VIRGINIA — It's playoff time in the world of college basketball.
The MCAC North III mens and womens basketball playoffs begin this weekend, which means the already-truncated field of teams will start to be pared down even further starting Friday.
Here is what to expect:
Women's Basketball
Three points separated the Lady Norse from a home-court regional tournament last week?, and they'll certainly be looking to redeem that loss this weekend.
The 62-59 loss to Northland last Saturday meant the Lady Norse sacrificed that No. 1 seed, setting them up with a first-round game against Itasca on Saturday.
The first time the Lady Norse played Itasca they just barely squeezed by with a 73-67 win. Their second game in Itasca was much better, however, as they beat the Lady Vikings 74-61.
The Lady Norse should have no problem against the Lady Vikings, especially with their various press packages that should create enough offense to off-set any poor shooting or turnover problems they might have.
That game will start at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, Hibbing takes on first seed Northland.
The Lady Pioneers are the obvious favorite in the game, though if Hibbing's size can wipe out the Northland posts players and limit their wins, an upset could be in the making. It's also worth noting that the only team in the division to beat the Lady Pioneers was Itasca.
The winner of that game will play the winner of the Mesabi Range/Itasca game at 2 p.m. Sunday to determine who goes to the national tournament.
The national tournament will be held in Utica, N.Y. from March 16-18.
Men's Basketball
Once again the Ironmen find themselves in the regional tournament, and with a three seed to boot.
The bracket for men's basketball works a little differently than the women's bracket. Games start on Friday, and the top teams from the south section of the MCAC face off against the top teams from the north section.
That means No. 3 Vermilion will take on No. 2 Riverland on Friday at 2 p.m. in Coon Rapids.
The Ironmen have played Riverland before; Vermilion won in a close 70-65 matchup, though Riverland only shot 22.2 percent from three during that game. The Ironmen defense will have to remain just as strong if they want to move on to the national tournament.
The Ironmen will rely on the scoring prowess of Denario Jackson, though Cliff Lloyd and Demetrice Mitchell will certainly have an impact offensively. After all, Mitchell was one of the Ironmen's saving grace in that close win against Riverland, netting 15 points.
If they win that 2 p.m. game, they'll take on the winner of No. 1 Northland and No. 4 Rochester. No. 1 Anoka Ramsey and No. 4 Rainy River play on the other side of the bracket, with the winner playing either No. 2 Central Lakes or No. 3 St. Cloud Tech.
The second round of play is on Saturday, while the championship game is on Sunday at 2 p.m.