Saturday was the final day of the regular season for NSIC and MIAC basketball. Here's a summary:
NSIC
Men: Minnesota State defeated Southwest State 78-66 in Marshall to win the NSIC overall and South Division titles. Tanner Adler led the Mavericks (25-4, 19-3) with 22 points. … Winona State, which was tied with MSU Mankato, lost 79-70 to Augustana at home when Casey Schilling scored 20 points for the Vikings. … Bemidji State lost 92-60 at St. Cloud State, meaning those teams and Minnesota State Moorhead all tied for the North Division title with 15-7 records.
Women: Wayne State clinched its third league title in four years when it beat host Upper Iowa 78-56.
Playoffs: Begin Wednesday. The championships are March 4.
MIAC
Men: Six playoff teams were already set, but three seeds and the right to host the two quarterfinals were at stake during the final regular-season games. Augsburg and St. John's both won on the road to grab the third and fourth seeds, respectively. The Auggies won 91-69 over St. Mary's (2-19, 3-22) to finish third. The Johnnies (15-10, 13-7) upset conference champion St. Thomas 76-69 for the fourth seed.
Women: St. Mary's defeated visiting Augsburg 70-64 to clinch an outright title. It is the third conference title for the Cardinals (23-2, 20-2) but first since sharing it in 1985-86. … Concordia beat Hamline 86-64 to secure the second seed. St. Thomas beat St. Benedict 69-52; the Tommies will be the third seed.
Playoffs: The women's tournament begins Tuesday, with the championship Saturday. The men's tournament begins Wednesday with the championship next Sunday.
