the No. 3 spot and Dominican would be No. 4 at 1-3.

What does this all mean? Well it all means that the South is the division to watch on Tuesday, as the North is pretty much set. But these are the tiebreakers so that you can follow along.

Weekend Analysis 9: The Nitty Gritty

No, I'm not talking about the bar and grill next to the Kohl Center in Madison. (Although if you haven't checked it out, you probably should)

I'm talking about how we are getting down to the nitty gritty. It's the last week of games coming up before the conference tournament starts and most every game has some kind of implications as far as the conference tournaments go.

Some games from last weekend were already important to that discussion. So lets take a look at them.

WIAC

Game I watched: UW-Platteville 77, UW-La Crosse 70. Top scorer UWP: Jake Manning (21). Top Scorer UWL: Lucas Morrissey (23).

The Skinny: UW-Platteville controlled the whole game, thanks to building an 11-point lead by halftime thanks to some solid inside and outside play offensively.

UW-La Crosse tried to fight back in the second stanza, twice cutting the lead to five. But they would get no closer as the Pioneers always seemed to have the right answer at the right time in the win.

Point 1: Inside-Out

Platteville is pretty notorious for being a pound it inside team. With behemoths in Chas Cross and Jake Manning and a man-child in Rob Stallion, what else are you going to do?

But the Pioneers become extremely dangerous when that inside game can feed enough to their outside game. They aren't overly skilled on the outside but they have capable guys when they get the right looks.

Against La Crosse, this is what happened. The inside guys got theirs. Manning was 7-of-10 from the field with only one attempt from outside. Stallion went 5-of-9 with two 3-point attempts and Cross had a rough game, shooting 3-of-8, with three attempts from deep, but still got enough touches inside.

These guys were able to open up the outside enough for others, and often times each other, to do enough damage from the 3-point line. The Pioneers were 50 percent (6-of-12) from there in the game. That tacked on to an impressive 22-of-40 from the field and also going 27-of-36 from the line, show how well that attack was working.

When they have both sides of their attack clicking, Platteville can beat anyone.

Point 2: Stop Them!

When trying to come back, the key really isn't scoring the basketball. It's getting consistent stops on the defensive end so that you limit the other team.

La Crosse did enough offensively to get back in the game on Saturday. But the problem, which has been a bit of a problem against better teams for the Eagles, was getting those stops on the defense consistently.

A review of the box score shows that La Crosse had no more than three straight stops in the second half, and that only happened once.

A review of the film shows how fairly easily Platteville was able to score those baskets, most of which were at the rim. Platteville wasn't much better in the second half in the defensive end, arguably worse. But they were able to do that because they were able to just trade baskets with the Eagles.

If La Crosse wants to upset and win the conference title, which they are capable of doing, they have to consistently get stops when they are down.

Point 3: Mind if I Take This Spot?

The win by Platteville moved the Pioneers a half game ahead of the Eagles for the time being for the fourth spot in conference, which means a home game in the conference tourney if the standings stay the way they are.

Both teams have winnable games down the stretch, so it is likely that the two will tie for the spot, in which case the tiebreakers go into effect. I don't know exactly what those are, but those will be discussed in a blog later this week.

But it was a big game in that respect. Platteville gave themselves a shot at that spot that they wouldn't have if they didn't win. Now the pressure is on La Crosse to win two games (Platteville only has one) to tie them for that spot and let the tiebreakers decide.

Maybe even bigger for the Pioneers is that they have the confidence that they can beat the Eagles again in the conference tournament no matter where it's played because the two are going to face off against each other in the tourney.

Pick to Click grade: B+. Player picked: Lucas Morrissey, UW-La Crosse. Pick to Click winner: Jake Manning, UW-Platteville.

Would've been an A+ had the Eagles claimed victory. Morrissey was easily the best player on the floor for La Crosse, as he scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Also had five rebounds and was one of only two Eagles in double figures.

Manning won his by scoring a team high 21 points and grabbing eight boards in the victory.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: UW-Stout 70, UW-Eau Claire 54. Top scorer UWST: Chris Hortman (21). Top scorer UWEC: Nick Craggs (16).

The Skinny: This one was all Stout as the Blugolds never led in the game thanks to a solid offensive and defensive effort from the Blue Devils.

Stout limited Eau Claire to just 32 percent shooting on the game, while they shot nearly 50 percent from the field on their end to pick up the victory.

Point 1: Holding Serve

This game was a must have for a couple of reasons for the Blue Devils. One, they needed it for their Pool C resume. Or should I say if they would've lost this one you might have kissed their Pool C hopes goodbye.

But it also helped them stay a game behind the Warhawks for second place in the conference.

Now I know that the Warhawks swept Stout in their season series but if something crazy should happen and Whitewater loses the last two games or loses one and Point loses two games and all three tie, they could get a bye.

However unlikely, there is still that possibility. But it was also just a win to keep their momentum going forward into their contest with Point on Wednesday and hopefully into a strong conference tourney run to get them into the NCAA tournament.

Box Score

MWC

Game I watched: Grinnell 104, St. Norbert 99 (OT). Top scorer GRIN: Luke Yeager (31). Top scorer SNC: Andrew Schwoerer (26).

The Skinny: This was a tight game all around between the two top Midwest Conference teams as the largest lead was only eight points, and that was only once and no team held higher than a six-point lead in the second half.

St. Norbert held one of those six-point leads with 5:54 left to go but Grinnell was able to chip back into it and take a lead going to the final seconds before a layup from Jack Whalen tied the game up and sent it to overtime.

Grinnell took control in overtime with two big three-pointers from Luke Yeager as St. Norbert never led in the extra five minutes.

Point 1: A Lesson in Defense

Grinnell has never been one to enjoy playing defense outside of a few traps in the backcourt trying to get steals. The System just isn't designed for that.

But as the Grinnell broadcasters pointed out and what I have noticed about the Pioneers, at least for this season is that their defense seems to be better, in the full court and especially in the half court, as compared to other seasons.

This is especially true since leading scorer Jack Taylor went down and are getting a much more balanced attack on the offensive end.

Taylor was injured in January and since that time their points per game is down to 103 as compared to 122.2 with Taylor.

But the defense has also improved going from 103.9 ppg to 83.75 ppg in that same time frame.

To further prove my point, the score after regulation was 84-84, which is relatively low for Grinnell. 

But I'd argue that it's not necessarily a bad thing. Their traps are harder on both sides of mid court and they are forcing other teams to move the ball around more to get the good look instead of giving it up easily.

We all know that Grinnell is going to be able to score. But if their defense continues to be this marginally good as it has been as of late, it could mean a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Point 2: Oh, Put It Away!

That's something the Green Knights couldn't do. They couldn't put the game away.

They had a very good chance to do that in the second half when they took their biggest lead of the game at six with 5:54 left to go in the game, a margin your should be able to hang on to.

But it just didn't happen. Griffin Lentsch nailed a 3-pointer the next possession and then St. Norbert missed two good looks in their next two possessions, including a layup, to answer.

Grinnell was able to pull closer a couple of possessions later, and the game went back and forth at that point.

I'm sure that Green Knights talked about those stretch of possessions after the fact. But great teams, and especially great teams looking to make the tournament, have to get that done on the road.

St. Norbert just couldn't do that.

Point 3: Please Come Again

This game just shifted the whole landscape of the Midwest Conference.

Grinnell and Norbert are now tied atop the standings. But here is the kicker, Grinnell holds the tiebreaker by sweeping St. Norbert in the season series. So if it where to stay like that, Grinnell would get to host the conference tournament.

Now this is not only bad for the Green Knights, who were probably expecting to host. But this is also a problem for the other two likely teams in the tournament in Ripon and Carroll.

That trip to Green Bay is a very easy one for both those teams. Neither trip is over two hours, which would have given all three teams a nice advantage over Grinnell if the games were played at St. Norbert.

But now, in all likelihood, the games will be played in Grinnell, Iowa, a lengthy trip for all teams involved, which give Grinnell an advantage over all of them.

It was a huge win in more than one way for the Pioneers.

Pick to Click grade: B+. Player picked: Andrew Schwoerer, St. Norbert. Pick to Click winner: Luke Yeager, Grinnell.

Another case of where victory determined how the grade went. Schwoerer scored 26 points and pulled down eight boards while shooting 11-of-21 from the field in the loss.

Yeager won his by drilling two 3-pointers in overtime and also scoring a game-high 31 points in a huge game for the Pioneers.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Lawrence 97, Cornell 90. Top scorer LAW: Tyler Mazur (30). Top scorer COR: Joey Guth (22).

The Skinny: The game was definitely an offensive game throughout as both teams went up and down the court and seemingly scoring at will.

However, it was the Vikings who had a little more ammo down the stretch, taking the lead for good with about 11 minutes left to go and holding the Rams at bay.

Lawrence shot over 50 percent from the field and just about 45 percent from the 3-point line in the victory.

Point 1: Keeping Close

It was a big win for Lawrence as they continue to try and chase down Ripon for that final spot in the tournament. They sit just a game back of the Redhawks for that spot and if they would've lost, it would've been impossible for them to get it.

Lawrence has been playing very strong as of late, especially on the offensive end, getting some very balanced scoring up and down their lineup.

It's a team that nobody wants to face coming down the stretch and if they made the tournament, they could be one of those surprise teams that pop up and steal a conference tournament away because of how hot they are.

I'm sure those other teams are hoping that that doesn't happen and Ripon, the team expected to have that spot, gets it.

Pick to Click grade: C-. Player picked: Conor Klusendorf, Lawrence. Pick to Click winner: Tyler Mazur, Lawrence.

My first real hiccup in the Pick to Click side of things. Klusendorf only scored nine for the Vikings in the win and he also fouled out.

Meanwhile, Mazur just went off and shot 8-of-11 from behind the arc to lead Lawrence to victory

Box Score

NAC

Game I watched: Benedictine 65, Marian 62. Top scorer BEN: Mike Woolf 18. Top scorer MAR: Brad Koth (14).

The Skinny: With me in attendance (probably the reason they won), Benedictine controlled the game for the most part, racing out to a 23-7 lead early and hanging on to it the rest of the game.

But that wasn't without Marian breathing down their necks, thanks to Koth's sharpshooting, which brought the Sabres to within 1.

But the Eagles hit their free throws down the stretch and two last-second Marian attempts to tie fell short.

Point 1: Showing Flashes

It's been a frustrating season for my Alma Mater. The reason it is so frustrating because of the talent that they have up and down their lineup, although it being kind of young.

They have two 6-8 kids who with a little work could be one of the best tandems in the Midwest region and possibly the country. They have a sharpshooter in Woolf who is one of the better shooters around. They have defensive stoppers and other scorers around them and with only three real weaknesses I see as far as talent (lack of true bench scorer, lack of a point guard who can really get into the lane by himself and create for others, lack of a big man who just likes to get out and run the floor, all of which are negligible by other things), they should have been better than what their record indicates.

The most frustrating part, and I can speak for Coach Bunks and the rest of the coaching staff is it only shows up in spurts.

In what was their most complete game of the season, the spurts were a lot less. But their still were big holes that if Marian was just a little bit more on, they could've exploited.

And it's on both ends. Defensively, they are good for a few possessions and then get lost on a few possessions. On offense, they look like they are moving the ball around and getting good motion on one possession and in others it's a struggle to get the ball to the other side of the floor.

But those flashes were more prevalent. Johnson and McGinty looked good playing off of one another. Woolf Nasty has started to let it fly more. The bench provided some much needed offensive spark.

The most important part is that they are only losing two seniors next season. Bunks knows how good this team can be next year and the end of the season is a big step for them.

Point 2: Bench Mob

Speaking of bench play, I have to argue that Marian has one of the most complete benches in the NAC, with secondary scorers at each position.

In fact, their bench outscored their starters 34-28 in the loss and were instrumental in the comeback in the second half.

The bench consists of Mike Keller, Jake Coenen, Alex Gomex and Brad Koth. Keller is a strong inside player while the other three are guards who can come off the bench and score in different ways.

Either way, they are tough match ups and provide opposing teams no room to let up. Sometimes as a team you can catch a break with a bench that may just be in for quick spells or defensive attributes. Not with Marian. You think that, which kind of happened with Benedictine, they will hurt you.

It's a wonderful asset to have, and with Marian, whose hopes are high at spoiling Aurora and Lakeland's plans at a March postseason, getting consistent scoring from the bench game in and game out will be key.

Point 3: Barely Breathing

I would've never thunk it about two weeks ago, but somehow Benedictine is in the running for the last playoff spot in the NAC tournament.

They are a game behind both Rockford and Wisconsin Lutheran for the third and fourth playoff spots. They need a three way tie but they get Rockford at home to control their own fate that way and then Lutheran has a trip to Concordia-Chicago in which the Cougars will definitely want to play spoiler on senior night.

So there is a decent chance at getting there. I know the Eagles would like nothing more than to get into the tournament and see what happens.

Even if they don't, I think that they can look at what they did the end of the season and say if they can play like that all year they will definitely be one of the better teams in the conference.

Pick to Click grade: B+. Player picked: Brad Koth, Marian. Pick to Click winner: Mike Woolf, Benedicitne.

Make it 3-for-3 as far as picking guys who had great games in losing efforts. Koth, who I covered last year in high school, showed off his skills as a shooter, going 4-of-7 from deep in the loss but almost single-handedly kept the Sabres in the game.

Woolf gets the win mostly because he took my advice, he let if fly from deep. He went 3-of-5 (I would argue he should've shot a few more times, but I'll take what I can get) and was the driving force behind the win for BenU.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Concordia-Wisconsin 61, Wisconsin Lutheran 55. Top scorer CUW: Brian Jackson (17). Top scorer WLC: Tim Demuth (20).

The Skinny: The Falcons survived a rough night from behind the arc, thanks to some solid defense and big second half to propel them to victory over the Warriors.

The second half run was all started by a 7-0 run to begin the frame and gave Concordia a lead that they wouldn't give up the rest of the way.

Point 1: Securing a Spot

This is what Concordia basically did on Saturday with their win. The hold the second spot in North division and have their final game against Maranatha, which should be a victory and meaning that they will secure a home game for the conference tournament.

Those home games are always important to get in the conference tournament as most of the time they will force a South division team to make the long trip up to your place, which is always nice.

I'm sure that's what Concordia is most happy about and also collecting a hard-fought win for momentum as well heading into that conference tournament.

The Falcons do have the team that could do it if they get put in the right situation and the win on Saturday definitely did just that.

Pick to Click grade: D. Player picked: Malcolm Bowers, Concordia-Wisconsin. Pick to Click winner: Brian Jackson, Concordia-Wisconsin.

My pick to click didn't do so hot in this game. Bowers scored only three points for the Falcons in the win.

Jackson had a monster game to win the pick to click, scoring 17 and grabbing 11 rebounds to record a double-double.

Box Score

Thanks for tuning in. Be sure to stay tuned in all week as I will have about four more blogs discussing tiebreaker scenarios for each of the conference, an extensive look at Pool C stuff from around the nation after the second regional rankings come out and the midweek and weekend blogs.

As always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

Blog Special: Pool C Chances

It's now time for everyone's favorite Division III guessing game: Who is getting a Pool C Bid!!!!!!!!!??????  *Non-existent crowd* Yay!!!!!!!

But really, it is time to break that down. The NCAA just came out with their first regional rankings and of the blog teams, four were ranked: UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater and UW-Stout in the West and St. Norbert in the Midwest.

Now since it's almost imperative that a team gets ranked right away in the regional rankings to have a shot at a Pool C bid, I'm going to take a look at those four teams, their resumes and their chances at receiving a Pool C should they not win their conference tournaments.

UW-Stevens Point

In-Region ranking: 3

Strength of Schedule: .593

In-Region record: 18-4

Good wins: UW-Whitewater (2), UW-Stout, Augustana (Ill.)

Bad loss: UW-Platteville

Chances of Pool C: Excellent

The resume really speaks for itself having swept Whitewater and beaten a Midwest-ranked Augustana team and having done most of their damage in conference minus Preseason All-American Tyler Tillema.

There is still the fact that they are now even more hurt by the injury bug with Austin Ryf in a walking boot and Joe Ritchay leaving Wednesday's game but they've done plenty of work in the non-conference (Augustana win, Buena Vista (Iowa) win, close St. Thomas loss) and in conference that even if they were to lose their next three games (Last two regular season games, first game of conference tournament), and I really don't expect that to happen, they are still going to get in.

The only thing those injuries will effect is how well they do once they get to the tournament and possibly where they get thrown to on Selection Monday.

I don't think the Pointers will have to be sweating it at all unless they really look bad in these upcoming games and it really effects the standings in the next regional ranking.

UW-Whitewater

In-Region ranking: 4

Strength of Schedule: .606

In-Region record: 16-4

Good wins: Illinois Wesleyan, UW-Stout (2)

Bad loss: UW-Superior

Chances of Pool C: Good

Another solid resume from a WIAC team. They really put in their work in the non-conference portion of the season to boost their strength of schedule thanks to teams like Aurora, Wesleyan and St. Norbert.

However, there are two concerns here for me that I will point out. First, lack of a win against UW-Stevens Point, which would've been a signature win in the second half of the season. This is a tough fact to get over because the Pointers played without Tillema for three halves in both games and the Warhawks couldn't get by them either time.

The second are those losses to St. Norbert and to UW-Superior. Both of those losses are still haunting me, even with Whitewater putting a whooping on the Green Knights at home last weekend. But it still bugs me that they got blown out in Green Bay in December. Those are my only, admittedly minor, qualms with Warhawks' resume.

Ultimately, they are going to get in unless they completely blow it their next three games. Their strength of schedule is too good and they have had a return to form as of late and if they continue that run they could end up just taking the WIAC tourney anyways. Also that win on the road at Illinois Wesleyan, the cream of the crop in the CCIW and top ranked team in the Midwest, is too gaudy to ignore.

UW-Stout

In-Region ranking: 5

Strength of Schedule: .538

In-Region record: 16-4

Good wins: UW-Platteville (2), UW-La Crosse, Luther (Iowa)

Bad losses: UW-La Crosse, Loras (Iowa)

Chances of Pool C: Medium

On the surface the resume looks good. 16-4 In-Region record (which doesn't include a loss this week to La Crosse) with a decent Strength of Schedule and doing it in arguably the toughest conference in DIII basketball (Notice, I said ARGUABLY. Don't get mad at me NESCAC, ODAC, CCIW or anyone else I may have offended out there in the DIII universe).

But the resume is more flawed than you think. Stout played a pretty easy non-conference schedule (83-93 combined record for opponents for a .471 winning percentage, compared to a .613 for UW-Stevens Point NC opponents and .622 for UW-Whitewater NC opponents) and just a horrendous loss to not good Loras team at a neutral site.

Their last loss to UW-La Crosse wasn't something something to be proud of either and that also didn't count in this round of regional rankings, but it's not nearly as bad as that Loras one is.

They also lack a signature win. There best wins were over Platteville and over Luther, who is regionally ranked but it was early in the season. If they would've gotten one of those games over Whitewater in which they were so close, it would've improved their resume drastically.

But don't fear, Blue Devils fans, you get probably two more shots at a signature win. They have a game coming up against UW-Stevens Point and they are probably headed for a rematch with Point or Whitewater in the WIAC tournament semifinals, which would be huge.

If they can get one of those two wins it drastically improves the resume and probably gets them in. But if they don't, that loss to Loras and poor non-conference SOS loom huge and may be to big to overlook, which is why I'm hesitant with the Blue Devils.

It's also big to see where they land with that La Crosse loss in next week's rankings and how far it moves them down. I think that their name will come up in the Pool C selection process at some point. But will the resume be better than the other seven that are seated there with them? I just don't know.

St. Norbert

In-Region ranking: 8
Strength of Schedule: .525
In-Region record: 15-4
Good win: UW-Whitewater
Bad loss: Cornell
Chances of Pool C: Poor

This maybe more the region they are in than anything else.

The Green Knights resume boasts one key signature win and one bad loss (even though it was early in the season). Otherwise, it is pretty vanilla, including a loss to Augustana, who is in their region. So, it's not great but it isn't real bad either.

However, there are three problems when it comes to the Green Knights shot at a Pool C. Firstly, their lack of a non-conference schedule. This is a pretty big problem, considering they only had five non-conference games to work with. Those five? A win over UW-Oshkosh (nothing to see), a loss to Augustana (nothing to see), a win over Marian (nothing to see) and UW-Whitewater twice (A win and a loss, both canceling each other out, but you could argue that the loss to Whitewater means more because it was more recent).

It's this lack of substance in this non-conference portion of their schedule that doesn't distinguish them.

Next, is who they would have to jump over to get that Pool C. That list is a who's who of either teams in stronger conferences or storied programs: Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW), Transylvania (HCAC), Wheaton (CCIW), Wash U (UAA), North Central (CCIW), Rose-Hulman (HCAC), Augustana (CCIW). Those are no slouches and each one of those teams has signature wins (multiple).

It's hard to see them jump over anyone in that group because all four of those CCIW teams should be in their conference tournament (unless Carthage can sneak in over Augustana, but I don't see it happening), Transylvania or Rose-Hulman have a very good shot at being in the conference title game which ensures them a spot at the front of the Midwest line IMO, and unless Wash U somehow overtakes Rochester, the Bears won't get the auto bid out of the UAA.

So by these rankings here is how it would break down. One of the four CCIW teams will get the auto bid and so will one of the HCAC teams and give Pool C bids for sure to Wash U., Wheaton and North Central (resumes are good and barring complete letdowns, will be in). Which leaves St. Norbert to leapfrog over Augustana (who beat them) and Rose-Hulman (who is 18-2 in-region).

Which leads me to my next problem for St. Norbert. Say they win all the way to their conference title game and lose to Grinnell, the next best team in the MWC (which is what it's going to have to take. If they lose anywhere in between there you can kiss any chance goodbye). That gives them a 19-5 in region record.

Now, say Augustana wins out in the regular season or heck, even give them a loss to North Central and then a bow out in first round of the CCIW tournament. That puts them at 18-6 or 17-7. And give Rose-Hulman, say, two more losses, one in the regular season and one in the conference tournament, putting them at roughly 21-4.

Now are you going to tell me, that looking at all three of those going into the final regional rankings, given the SOS numbers and wins, that you are going to put St. Norbert above Augie or RHIT and give them a spot closer to the Pool C table? I just don't think so.

I think it's going to take a miracle for St. Norbert to pull off a Pool C, but that is just me.

Thanks for tuning in to my Pool C blog. Feel free to jump in with comments or concerns with my logic on the comments section and as always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

I will also be doing a more in depth Pool C update next week and give you some more universal DIII projections into the field of 61. I will also have tiebreaker scenario blogs coming up for each of the three conferences next week, along with my usual midweek and weekend analysis blog.

Midweek Blog 11: Catching Up

I must say that I have been slacking a bit in following along in the conferences due to work and personal reasons the past week that have made it difficult for me to really stay in tune with the DIII world and for this I apologize.

This is why I will spend the next 10 paragraphs or so catching myself up on the last week or so and giving you what I think about it.

1 Big Thing

Well here are just a few things that I seen. The injury bug has caught up with Stevens Point. Another key injury to Austin Ryf has him in a walking boot and Joe Ritchay left last night's game against Oshkosh. They have dropped two of their last three games and it's not looking real great for them coming down the stretch.

What was a promising season has kind of gone down the tubes and could mean an early exit in March.

The WIAC race has also tightened as it seems that UW-Whitewater has found their grove with a sound thumping of St. Norbert and Platteville the past two games, giving the Warhawks as slight chance to sneak in the backdoor and grab the conference title.

The race for home court is also in full tilt with Stout, Platteville and La Crosse all gunning for the two home spots in the first round of the tournament, with only a game in between each team in the standings.

Things are very nearly sealed up in the MWC. Norbert and Grinnell have locked up tournament bids and Carroll, despite a loss to the Green Knights on Wednesday, looks like it will seal up the third spot very soon. 

St. Norbert still looks like the team to beat, bouncing back after a rough loss to Whitewater to thump Carroll at home. 

Three teams are still vying for that ever important fourth playoff spot with Ripon holding it down with a one game lead over both Beloit and Lawrence.

The NAC has become ever tighter on both sides but in different ways. Lakeland holds a one game lead in the North over Concordia-Wisconsin and Marian with two games left to go.

MSOE is one game behind CUW and Marian for the second and third spots in conference and is looking to slide in if one of them falls.

In the south, three teams are vying for two spots. Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford are both 6-8 with two games left while Benedictine (yes, surprising they still have a shot) is two games back with two to go and a game against Rockford which makes it all the more interesting.

The hot teams seem to be UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse, Ripon, Lawrence, Marian and Benedictine, while the teams that are cooling off seem to be UW-Stevens Point, Beloit and Wisconsin Lutheran. Momentum is key in these last few games and it could come down to who is hotter at that time to decide some seeding and places in conference tournaments.

Those are my small observations from my time away. These last two or three games are going to mean the world. So buckle up.

2 Small Things

-Can Whitewater catch Stevens Point for the WIAC title?

A quick look at the schedule says they can. Whitewater finishes up with three of the easier teams in the WIAC in Superior, River Falls and Oshkosh and they have found their groove the past two games which should mean that those three games are wins.

Meanwhile, Stevens Point has their bye coming up this weekend. Then their depleted roster takes on a tough Stout team before finishing up with Eau Claire, who if they are hot can beat anyone. 

The problem with Point only having two games and Whitewater having three games left is their are fewer chances for Stevens Point to slip up. One win assures Point at least a share of the conference title and a guaranteed No. 1 seed in the conference tournament thanks to a season sweep of the Warhawks. 

But stranger things have happened. A tie atop the standings looks like the best bet for the Warhawks but you just never know when it comes to basketball.

-Can Ripon hang on for the fourth and final spot in the MWC?

The Redhawks have the inside track and control their own destiny as they are up a game in the loss column on Beloit and Lawrence. Their final two games are against Illinois College and St. Norbert.

Beloit meanwhile has three games with Knox and Carroll at home before traveling to Cornell in the finale. They have been struggling lately, however, losing their last three games including a bad beat by Lawrence last night.

Lawrence will have games against Cornell, Lake Forest and Grinnell to to end the season, which gives each team at least one very tough game against the top 3 in the conference.

I think Ripon can get it done. Splitting their last two games forces Lawrence or Beloit to win out, which I don't think either of them can do.

But the last thing that Ripon wants is to tie Beloit, who owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. That would be devastating to tie with the Bucs after having such a great season and missing out.

3 Performances of the Week

Arik Smith, UW-River Falls (against UW-Superior)

Really could have gotten this for his other performance as well but Smith scored 25 points in the win over the Yellowjackets. He shot 4-of-5 from deep and added seven rebounds and five assists for the Falcons.

Conor Klusendorf, Lawrence (against Illinois College)

Klusendorf recorded a double-double scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 boards in the victory over the Blueboys. Six of his rebounds were offensive and he went 11-of-13 from the free throw line in the win.

Justin Ward, Lakeland (against Aurora)

There were plenty of deserving NAC candidates, but 22 rebounds is hard to ignore. Ward pulled down 22 rebounds to go with 20 points in the Muskies big time win over the Spartans. His rebounds included eight offensive and 14 defensive boards.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Whitewater (18-4, 10-3 WIAC) Words: Hotter team

2. UW-Stevens Point (19-4, 12-2 WIAC) Words: Injury bug

3. UW-Stout (17-5, 9-4 WIAC) Words: Set back

4. UW-La Crosse (15-7, 8-5 WIAC) Words: Warming up

MWC

1. St. Norbert (16-4, 13-2 MWC) Words: Bounce back

2. Grinnell (15-4, 12-3 MWC) Words: System working

3. Carroll (14-6, 10-5 MWC) Words: Big loss

4. Ripon (12-9, 10-6 MWC) Words: Holding on

NAC

1. Aurora (17-6, 12-2 NAC) Words: Lakeland aberration

2. Lakeland (18-5, 11-3 NAC) Words: Clicking offense

3. Marian (15-8, 10-4 NAC) Words: Still streaking

4. Concordia-Wisconsin (15-8, 10-4 NAC) Words: Recent loss

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. MWC, St. Norbert at Grinnell, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $9. Pick to Click: Andrew Schwoerer, St. Norbert

Both teams have been chewing through their respective Midwest Conference schedules, which makes this game the one for the conference title.

St. Norbert has the one game lead on Grinnell. However, Grinnell has something that St. Norbert doesn't have: a win against St. Norbert, which means that this game very well could be the deciding factor in who is the No. 1 seed come the conference tournament.

St. Norbert hasn't lost a conference game since December and has only had once slip up since then in a loss to UW-Whitewater last weekend. But they bounced back pretty quick, downing Carroll on Wednesday.

Grinnell has just been riding along and has found their grove again in their lines after Jack Taylor went down. Numerous Pioneers have picked up the slack since his departure and they look to be good once again.

This game once again comes down to how well St. Norbert can break the press and get easy looks, which is why Andrew Schwoerer, a guy who can go inside and out, is very important in this game. It should be a fun matchup either way.

2. WIAC, UW-La Crosse at UW-Platteville, 3 p.m.. Price I would pay: $8. Pick to Click: Lucas Morrissey, UW-La Crosse

This one is so important for seeding and home-court advantage in the WIAC tournament that I can't express that enough to you.

La Crosse has a one game lead on Platteville for the fourth spot in conference and they are the hotter team coming in, with wins over Stevens Point and Stout in the past week.

Platteville has been up and down, but they do get the Eagles on their home court, which is always a tough place to play.

This game is going to come down to whose four and five players frustrate the other team's four and five players. Both sets of big men play completely differently than the other. La Crosse likes their four-out, one-in motion and Morrissey, their four plays predominantly on the outside and can splash the trey ball. Lucas Collom also isn't your normal big man either, preferring to drive or face up when in the post.

This is while Chas Cross and Jake Manning like to stay more on the inside of the paint and they should because they are bigger than most big guys. 

I think La Crosse has the edge here, though, because guys like Morrissey and Collom can step away and bring Cross and Manning out of the paint, which gives the La Crosse guards more room to operate, which is the my key to the game.

3. NAC, Concordia-Wisconsin at Wisconsin Lutheran, 3:15 p.m.. Price I would pay: $4. Pick to Click: Malcolm Bowers, Concordia-Wisconsin

This game is important to seedings on both sides. Concordia-Wisconsin is looking to hold on to at least it's No. 2 spot in the North and possibly to slide in to the No. 1 spot should Lakeland falter.

Meanwhile, a win by the Warriors secures them a spot in the NAC tournament and keeps them around for at least the No. 3 spot in the South with the possibility to challenge Dominican for the two spot.

This game should be a win for the Falcons, though. They can dominate down low and their guards are slightly better than the Warriors guards, which gives the Falcons an advantage.

If Wisconsin Lutheran wants to win they will have to play extremely good on the defensive side and really take the tempo down and grind it out.

4. NAC, Marian at Benedictine, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $4. Pick to Click: Brad Koth, Marian

Another game that is important to both teams. Marian is hanging around that No. 2 spot as well and with a game upcoming against Lakeland soon, they want this one to have a shot at getting a better seed, something they can't do if the lose.

Benedictine, on the other hand, is just barely breathing at this point, two games back of Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford with two games left to go. But they can't get there with out winning this one.

I've gone back and forth on this game. My heart tells me the BenU is going to win just because they've won their past two games, they are at home against a team on a long road trip and one of their all-time greats is going to be in the building (Okay, maybe I'm not all-time great...or even great...is all-time good a thing?).

But my head is telling me that Marian matches up really well with Benedictine at all positions, especially off the bench, with guys like Jake Coenen, Brad Koth, Alex Gomez and Mike Keller doing damage once they come, something that I can't say for Benedictine's bench (take these as words of encouragement, Chocolate Face. Light it up and prove me wrong.)

It's going to be a close one and a fun one that I can't wait to take in on Saturday. Prove me wrong, BenU!

5. MWC, Lawrence at Cornell, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $3. Pick to Click: Conor Klusendorf, Lawrence

This game is a must have for Lawrence if they want a shot at the No. 4 slot. They can't lose it because it will probably put them two games back and virtually out of the race.

The Vikings have been playing very solid lately and have been doing it with balanced scoring and better defense.

But this is a dangerous game against a solid Cornell team who could beat them if they aren't on their A-game. Their guards are very dangerous and can go off at any moment, especially Reggie Greenwood (I should know, he almost came back and beat us my senior year).

This is why post play is so important, which is why I picked Klusendorf as the Pick to Click. I feel that you have to beat Cornell down low and work inside and out, which is what Lawrence is going to do.

Thanks for tuning in and sorry for the delay in posts. I'm making it up by doing a Pool C check on our four regionally ranked teams coming out either tonight or Friday morning, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. As always you can follow me on Twitter at @turkdigg40.