Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament – Championship Preview

2021 CCAC Tournament Bracket

Opening Round

February 23rd

No. 9 seed Trinity International 97, at No. 8 seed St. Francis 90

No. 4 seed Saint Xavier 71, No. 13 seed Cardinal Stritch 62

No. 5 seed Governors State 67, No. 12 seed Judson 60

No. 15 seed Indiana South Bend 67, at No. 2 seed Holy Cross 66

No. 7 seed Lincoln 66, No. 10 seed Roosevelt 60

No. 3 seed St. Ambrose 82, No. 14 seed Calumet St. Joseph 46

No. 11 seed Indiana Northwest 88, at No. 6 seed Trinity Christian 63

Quarterfinals

February 25th

No. 1 seed Olivet Nazarene 101, No. 9 seed Trinity International 74

No. 5 seed Governors State 81, at No. 4 seed Saint Xavier 80 — OT

No. 15 Indiana South Bend 62, at No. 7 seed Lincoln 59

No. 11 seed Indiana Northwest 96, at No. 3 seed St. Ambrose 75

Semifinals

February 27th

Game #12: at No. 1 seed Olivet Nazarene 81, No. 5 seed Governors State 66
Game #13: No. 15 seed Indiana South Bend 100, at No. 11 seed Indiana Northwest 58

Finals

March 1st

Game #14: No. 15 seed Indiana South Bend (5-0) at No. 1
seed Olivet Nazarene (15-3) — 6 pm Live Video

League Notes:

The top seed: Olivet Nazarene
NAIA Locks: Clinched: Olivet Nazarene (CCAC Regular Season Champion), Clinched: Holy Cross (CCAC Runner Up)
NAIA Bubble Teams: St Ambrose
Best chances to win this tournament: Olivet Nazarene (13-3,12-1)
Possible sleeper: Trinity Christian (9-8,6-4) – Eliminated

KEY PLAYERS:

Alex Gross 6’9 – Olivet Nazarene: 27.3ppg, 4.1rpg, 3.2apg

Turner heads into the AAC Tourney as the Nations 2nd leading scorer. He is one of the best shooters in the NAIA and has lit up the AAC this season. Despite Union not winning as many games, Turner should still be the AAC Player of the Year.

KEY TEAMS:

#1 Olivet Nazarene – This ONU team is rolling right now with 10 straight wins headed into the CCAC Tournament. They will get a 1st round bye, so should be well rested. They have already qualified for the National Tournament, but now will try to improve seeding!

#2 Holy Cross – Eliminated in the 1st round to 15-seed IU South Bend..

#3 St Ambrose – Elimined in QF round by 11-seed IU Northwest

UPSET SPECIAL:

#6 Trinity Chrisitian – Our upset special team lost in the 1st round.

CCAC Championship Game Notes

Game #14: No. 15 seed Indiana South Bend (5-0) at No. 1
seed Olivet Nazarene (15-3) — 6 pm Live Video

No Regular Season Matchup

What a treat we get tonight out in the CCAC. After not playing a regular season CCAC game, the returning CCAC Tournament Champions were given a 15-seed and allowed to play in the tournament. They quickly showed how good they still are as they upset #2 Holy Cross in the 1st round. NOW, we get a rematch of last years Title game. A game in which IUSB won in OT. This year though ONU seems motivated to get themselves both the Regular Season and Tournament Titles. They are playing great basketball and this should be one HECK of a game.

OTHER NOTES:

CCAC Tournament Page

– CCAC has (3) auto-bids: Olivet Nazarene, Holy Cross and Tournament Champion or St Ambrose if it’s ONU wins Tournament.

– Our Pick To Win It: Olivet Nazarene – We need to stop picking #1 seeds to win the tournaments, but this ONU team only has one CCAC loss on the season and are the heavy favorites! Just think that Alex Gross and John Content get it done in the tournament. This is a Tiger team that has improved all season long and is just clicking at the right time of the year.