Lawrence travels to Grinnell, Iowa, for the Midwest Conference Tournament, and to the winner of this four-team event goes an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lawrence, the No. 2 seed, takes on third-seeded Illinois College in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m. Friday. Top seed and host Grinnell College, the conference champion, takes on fourth seed Ripon College in the other semifinal at 7:00 p.m. The winners meet at 3:00 p.m. Saturday for the championship.
The Vikings (18-5, 12-4 MWC) bring a balanced and potent attack to the tournament. Lawrence regularly uses 10 players in its rotation, with distinct first and second units developing over the course of the season.
The starting five is led by freshman forward Chris Braier (Wauwautosa/East), who leads the team at 14.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Braier has gotten better as the season progressed, and he leads the league in double-doubles with 11. He has put together a double-double in nine of his last 11 games.
The heartbeat of the team is junior guard Rob Nenahlo (Appleton/East). Nenahlo, who missed most of last season with a back injury, is averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 2.7 assists per game. After getting off to somewhat of a slow start, Nenahlo has picked it up over the last month, averaging 12.1 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor (26-52) and 52 percent (13-25) on 3-pointers.
An All-MWC selection as a freshman, sophomore guard Jason Holinbeck (Neenah/Neenah) is Nenahlo's running mate in the backcourt. Holinbeck is third on the team at 10.4 points per game and second in rebounding at 3.2 per contest.
The starting five is rounded out by sophomore Brendan Falls (Park Ridge, Ill./Loyola), who is averaging 10.7 points per game, and sophomore center Tony Olson (Green Bay/East), who is at 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
The second five brings a slightly more uptempo look to the floor, with point guard Dan Evans (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove), off-guard Brent Vandermause (Slinger/Slinger), forwards and brothers Chris MacGillis (Wauwautosa/Pius XI) and Kyle MacGillis (Wauwautosa/Pius XI), and forward Kevin Cooper (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary Grove). The wild card in the mix is freshman forward/center Quentin Herring (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township), who is the most athletic player on the roster.
Lawrence enters the tournament on a down note after dropping a 72-64 decision at St. Norbert College last Saturday. Lawrence's 75-68 win over Illinois College in Appleton was part of the Vikings' season-long nine-game winning streak. The Vikings look to rebound against a team that pulled off a dramatic 70-69 win at Illinois College three weeks ago.
Illinois College brings a huge team to the tournament.
The Blueboys are paced by 6-foot-10 senior center Garrett Ingram, a first-team All-MWC pick who is averaging a team-high 17.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
If that wasn't enough, the Blueboys also have 6-6 widebody Josh Kleiboeker, who has size and a soft touch around the basket. The junior forward enters the game with averages of 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
The backcourt for the Blueboys is solid, with senior guards Chad Tobin (12.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Drew Petefish (8.8 ppg, 5.9 apg) leading the way.
The Blueboys (13-10, 9-7 MWC) enter the tournament fresh off a 118-98 loss at Grinnell last Saturday. Illinois College has dropped three of its last five games, including a 17-point home loss to Beloit College.
Grinnell (18-5, 13-3 MWC), with its trademark run and gun style, is currently on an eight-game winning streak. The Pioneers are the top-scoring team in the nation at 126.9 points per game and are led by Steve Wood at 24.7 points per game.
Grinnell, which has seven players averaging in double figures, employs a 15-player rotation consisting of three shifts of five players apiece. The Pioneers have to be the tournament favorite because they haven't lost at home since a 130-124 setback to Illinois College on Jan. 5, 2002, a span of 16 games. Grinnell, which hasn't played on the road since Feb. 12, had it tightest home game of the season against Lawrence, a 150-149 triple-overtime win back on Jan. 25.
Ripon (15-8, 9-7 MWC) needed a win over Carroll College last Saturday to make the tournament. The Red Hawks started the season with high hopes and were ranked as high as 21st in the D3hoops.com poll. Beginning with a 79-64 home loss to Lawrence on Jan. 11, the Red Hawks have put together a 6-8 record.
Donšt underestimate Ripon because the Red Hawks are a veteran team and are always a force come tournament time. Ripon is led by senior swingman Josh Glocke (17.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and junior forward Scott Landisch (16.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg).
Tom Becker, a transfer from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, mans the point for Ripon. He missed nearly a month of the season with a broken wrist and is averaging 11.6 points and 5.5 assists per game. Andy Kieck is also in double figures at 10.7 points per game.