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Mark Privratsky  PHOTO CREDIT: Travis Gallipo, 2023 Summit League Champions: South Dakota State Jackrabbits The 2023 NCAA Tournament kicks off this weekend across the country. The season started with over 120 Minnesotan players in Division 1, and 19 Minnesotans still have a chance to be Champions. The inner circle that chooses matchups gave us great intra Minnesotan matchups that both ensure some of our players will go home early, but also guarantee some players to move into at least round 2. Nebraska plays South Dakota State and UW Milwaukee plays Wisconsin on Friday, Nov 10 in the matchups that encompass most of our local players. The MN featured squads with the best chances to move on are seeded squads #3 UNC (Maddie Dahlien), #2 Penn State (Kaitlyn MacBean), #4 Wisconsin (Daria Andringa, Maddie Ishaug, Ali Fine, Maddie Poor, Kenzie Jacobson), and #3 Brown (Clare Gagne). The 2023 NCAA Tournament is on ESPN+, so grab a quick month subscription if you aren't already subscribed! We will be watching, posting content and potentially hosting watch parties at the Blackhart of St Paul as the Tournament moves forward! NCAA FIRST ROUND
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Mark Privratsky
In the preseason I made a general prediction of where the MN NSIC teams would be in the tiers of Conference. St Cloud was one of the "So you're saying there's a chance?" squads, and boy did they take their chance. Credit to an incredible leap forward from the Huskies, who didn't make the NSIC Tournament last year, and now are the #2 ranked squad in the Central Region with the posibility of an At Large bid to the NCAAs. Two weeks from now, the Division 2 NCAA Tournament will kick off all around the Country, and five Minnesota squads, including the rising Huskies, still have a chance of being there. St Cloud State enters the playoffs as the (surprise?) Northern Sun Regular Season Champs with MN State Mankato just behind them by a point. 4th place Bemidji State finished just 3 points ahead of 7th place Concordia St Paul in a tough middle of the table fight, and UMD just beat out Southwest MN State and Wayne for the 8th and final postseason spot. With the playoffs starting Monday, November 6th, we’ll dig into the D2 Minnesota squads NCAA chances, and set up the matchups for the ‘23 NSIC Tournament. Lastly, thanks to St Cloud State and the NSIC, you can hear Matt and Mark Privratsky on the call for the St Cloud State v UMD game this Monday at 2pm (and potentially more to come?) on the NSIC Network App or NSICNetwork.com.
NCAA Tournament Chances
2023 NSIC Tournament
The NSIC Tournament kicks off this Monday, November 6 on the NSIC Network and at 4 home sites around the Conference. St Cloud hosts UMD at 2pm, Bemidji hosts Augustana at 3pm, MN State Mankato hosts Concordia St Paul at 3pm, and Northern State hosts U Mary at 4pm. All of these games are easily streamed at NSICNetwork.com or on the NSIC Network App. The four quarterfinal winners will face off on Friday, November 6 Semi Finals, with the Champion determined on Monday, November, 12th. We break down each Minnesota squad's below with their key players and best results from the '23 season. Place your bets on the number of Minnesota squads in the field for the 2023 NCAA Tournament (over/under 2.5?)
#1 St Cloud State Huskies
#2 MN State Mankato Mavericks
#4 Bemidji State Beavers
#7 Concordia St Paul Golden Bears
#8 UMD Bulldogs
ICYMI: Prep for the Playoffs with 2023 NSIC InterviewsMark Privratsky  Clare Gagne and her Brown teammates celebrate 4(!) Ivy League Titles in a Row! The 2023 Season started with over 120 Minnesotans playing D1. Of those, 12 lucky (or not?) players from Minnesota have ended their regular season as Conference Champs, which reminds us how hard it is for most teams to win trophies. With the exception of Clare Gagne and the Brown 4 peat in the Ivy League, you can't expect to be on top year after year. This year we have Champions from Lipscomb, Nebraska, UW Milwaukee, Brown, Drake, Army and Denver, with plenty of local rivals eager to knock them off in the upcoming playoffs. Will South Dakota State get revenge on Denver and go back to the Tournament? Can Brown make a historic run after the 4 peat? Will Drake or UNI's MN squad reign supreme in the Missouri Valley? As always, ESPN+ and the Summit League Network are your best friends for catching D1 Minnesotans, with BTN+ and big BTN showing plenty as well. We focused on playoffs that are easily watchable and with the most Minnesotans who contribute, so there will be some players missed! Atlantic Sun Conference Champs: Lipscomb (Lydia Hindt)
Big Ten Conference Champs: Nebraska (Lauren Buzzell)
Horizon League Champs: UW Milwaukee (Clara Broecher, Alyssa Marceau)
Ivy League Champs: Brown (Clare Gagne)
Missouri Valley Champs: Drake (Delaney Goertzen, Brooke Davies, Angela Gutierrez)
Patriot League Champs: Army (Jordan Hecht, Hannah Pohlidal)
Summit League Champs: Denver (Shay Payne, Megan Prazich)
Conference Playoff Games to Watch 
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