At John Carroll, there’s still plenty to be decided for the start of next week’s North Coast Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament.
On the women’s side, the Blue Streaks are locked into their position for the NCAC tournament, but the men can finish in a variety of spots, most likely either at Nos. 2 or 3.
To each winner goes an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s tournament. On Feb. 21, the NCAC wraps up its regular season.
At Lake Erie College, there are still two weeks to play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference’s regular season, and the Storm men are enjoying one of their best seasons in program history. Before play Feb. 19, the Storm were 17-7 and in third place behind conference leader Walsh (21-3) and Ashland (17-7).
A look at each team’s postseason hopes with their conference tournaments fast-approaching:
John Carroll men
Record: 18-6, 10-5 NCAC, tied for second
Game remaining: Wittenberg, 3 p.m., Feb. 21
The skinny: At the top of the NCAC, it’s simple: If first-place Denison (16-8, 11-4) defeats visiting Ohio Wesleyan Feb. 21, the Big Red will be the top seed in the conference tourney. After that, it’s messy with three teams (JCU, Wittenberg and DePauw) at 10-5 in conference play. With JCU hosting Wittenberg, the loser falls back a notch. If DePauw wins at Wooster and JCU defeats Wittenberg, it’s a problem for the Blue Streaks. That’s because the first tiebreaker is head to head, and with JCU and DePauw splitting their two games with Denison, the next tiebreaker is head to head vs. teams ahead in the standings. In a scenario of Denison being the No. 1 seed, and JCU and DePauw each at 11-5 in conference play, the next tiebreaker would be with Wittenberg, if JCU wins on Feb. 21. In that scenario, the Blue Streaks would be 1-1 vs. Wittenberg and DePauw 2-0. In that scenario, DePauw would be the No. 2 seed. It’s worth noting Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster are near the bottom of the conference with a combined mark of 15-23. Anything is possible, but the likelihood of JCU getting help from OWU or Wooster seems unlikely. The NCAC men’s and women’s tourneys feature the top six teams, with the top two seeds earning first-round byes. In the opening round, seed No. 3 hosts No. 6 with the No. 4 seed hosting No. 5. The semifinals and championship game will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed.
John Carroll women
Record: 21-3, 10-3 NCAC, third
Game remaining: Wittenberg, 1 p.m., Feb. 21
John Carroll’s Ava Ryncarz in action against Baldwin Wallace Nov. 25, 2025. (Tim Phillis – For The News-Herald)
The skinny: The Blue Streaks are locked into their current spot of third place. Ohio Wesleyan (20-3, 11-2) plays at first-place Denison (23-1, 12-1) and even if OWU and JCU finish tied for second place in the conference at 11-3, the Bishops would secure no worse than the No. 2 seed in the NCAC tournament and a first-round bye based on the first tiebreaker, head to head against teams ahead. OWU will finish no worse than 1-1 against Denison while JCU went 0-2 vs. Denison.
Lake Erie men
Record: 17-7, 11-5 GMAC, third
Games remaining: at Thomas More, Feb. 19; at Malone, Feb. 21; at Cedarville, Feb. 26; Ohio Dominican, Feb. 28
Lake Erie men’s basketball coach Kyle Conley during his team’s 82-77 win over Kentucky Wesleyan Jan. 5. (Paul DiCicco – For The News-Herald)
The skinny: LEC is the hottest team in the GMAC with five straight victories, but Walsh has kept pace with its own four-game winning streak. The Storm — which is averaging 90.2 points and has five players at 10 points per game, led by Amari Williams’ 14.9 points — has three straight road games before closing the regular season at home vs. Ohio Dominican, which is currently fourth in the conference. The GMAC’s tournament is March 3-7, which includes the top eight teams based on winning percentage with quarterfinals held on the campus of the higher seed. The semifinals and championship game are held at the highest remaining seeded team, with the winner earning a bid to the NCAA D-II tournament.