UMAC Men's and Women's Basketball teams set to battle for NCAA Tournament berth
2013 UMAC Men's Basketball Tournament Website
2013 UMAC Women's Basketball Tournament Website
Updated February 20, 2013
ST. PAUL -- Four teams became two in both the men's and women's UMAC Basketball Tournament semifinals on Wednesday evening.
In men's action the No. 1 seed Northwestern College outlasted the fourth-seeded University of Minnesota Morris 83-80 to give the Eagles a berth in Saturday's tournament championship game on their home court. The Eagles will face second-seeded Bethany Lutheran College who defeated North Central University 83-67 in Wednesday's semifinal. The Eagles and the Vikings will meet in Saturday's UMAC Tournament Championship for the second straight year with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Tipoff if scheduled for 7 p.m. in St. Paul.
The women's semifinals featured upsets in which the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds were eliminated from the tournament. Third-seeded Martin Luther College earned a spot in Saturday's UMAC Tournament Championship by defeating No. 2 seed Northwestern College 78-72. In the second women's semifinal of the evening the fourth-seeded College of St. Scholastica outlasted the UMAC regular season champion and top seed Minnesota Morris in an overtime thriller by a final score of 83-78. The Knights and Saints will meet in Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. on Martin Luther's home court with the winner earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
2012-13 UMAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, February 20 - Semifinals
#1 Northwestern College def. #4 University of Minnesota Morris, 83-80
[
box score |
Northwestern recap |
Minnesota Morris recap]
#2 Bethany Lutheran College def. #3 North Central University, 83-67
[
box score |
Bethany Lutheran recap |
North Central recap]
Saturday, February 23 - Championship
#2 Bethany Lutheran College at #1 Northwestern College, 7 p.m. [
video |
stats]
2012-13 UMAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, February 20 - Semifinals
#4 College of St. Scholastica def. #1 University of Minnesota Morris, 83-78 (OT)
[
box score |
St. Scholastica recap |
Minnesota Morris recap]
#3 Martin Luther College def. #2 Northwestern College, 78-72
[
box score |
Martin Luther recap |
Northwestern recap]
Saturday, February 23 - Championship
#4 College of St. Scholastica at #3 Martin Luther College, 7 p.m. [
video |
stats]
******************************
Video Interview with Northwestern Men's Basketball Coach Tim Grosz
Video Interview with Minnesota Morris Women's Basketball Coach Tim Grove
ST. PAUL -- The battle for a ticket to the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments begins at the UMAC Tournament semifinals on Wednesday night. Three sites will host four games on Wednesday evening with the highest remaining seeds hosting Saturday night’s championship games.
Northwestern College, who won their 24th UMAC men's basketball regular season championship this year by compiling a 12-2 conference record earned the No. 1 seed in the UMAC Tournament. Entering the tournament as two-time reigning tournament champions, the Eagles will host the University of Minnesota Morris in Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal. The Cougars, who enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, finished the regular season with a UMAC record of 9-5 . In their two previous meetings this season Northwestern won both games, with the last game being decided by three points.
The Bethany Lutheran College men's basketball team will host their second UMAC Tournament semifinal in two seasons under head coach David Balza. The Vikings, who finished the regular season with a league record of 9-5 and in a three-way tie for second place with Minnesota Morris and North Central University, earned the No. 2 seed by way of tie-breaker criteria. The third-seeded Rams of North Central will travel to Mankato for their first ever UMAC Tournament appearance on Wednesday. In prior meetings this season the teams have split, setting the stage for a rubber-match in Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
On the women's side, UMAC regular season champion Minnesota Morris earned the No. 1 seed by going undefeated in league play compiling a 14-0 conference record. The Cougars, who won their fourth consecutive regular season trophy this season, will host the fourth-seeded College of St. Scholastica for a repeat of last season's semifinal match-up. The Saints enter the tournament after posting a regular season conference record of 8-6 this season, with two of those losses coming from previous meetings with the Cougars. Wednesday's semifinal is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
In the other bracket, second-seeded Northwestern earned home court advantage by posting an 11-3 UMAC record this season. The Eagles will host the No. 2 seed, Martin Luther College in Wednesday's semifinal. After being crowned UMAC Tournament Champions in 2012 and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Knights finished the 2013 season with a league record of 9-5 and were the only team other than Minnesota Morris to hand the Eagles a conference loss this season. The Eagles and Knights split their prior match-ups this season with both games decided by less than 10 points. Wednesday's semifinal between Northwestern and Martin Luther will tip-off at 5:30 p.m in St. Paul.
Tickets for all UMAC Tournament games are $5 for adults, $3 for college students and youth ages 6-18. Children ages five and under are free, as are students, staff and faculty who present a valid ID from UMAC institutions. All four games will feature live video streaming and live statistics.