Central Region Talk

[Moorhead123]

Yeah, it seems they have done a decent job of avoiding those games in recent years. With 2-7 not having that much of a difference this year they should be able to do it again. The Central Region tournament should have some very high level basketball.

Central region will likely be on par with the elite eight type games/teams. I really hope the committee tries to avoid teams from same conferences meeting in round one. Just more fun for all of teams/fans when they play a new team in first round.

[Otis Day]

"Hope is a dangerous thing.. Hope can drive a man insane"

[Thepeman]

Yeah, it seems they have done a decent job of avoiding those games in recent years. With 2-7 not having that much of a difference this year they should be able to do it again. The Central Region tournament should have some very high level basketball.

What do you mean 2-7? I see 1-8 being very close and can be anyone of those teams to survive the gauntlet. Very tough region.

[NSU4LIFE]

What do you mean 2-7? I see 1-8 being very close and can be anyone of those teams to survive the gauntlet. Very tough region.

Mmhmm, sure

[Thunder]

What do you mean 2-7? I see 1-8 being very close and can be anyone of those teams to survive the gauntlet. Very tough region.

True, I think there are a lot of teams that could win 3 games. If you look at the numbers (thanks again, @Inkblot) NW is pretty clearly going to be the #1 seed. 2-7 all have pretty even resumes and are probably locked in to the regional. The #8 spot has been a question mark all season and could be about 3-4 teams, all of which have a worse resume than the top 7. That is how the seeding will work out in my opinion. Any one of these 8 teams could catch lightning in bottle and win the thing. USF would be the weakest team purely based on Cartwright not being 100%. He has carried the lion's share of their offense and it's tough to shoot with a fractured elbow.

[LukeMcConnell1]

Frankly, I'm not sure if it matters for seeding, but SNU has played exactly one game all season with a full complement of players. Just incredible what they've been able to accomplish battling through all the injuries.

[Alfred33]

Frankly, I'm not sure if it matters for seeding, but SNU has played exactly one game all season with a full complement of players. Just incredible what they've been able to accomplish battling through all the injuries.

I feel like everyone kind of goes through that a little bit. We may not have been affected to the same scale as some other teams, but NW has had 3 starters out at different times this year too.... Dreamer was out early, Diego missed a game (we lost), and Waters was out for several games the latter part of the season. We might actually be as healthy as we've been all year now (knock on wood), if Waters is back to full strength. We're deeper this year than we have been in the past which is good with some of the injuries we've had. I've been worried a little about the number of minutes Stirtz, as a true freshman, has had to play this year. As the primary ball handler, he has to work hard all of the time... there was a little stretch of games where he kind of looked like he might be wearing down, but he seems to be reenergized of late. Obviously, NW will be the favorite, but this region is brutal... I don't think anyone could really surprise me by winning it.

[NSU4LIFE]

I feel like everyone kind of goes through that a little bit. We may not have been affected to the same scale as some other teams, but NW has had 3 starters out at different times this year too.... Dreamer was out early, Diego missed a game (we lost), and Waters was out for several games the latter part of the season. We might actually be as healthy as we've been all year now (knock on wood), if Waters is back to full strength. We're deeper this year than we have been in the past which is good with some of the injuries we've had. I've been worried a little about the number of minutes Stirtz, as a true freshman, has had to play this year. As the primary ball handler, he has to work hard all of the time... there was a little stretch of games where he kind of looked like he might be wearing down, but he seems to be reenergized of late. Obviously, NW will be the favorite, but this region is brutal... I don't think anyone could really surprise me by winning it.

It's really not that brutal

[Moorhead123]

It's really not that brutal

It is in comparison to many other regions in the country.

[CatFan88]

Embedded Tweet

[CatFan88]

Embedded Tweet

[Devin Albertson]

Upset watch in the GAC. #8 Ouachita Baptist up on #1 Southern Nazarene 52-41 with 9:24 left.

[Devin Albertson]

Upset watch in the GAC. #8 Ouachita Baptist up on #1 Southern Nazarene 52-41 with 9:24 left.

Southern Nazarene down 66-61 with 1:50 to go.

[Devin Albertson]

Down goes Southern Nazarene. Ouachita Baptist wins 70-67. The GAC will get two teams in now.
1. NWMSU
2. Northern State
3. MSU-Moorhead
4. Central Oklahoma
5. Southern Nazarene
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Emporia State
8. GAC Tournament Winner

[Augieholic]

That spot is reserved for the annual act of GAC cannibalism, aka the GAC Conference Tournament.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.