In sports, every game is a must-win for teams. No coach prepares his players by telling them it's OK to lose, that they don't really have to win.
All games are must-wins.
This has never been more true for the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team. Tonight, they play a definite must-win game.
The Tigers host Dordt College tonight in their first home game since Dec. 18. A win tonight would give either team a significant edge over the other in terms of the GPAC playoffs as well as a possible national tournament berth.
The Tigers, who were picked to finish No. 1 in the conference by the coaches in a preseason poll, are currently in a four-way tie for third with the Chargers, Morningside and Northwestern. All have 5-2 GPAC records, and all four teams play tonight.
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Dordt and Dakota Wesleyan just happen to play each other.
A win for the Tigers would put some separation between themselves and Dordt. The Chargers actually did DWU a huge favor this weekend when they lost to Nebraska Wesleyan, which is alone in fourth with a 4-3 record.
Dakota Wesleyan, however, did nothing to help itself when it played Hastings College Sunday. Instead of picking up a win and moving to 6-1 in the GPAC -- which would have left them tied for second with Concordia -- the Tigers dropped to 5-2 after a 93-83 loss.
"Hastings really took it to us from the very opening tip," DWU coach John Hemenway said of Sunday's loss. "They beat us in every phase of the game. I don't mean to sound cliché, but they beat us to loose balls, they outrebounded us, they beat us on the offensive end and they were very ready to play. We didn't respond or react to any of it very well."
Instead of looking back and lamenting on what could have been with a win against Hastings instead of a loss, DWU needs to come right back and pick up a much-needed GPAC win. The Tigers have already played Dordt once -- and lost -- so they know what the Chargers are good at.
Dakota Wesleyan knows Logan Kingma is, according to Hemenway, one of the best wing players in the league. The Tigers know Dordt has a point guard who can shoot, drive and score. They know the Chargers are physical and they know they're good at defense.
The Tigers need to take all this and use it in what might be one of their biggest games so far this season.
To help the Tigers out, the Dakota Wesleyan University athletic staff is calling for a "White Out" tonight. Not a white out like drivers experienced Monday with all the blowing snow, but a "White Out" to show support for DWU.
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Last year when DWU called for a "White Out," the atmosphere was unbelievable. The Tigers, then ranked No. 8, were hosting No. 1 and undefeated Morningside College. The stands were packed with students and fans dressed in -- and even painted -- all white.
The result was equally as unbelievable. The Tigers beat Morningside, 91-79, and as the final buzzer sounded, the student section rushed out onto the court to congratulate the Tigers on what Hemenway called "one of our best wins in school history."
Tuesday afternoon, Hemenway said what all coaches say in situations like this: all games are must-win. But he also acknowledged that after Sunday's loss, this game is definitely big for DWU.
"I don't know if there's a game that's a must-win," he said. "We're trying to win every game the same, home or away. But in terms of where it sits in our schedule and coming off of the way we played Sunday, which was not very good, yeah this is a big game for us."
Tonight may not be the matchup between ranked teams like last year's "White Out" was -- both DWU and Dordt actually dropped out of the polls this week after their respective losses -- but the postseason implications are there. And if the Tigers want to earn their third straight trip to the national tournament come March, a win tonight would go a long ways.
