The NSIC basketball tournament brackets are set, and the Division II conference championship begins Tuesday with first round games before moving to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
The tournament was originally slated to start Wednesday, but due to approaching winter storms some games were moved up to Tuesday.
The 16-team NSIC sends 12 of its teams to the conference tournament, with the top two seeds in the north and south divisions each getting a first round bye. First round games are at the home site of the higher seed.
On the men's side, Northern State clinched the overall NSIC title, going 19-3 in league play and 23-5 overall. The Wolves edged MSU-Moorhead (22-6, 17-5) and Minnesota Duluth (20-8, 16-6) for the North title.
In the men's South division, USF, Upper Iowa and Wayne State all finished in a three-way tie for first place. The Cougars earned their share of the division crown with a 61-60 win over Augustana in a rivalry clash in Saturday's regular season finale.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jack Thompson banked in a 3-pointer with seven seconds to play to lift the Cougars to the win.
UIU and Wayne State both had the tiebreaker over USF, however, leaving the Cougars with the 3-seed in the South. They will host St. Cloud State (10-17, 7-15) in a first round game on Wednesday at the Stewart Center.
Augustana fell to 11-11 and the South's 5-seed with the loss to USF. They'll visit Bemidji State (18-10, 13-9) in the first round.
In the women's bracket, Minnesota Duluth is the heavy favorite after a dominant regular season. The defending conference champs are 24-3 on the season and 21-1 in league play. Their one loss came at home to Augustana, and the Vikings earned a first round bye and trip straight to the Pentagon by finishing second in the South with an 18-4 NSIC mark and 24-4 overall record.
MSU-Mankato (23-3, 19-3) won the South.
Second round games at the Pentagon begin Saturday and run through Sunday, with the semifinals set for Monday and the championship games on Tuesday.
NSIC TOURNAMENT
Women
First round games
Tuesday
Minnesota Crookston at Southwest Minnesota State
Wednesday
Wayne State at Mary
Concordia-St. Paul at MSU-Moorhead
Upper Iowa at Northern State
Second round games (Sanford Pentagon)
Saturday
Minnesota Duluth vs CSP/MSUM, 11 a.m.
MSU-Mankato vs Mary/Wayne, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday
Augustana vs. NSU/UIU, 11 a.m.
St. Cloud State vs. SMSU/UMC, 1:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Monday, 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
Championship
Tuesday, 4 p.m.
Men
First round games
Tuesday
Minot State at SMSU, 3 p.m.
Wednesday
MSU-Mankato at Minnesota Duluth, 6 p.m.
Augustana at Bemidji State, 6 p.m.
St. Cloud State at USF, 6 p.m.
Second round games (Sanford Pentagon)
Saturday
Northern State vs. SMSU/Minot, 4:30 p.m.
Wayne State vs. BSU/Augie, 7 p.m.
Sunday
Upper Iowa vs. UMD/MSUM, 4:30 p.m.
MSU-Moorhead vs. USF/SCSU, 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Monday, 4:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Championship
Tuesday, 7 p.m.
