Raise Your Glasses For A Toast - A GREAT Day For MIAC Women's Basketball!!!

After watching the mock selection show last night on D3Hoops.com, I felt very good about the chances for both GAC and CSB and those and my predictions from late last week and over the weekend came true as both the Gusties and the Blazers joined UST in getting bids to the NCAA Tournament.  Both the Gusties and the Blazers had a very strong SOS (strength of schedule) and both had wins over regionally-ranked teams during either the regular season or the MIAC Playoffs and that's what got them on the table and ultimately got them both in.  There were some surprises as well.  UW-Oshkosh out of the WIAC getting snubbed was a bit of a shock (when was the last time the WIAC was a one-team?) and Whitman out of the NWC getting in was perhaps an even bigger shock.  Remember, the Blues lost a late regular season game at home to Willamette and then followed that up by losing to said Willamette team in the NWC semifinals again at home in Walla Walla which, in my mind, left the Blues dead in the water and opened the door for GAC to move up in the West Region rankings at the very least and possibly leave the door open for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps out of the SCIAC.  As it was, Whitman's SOS likely got them over despite their late-season slump and the Athenas likely never made it to the table for discussion.

So now that the pairings for the NCAA Tournament have been announced, let's look at it from a MIAC angle.  Not surprisingly, UST gets to host a first- and second-round pod this coming Friday and Saturday night as Chicago out of the UAA will take on Wisconsin Lutheran out of the NACC in the first game on Friday night while UST will face off with SCIAC champ Chapman.  Chicago is the one team in this pod I would definitely not take lightly and they gave the Tommies all they could handle when they were up here last year.  Chapman had to go to double-overtime to stave off said Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team in the SCIAC Championship Game on Saturday night so it'll be interesting to see how much the Panthers have in the tank once they make the trip from the Motherland to the Twin Cities.

When I saw that GAC had been sent to the UW-Whitewater pod, I couldn't help but smile just a bit.  First, because of the fact that they got in after I was sure that they were in :) but also because I think that this could be setting up very well for the Gusties.  They'll take on Rose-Hulman out of the HCAC and the Engineers had a very good year; going 24-3 overall.  But I like how the Gusties came on down the stretch; beating CSB in the semifinals and I really felt that the MIAC Championship Game with UST could have turned out differently if they would have been able to clean some things up.  But now they get a second chance and I'm hoping that they make the most of it.  And I know that I've talked about the Gusties' seeming inability to win the Big One.  This is also their chance for them to bury forever that infamous legacy.  The other game in the UW-Whitewater pod has the Warhawks taking on UMAC champ UW-Superior.  While on paper this should be favorable for UW-Whitewater, they'd better not underestimate the Yellowjackets and they've got nothing to lose here.

Interestingly, it was CSB getting sent down to my home state of Iowa (not GAC) in the Wartburg pod and the Blazers have what could be the most-anticipated first round games of the NCAA Tournament as they'll go up against NWC champ and perennial powerhouse George Fox.  The Bruins finished the year with another very, very good record at 24-3 although two of those losses came to MIAC teams over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend - Bethel and UST.  The only other loss they had was to NWC arch-rival Whitman in Walla Walla.  This one just could be a war.  The nightcap in Waverly will pit host and nationally number two-ranked IIAC champ Wartburg; undefeated at 27-0 against SLIAC champ Webster.  While I see Wartburg taking care of business in their first round game, getting past either CSB or George Fox - even on their home floor - is not an easy proposition.

I'll have more to say about all this as we get later on in the week.  For now, let's raise our glasses and give a toast to UST, CSB and GAC.  Way to go MIAC Women's Basketball!!!!