ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State Lakers, two-seed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament, are set to host the final two rounds of the conference tournament this weekend. With top-seed Ferris State's loss in the quarterfinals, the Lakers are the highest remaining seed and thus host the final rounds for the first time since the 2007-2008 season.
Weekend Schedule (all games played at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena):
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
GAME 5 | Semifinal #1 | 2-seed Grand Valley State vs. 3-seed Michigan Tech | 1:00 PM
GAME 6 | Semifinal #2 | 4-seed Northwood vs. 8-seed Northern Michigan | 4:00 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 8
GAME 7 | Finals | Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 1:00 PM
All three games will air on ESPN3 with any game in which the Lakers participate airing on ESPN 96.1 FM in West Michigan and globally on the iHeart app. GVSULakers.com will provide links to live stats for all three games. Follow the entire tournament with the
Tournament Central Page.
The Lakers are reigning GLIAC Tournament Champions and look to defend their title this weekend. Entering the final weekend before NCAA Tournament play, the Lakers are ranked fourth in the Midwest Region. The top eight in the region during Sunday's (March 8) selection show will qualify for the big dance. Three conferences (GLIAC, Great Lakes Valley and Great Midwest) all have automatic qualifying spots plus five at-large bids.
Three teams from the GLIAC were within the top eight in this week's final rankings before the official selection; #3 Ferris State, #4 Grand Valley State and #8 Michigan Tech. GVSU and Michigan Tech are both still vying for the AQ for the GLIAC, but should Northwood or Northern Michigan cut down the nets on Sunday, they will take a spot from one of the current at-large teams. With just three losses separating the top team and the eighth team in the region entering the final weekend, there are no guarantees for anyone that doesn't win their conference tournament.
"Our region, and our conference, are extremely competitive this year. Night in and night out there are 'surprise results' that aren't really a surprise because there isn't much separation from top to bottom," said GVSU head coach
Ric Wesley. "We played a competitive non-conference schedule early in the regular season for that very reason, and I think that has been a huge benefit for us. Now we have to focus on being our best version of ourselves at the biggest time of the year. It's March."
The Lakers have established a true home court advantage in playoff games throughout program history; GVSU is 13-2 in conference tournament games and 16-2 in all post-season games played on their home floor. The latest was a 73-60 win over Ashland Tuesday (March 3) night in the quarterfinals. GVSU has now won four consecutive conference tournament games dating back to last season.
The bench was huge for GVSU in Tuesday's win; led by
Austin Braun's five points, five assists and four steals in just 17 minutes on the floor. His spark in the first half helped the Lakers erase an 8-point deficit with under four minutes left in the period and tie the game at halftime before running away with it in the second half.
Jake Van Tubbergen averages a double-double this season while
Christian Negron leads the conference, and ranks fifth in the nation, with 75 blocks while also leading the GLIAC in field goal percentage. The strong interior presence has led the Lakers to the best opponent field goal percentage in the conference and a 23-6 overall record after going 15-5 in GLIAC play. The Lakers 23 wins are tied for seventh-most in the storied history of the program and are the most in a single season since the 36-1 campaign back in 2007-08, when the Lakers reached the NCAA Elite 8.
"Our big guys have done a great job of setting the tone for us this season, both on and off the court," Wesley said. "They are dependable and physical and give us a real identity that allows us to utilize high-percentage looks and grind down opponents, which is the way you have to play to win consistently in this league."
The wing shooters are getting hot at the right time, too.
Isaac Gassman is shooting 55% (38-69) from three over the last 14 games and is 10-16 from beyond the arc in the last two.
Jayden Hodgson has also proven to be a key facilitator for GVSU. He has played in 22 of the Lakers 23 wins and averages 3.5 assists in those games while averaging just 1.6 assists in the five losses in which he's played.
Jeremiah Ferguson has also contributed 15 points per game in his senior season to provide a versatile scoring option that can drive the lane or pull up from almost anywhere on the floor.
"When our shooters get rolling and we move the basketball effectively, we can be really hard to stop," Wesley said. "We've been focusing on movement and spreading the ball around to get all of these pieces more involved and that has made things difficult on defenses because they can't just take one thing away."
The Lakers semifinal opponent features one of the hottest teams, and best players, in the conference. The Huskies have won five in a row and seven of their last eight games, coming off a 75-56 drubbing of Saginaw Valley in the quarterfinals. Michigan Tech averages almost 80 points a game, ranking second in the GLIAC, and lead the conference in both overall field goal percentage (49.1) and three-point percentage (43.5).
"Michigan Tech has a bunch of scorers and they can attack you from so many different ways," Wesley said. "They're relentless offensively and, with the way they shoot the three, really stretch out defenses. We're going to need great individual efforts across the board on the defensive end to win this game."
Kyle Monroe, a top contender for GLIAC Player of the Year, leads this veteran and hungry pack of Huskies. He averages 24 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, shooting over 50% from the field and above 40% from three. He's a master at getting to the free throw line as well, averaging five attempts per game and shooting at an 80% clip from the line for the season. Monroe has shined against Grand Valley State this year, scoring 94 points in the two meetings. The Huskies share the ball well, too, averaging over 17 assists per game. Dawson Bilski (14.8 PPG) and Owen White (11.9 PPG) both also average double figures for the Huskies this season.
Michigan Tech is currently on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, sitting as the eight-seed with three automatic qualifiers up for grabs. They will come in fighting to keep their season alive while the Lakers look to bolster their resume for an at-large bid if they don't cut down the nets on Sunday.
With so much on the line, the rubber-match between these two teams should be highly entertaining. The Lakers won the first meeting, 95-93, in overtime at home before falling, 78-70, at Tech on senior day two weeks ago. The Lakers lead the all-time series 45-41 but have won just one of five GLIAC Tournament meetings between the two schools.
As two talented teams vie for NCAA Tournament spots, expect another down-to-the-wire game. The Lakers are built to grind. They've shown grit and toughness all season. Now, let's see if it pays off and carries over. The opening tip comes Saturday at 1:00 PM in Allendale.
