Winona, MN-
Men's basketball teams from around the Minnesota College Athletic Conference move into the push for the post-season in both the Northern and Southern Divisions.
At stake is one of eight berths into the 2019-20 NJCAA North District Men's Basketball Tournament, to be held at Anoka-Ramsey Community College on February 28-29 and March 1. Read on for more as the MCAC men's squads focus their sights on extending their seasons.
MCAC Southern Division:
St. Cloud Technical & Community College has been the runaway squad in the Southern Division; head coach Andrew Cone and his Cyclones currently sit as the only NJCAA Division III unbeaten team at 20-0 overall, and are 9-0 in Division play. In all three levels of NJCAA men's basketball, Pearl River Community College at 16-0 in the Division I ranks is the only other undefeated men's basketball program.
SCTCC has been ranked #3 in the NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball poll for the past two weeks, picking up a pair of first-place votes in each edition. The Cyclones have five contests left in the regular season and include a pair of road games to close out the regular season at M State-Fergus Falls and at Riverland Community College.
Riverland Community College has also been a fixture in the national poll for most of the season; the Blue Devils are 19-3 overall and have a 7-2 MCAC Southern Division mark. They are currently 11th in the NJCAA Top 15 poll. In addition to their loss earlier in January at SCTCC, Riverland fell in a marathon shootout to Ridgewater College, 138-126 in a triple-overtime affair. The combined point total of 264 yielded one of the high scoring games in NJCAA hopes this year and set the high water mark for MCAC squads for the season so far. Riverland also has five rounds to go in the Southern Division, with a final regular season tilt against the aforementioned Cyclones on Saturday, February 22.
Rochester Community & Technical College and Ridgewater College both currently reside in the top four of the Southern Division; the 17-5 Yellowjackets re-entered the NJCAA Division III Top 15 this week and have a 6-3 Southern Division record. Ridgewater dropped both of their Southern Division match-ups to RCTC in close fashion; the Warriors lost by one-point and two-point margins to Rochester this season, giving RCTC the tiebreaker advantage if the two finished tied on record. Ridgewater head coach Nathan Thooft and his team will look to secure a post-season berth over the next five games and hold their playoff fate in their hands.
Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Minnesota West CTC face-off for the first time Saturday February 8 in a pivotal game for both teams. The Blue Jays have six games remaining on the year and have already competed against the top two squads, SCTCC and Riverland. Four of MnWest's six games are at home, and they will see ARCC in a rematch on February 17. The Golden Rams and Blue Jays will be looking to pick up some late-season momentum this weekend.
Western Technical College (6-15 Overall) will look to play the spoiler role in remaining Southern Division action; the Cavaliers will enjoy home court advantage in three of their five remaining games, with a pair of trips to St. Cloud and Worthington sandwiched in the middle of their final few weeks.
MCAC Northern Division:
Central Lakes College was tabbed by Divisional coaches in pre-season as the squad to beat, and the Raiders have lived up to the prediction. Head coach Jim Russell and CLC are 18-4 overall and unbeaten in MCAC Northern Division play at 11-0. Central Lakes has distanced themselves from the rest of the Division and will see three of their remaining five games at home. In particular, their last contest of the regular season, Saturday February 22 hosting Rainy River, could be a game which factors heavily in post-season fates of other teams. Central Lakes cracked the NJCAA Top 15 Poll last week and look poised to keep climbing if they maintain their form.
Northland Community & Technical College is one of three teams which has earned seven or more Division wins (other than CLC) and the Pioneers will be looking to run the table in their last five games. NCTC will enjoy having their final three games at home, after a pair of trips to FDLTCC and Hibbing, respectively. Northland is 14-8 overall and 8-3 in MCAC play so far this year. The race to double-digits in the win column will give weight to upcoming Divisonal match-ups.
Hibbing Community College and Rainy River Community College look to have an inside track on a post-season berth, but both teams will need to notch some 'W''s in the upcoming weeks to lock in a spot. The two squads split this season, with Hibbing falling to RRCC in December, but avenging that loss on February 1. With many tiebreaker scenarios in play, both teams will pay extra attention at the opportunities to take on Central Lakes and Northland, with both teams sitting above them in the standings.
Lake Superior College, Itasca Community College and Vermilion Community College find themselves sitting in the middle of the Division with the hopes of catching some late-season momentum. Itasca has six contests remaining, while both Lake Superior and Vermilion have five dates left. At 5-6 in the Division and 9-11 overall, the Ice Hawks may have the best chance at denting the top four, but there is a lot of basketball yet to play. An upset or two around the North could open the door of opportunity for Vikings, Ironmen or IceHawks.
Mesabi Range College and Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College will both hope to play the spoiler role in remaining Northern Division action; the two squads will conclude their seasons playing each other at Mesabi Range on Saturday, February 22.
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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