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RIPON, Wis. – The 2013 Midwest Conference (MWC) Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off this weekend when Carroll, Grinnell, Ripon, and St. Norbert meet in De Pere, Wis. to battle for the MWC automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The tournament is set to start on Friday, February 22 when Carroll battles Grinnell at 5:00 p.m. and St. Norbert hosts Ripon at 7:00 p.m. The two winners of Friday’s contest will meet on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for a chance to move on to the NCAA Tournament.

St. Norbert earned hosting duties with a victory over Illinois Col. and a Grinnell loss to Lawrence which marks the schools fifth MWC Championship and the third in the last four season. The Green Knights look to get back to the NCAA Tournament over that same timeframe and will rely on a stingy defense that ranks as one of the best in the nation, giving up only 60.1 points per game. Offensively Brandon Gries leads the charge averaging 13.9 points per game while dishing out 86 assists that ranks him fifth in the league. Andrew Schwoerer is right behind Gries with 13.4 points per game and averaged nearly 15 points a contest in conference games and was second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 a game. Izaiah Anderson leads the Green Knights in rebounding at 6.4 a contest while shooting 61% from the field that ranks him third in the MWC. St. Norbert is the best of the tournament bunch in rebounding as their +5.1 rebound differential aids their defensive dominance.

Grinnell is in the MWC Tournament for the third straight season and aim for a trip back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 when they last won the tournament. Once again the Pioneers lead the entire country in scoring averaging 113.5 points per game that include scoring 100 points or more in 19 games highlighted by a 179 point effort on November 20 against Faith Baptist. Grinnell has played about half the season without top scorer Jack Taylor who was lost due to an injury but have four other players who averaged double figure points. Griffin Lentsch leads the team averaging 19 points per game and hit 87% of his foul shots to top the MWC. Luke Yeager averages 13.3 points a game while Joe Rogers tops the team in rebounding with 4.4 boards per contest. Grinnell again leads the league in three-point shooting with over 18 makes per game and has eight players who hit 20 or more threes during the regular season.

Last season Carroll became the first fourth seed to ever win the MWC Tournament and this season they look to become the first three seed to earn the NCAA Tournament bid since 2003 when Illinois Col. pulled off the feat. The Pioneers are one of the most balanced teams in the league as they finished the regular season third in scoring (74.7 ppg) and second in scoring defense (66.5 ppg) while hitting 49% of their field goals. Alec Molter leads the team with an 11.8 points per game average while also leading the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg) while shooting 57% from the field. Kevin Hurd also averages double figure points (10.4) and leads the team with 38 made three pointers in only 73 attempts while he is nearly automatic at the free throw line (87%). Andrew Nottling is second in the MWC in field goal shooting (65%) with a 7.5 points per game average while teammate Jake Bast is the other double figure scorer (10.0 ppg) and is the only Pioneer to start in all 23 games.

After starting the conference season 6-6 Ripon reeled off five wins in its last six contests to earn the final spot in the MWC Tournament after missing the four team tournament last year. The Red Hawks are led by MWC leading scorer Taylor Koth who averages 24 points per game while finishing second in rebounding with 9.7 a contest. On the season Koth has scored 30 or more points six times and finished the regular season with 11 double-doubles. Brad Brooks is second on the team in rebounding with 6.1 a game and is third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg). Kyle Loughrin is the only other player that averages more than ten points (10.8 ppg) but has averaged nearly two more points per game in conference contests (12.6 ppg) while shooting nearly 47% from the field. The Red Hawks offense is run by Andy Popp who is fourth in the league with 95 assists and contributes 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

To watch a live broadcast of the tournament and to follow the live results please visit the 2013 MWC Men’s Basketball Tournament page. You can also buy championship gear at the MWC Appearal website which also includes general MWC memorabilia and apparel.