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.

Midweek Blog 10: Airing of Grievances

Yes. If you must ask, I'm taking my midweek blog's idea from the "Seinfeld" holiday Festivus. I'm going to be airing two of by biggest grievances with the game of basketball in my "1 Big Thing."

But this blog won't all be negative. In fact, I will be adding a new part to my blog coming up in the "5 Worth the Price of Admission" section.

But, alas, it is time to air my grievances.

1 Big Thing

Really my grievances come down to two things that frustrate me as a former forward (I played the 4 spot in college, went inside and out) when I watch the college game. At all levels, really.

And both of these things go hand in hand with each other.

The first one is the refusal of post players to go to their off hand.

Really this seems like kind of a problem for guards as much as it is post players in today's game, which is true. There are still plenty of players that dislike going left, which astounds me.

But it seems like a big problem in the post. Most players just love going over their strong shoulder. Jump hooks or spins to their strong side where there really is no counter or even an attempt to go to their left.

But when defenders actually guard against going that way (more on that in a second) most players don't come back to their left unless it is really overplayed.

They don't feel the pressure and go away from it. Rather, most of them try to bull their way towards the right or end up taking an off-balance shot going away from the basket going to the right, when a simple turn to the left would put them in a prime position to score.

When I was in the post (probably about 30 percent of my playing time), I loved going left. No one knew that it was coming and if they got out of position and tried to get in front and guard me going right, I just spun left and got an easy one or used my up-and-under (another move that seems to be not en vogue anymore that still works. A lot).

But this brings me to my second grievance. Post defenders who refuse or don't get in position quick enough to force post players to their non-dominant hand. 

This seems to be a problem at all levels. Yes most D1 post players are able to beat you with the left on occasion, but I'd much rather them beat me going to their left then giving them their right.

DIII has the exact same problem, where it seems that players just let players beat them going to the right, instead of forcing to the left.

I tried my hardest when I defended in the post to make a person to go to their non-dominant hand (I still fell very much a victim of this, more on positioning then anything). I was successful a few times to draw charges on players who wanted to go right or just frustrate the player into take a poor shot.

Both of these things frustrate me more than anything when it comes to actual play and I see it consistently at all levels. Just thought I would air my grievances with you for awhile and I apologize to those left-handed players as I wrote this based on my right-handedness.

2 Small Things

-Will the WIAC garner three NCAA tournament teams?

This question comes down to three things, really: one, can one of three teams upset either Whitewater or Stevens Point late to make a better case for their Pool C bid, two, where the teams rank in the first regional rankings coming out soon and three, does someone besides Point or Whitewater win the conference tournament title.

The way I see it Point and Whitewater are both locks to make the tournament unless Whitewater completely falls off the edge at the end of the season. Point is a no-brainer and Whitewater did enough in the non-conference schedule to warrant a bid.

This leaves Stout as the only other team in the WIAC that I think can grab a Pool C bid. The Blue Devils have the exact same overall record as Whitewater and three of their losses have come to Whitewater twice and Stevens Point. Problem is they had a weak non-conference schedule with an ugly loss to a bad Loras team.

They have a chance here at a Pool C if they win out in the regular season, which would include a win over Stevens Point, and make the conference tournament title game. Again just my opinion on it.

Or, of course, if one of those teams not name Point or Whitewater win the conference tournament, it is my belief that the WIAC will have three teams make it. 

-Who will take the second spot in the NAC South?

The number one spot has already been spoken for in the South. It's going to be Aurora.

But quite the battle has sprung forth for the second spot in the conference and the chance to host a conference tournament game.

Dominican (7-6) leads that pack with a half game lead on Wisconsin Lutheran (6-6) and Rockford (6-6).

Dominican had been on a winning streak before losses to Edgewood and Wisconsin Lutheran, which shot their momentum for a stretch run.

Rockford has won three in a row to end a long streak of futility but are, in my opinion, far to inconsistent of a team to take the second spot.

Which leaves Wisconsin Lutheran, which has been playing the most consistently good basketball out of the three and they have a fairly favorable schedule on the way out. I think they sneak in and pick up the second spot.

3 Performances of the Week

Erik Olson, UW-Stout (against UW-Superior)

One of the leading assist men in the conference got it done scoring, pouring in 23 points for the Blue Devils. He also added eight assists and six rebounds and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in the victory.

Mike DeDecker, Monmouth (against Illinois College)

DeDecker led the Fighting Scots' rout over the Blueboys by pouring in 24 points in the victory. He added five assists and shot 7-fo-13 from the field for Monmouth.

Justin Williams, Edgewood (against Dominican)

Williams came off the bench and scored 18 points in the Eagles win over the Stars. Williams also nearly missed a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds as well.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (18-3, 11-1 WIAC) Words: Tripped up

2. UW-Whitewater (16-4, 9-3 WIAC) Words: Still good

3. UW-Stout (16-4, 8-3 WIAC) Words: Still dangerous

4. UW-Platteville (15-6, 8-4 WIAC) Words: Big win

MWC

1. St. Norbert (15-3, 12-2 MWC) Words: Continuing streak

2. Grinnell (14-4, 11-3 MWC) Words: Settling in

3. Carroll (13-5, 9-4 MWC) Words: Question mark?

4. Ripon (10-8, 8-6 MWC) Words: Taylor Koth

NAC

1. Aurora (16-5, 11-1 NAC) Words: On track

2. Concordia-Wisconsin (14-7, 9-3 NAC) Words: Looking strong

3. Lakeland (17-5, 10-3 NAC) Words: Offensive struggles

4. Marian (13-8, 8-4 NAC) Words: Staying hot

5 Worth the Price of Admission

Before we delve into the games, here is my new wrinkle in this section. Each game, I'm going to do a "Pick to Click."

For those who aren't familiar with Pick to Click, it's a psuedo-game where I will pick a player from either team who I think will have the biggest effect on the game. That could mean a huge point scoring game, a consistent all-around game or something like that.

It's been done before in a variety of sports, but I have to shout out to my former teammate Kyle Bickler and manager Marquis Rodgers for playing the game against each other on our own bench with our own players, which was extremely funny and pretty cool.

So I have decided to carry it over into this blog. So away we go.

1. Non-conference, St. Norbert at UW-Whitewater, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $9. Pick to Click: Quardell Young, UW-Whitewater

A non-conference rematch of the St. Norbert tournament final in late December, this one is very interestingly placed into the season.

St. Norbert has continued rolling after that tournament victory and haven't lost in a month, getting strong play on both sides of the ball and keeping an exceptional balance on the offensive end.

Whitewater has been more up and down than the Green Knights thanks to some injuries and inconsistent play, but they are still a force to be reckoned with as they try and figure stuff out before postseason play.

Quardell Young might be the single biggest factor in the game. He controls the Whitewater offense and pace. If the Green Knights can contain them and his penetration like they did in the first game, they could come out with another victory over the Warhawks.

If not, the Warhawks will come out with an important victory heading into the final month of the season.

2. NAC, Aurora at Lakeland, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $8. Pick to Click: Mike Bumber, Aurora

The two top teams in the NAC seem to be heading in different directions.

Aurora is still as dominant as ever in the South after a small hiccup when starter Marious Lobdell was sidelined for two games. Now that he is back, Aurora looks to be cream of the crop.

Lakeland, however, has struggled mightily the past two or three weeks, most noticeably on the offensive end, where they were once one of the most potent offensive teams around. Now, they haven't cracked 80 in quite some time, but will be riding some confidence having beat MSOE on the road.

Both teams, if at full bore, are potent offensive teams. They each have a bevy of weapons at their disposal, which is why Bumber, who can be an explosive scorer, will be important as the Spartans third or fourth scorer in this game. If Bumber can put in 15 or more, Aurora will have a great shot at winning.

It will also come down to how well Lakeland can take care of the ball, which determines how fast Aurora can get out and run in transition.

3. WIAC, UW-Stevens Point at UW-La Crosse, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $7. Pick to Click: Joe Ritchay, UW-Stevens Point

This is a key game for La Crosse if they expect to do anything down the stretch. They have been struggling lately and are coming off a tough loss on the road to Whitewater in which they led at halftime.

They get a vulnerable Point team coming of it's first loss of the conference season to Platteville that by all accounts was the worst game the Pointers played all season.

It'll still be tough for the Eagles, but they do get Stevens Point at home coming off of a loss. Then again, this is Point coming off of their worst game of the season. They might be out for blood.

This one will probably come down to which teams' shooters are doing the most damage from the outside. I think the Pointers just have a little too much firepower in that respect.

4. WIAC, UW-Platteville at UW-Stout, 4 p.m. Price I would pay: $7. Pick to Click: Chris Hortman, UW-Stout

This is another huge game on the WIAC docket on Saturday.

Stout remains tied with Whitewater for the second spot in the conference and are desperately trying to take it from them outright so they can get a bye in the conference tournament.

Platteville is coming off of their biggest win of the season and are nipping at Whitewater and Stout's heals, just a game back in the loss column.

Stout stole one from the Pioneers earlier in the season and Platteville would like nothing more than to return the favor.

This game is very dependent on how the Blue Devils offense is going. You know that Stout can play defense, but their offense is going to have to do enough to win them this game, which means that it's going to rely a lot on what Chris Hortman does. On offense, they way he goes is the way the Blue Devils seem to go. He will be key for Stout this game.

5. MWC, Grinnell at Beloit, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $5. Pick to Click: Steve McAfee, Beloit

This game is important in the Midwest Conference race.

Grinnell is looking to keep pace with St. Norbert with a showdown with the Green Knights looming that could determine the conference championship. The Pioneers look to be back on track after losing Jack Taylor and are settling in their new rotations.

Beloit, meanwhile, will be coming off a tough loss to Lake Forest on the road after pulling out a huge victory over Ripon last week. Ripon is breathing down the Bucs' neck and this win would be huge for them to hang on to the fourth spot in conference.

Beloit struggled in the first matchup between the two in the second half. They handled the Pioneers press solidly in the first half before the wheels came off in the second.

This game could come down to a last few shots, which is why McAfee will be important to the Buccaneers cause, as he might have to take a few jump shots for Beloit to win.

Thanks for tuning in. As always you can find my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and we'll see you for my weekend blog coming up.

Weekend Analysis 8: Never Foul A Jump Shooter!

One of the most egregious sins in all of sports was committed a few times in the games that I was watching yesterday: never foul a jump shooter.

One of these times it actually cost the team the game, which I will get to in my blog later. But I felt that this was the best starting point that I could come up with.

I'll save you anymore pain and jump into the games.

WIAC

Game I watched: UW-Stevens Point 82, UW-Superior 55. Top scorer UWSP: Jordan Giordana (20). Top scorer UWS: Brendan Bauer (16).

The Skinny: UW-Stevens Point controlled the whole game going up 16 by halftime on the Yellowjackets. 

Superior would cut the lead to 11 early in the second half before Point responded and dominated the rest of the frame to pull out another WIAC victory and to stay undefeated in conference.

Point 1: No Hangover

This could've been the type of game that Stevens Point could've easily stepped off the gas pedal. They are three games up in conference with not much of the schedule left and just came off of sweeping Whitewater on Wednesday.

They could've come out and taken it easy and probably got beat by a decent Yellowjackets ball club.

However, they decided to come out and take it. They shot a ridiculous 56 percent from the field (31-of-55), including 52 percent from the arc, which included a 7-of-9 second half when they stretched out their lead.

They just continued to build on their consistent run of strong play, which is definitely going to be a necessity in the upcoming weeks as they take some road trips to Stout and La Crosse, two very capable teams.

I think that the Pointers see that goal of an undefeated conference season or at the very least, the ability to clinch the No. 1 spot very soon in front of them and will continue to keep the foot on the accelerator, which isn't always easy with a big lead this time of the season.

Point 2: Stick To It

For Superior, they let a golden opportunity to stay in this game slip by the wayside.

They cut the Pointers lead to 11 very early in the second half thanks to giving the ball to 7-footer Bronson Byrne on about five straight possessions.

Then they just seemingly went away from him. The guys scored eight points to begin the second half (he scored 10 on the night), and then they just turned away from him.

Granted, Point might have made a slight defensive switch to keep him from getting better looks, but at the same time, if Superior got the ball to him anyway they could, kicks galore could've happened and if any of those looks goes down, the momentum keeps building.

This switch in offensive gameplan floored not only me, but the radio announcers at the Point game. For as well as it worked to begin the second half, it was definitely surprising that he didn't get a least a few more touches.

Point 3: Just Keep...Keep Truckin'

I went to my old friend Frank "The Tank" Ricard for quote that perfectly describes what Point is doing right now. And if you don't get the quote or the person for the quote, I suggest you go back and watch "Old School."

Point has been as steady as she comes for quite some time now when it could've have easily went the other way for a team like this.

Their preseason All-American still hasn't seen the floor in about a month, there is that. 

They added a new, transfer point guard at semester (DeVon Jackson, and he has been like a godsend for the Pointers off the bench. Played brilliantly last night.) that could've easily changed the chemistry of the team.

But all of this adversity hasn't affected the Pointers one bit. They've seamlessly added Jackson to the rotation and have been doing just fine without Tyler Tillema to this point. And with his status still uncertain to all but probably a handful of people, who knows how long they'll be without him.

That's what makes this team all the more dangerous. They are just solid as a rock and with multiple options that can just tear you apart.

They just keep truckin' along.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: UW-Whitewater 72, UW-Eau Claire 63. Top scorer UWW: K.J. Evans (17). Top scorer UWEC: Jordan Petersen (18).

The Skinny: This was a dogfight in the first half with Eau Claire taking a slim 26-25 lead to the break.

The Blugolds would hold that margin until the 12-minute mark of the second half, when Whitewater broke out in the form of a 12-0 run to grab a 47-38 lead with nine minutes left.

That lead would extend out to as much as 15 in the next nine minutes as the Blugolds never really challenge the Warhawks the rest of the way.

Point 1: Surviving

A loss for the Warhawks would've have been a devastating one. And for a 28 minutes of game play, it looked as though they were heading that way once again, which would've been two in a row.

But as good teams do, they find a way to claw out the victory on the road.

The 12-0 run to grab them the lead was led by Evans and Darnell Harris, who seems to be back in his offensive groove (a must for Whitewater going forward), who really took over the game.

After falling to Point in the middle of the week, it was very necessary for the Warhawks to come out and grab a win. It may have not been pretty, but at this point in the season, they don't all have to be pretty.

I'm sure the Warhawks are looking at it the same way.

Box Score

MWC

Game I watched: Ripon 75, Cornell 69. Top scorer RIP: Taylor Koth (20). Top scorer COR: Joey Guth (17).

The Skinny: This was a back and forth matchup between two teams tied for fifth in the conference.

But Cornell looked to be heading to a victory, as they were up eight with 7:50 remaining in the second half. 

Ripon, however, stormed back, grabbing the lead for good at the 1:40 mark to pick up a key conference victory.

Point 1: Are We In The Right Zone?

The Redhawks played a bunch of 2-3 zone against the Rams on Saturday that really had an even affect throughout.

Sometimes it was an active zone. Hands were active and rotations were active and it caused the Rams some problems turnover-wise.

But other times, really about 65 percent of the time, the Rams were able to beat it, thanks to the zone being relatively passive as far as rotations were concerned.

This was especially true in the second half, when Cornell opened up their eight point lead by getting pretty much any look that they wanted against the Redhawk zone.

But in the end, the zone probably ended up being a wash to a certain extent, thanks to the key turnovers by Cornell down the stretch.

I didn't agree with the decision by Ripon, but it worked out in the end.

Point 2: DON'T FOUL THE JUMP SHOOTER!!!!

To go back to my previous point that started this blog. Don't ever, ever, EVER, foul a jump shooter. And here is the perfect example why.

With Cornell holding a very slim two-point advantage late in the game and Ripon having the ball, the Rams' Tabari Carter committed the most egregious of sins by fouling Alex Erdmann beyond the three-point line.

Erdmann would make all three and instead of Cornell probably having the ball up by two, they now found themselves down one.

They panicked and committed two turnovers on their next two possessions. It seemed like the play just made them lose all confidence.

And with how well Cornell played in this game, all it took was one play to change it all up.

Point 3: Escape from Mt. Vernon

For Ripon, this game could've been a disaster.

Having had a difficult loss to Beloit during the week, compounding it with another loss to Cornell, a team that they should beat, would've been killer for the Redhawks chances at a conference tournament bid.

But instead of mailing it in down eight in the second half, Ripon showed me some resolve by coming all the way back on the road.

Coming back from that kind of deficit is tough at home, but on the road it is even tougher. So for Ripon, who needed a win, this was a big thing for them to do.

They just got it done when they needed to.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Carroll 72, Illinois College 52. Top scorer CAR: Kevin Hurd (23). Top scorer IC: Nathan Kohler (16).

The Skinny: This one wasn't much of a contest, as Carroll got out to a big lead in the first half and never let up, dominating the Blueboys.

Carroll played an excellent defensive game, holding Illinois College to just 28 percent from the field, including just 16 percent from the three-point line.

Point 1: Road Trippin'

I don't envy teams that have to travel to Illinois College. Even when I was at BenU and played in their Bill Merris Tournament, it wasn't a particularly fun bus ride, and it was only around 2 hours for us. It still seemed really long.

So for Carroll to make that long road trip and come out with not only a victory, but a resounding victory was very big for the Pioneers.

They did it by playing a fantastic defensive game as I pointed out before. For a team that I have seen give up some big games and not play the greatest defense at times, this was a big step for Carroll.

They also got big offensive games from Kevin Hurd and Alex Molter as well.

It's this kind of win that sends a message and could put Carroll on their way heading into a big couple of weeks that could propel them to the top of the conference.

Box score

NAC

Game I watched: Aurora 85, MSOE 60. Top scorer AUR: Kalmon Stokes (20). Top scorer MSOE: Austin Stueck (16).

The Skinny: The Spartans jumped on the Raiders in the final five minutes of the first half to take a double digit lead into halftime.

Aurora would continue to put the hammer down in the second half, extending their lead and picking up a dominating win over the Raiders.

Point 1: The Marious (Lobdell) Effect

Marious Lobdell made his return to Aurora lineup after not playing for the past two games for the Spartans.

My, what a difference that made for Aurora, who had struggled without him in the lineup.

Lobdell poured in 17 points in his return and Aurora just ripped to shreds a very good MSOE team in the process.

Even with the boatload of scorers that Aurora has, they were still missing his very consistent offensive game.

It's very clear that Aurora is a completely different team with him on the floor. For whatever reason he missed those last two game (I'm guessing injury) Aurora is definitely hoping that it doesn't happen again.

Point 2: Controlling The Pace

What this game was all about was controlling the pace of play. MSOE likes it slow and methodical. Aurora likes to get out and get running.

It's very obvious that Aurora's more athletic style of play won out over MSOE's ground and pound style. The Spartans caused more turnovers, got more points off of turnovers, got more second chance points and got a lot more points in the paint.

The most telling number is that points in the paint statistic. Aurora won that battle by a 24-12 margin. The kicker is that MSOE has a bunch of big dudes they like to get the ball to in the paint.

But that didn't happen too often as the Spartans were able to break down the Raiders guards and get to the paint, while Aurora's quickness allowed them to control the middle of the floor and force MSOE to shoot more outside shots, which spelled the Raiders' doom.

Point 3: Back to Earth

MSOE had been riding high here just a week ago, having a win over Lakeland under their belt and a domination of BenU at home.

Since then they have lost twice, to Marian, a key in-division rival, and Aurora. And both games were blowouts.

They scored only 47 against the Sabres in that loss and only scored 60 in their up-tempo game against Aurora. Which means that they are again struggling from an offensive standpoint.

To prove my point, MSOE shot just 33 percent against Marian, including a dismal 14 percent (2-of-14) from the 3-point line.

Against Aurora? Just 30 percent from the field and 16 percent (3-of-18) from the arc. Those are compared to the much higher percentages in their two contest before that.

MSOE needs to find a way to put the ball in the hole against better teams (they did this against Lakeland) in order to beat those top teams. Defense only gets you so far sometimes.

Box Score

Game I peeked at: Wisconsin Lutheran 68, Lakeland 64. Top scorer WLC: Tim Demuth (13). Top scorer LAKE: Jake Schwartz (21).

The Skinny: Lakeland led after a back and forth first 20 minutes, going on a 6-0 run to end it and take a 40-35 lead.

They would up that lead to as much as nine in the second half before the Warriors started chipping away midway through the stanza in the form of a 10-0 run to take the lead back.

The game would go back and forth before a made jumpshot by Nate Bauer gave the Warriors a three-point cushion with 1:07 left to go.

The Warriors would then play solid defense down the stretch to collect the win.

Point 1: The Mighty Have Fallen

After looking like the favorite for much of the season, the Lakeland Muskies have looked anything but the past two weeks.

This loss makes it 3 of their last 4 games and they now have fallen into a virtual tie with Concordia-Wisconsin for first place (Lakeland is 9-3 and CUW is 8-3).

Most notably, it's their offense that has been letting them down. For a team that topped 80 in nine of their first 12 contests, they have failed to break that mark in their last six games. In fact, they've only topped 75 once in those six contests, and in their three losses, they've failed to top 70.

Now maybe it's just a midseason lull and they are figuring things out. But this is not a good time to be hitting that lull.

It's also scary that Lakeland doesn't get much, if anything, from their bench. They just aren't a supremely deep team like say Aurora or even CUW is to a certain extent. They have their top five and very little coming from the 6 through 8 guys. So if those 1 through 5 guys aren't getting it done, they can't really count on their bench to get the job done, which sometimes you need.

I just don't know what to think, especially with the Muskies heading in to play MSOE and Aurora this week. They need to show me, and more importantly, the conference something.

Box Score

Thanks for tuning in once again. As always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and stay tuned for my midweek blog coming up.

And remember. Don't foul the jump shooter.

Midweek Blog 9: The Tough Loss

Sometimes in the game of basketball, you just get that bad break that leads to your loss. Maybe it's a questionable call. Maybe it's a bad bounce. Maybe it's not having the possession arrow point your way.

The Tough Loss though it one of the toughest things that a team has to go through during the season. It's often how you come out of those losses that defines how the rest of your season is going to go.

1 Big Thing

Let's just say I'm glad that I turned on Beloit-Ripon on Wednesday night for some midweek viewing pleasure. I was struggling with what to write about for this midweek blog until I got the perfect inspiration.

The game in question was a big one. Beloit came in holding a one game lead on the ever-important fourth slot in the Midwest Conferences standings. Fourth means your in the conference tournament. Fifth means you are out. Ripon came into the game fifth. So that's how big this game was.

And it played out much like that, as the two teams traded blows back and forth down the stretch. One big blow was when Ahmad Shamsid-Deen of Beloit hit a pull-up jumper to give the Bucs a 62-61 lead with 5.8 seconds left.

The biggest blow came just seconds later. No, it wasn't from Ripon. It wasn't from Beloit, either. It was from the team in the stripes.

Ripon inbounded the ball to star Taylor Koth who went up the floor. Redhawks forward Brad Brooks came up to set one of those blind-sided screens you see so much in the backcourt.

Koth came off of it and took a jump shot and made it. But a whistle was blown. The officials called Brooks for an illegal screen and probably two seconds later called a technical foul on Ripon head coach Ryan Kane.

Now I haven't looked at the tape and I'm going on what I saw off of in memory. The screen looked legal, but because the Beloit player went crashing in, it was a hard screen. Secondly, the whistle seemed to come in late. Like three or four dribbles too late.

Note: Upon review, my inclinations upon first viewing seem correct, outside of the ref indicating a foul with his arm up but no whistle. (If you want, here is a link to Beloit's stream, go to on demand, click on the Ripon game and fast forward to the 2:05:00 mark and see for yourself)

Two things came to my brain when I saw this. One, that old two-pronged discussion when it comes to officiating in the final minutes. Do you let them play or if it's a foul it's a foul?

My thought has always been a foul is a foul. I've seen too many game decided where there wasn't a foul called that should've been because the refs swallowed the whistle.

But on a play like this that was away from the play and really didn't have an effect on the overall play and there really wasn't an advantage gained by anyone on the play (you could've even argued calling the Beloit player for pushing) why call it?

It's a tough call to make in a normal, non-end-of-game-situation, let alone a game-deciding situation. And if it wasn't on the ball and it wasn't blatantly obvious. (This one certainly wasn't and I thought for sure it was going to be a no call because it looked, if anything like, Brooks had position) why make it?

The second is on officiating in general. Many people think that officiating has taken a down turn in recent years and that officials are deciding too many games with poor, out of position calls.

I think that that is a little bit overstated and generally I think most refs are consistent in calls, whether it be letting it stay physical or calling it tight. And I don't think that officials decide as many games as people think.

However, I do think it is becoming more and more prevalent in inconsistently-called games, which I do have a problem with. Of course, officials are going to make a wrong call here or there, but the games that get out of control on the ones that are called so terribly inconsistent it gets maddening as a fan to watch the game.

As we all know, you can't blame the officials, as much as we all would like to, for a loss like Ripon's but with a little clean up in mechanics and consistency by officials, situations like this one would be far less likely to happen down the road.

2 Small Things

-Who will pull out the suddenly-tight NAC North?

The grouping of four teams at the top of the North division has gotten very tight over the past week.

Lakeland still leads with a 9-2 record, followed by Concordia-Wisconsin at 8-3, MSOE at 7-3 and Marian at 7-3.

What's even more crazy is what these teams have been doing to get to those records. Concordia beat Lakeland this Wednesday but lost to an okay Dominican team on Saturday. Lakeland also lost to MSOE last week. Meanwhile Marian has consecutive win against Aurora and MSOE.

So in other words, it's a jumbled mess right now in the North. So two question arise from it. Who is the hottest and who pulls it out?

The who's hottest is easy. That would be Marian, who has won 7 of their last eight games and two big ones over Aurora and MSOE (both at home, however).

Who will pull it out? I still think Lakeland, even with their recent struggles. They just have a supreme advantage on the offensive end that I don't think the other do and that will be enough to take the top spot in the North.

-Is Grinnell still a threat without Jack Taylor?

Grinnell remains in second place in the Midwest Conference with a 9-3 record. However, their last few wins came without leading scorer Jack Taylor on the court.

And it seems to me that the Pioneers have been missing his scoring a little bit. Their overall team scoring seems to be down from when they had them and they just haven't seemed quite like they were when he was on the court.

Arguably with Taylor on the floor you could've argued that Grinnell was the best team in the conference. Without him though, I don't think you can make the same argument. Losing your leading scorer is tough and even in The System it seems like it might be insurmountable.

I'm not saying that Grinnell is going to completely fall out of the Midwest standings. They'll still be a conference tournament team. But without him their chances of winning a conference title, the conference tournament or getting a NCAA bid are seriously diminished.

3 Performances of the Week

Chas Cross, UW-Platteville (against UW-Superior

The Pioneer big man collected a double-double by scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 boards in a win.  Cross was 8-of-12 from the field including a 3-pointer and also had five steals against the Yellowjackets.

Brandon Gries, St. Norbert (against Cornell)

Gries dropped in 22 points for the Green Knights, who exacted a little revenge on the Rams. Gries went 7-of-12 from the field and knocked in two three pointers in the victory.

David Dixon, Rockford (against Wisconsin Lutheran)

Dixon had a stellar game for the Regents, dropping in 30 points and grabbing 15 boards in the overtime victory. Dixon went 12-of-16 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line on the night.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (17-2, 10-0 WIAC) Words: Running away

2. UW-Whitewater (14-4, 7-3 WIAC) Words: Second best?

3. UW-Stout (14-4, 7-3 WIAC) Words: Hanging around

4. UW-Platteville (13-6, 6-4 WIAC) Words: Heating up?

MWC

1. St. Norbert (13-3, 10-2 MWC) Words: Getting tough

2. Carroll (12-4, 8-3 MWC) Words: Still surviving

3. Grinnell (12-4, 9-3 MWC) Words: Scoring down

4. Beloit (10-7, 8-4 MWC) Words: Securing four

NAC

1. Aurora (14-5, 9-1 NAC) Words: Faltering slightly

2. Concordia-Wisconsin (11-7, 8-3 NAC) Words: Beat Lakeland

3. Lakeland (16-4, 9-2 NAC) Words: Struggling lately

4. Marian (11-8, 7-4 NAC) Words: Win streak

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. NAC, MSOE at Aurora, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $7

This will be a very interesting game for two reason.

One, and the most obvious one is the very contrasting styles of both teams. MSOE likes to slow it down and grind. Aurora likes to get out and run. Meaning that whoever can impose their style on the game will have a serious leg up when it comes to winning this game.

Another reason is that both teams aren't playing their best ball lately. Aurora lost to Marian over the weekend and then had to scrape by a struggling Concordia-Chicago team on Wednesday.

MSOE meanwhile scored under 50 points in their loss to Marian on Wednesday.

Both teams are still very serious contenders in the NAC and, especially for MSOE, a win would keep them in line for division titles.

2. WIAC, UW-Superior at UW-Stevens Point, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $5

The Pointer train minus Tyler Tillema continues rolling after they beat UW-Whitewater on Wednesday to sweep the season series against the Warhawks and take a three-game lead in the conference race.

Meanwhile, Superior is still fighting for that sixth spot to get into the conference tournament, meaning that they are desperate for wins. And what bigger one would the want that finally taking down the Pointers.

My mind is wondering if the Pointers might take the foot off the throttle a little bit with this big lead in conference and after a big emotional win over Whitewater on Wednesday, this would be the perfect game for the Yellowjackets to come in and steal one.

I think this game is going to be closer than people think, coming down to the final few moments. Execution will be at a premium.

3. MWC, Ripon at Cornell, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

Both of these teams come into the contest tied for fifth place in the conference race, in which they are two games behind Beloit for the all-important fourth spot.

Ripon is coming off that loss to Beloit on Wednesday after being one of the hotter teams in the MWC. Cornell meanwhile has struggled with the top of the conference but continues to beat those at the bottom to stay right in the middle.

This game is all about positioning. Both teams want this game to keep pace and possibly give Beloit a run for their money for that final conference tournament spot.

It's going to come down to who is hungrier for that spot.

4. WIAC, UW-Whitewater at UW-Eau Claire, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

This is an interesting matchup between two teams who are looking for wins.

Whitewater is looking for a win and they really need one as they are neck and neck with Stout for the second seed in the conference tournament. And with the season tiebreaker, all they need to do is tie the Blue Devils to get it.

Eau Claire, meanwhile, is still close enough to smell a conference tournament bid. There would be no better way to do that than to pick up an unexpected win over Whitewater.

This game should come down to who is hotter from the 3-point line. Both teams have players that like to jack it up.

It will also come down to how well Eau Claire can shut down the driving lanes against the Warhawks' Quardell Young.

5. NAC, Lakeland at Wisconsin Lutheran, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

The prohibitive NAC favorites have looked shaky as of late, losing two of their last three games and haven't been as sharp on the offensive end as they were earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Lutheran is desperate for a win after losing their last three games, two of which came in overtime.

Lakeland needs to get this win to stay on top in the North, while the Warriors need it to keep pace for the third spot in the South.

It's going to come down to Wisconsin Lutheran's defense. If they can slow Lakeland like other teams have as of late, they will have a shot in this one.

Thanks for tuning in to my midweek blog. As always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and stay tuned for my weekend blog coming up.