NACC Tournament Preview: Men's Basketball

MEQUON, Wis. -- Third-seeded Concordia Wisconsin advanced with a hard-fought 68-63 victory over Illinois Tech to advance to Thursday night's NACC Tournament semifinal game at second-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran at 7 pm.

The Falcons held the Scarlet Hawks scoreless in the last seven minutes of the game and made three free throws after an Olalekan George dunk to secure the victory.

Concordia Wisconsin and Wisconsin Lutheran split the two games during the regular season, with the home team winning each game. Wisconsin Lutheran won the first matchup 93-73 after outscoring the visitors by 15 in the second half and shooting 52.3 percent in the game. Later in the season, Concordia Wisconsin won 102-94 after Jordan Johnson and Joey Zietlow each had career nights with 33 and 25 points, respectively.

The Falcons are 17-9 overall and had a pair of four-game winning streaks this season. They lead the NACC in field goal percentage (48.1), field goals made per game (30.4) and blocks per game (4.1). Johnson is second in the league with his 18.4 points per game average, while also ranking second in free-throw percentage (87.6). Zietlow is second in the conference with 54 steals and ninth in field goal percentage (52.3). Brandon Keller is fifth in the NACC at 7.1 rebounds per game and Jared Jurss lead the league with 188 assists and his 7.1 assists per game is third nationally.

During the season, Concordia Wisconsin is 12-1 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.

Wisconsin Lutheran is 19-6 overall and earned a share of the NACC regular-season title with its 16-4 record. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are 11-1 at home this year. The Warriors lead the league in 3-point percentage (39.0), free-throws made per game (16.5) and free-throw percentage (77.5). This season they have gone as Andrew Bruggink goes, and he leads the NACC with 23.8 points per game. He also has a conference-best 209 field goals and 123 free throws. As well, he is third in free-throw percentage (87.2).

During the season, the Warriors knocked down double-digit 3-pointers in seven games and went 5-2 in those games. 

The NACC Tournament is played on three days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday), with the higher seed hosting each game.

NACC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

First Round - Tuesday, February 25, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Concordia Wisconsin def. No. 6 Illinois Tech, 68-63 [Box Score]
No. 5 MSOE def. No. 4 Lakeland, 79-76 [Box Score]

Semifinals - Thursday, February 27, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Concordia Wisconsin at No. 2 Wisconsin Lutheran
No. 5 MSOE at No. 1 Benedictine

Final - Saturday, February 29 - at higher seed
Semifinal winners, TBA

Tournament champion is the NACC's automatic qualifier in the 2020 NCAA Division III Championship.