We have an unusual situation this year. Normally, the weekend before Thanksgiving officially kicks off the Division III basketball season, at least for North Central. The women, however, got an early start in their game against Calvin last Friday. The men's season officially begins today.
I've already previewed the upcoming year for both the men and the women, but I'm doing what I did last year and giving the Tip Off Tournament its own preview. Given the format changes again this year, I think it's needed.
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| Photo from NCC Athletics Department |
The women's tournament is returning to its format from prior years, with North Central playing the 5:00 game on Friday, the Friday losers playing at noon on Saturday while the Friday winners play at 5:00. Last year, NCC played both 5:00 games in an effort to deliver a "championship" game, and it succeeded with
a double overtime thriller that saw a couple school records fall. Meanwhile, the men's tournament is changing formats again, but out of necessity this time. The school was unable to secure a fourth team to the tournament, so they and their two guest teams will play a round robin with one game apiece on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, this could complicate the championship, but last year saw a split championship between North Central and Wisconsin-Whitewater after both teams went 2-0 over the weekend.
The tournament's first day will proceed almost like normal, just with no noon games; the women play back to back this afternoon. There will be a neutral men's game on Saturday in between the two women's games, and the North Central men will play their second game on Sunday to spread things out. Here's a look at the five teams coming to Naperville this weekend.
