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RIPON, Wis. – The 2014 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’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The tournament is set to start on Friday, February 28 when Ripon battles Grinnell at 1:30 p.m. and St. Norbert hosts Carroll at 6:00 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, the #5 team in the country, rolled through the MWC schedule with a perfect 18-0 record in league play, setting a new conference record. The Green Knights were efficient on both ends of the floor allowing a league-low 64.8 points per game and finishing second in points per game (82.7). As a team they also led the league in scoring margin (+18), three-point percentage (44%), and rebounding margin (+10.6). Kam Cerroni led the way averaging 16.7 points per game (ninth in MWC) while shooting 56% from the field and 56% from behind the arc. Andrew Schwoerer shot 66% from the field while averaging 15.7 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. Brandon Gries ran the Green Knights offense averaging 15.6 points and 3.7 assists per game (fifth in MWC).
Grinnell is in search of its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2001 which was the last time that the Pioneers won the MWC Tournament. Grinnell once again led the nation in scoring average at almost 118 points per game while scoring 100 or more points in 18 of the teams 23 games. The Pioneers headlined the league in assists per game (21), steals per game (13) and turnover margin (+11.2) en route to an 18 win season. Jack Taylor led the nation in scoring at 30.4 points per game and hit a league-high 124 three-point field goals. Four other players averaged double-figures that includes Aaron Levin (18.3 ppg), Patrick Maher (18.1 ppg), Luke Yeager (16.3 ppg), and Julian Mark (13.0 ppg). Maher topped the conference with 185 assists and averaged 8.0 per game, also posting a league-best assist/turnover ratio of 3.60.
Ripon is back in the tournament field for the fourth time in the past five seasons and aims for a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. The Red Hawks finished the year with 15 victories, winning four of their last five games. Ripon averages 81.3 points per game while shooting 50% from the field (fourth in MWC) and 80% from the free throw line (first in MWC). Ty Sabin leads the offensive charge averaging 19.2 points per game shooting 50% from behind the arc and 92% from the free throw line (second in MWC). Brad Brooks enters the tournament second in the league in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and averages 8.7 points per game. Ty Ketz dished out a team-best 69 assists while Kyle Loughrin is second on the team averaging 16.3 points per game.
Carroll enters the tournament for the third straight season and aims to match repeat when they won the MWC Tournament as the fourth seed in 2012. The Pioneers relied on a stingy defense allowing only 65.8 points per game on 44% opposition shooting. Carroll also led the league in field goal percentage (55%) while averaging 70.5 points per game. Andrew Nottling was third in the league in field goal percentage at 63% while leading the team in scoring (14.9 ppg). Alec Molter led the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) while shooting 63% from the field and averaging 13.0 points per game. Kevin Hurd rounds out a trio of players who average double-figure points (12.7 ppg) while playing the second-most minutes per game (34.2).