First Unranked Regional Rankings Released 2-6-24

 So, the first alphabetical and unranked Regional Rankings were released earlier today and here's what things look like at the moment.  I've also taken the liberty of updating the W-L records of involved teams (conference first then overall):

Concordia-Moorhead	14-2	15-4
Gustavus Adolphus	15-0	19-1
Loras	10-2	17-3
UW-Oshkosh	8-2	17-4
UW-Stout	4-6	14-7
UW-Whitewater	7-3	18-3
Wartburg	13-0	20-2

So, you take a hard look at these teams and, particularly their conference records, and some things start standing out to you.  First, you have to think that - at the moment anyway - that UW-Stout; despite the big win they had this last Saturday against UW-Whitewater, is in a perilous position simply due to their conference record alone at 4-6 and with four games left on the regular season schedule, it seems like a difficult proposition for them to improve on that significantly although I could be wrong.  What's really interesting is that a mere couple of weeks or so ago, UW-Whitewater seemed to be riding high and appeared to be a sure bet to not only win the WIAC regular season title but to also be a heavy favorite in the WIAC Tournament as well.  However, due to the unfortunate injury to standout junior guard Kacie Carollo, the Warhawks fortunes have suddenly shifted as they've now lost three of their last four games and the immediate outlook is a bit murky to put it mildly.  In fact, if you look at the current WIAC regular season standings, you'll see that UW-Oshkosh (b'gosh) has now taken over at the top spot and whether or not that form holds obviously remains to be seen.....

Over on the ARC side of things, Wartburg appears to at least have a firm grip on the regular season title with an unblemished conference record although Loras is solidly in second place with a 10-2 record and Coe is trying desperately to hang in there with an 8-4 conference record.  Both the Knights and the Duhawks appear to have a relatively manageable home stretch although the regular season finale for Wartburg down in Cedar Rapids to face said Coe team could be an interesting one.  

Of course, on the MIAC side, the big showdown comes tomorrow night (Wednesday 2-7) up in Moorhead as GAC takes on second place Concordia.  Although the Gusties appear to have the inside track for the regular season title, the Cobbers are desperately seeking a win against a regionally-ranked opponent and this is probably their last shot at doing so unless they get another chance in the MIAC Championship Game.

There are no UMAC teams listed on the initial Regional Rankings which isn't that big of a surprise.  However, UW-Superior right now is trying to hang on to a half-game lead on UM-Morris.  The Yellowjackets travel over to Ashland tonight to play winless Northland and, assuming they win that game which they should relatively easily, that'll set up the big showdown Friday night in Morris against said Cougars team.  You would think that the winner of that game would have the inside track to the top seed in the UMAC Tournament anyway.  

So that's what things look like at the moment.  As always, feel free to fire away with thoughts......