WBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[NACfan215]

A few other side notes:
Congrats to CUC on their first win of the season!

Player Notes:
Genke - CUC - out since end of first semester, apparently academically ineligible 2nd semester.
Kroll – MSOE – out remainder of the year with torn ACL
Boteva – Alverno – missed last three games, no longer on team roster per team website

2 of those (Kroll and Boteva) could have an effect on the overall standings by the end of the year. 

[WLCALUM83]

I second those congrats to the Cougar squad-- sounds like Young had one of her better games and a couple of the freshmen also stepped it up-- Rockford's Clark (who had a career scoring day in the first matchup) was held to only 7 points in the rematch

My 2/1 guesses:

Alverno/WLC:   Warriors get even for the Inferno handing them their only in-conference loss so far
Marian/Dominican:    Marian
Lakeland/CUC:        Lakeland
MSOE/Rockford:      MSOE
Edgewood/Benedictine:        Toss-up, going with IL Eagles at home
CUW/Aurora:            CUW

[Captain_Joe08]

I second those congrats to the Cougar squad-- sounds like Young had one of her better games and a couple of the freshmen also stepped it up-- Rockford's Clark (who had a career scoring day in the first matchup) was held to only 7 points in the rematch

My 2/1 guesses:

Alverno/WLC:   Warriors get even for the Inferno handing them their only in-conference loss so far
Marian/Dominican:    Marian
Lakeland/CUC:        Lakeland
MSOE/Rockford:      MSOE
Edgewood/Benedictine:        Toss-up, going with IL Eagles at home
CUW/Aurora:            CUW

My picks:

WLC: Warriors have been chomping at the bit since the Inferno stunned WLC in the conference opener. They get payback at the REX.

Marian: Sabres keep their faint conference tournament hopes alive with a win.

Lakeland: CUC has played reasonably better as of late but Muskies are still have something to play for.

MSOE: Rockford has the toughest conference slate of the teams that are in the hunt. MSOE should take this even with Kroll out for the season.

Benedictine: Toss up. WI Eagles have been winning closely lately and BU pushed WLC on the road. I'll take the IL Eagles.

CUW: Falcons held WLC to 29% shooting Wednesday but WLC found a way to win via the chairity stripe (23/36 for WLC and 3/15 for CUW). CUW bounces back with a win.

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran 68
Alverno 60

Final

Alverno nearly pulled off the upset again. They erased a 13 point deficit and took a lead late in the game. However, WLC didn't break and grinded out a W. Brittany Bahr put the game on ice with a three with 7 seconds left in the game. Kristin Schulz led all scores with 27 points. WLC improves to 15-3 overall and 13-1 in the NACC.

Surprised of the night:

Rockford 87
MSOE 79

[WLCALUM83]

2/8 guesses:

Aurora/Marian:    Aurora
CUC/WLC:           WLC  (potential trap game--CUC upset Benedictine--Koehler went off for 24 pts- hitting several 3s in that game process)
Dominican/CUW:  CUW
Benedictine/MSOE:    Toss-up, going with MSOE on a hunch
Rockford/Edgewood:    WI Eagles in a tight one
Lakeland/Alverno:       Inferno

[Captain_Joe08]

Aurora: critical game to determine who's in and who's out of the conference tournament.

WLC: Warriors hit the mute button on the CUC's hottest shooter.

CUW: Dominican's season to forget is almost over.

MSOE: BU is fading.....

Edgewood: Though Rockford is playing with renewed purpose lately.

Alverno: Though the Muskies are fighting for their postseason lives.

[Captain_Joe08]

Saturday's Scores

Wisconsin Lutheran 71
Concordia Chicago 49

Concordia Wisconsin 90
Dominican 52

Alverno 71
Lakeland 61

Edgewood 74
Rockford 65

Benedictine 66
MSOE 52

Aurora 57
Marian 44

NACC Standings

1. Wisconsin Lutheran 18-3 (16-1) X
2. Concordia Wisconsin 19-3 (15-2) X
3. Edgewood 11-10 (11-5) X
4. Alverno 14-8 (11-6) X
5. MSOE 12-10 (10-7) X
6. Aurora 11-11 (10-7) X
7. Benedictine 9-12 (9-7)
8. Rockford 9-13 (6-11)
9. Lakeland 8-13 (5-11)
10. Marian 5-17 (5-12)
11. Concordia Chicago 2-19 (2-14)
12. Dominican 0-22 (0-17)

X: Clinched NACC Tournament Spot

[Just Bill]

Technically, I don't think Benedictine has clinched, but they are almost certain to.

[Captain_Joe08]

They clinch with a win and/or Lakeland loss.

NACC Tournament seedings are very well on the line with less than five conference games left.

Clinched NACC Tournament Spots: WLC, CUW, Edgewood, MSOE, Alverno, Aurora
Still in the hunt: Rockford, Marian, Lakeland, Benedictine
Eliminated: Concordia Chicago, Dominican

Seeds:

WLC: Can clinch top seed with two wins (Has head to head tiebreaker over CUW).
CUW: Can clinch top seed with winning out and two WLC losses. Can clinch second seed with win and/or Edgewood loss.

Race for #3 Seed

1. Edgewood 11-5 (Split with Alverno, leads season series w/ BU 1-0, trails season series w/ AU 0-1, split with MSOE, trails season series with Aurora 0-1)

2. Alverno 11-6 (-0.5) (Split with Edgewood, has strength of win tiebreaker with WLC win, lost season series with BU 0-2, has head to head tiebreaker over MSOE)

3. MSOE 10-7 (-1.5) (Split with Edgewood, lost season series with Alverno 0-2, Split with Aurora, Split with BU)

4. Aurora 10-7 (-1.5) (Leads season series with Edgewood 1-0, Spilt with MSOE, lost season series with BU 0-2)

5. Benedictine 9-7 (-2.0) (Head to head tiebreaker over Aurora and Alverno , trails season series with Edgewood 0-1, Split with MSOE)

Remaining Schedules

EC: at WLC, at Aurora, at Benedictine, vs Lakeland
AC: at Rockford, vs Concordia Wisconsin, vs Aurora
MSOE: at Concordia Wisconsin, at Dominican, vs Wisconsin Lutheran
Aurora: vs Concordia Chicago, vs Edgewood, at Alverno
Benedictine: at Dominican, vs Lakeland, vs Edgewood, vs Rockford

Race for the 8th Seed

Rockford 6-11 (Split with Lakeland, Split with Marian)
Lakeland 5-11 (-0.5) (Split with Rockford)
Marian 5-12 (-1.0) (Split with Rockford, has strength of victory tiebreaker)

Remaining Games

RC: vs Alverno, vs Wisconsin Lutheran, at Benedictine
LC: vs Marian, at Benedictine, at Concordia Chicago, at Edgewood
MU: at Lakeland, at Concordia Chicago, vs Concordia Wisconsin

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran makes their season debut in the top 25 poll receiving a single vote. Won't be surprised to see CUW in the also receiving votes category soon if enough turnover happens.

[Captain_Joe08]

2/12 Matchups

Marian at Lakeland: This puts one team in a position to maybe pass up Rockford while the other one is in a boatload of trouble.

MSOE at Concordia Wisconsin: If not for a major key injury to one of their key players, the Raiders would've had a shot of taking down CUW. Alas CUW wins here.

Edgewood at Wisconsin Lutheran: WLC gets one step closer to clinching the regular season title and the top seed.

Alverno at Rockford: Rockford has a mountain to climb to make the conference tournament.

Benedictine at Dominican: Eagles punch their bid into the conference tournament.

Concordia Chicago at Aurora: Spartans are very much in the hunt for the third seed.

[NACfan215]

Does someone know why it shows Rockford as having the tie breaker over Marian in the standings as they both sit at 6-12?  Since they split the season series wouldnt the next tie breaker go to the best in conference win based on the standings, which would go to Marian with a win over #3 seed Alverno at this point? Unless i am looking at something wrong.

[Captain_Joe08]

Wednesday's Scores

Wisconsin Lutheran 65
Edgewood 64

Schulz saves the Warriors with a game winning layup at the buzzer.

Marian 66
Lakeland 63 OT

Marian get's a leg up over the Muskies in overtime in a win which very well put them in the conference tournament.

Alverno 85
Rockford 72

Regents fall into a mess for the final NACC tournament spot.

Benedictine 68
Dominican 53

Eagles clinch a NACC tournament spot.

Aurora 73
Concordia Chicago 57

Spartans remain in the hunt for the third seed.

Concordia Wisconsin 84
MSOE 60

MSOE is in a tailspin.

NACC Standings as of today.

1. Wisconsin Lutheran 19-3 (17-1) X
2. Concordia Wisconsin 20-3 (16-2) X
3. Alverno 15-8 (12-6) X
4. Edgewood 11-11 (11-6) X
5. Aurora 12-11 (11-7) X
6. Benedictine 10-12 (10-7) X
7. MSOE 12-11 (10-8) X
8. Marian 6-17 (6-12)
9. Rockford 9-14 (6-12)
10. Lakeland 8-14 (5-12)
11. Concordia Chicago 2-20 (2-15)
12. Dominican 0-23 (0-18)

X: Clinched NACC Tournament Spot

I do not see anything that should say otherwise so Marian has the tiebreaker over Rockford at the present time.

[Captain_Joe08]

In the first regional rankings WLC is ranked 5th behind #6 Wash U (18-2), #9 Carthage (20-2), #11 UW-Whitewater (20-3), and #17 UW-Oshkosh (20-2) and ahead of UW-Stevens Point (15-7), Illinois Wesleyan (15-7), and Cornell (17-3)

[Captain_Joe08]

Saturday's Matchups

Marian at Concordia Chicago: Marian gets one step closer to clinching the final spot in the NACC Tournament with a close road win.

MSOE at Dominican: Even burdened by injuries, MSOE gets a big road win over lowly Dominican.

Edgewood at Aurora: After losing a heartbreaker to WLC, Edgewood somehow finds a way to win a close game.

Lakeland at Benedictine: Lakeland is in desparation mode. BU is looking to improve their seeding.

Concordia Wisconsin at Alverno: Well can Alverno make it two wins against the top two teams in the NACC? That depends.

Wisconsin Lutheran at Rockford: WLC wraps up the top overall seed (have head to head tiebreaker) at the expense of Rockford's NACC tournament hopes.