Winona, MN-
Men's basketball teams within the Minnesota College Athletic Conference head into two last rounds of regular season play in both the Northern and Southern Divisions, and have post-season positioning on the line.
Upon conclusion of games on Saturday, February 22, eight berths will be determined for the 2019-20 NJCAA North District Men's Basketball Tournament held at Anoka-Ramsey Community College on February 28, 29 and March 1. The four top teams from both MCAC Divisions will advance to Coon Rapids with a shot at the 2019-2020 NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship.
MCAC Southern Division:
St. Cloud Technical & Community College has been a fixture in the NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball Top 15 for most of the season, and are currently an impressive 22-1 overall. The Cyclones are one of only seven teams across all three Divisions of NJCAA men's basketball with just one loss on the year.
Recently, sophomore standout Eric Racine broke the all-time leading scoring mark at SCTCC and head coach Eric Cone will be looking for that strong form to carry into the post-season. With a win over M State-Fergus Falls on Wednesday, February 19, SCTCC would clinch the Southern Division title. They also have a showdown on the road with nationally-ranked Riverland looming as their final contest of the regular season; SCTCC travels to Austin, Minnesota on Saturday, February 22.
Riverland Community College continues to make their presence felt on the national stage; the Blue Devils are 21-4 overall and have a 9-3 MCAC Southern Division record. They are currently also found in the NJCAA Top 15 poll. Head coach Derek Hahn and his team have clinched a playoff spot; they will be looking for wins over Western Technical College and SCTCC to ensure their best possible seed for the District tournament.
Rochester Community & Technical College have trended upward in strong fashion as of late; the 20-5 Yellowjackets re-entered the NJCAA Division III Top 15 last week and claimed the #10 spot in the most recent NJCAA poll. Brian LaPlante and his RCTC squad have benefited from playing some tough NJCAA Divison I and II opponents early in the year and are peaking at an important time. RCTC (9-3 MCAC South) will have the unique challenge of playing their final two regular season contests on the road - at Anoka-Ramsey and at Minnesota West - but the opportunity to claim a top two placement in the Southern Division is on the table, depending on the outcome of other Southern Division contests in the next five days.
Also playoff bound is Ridgewater College, clocking in at 7-5 in Southern Division action so far in 2019-20. The steady Warriors have accumulated enough wins to guarantee post-season opportunities with two games yet to play; Ridgewater and second-year head coach Nathan Throft could be a tough first-round post-season match-up, as evidenced by their 138-126 3OT victory over Riverland in late January and a narrow two-point loss to RCTC at the beginning of February.
Four MCAC Southern Division programs will look to play spoilers in the last week of play; Minnesota West and Anoka-Ramsey, both 4-8 in Divisional play, will have a chance to affect Region tournament seeding in their final contests. Western Technical College and M State-Fergus Falls round out the MCAC Southern Division squads and currently sit at 2-10 in MCAC action.
MCAC Northern Division:
Central Lakes College was picked by Northern Division coaches as the team to beat this year, and so far the Raiders have held off all challengers.
Head coach Jim Russell and CLC are 21-4 overall and undefeated in MCAC Northern Division play at 14-0. Central Lakes has become a fixture in the NJCAA Top 15 Poll and will look to keep their 16-game winning streak alive in their last two games of the regular season, in which they will face Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and Rainy River Community College. With the top Northern seed clinched for the District tournament, Central Lakes will head to Coon Rapids well prepared for post-season play.
Northland Community & Technical College is also guaranteed post-season opportunities, thanks to the strength of a 10-5 MCAC mark. With only one game remaining, the Pioneers would clinch the #2 seed in the Northern Division with a win over Lake Superior College on Saturday, February 22. Northland holds the tiebreaker over Rainy River, with two victories over the Voyageurs this year.
Not much separates Hibbing Community College and Rainy River Community College; both teams sit at 9-5 overall in league play and the two split their season season with a win apiece.
Each has a pair of games remaining; Hibbing takes on Vermilion and Itasca to close out the regular season while RRCC will face Itasca and Central Lakes. HCC head coach Paul Ciochetto and his Cardinals enjoy the tiebreaker over the last remaining challenger, Lake Superior College, with two wins over the Ice Hawks. Hibbing controls much of their seeding fate as they head into the final days of the 2019-20 regular season.
Lake Superior College comes in at 8-6 in league play with two games remaining. LSC will hope to pick up a win over Mesabi Range College at home and then will trek to Thief River Falls on Saturday, February 22 to take on the playoff-bound Pioneers. While already eliminated from the playoffs, Mesabi Range has hit a hot streak lately with the Norse winning their last two games over Hibbing and Northland, respectively. The mid-week match-up of Lake Superior - Mesabi Range could go a long way to sorting out the last piece of the NJCAA tournament playoff puzzle.
Itasca Community College, Vermilion Community College and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College find themselves sitting outside of the playoff possibilities for the 2019-20 campaign. Each team will have a crack at denting the records of those teams above them in the standings.
For more on MCAC Men's Basketball, please go to: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/mbkb/index
NJCAA Basketball, including National Top15 Poll and Player-of-the-Week releases, can be found at: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/index
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.
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