BB: NACC: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[Captain_Joe08]

NACC Standings as of the morning of 4/12

MSOE 13-10 (8-2)
Aurora 14-11 (9-3)
Marian 12-11 (7-3)
Wisconsin Lutheran 12-11 (7-3)
Concordia Chicago 16-11 (7-5)
Edgewood 12-12 (7-5)
Illinois Tech 9-15 (5-5)
Concordia Wisconsin 13-12 (5-7)
Benedictine 13-13 (5-7)
Dominican 11-14 (4-8)
Lakeland 10-17 (4-8)
Rockford 13-11 (3-7)
St. Norbert 6-16 (1-9)

Roughly at the halfway point here in league play here is what I see so far.

Surprises: (WLC) WLC despite being picked 12th out of 13 has played above expectations so far. Though their schedule cranks up in the back half but sweeps over CUW, and Lakeland along with splits over Aurora, Edgewood and Rockford have sparked a bit of confidence for the Warriors.

Surprises but not in a good way: (The top two teams in the preseason poll.) Was expecting a bit more from Aurora so far but they have been rather pedestrian for the most part despite being at the top of the league and dropping league games against teams they shouldn't be losing to hasn't helped them get any more momentum behind them. Benedictine's stumbles to start league play opened up my eyes but they had to run the gauntlet against most of the contenders right away. The schedule in the second half should help them get back up the standings but it might be too late for them to claim an outright league crown unless chaos happens.

My predictions on who makes the conference tournament:

Locks: Aurora, Marian, MSOE, CUC, Benedictine

On the Bubble: WLC, Illinois Tech, CUW, Dominican, Edgewood

Outside looking in: Lakeland, St. Norbert, Rockford

[Captain_Joe08]

4/12 Scores

MOSE 11-14 Dominican Dominican 6-4
Concordia Chicago 4-14 Marian 2-7
Concordia Wisconsin 10-5 Aurora 0-4: Whoa
Benedictine 11-15 St. Norbert 9-9
Rockford 11-8 Lakeland 2-5
Wisconsin Lutheran 3-10 Illinois Tech 6-4
Wheaton 11-14 Edgewood 6-15

NACC Standings after 4/12

MSOE 15-10 (10-2)
Wisconsin Lutheran 13-12 (8-4)
Concordia Chicago 18-11 (9-5)
Aurora 14-13 (9-5)
Edgewood 13-13 (7-5)
Marian 12-13 (7-5)
Concordia Wisconsin 15-12 (7-7)
Benedictine 15-13 (7-7)
Illinois Tech 10-16 (6-6)
Rockford 15-11 (5-7)
Dominican 11-16 (4-10)
Lakeland 10-19 (4-10)
St. Norbert 6-18 (1-11)

Another day of league play, another round of chaos.

[Captain_Joe08]

This week's schedule

4/15

St. Norbert at Lakeland (DH)
Rockford at Concordia Chicago (DH)
Benedictine at Wisconsin Lutheran (DH)
Aurora at Illinois Tech (DH)
Concordia Wisconsin at Marian (DH)
MSOE at Edgewood (DH)

4/16

MSOE at Beloit (NC)
Carroll at Marian (NC)

4/17

Loras at Dominican (NC)

4/19

Concordia Wisconsin at North Central (IL) (NC DH)
St. Norbert at Illinois Tech (DH)
Edgewood at Benedictine (DH)
Marian at Aurora (DH)
MSOE at Rockford (DH)
Wisconsin Lutheran at Dominican (DH)
Lakeland at Concordia Chicago (DH)

[Captain_Joe08]

Today's Matchups

St. Norbert at Lakeland (DH): Battle of two teams most likely making up the bottom of the league this year. Was thinking this was Lakeland's for the taking but they have been struggling lately losing seven straight. St. Norbert also has a seven game skid but has shown to be a bit more competitive in their losses. Won't be shocked if SNC sweeps this.

Rockford at Concordia Chicago (DH): CUC is red hot at the moment. Regents got a much needed sweep over Lakeland Saturday to keep within shouting distance of the midpack. However this might be a bit too much for the Regents here against a CUC team showing flashes of their old form from years past.

Benedictine at Wisconsin Lutheran (DH): Eagles are mashing the ball very well as of late and look primed to continue their hot play as of late. WLC might be over their heads here but stranger things have happened during league play so far.

Aurora at Illinois Tech (DH): Spartans find themselves out of the league lead after getting swept at CUW Saturday. Tech got a split at WLC Saturday but still hasn't separated themselves from the logjam in the middle of the league. I want to say AU is favored but they haven't played up to their expectations at times.

Concordia Wisconsin at Marian (DH): CUW got a shocking sweep over then league leader Aurora Saturday in Mequon while Marian got swept by CUC. Still this will be a close DH and I could see it going either way.

MSOE at Edgewood (DH): Alright MSOE can you hold onto the NACC lead? Raiders are hot winning eight straight heading into this one. Eagles need a split here because Benedictine awaits after this one and can't afford to have a cold streak as league play winds down.

[GU1999]

Great analysis.  I am reading it largely the same. 

I throw it out there that...
St. Norbert sweeps Lakeland.
CUC grabs both.
BenU also grabs both.
AU and IIT split.
CUW and Marian split.
MSOE and Edgewood split.