It’s Conference Tournament time!!! Here is a break down of each Conference Tournament.
February 27-29th|MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center|Kingsport, TN
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Union – Although the AAC Tournament is wide open, as these teams all spent the year beating each other.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #2 Montreat vs #7 Tennessee Wesleyan – TWU just went to Montreat and defeated them on their home court 99-72 to put them into the AAC Tournament.They split their regular season matchup. Montreat would love nothing more than to get some revenge from last week.
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: #6 Tennessee Wesleyan – The Bulldogs have now won 9 of their last 10 games, including wins @ #1 Union, and @ #2 Montreat. This Bulldog team has a lot of momentum headed into the AAC Tournament, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way to win the Tournament Title.
February 28-March 1, 2020 | Hosted by Lincoln College | Lincoln, Ill.
- Bracket:
- Best Bet to Finish in Top 3: The Top 3 seeds (Washington Adventist, Voorhees, Lincoln) will definitely be the teams to watch. Washington Adventist is back to being fully healthy, and Xaveir Sewell, and Mastadi Pitt lead the way for WAU. This is a team that if they can make it to the National Tournament, can make a deep run. As for Lincoln, they were a team that was in our preseason Top 25. At the time we didn’t know that Christian Romine wasn’t eligible until semester. Since getting the 6’9 NCAA D1 transfer eligible at Christmas, the Lynx have only lost 3 games this semester with two of those losses being in OT. This is a group that, if clicking, is dangerous. They also get the pleasure of playing at home!
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #3 Lincoln vs #6 Haskell, While Lincoln is at home, and you don’t anticipate them losing this game on their home court, Haskell is a very formidable opponent, and we won’t be surprised if the winner of this game found themselves into the Top 3 spots to move onto the National Tournament.
- Dark Horse to Win The Aii Tournament: Going to go with 2 teams here. #4 College of The Ozarks. A National Tournament Qualifier from a season ago. The 2nd team here is #6 Haskell, they have won 8 of their last 10 games, and have the fire power to get some upsets in the tournament! That Haskell vs Linocln 1st Round Game could be a really great game!
February 29-March 2, 2020 | Hosted by Antelope Valley (Calif.) | Lancaster, Calif.
- Bracket:
- Favorite to Win It: Antelope Valley – Undefeated regular season, and get to play both games on their home court!
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #2 UC Merced vs #3 Cal Maritime. UC Merced won both regular season meetings by a combined 10 points. It’s tough to beat a team 3 times in one season, and Cal Maritime will be hungry in this one.
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: It’s just a 4 team tournament, so there really isn’t any surprise team. All four of these teams can win it, but if you want someone to watch outside of Antelope Valley, then UC-Merced has given UAV the best game this far, as they only lost to them by 4 points just last week.
February 26, 29, March 3, 2020 | Hosted by higher seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: College of Idaho, They were the first men’s basketball team to ever go undefeated in the Cascade Regular Season. Hard to not have them as the favorites.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #4 Northwest vs #5 Eastern Oregon. These two teams split their matchup in the regular season, both wining on their home floor. The ALL-TIME series has Eastern Oregon with a slight advantage of just 8 wins and 6 losses. These two seem to always have great games, and you should expect one again!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: Eastern Oregon. EOU has won 5 of their last 6 games, and will be looking to get a huge road victory in the first round to keep their season alive.
February 26, 28 March 2, 2020 | Hosted by higher seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Going with the Top 2 seeds here. Olivet Nazarene and Holy Cross. Both have looked really good all season long.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #3 IU Southbend vs # 6 IU Northwest. While IU Southbend is the only team to beat both Olivet Nazarene and Holy Cross, they have struggled a bit with IU Northwest. In their first matchup of the season they lost at home by 4, and then they returned the favor back in late January with a 3 point victory in OT. If the two regular season games between these two are any indication, then this game will be intense!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: Robert Morris. This team won 5 of their last 7 games, and despite being blown out by Olivet Nazarene twice, they have a lot of close losses on the season.
February 26, 29, March 3 | Hosted by Higher Seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Indiana Wesleyan and Marian. The two most consistent teams all year long in one of the best leagues in NAIA DII.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #1 Indiana Wesleyan vs #8 Mount Vernon Nazarene. Winning AT IWU, is nearly impossible, but Mount Vernon Nazarene was just a Top 10 team not too long ago. They have the size to matchup up with IWU, and will put up a fight!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: Spring Arbor. We know, we know, going with the defending National Champs as a “dark horse” is really going out a limb. However, Spring Arbor is starting to really play well down the stretch, and there can’t be anyone in the country who has played more close games, over the past 2 seasons. That experience combined with the talent they have, is a dangerous mix.
February 26, 29, March 3 2020 | Hosted by Higher Seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Morningside. Outside of a couple missteps, they have been dominant, and are a National Title Contender.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #4 Concorida vs #5 Northwestern. Concordia has had Northwestern’s number a bit this season. However, we still really like this matchup!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: #7 Jamestown. This is a program who is limping into the tournament a bit, but have some big wins, and some close losses this season. They are a team who can get hot and knock off some people. Winning in the Corn Palace, two times in 1 season though is a daunting task!
February 27 – March 2, 2020 | Hosted by Hartman Arena | Park City, Kan.
Tournament Page | Watch Live
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Ottawa. As wide open as any league in NAIA DII. Ottawa has show the most consistency so they will be the favorite!
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #3 Oklahoma Wesleyan vs #6 Friends. Friends beat OKWU twice already this season by a total of 4 points, and the last time it was in OT. These two have had some battles, and we are excited for this 1st round matchup.
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: Bethel. A team who was ranked inside the Top 25 for awhile, and despite a late season slide, if they can find their way again, they will be a tough out!
February 29 – March 1, 2020 | Hosted at Civic Arena | Watertown, S.D.
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Bellevue. They have won 7 straight headed into tournament including beating #2 Mayville State twice.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #4 Dickinson State vs #5 Waldorf. Dickinson State beat Waldorf twice in the regular season. Both games were within 10 points, with the 2nd game going into OT. This should be a great 4/5 matchup!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: #5 Waldorf. The only team who beat Bellevue all year in the North Star. This team, when playing well, can beat any one. Problem has been they have been a bit streaky!
February 26-March 3, 2020 | Hosted at higher seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: WVU Tech. The Golden Bears have been in a league of their own this semester going 14-2 since Christmas.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: East Division #2 IU Kokomo vs West Division #3 Point Park. If Point Park can withstand the 6+ hour drive to Indiana, then expect this to be a great game. Point Park took Kokomo to the wire at Kokomo back in early February.
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: IU Southeast. How is a #1 seed a dark horse? Well, while WVU Tech, IU East, and IU Kokomo have all gotten the recognition, this IU Southeast team has quietly gone about their business to put together a very good year, that ended with them beating Kokomo to earn the West Division 1 Seed. This is a good team, that doesn’t get talked about a lot.
February 25, 28, 29, 2020 | Hosted at higher seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Southeastern and Keiser. Both have played great basketball this season, and both can win some games in Sioux Falls.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #4 Ave Maria vs #5 Warner. Two teams who spent parts of the year ranked inside the NAIA DII Top 25. They split the regular season matchup, but both games were just 1 point games. Expect another great game in this one!
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: St. Thomas. They have some big time wins on their resume this season, and have been tough at home. They have won 5 straight games headed into the tournament.
February 26, 29 – March 2, 2020 | Hosted by higher seed
- Bracket:
- Best Bet To Win It: Indiana Tech and Madonna. Indiana Tech has won 5 straight entering the WHAC Tournament. After a slow start to the year, they have proven they deserve to be a Top 25 team, and will be a tough matchup in the Tournament. Madonna has the talent, and the experience for a deep run as well.
- Best 1st Round Matchup: #3 Rochester vs #6 UM Dearborn. Rochester played itself into the 3 seed, but it wasn’t too long ago that Dearborn was a Top 25 team. If they can find their form this will be a great game.
- Dark Horse Team To Watch Out For: Cornerstone. They have strung together 4 straight wins, have a HOF Head Coach, and an All-American Guard. That’s a great recipe for success in Tournament play.
One response to “NAIA DII Conference Tournament Breakdown”
[…] starts tonight with opening round games in the North Star and The Sun Conference. We posted our NAIA DII Conference Tournament Breakdown that we posted yesterday. Make sure to check it out for information, links to each leagues […]