WBB Central Region 2-5-2024

[libertybearcat]

Media Regional Poll...which I realize isn't official by any means...yet is interesting.

CENTRAL REGION - TOP 10

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.
1	Southern Nazarene (6)	20-0	60	1
2	Harding	18-2	52	2
3	Missouri Southern	17-4	48	3
4	Minnesota State	19-4	42	4
5	Northwestern Oklahoma State	19-3	34	6
6	Missouri Western	17-4	32	7
7	Northwest Missouri State	16-5	23	8
8	Fort Hays State	16-5	14	5
9	Pittsburg State	16-5	12	RV
10	Central Missouri	15-5	7	10
Receiving votes: Nebraska-Kearney (4); Henderson State (1); Umary (1)
Dropped Out: (9) Northern State

3 GAC teams and only one NSIC team.

Admittedly, I only closely follow the MIAA...

NSIC folks...what's going on with the women's teams this year? Seems like the NSIC is always well represented. Is this a fair assessment on this season or are they missing something? Just curious.

The GAC last year only got one in the Regional Tournament...is the conference that much improved or are the top 3 dominating all the other teams? What's the story down south?

[Purple Mav Man]

I would say the NSIC has a dominant team, then quite a few that could be very competitive in the regional and give nearly any team a run (and even win)…but none other than Mankato that likely deserve a bid as of now.

Also, as long as Batt is healthy and the team is full strength, Mankato is probably the #2.

[LukeMcConnell1]

NSIC- several good teams, only one great team. The good teams- Mary, UMD, Northern St. SW Minn St, CSP and St. Cloud are all pretty close so they're beating each other. Mankato is just a head above that group of teams. Which, is unsurprising given what Duluth lost and the fact Mankato brought everyone back this year. Maybe one of the pack behind Mankato could have been a step ahead of the rest, but I'm not too shocked here. I'm not super plugged in there, but that's my perception from the outside.

GAC- The top teams are all very experienced and talented. SNU has a couple players who have made a leap this year on top of an already outstanding team. Harding is really good and should've been in the tournament last year. Regionalization cost them a bid. Would've been in anywhere else, and SNU definitely wouldn't have been the No. 8 seed in any other region in the country. Central Region was just really deep last year. Those two meet on Saturday in Searcy. Should be awesome.

NWOSU is very good. I think they're a step behind Harding and two steps behind SNU. They've lost to both and their SOS stinks. So I'll be interested to see where the committee views them in two weeks in the first RANKED regional rankings. They also get Harding and SNU at home on back-to-back Thursday nights in two weeks.

The league is also benefitting from good non conference wins:
SNU- Missouri Southern, Lubbock Christian, Mankato
Harding- Texas Women's
Henderson State- Texas Women's

Overall, GAC is solid and those top three + Henderson State have really separated themselves from the other eight teams in the league. Nine conference losses amongst the quartet and two of them are to teams outside that group.

Just appears to be a bit of a vacuum after a really good year for the region. GAC is stepping into some of that, none of the NSIC teams are stepping up and MIAA is cannibalizing itself a bit.

[libertybearcat]

I would say the NSIC has a dominant team, then quite a few that could be very competitive in the regional and give nearly any team a run (and even win)…but none other than Mankato that likely deserve a bid as of now.

Also, as long as Batt is healthy and the team is full strength, Mankato is probably the #2.

Thanks PMM...saw Winona and Concordia St. Paul in St. Joe beginning of the year, but that's been all I've seen from the NSIC. Wasn't impressed with either team, but I think they were both preseason bottom half of the conference. Just seems to be going against trends with only one NSIC likely to make it in.

Although, last year Mo West was 3rd in the MIAA and didn't get in...due in large part to losing to Pitt last regular season game and then one and done vs. Hays in the MIAA tourney.

I'm curious for the actual regional rankings to come out...no idea how close the media poll is to the real poll.

[LukeMcConnell1]

Thanks PMM...saw Winona and Concordia St. Paul in St. Joe beginning of the year, but that's been all I've seen from the NSIC. Wasn't impressed with either team, but I think they were both preseason bottom half of the conference. Just seems to be going against trends with only one NSIC likely to make it in.

Although, last year Mo West was 3rd in the MIAA and didn't get in...due in large part to losing to Pitt last regular season game and then one and done vs. Hays in the MIAA tourney.

I'm curious for the actual regional rankings to come out...no idea how close the media poll is to the real poll.

The media poll quits doing the regional ranking the week the first official regional rankings that are ranked come out. So for comparison, the week the "under consideration" list came out, these were the 10 teams:

Augustana
Central Missouri
Fort Hays
Mankato
Duluth
Missouri Southern
Missouri Western
Nebraska Kearney
Pitt State
SNU

The media regional ranking that week looked like this:
1 Minnesota Duluth
2 Nebraska Kearney
3 Minnesota State
4 Central Missouri
T5 Augustana
T5 Southern Nazarene
7 Missouri Western
8 Missouri Southern
9 Pittsburg State
10 Harding

Identical teams, with Harding in place of Fort Hays. I'd say the polls are pretty close, but the order can vary.

[libertybearcat]

NSIC- several good teams, only one great team. The good teams- Mary, UMD, Northern St. SW Minn St, CSP and St. Cloud are all pretty close so they're beating each other. Mankato is just a head above that group of teams. Which, is unsurprising given what Duluth lost and the fact Mankato brought everyone back this year. Maybe one of the pack behind Mankato could have been a step ahead of the rest, but I'm not too shocked here. I'm not super plugged in there, but that's my perception from the outside.

GAC- The top teams are all very experienced and talented. SNU has a couple players who have made a leap this year on top of an already outstanding team. Harding is really good and should've been in the tournament last year. Regionalization cost them a bid. Would've been in anywhere else, and SNU definitely wouldn't have been the No. 8 seed in any other region in the country. Central Region was just really deep last year. Those two meet on Saturday in Searcy. Should be awesome.

NWOSU is very good. I think they're a step behind Harding and two steps behind SNU. They've lost to both and their SOS stinks. So I'll be interested to see where the committee views them in two weeks in the first RANKED regional rankings. They also get Harding and SNU at home on back-to-back Thursday nights in two weeks.

The league is also benefitting from good non conference wins:
SNU- Missouri Southern, Lubbock Christian, Mankato
Harding- Texas Women's
Henderson State- Texas Women's

Overall, GAC is solid and those top three + Henderson State have really separated themselves from the other eight teams in the league. Nine conference losses amongst the quartet and two of them are to teams outside that group.

Just appears to be a bit of a vacuum after a really good year for the region. GAC is stepping into some of that, none of the NSIC teams are stepping up and MIAA is cannibalizing itself a bit.

Good takes!

I know very little about the GAC, didn't think that league was all that good...looks like I was wrong.

Beating MoSo early seems to be the recipe in beating them...they lost to Mo West and NW the first two conference games of the season and haven't lost since...Mo West only plays them once this season, so needing a little help with someone else beating them and have to win out...they still have Pitt, NW and UCM...although UCM has seemed to be dropping a lot the last few weeks.

Massey has MIAA then the GAC as the two strongest conferences...so SNU, Harding and NWOSU, must be pretty damn salty to have that good of records in a stronger league.

It's taken until the last week or so for the MIAA to get any separation for the top 2 from the rest of the league. Seems this typically happens a little earlier.

Really thought UCM was going to pull away in the MIAA after the way the season started...they're not very deep and unfortunately, Gracen Holden seems to be a shell of her Freshman year self after her knee injury. I had heard she was 100% this year...sadly it doesn't appear to be the case. Hate to see that happen. Western was up 10 at the beginning of the 4th, UCM had a nice 10-0 run, in the first 4 minutes, but looked like they ran out of gas late and Western won by 8...Western is really deep with 12 or 13 girls playing and it has definitely paid dividends in several games this season.

Thanks for joining in...not enough talk about the women's side of the region here!

[libertybearcat]

The media poll quits doing the regional ranking the week the first official regional rankings that are ranked come out. So for comparison, the week the "under consideration" list came out, these were the 10 teams:

Augustana
Central Missouri
Fort Hays
Mankato
Duluth
Missouri Southern
Missouri Western
Nebraska Kearney
Pitt State
SNU

The media regional ranking that week looked like this:
1 Minnesota Duluth
2 Nebraska Kearney
3 Minnesota State
4 Central Missouri
T5 Augustana
T5 Southern Nazarene
7 Missouri Western
8 Missouri Southern
9 Pittsburg State
10 Harding

Identical teams, with Harding in place of Fort Hays. I'd say the polls are pretty close, but the order can vary.

Thanks for the info!

[LukeMcConnell1]

Definitely surprised UCM has fallen off and also surprised at how Pitt State has dropped a few late as well. Really hoping hard SNU can hold on to the top spot, regardless of going undefeated. Would be real nice to sleep in my own bed for the regional. Plus getting to call all seven games for the region would be a ton of fun as well and a nice career highlight for sure.

[libertybearcat]

Definitely surprised UCM has fallen off and also surprised at how Pitt State has dropped a few late as well. Really hoping hard SNU can hold on to the top spot, regardless of going undefeated. Would be real nice to sleep in my own bed for the regional. Plus getting to call all seven games for the region would be a ton of fun as well and a nice career highlight for sure.

Yeah, Pitt has been a surprise lately too. I'd have to disagree...if Western makes it...hoping for the regional host to be closer than OKC! :)

[D2Rover]

Everything said here so far is basically correct.

GAC: The Ark Tech loss could be the difference for NWOSU. They're a tournament team in every other region, but that one makes it tougher to overlook the SOS. Get SNU and Harding at home still, so definitely still alive.
SNU is the best team in the country (although Ashland is right with them), and Harding has played well enough they can probably take one non-SNU loss and get in as long as there aren't multiple bid-stealers.
Henderson actually passed NWOSU in RPI this week, and only has one loss to a team worse than Pitt State if they win out (NWOSU and Harding are the toughest games, both at home), they're in an interesting spot.

NSIC: MSU clearly very good. As was said above, everyone else above average but have taken enough losses to each other to be out of tournament range right now. Northern State looked like they might pull away then lost the last three games. Mary has the weapon (Schneider) to make a scene, but even if they run the table and drop a conference championship game, I don't see 9 losses and a mid-level SOS getting in. Duluth feels like it's underachieving a little - solid team, but they haven't really stepped into their new roles well enough to be at a tournament level. CSP actually has the least losses of the pack, and a strong PI ranking, so maybe they make a run, but still need a lot to go right in front of them.

MIAA: MoSo has won 14 straight and has looked elite defensively since they got things figured out in December. Tough schedule to close out, so nothing is guaranteed, but they're in the driver seat for now. Tough schedule will also boost an already strong RPI.
MoWest is good but has some iffy losses, need to avoid a disaster against Emporia or Washburn this week. If they do, can probably afford a loss (maybe two) before the conference tournament.
Northwest looked very strong against Fort Hays, but again has iffy losses. Pretty much ditto what I said for Western, except they definitely can't lose two pre-tournament. Those two play each other in Maryville still.
Fort Hays... looked safe but after two losses this week is on the bubble with everyone else. Defend well, offense occasionally comes up short against good teams. Another sort of team that's good enough they shouldn't have to worry, but this region is deep.
UCM/Pitt/Kearney all still play each other. Right now is a crew that would probably be three of the first four out, which is obscene with the offensive firepower UCM and Pitt have. Health and soft early fouls have created problems for Pitt. UCM should be National Title contenders if they manage to get things going, but it feels like it's never really clicked. FHSU is the only good team they've held below 70 all year.

I'd guess we're looking at 1 NSIC, 2 GAC, 4 MIAA, and one bid stealer from a tournament. I also think it's more likely we're looking at two bid stealers than zero - wouldn't want to play a lot of these teams with their season on the line.

[laker]

NSIC- MSU depends on point guard Joey Batt. She started the season with a broken hand which costs some losses- including home vs UMD who I think beat them nine times in a row. They also have another starter who hasn't played a minute all season. Returned the favor last week at UMD- Batt sprained an ankle on Saturday but the Mavs came back to win their 13th straight. No word yet on her status. As several people mentioned the rest of the league is cannibalizing each other. Personally I look at Southwest, who lives and dies by the three, as being a team that could cause an upset. Mary has a great post in Schneider who could do the same. There is always the possibility of a bid stealer.

[libertybearcat]

Everything said here so far is basically correct.

GAC: The Ark Tech loss could be the difference for NWOSU. They're a tournament team in every other region, but that one makes it tougher to overlook the SOS. Get SNU and Harding at home still, so definitely still alive.
SNU is the best team in the country (although Ashland is right with them), and Harding has played well enough they can probably take one non-SNU loss and get in as long as there aren't multiple bid-stealers.
Henderson actually passed NWOSU in RPI this week, and only has one loss to a team worse than Pitt State if they win out (NWOSU and Harding are the toughest games, both at home), they're in an interesting spot.

NSIC: MSU clearly very good. As was said above, everyone else above average but have taken enough losses to each other to be out of tournament range right now. Northern State looked like they might pull away then lost the last three games. Mary has the weapon (Schneider) to make a scene, but even if they run the table and drop a conference championship game, I don't see 9 losses and a mid-level SOS getting in. Duluth feels like it's underachieving a little - solid team, but they haven't really stepped into their new roles well enough to be at a tournament level. CSP actually has the least losses of the pack, and a strong PI ranking, so maybe they make a run, but still need a lot to go right in front of them.

MIAA: MoSo has won 14 straight and has looked elite defensively since they got things figured out in December. Tough schedule to close out, so nothing is guaranteed, but they're in the driver seat for now. Tough schedule will also boost an already strong RPI.
MoWest is good but has some iffy losses, need to avoid a disaster against Emporia or Washburn this week. If they do, can probably afford a loss (maybe two) before the conference tournament.
Northwest looked very strong against Fort Hays, but again has iffy losses. Pretty much ditto what I said for Western, except they definitely can't lose two pre-tournament. Those two play each other in Maryville still.
Fort Hays... looked safe but after two losses this week is on the bubble with everyone else. Defend well, offense occasionally comes up short against good teams. Another sort of team that's good enough they shouldn't have to worry, but this region is deep.
UCM/Pitt/Kearney all still play each other. Right now is a crew that would probably be three of the first four out, which is obscene with the offensive firepower UCM and Pitt have. Health and soft early fouls have created problems for Pitt. UCM should be National Title contenders if they manage to get things going, but it feels like it's never really clicked. FHSU is the only good team they've held below 70 all year.

I'd guess we're looking at 1 NSIC, 2 GAC, 4 MIAA, and one bid stealer from a tournament. I also think it's more likely we're looking at two bid stealers than zero - wouldn't want to play a lot of these teams with their season on the line.

Nice analysis!!

[libertybearcat]

NSIC- MSU depends on point guard Joey Batt. She started the season with a broken hand which costs some losses- including home vs UMD who I think beat them nine times in a row. They also have another starter who hasn't played a minute all season. Returned the favor last week at UMD- Batt sprained an ankle on Saturday but the Mavs came back to win their 13th straight. No word yet on her status. As several people mentioned the rest of the league is cannibalizing each other. Personally I look at Southwest, who lives and dies by the three, as being a team that could cause an upset. Mary has a great post in Schneider who could do the same. There is always the possibility of a bid stealer.

Yes there is...Western found that out last year...

[Inkblot]

What I have as of today:

1. Southern Nazarene
2. Missouri Southern
3. Harding
4. Missouri Western
5. Fort Hays State
6. Minnesota State
7. Northwest Missouri State
8. Pittsburg State

[LukeMcConnell1]

I'd guess we're looking at 1 NSIC, 2 GAC, 4 MIAA, and one bid stealer from a tournament. I also think it's more likely we're looking at two bid stealers than zero - wouldn't want to play a lot of these teams with their season on the line.

Unofficial GAC position would be a NWOSU win over Harding and/or SNU in regular season and a Henderson State/NWOSU tournament final with Henderson winning. That's the path to four teams for the GAC, which is frankly not a far reach.