NSIC tournament pairings are set

Matt Zimmer — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 02:55:45 GMT

SIOUX FALLS — The NSIC basketball tournament bracket is set.

The top 12 twelve teams (men's and women's) have qualified, and the top four have earned first-round byes.

So the Division II conference tournament begins Wednesday night, with the 5-8 seeds hosting the 9-12 seeds on their home floors, and the winners advancing to second round action at the Sanford Pentagon, which begins Saturday. The championship games are set for Tuesday, with the men's and women's winners each earning an automatic bid to the Division II NCAA tournament.

On the men's side, MSU-Mankato earned the No. 1 seed on the heels of a 26-2 regular season that saw them go 20-2 in NSIC play. Minnesota Duluth, MSU-Moorhead and Minot State earned the second, third and fourth seeds and first-round byes, respectively.

MSU-Mankato is the No. 1 women's seed as well, followed by UMary, Concordia-St. Paul and Northern State.

USF and Augustana's women each got in at the tail end of the standings, with the Cougars coming in 11th and the Vikings 12th.

Augustana's men finished 7th and USF 8th, meaning the Viking and Cougar men are both at home Wednesday night for first round action.

Here are the complete brackets for the tournament. All games at the Pentagon will be televised on Midco Sports.

NSIC women's tournament

First Round

Wednesday

(11) USF at (6) Minnesota Duluth, 6 p.m.

(10) Minot State at (7) St. Cloud State, 6 p.m.

(9) Winona State at (8) MSU-Moorhead, 6 p.m.

(12) Augustana at (5) SMSU, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at Sanford Pentagon

Moorhead/Winona vs. MSU-Mankato, 4:30 p.m.

SCSU/Minot vs. UMary, 7 p.m.

Sunday at Sanford Pentagon

SMSU/Augie vs. Northern State, 4:30 p.m.

UMD/USF vs. Concordia, 7 p.m.

Monday at Sanford Pentagon

Semifinal, 4:30 p.m.

Semifinal, 7 p.m.

Tuesday at Sanford Pentagon

Championship, 7 p.m.

Men

First Round

Wednesday

(9) Bemidji State at (8) USF, 6 p.m.

(12) St. Cloud State at (5) SMSU, 5:30 p.m.

(11) Northern State at (6) Winona State, 6 p.m.

(10) Wayne State at (7) Augustana, 6 p.m.

Saturday at Sanford Pentagon

USF/BSU vs. MSU-Mankato, 11 a.m.

Augie/WSC vs. UMD, 1:30 p.m.

Sunday at Sanford Pentagon

SMSU/SCSU vs. Minot State, 11 a.m.

WSU/NSU vs. MSU-Moorhead, 1:30 p.m.

Monday at Sanford Pentagon

Semifinal, 11 a.m.

Semifinal, 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday at Sanford Pentagon

Championship, 4 p.m.

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St. Cloud native Tim Bergstraser following in his college coach's footsteps

Andy Rennecke — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 21:54:44 GMT

MOORHEAD — When Tim Bergstraser came to St. Cloud State in the fall of 2009, he was already obsessed with basketball.

After having a strong career for St. Cloud Apollo, he chose to stay in his hometown to play college basketball under longtime SCSU head coach Kevin Schlagel.

Bergstraser picked a good landing spot as he was a key part of the Huskies' run to the Division II Final Four that 2009-10 season. He made an appearance in all 34 games for St. Cloud State, averaged 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 rebounds a game and took a beating every day at practice while trying to guard All-American center and future Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Famer Matt Schneck.

"I did hit the lottery as a freshman. I was addicted to basketball. That's all I thought about. At the time, I didn't know that winning the NSIC and Central Regional Tournament didn't always happen. We made it to the Elite Eight and then made it to the Final Four. I thought that was going to happen every year," Bergstraser said with a laugh.

"Looking back, I realize how stinking hard that was to do. I was just a dumb 18-year-old along for the ride. It's a lot more significant than you realize."

Leading the Dragons

Bergstraser, 32, is in his second season as head coach of the Minnesota State-Moorhead men's basketball team.

He's guided Moorhead to a 15-1 record this season and a No. 5 ranking in the latest NABC Division II men's basketball Top 25 poll. The Dragons were ranked No. 1 for a week before being knocked off 70-68 at the University of Sioux Falls on Jan. 13.

Last season, Bergstraser guided the Dragons to the NSIC Tournament championship and an appearance in the Division II Central Region Tournament.

To accomplish all of that since being hired in May 2022 has impressed his old college coach, who is the all-time winningest men's basketball coach at SCSU. Schlagel, who was one of the most-respected Division II head coaches of his time, went 341-157 from 1997 to 2014.

"To see how far Tim has come, it's awesome to see," said Schlagel, who is retired and still lives in St. Cloud. "The success he's having is fantastic. Coming out of high school, he needed to mature. Playing against Schneck every day certainly helped with that. He started to understand how he had to grow up, on and off the court.

"He always had that passion for the game. But the injuries took their toll on him."

The ACL tears

Bergstraser tore the ACL in his left knee three times during his career with the Huskies. The first one came in the fall of 2010 during a preseason scrimmage. He had to take a medical redshirt for the 2010-11 season. He returned in 2011-12 and averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds a game to earn All-NSIC second team honors.

But in the Central Region Tournament that season in Golden, Colorado, Bergstraser tore the ACL in the left knee for a second time against Bemidji State. The Huskies won the game, but lost to Metro State (Colorado) in the next round in large part to Bergstraser's absence.

"His second tear in Colorado devastated all of us," Schlagel said. "Tim was a self-made player who worked extremely hard to have the success he had. We enjoyed seeing that progression in him. When he couldn't get back to where he wanted to be, I might have took it harder than anybody."

Bergstraser tried to return the following season, but was never the same. He found out he tore it for a third time after the 2012-13 season had concluded.

"After that third time, I had the mind-set that I was going to come back stronger than ever," Bergstraser admitted. "I was like 'let's get under the knife, cut it open and fix it again.' But, over time, you realize that your body is wearing down on you and how significant these tears were. I couldn't move the same way anymore. I couldn't be as physical as I liked.

"Schlagel sat me down and told me that he wanted me to be able to play with my kids some day. I can't thank him enough for that. It was the tough love I needed. If I had had another surgery, I probably wouldn't be walking right now."

Coaching path

Bergstraser became a student assistant coach at St. Cloud State the following season, which started him on his path to Minnesota State-Moorhead. His first full-time job was with Wisconsin-River Falls in 2014-15. He then made his first stop in Moorhead under then-head coach Chad Walthall as a graduate assistant from 2015 to 17.

Following one season at Division II Quincy (Illinois), he became Walthall's top assistant during the 2018-19 season. Bergstraser soaked up as much as he could under Walthall, who turned the Dragons into a conference contender during his 12 seasons at the helm.

After Walthall stepped down following the 2021-22 season, Bergstraser knew he wanted the job. He was named the Dragons' head coach on May 16, 2022.

"I realize how lucky I am. Not many 32-year-olds get a chance to be a head coach at this level," Bergstraser said. "I was in the right place at the right time. When Walthall stepped down, he had my back and was in my corner for the job. I felt like I earned it, but I knew I still had to go through the interview process.

"It was a good experience and I couldn't be more grateful to this university for the opportunity."

Instant success

After guiding the Dragons to a 25-7 record last season, including a 17-5 mark in the NSIC, Moorhead is back near the top of the conference standings again this season. Minnesota State-Mankato, under the guidance of longtime head coach Matt Margenthaler, is on top with a 10-0 mark in the NSIC and 16-0 overall. Mankato earned the No. 1 ranking in D-II this past week.

The Dragons are led by junior guards Jacob Beeninga and Jamir Price. Beeninga is averaging 19.6 points a game and Price is averaging 13.6 points per contest. Sophomore forward Logan Kinsey is averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and senior forward Dane Zimmer is chipping in a solid 9.9 points and 8.9 boards per contest.

"I haven't tried to reinvent the wheel with this team," Bergstraser said. "We're pretty vanilla in what we do and I try and find low-maintenance guys who love to work hard and love the game. We're not flashy. I keep it that way on purpose. I'm just doing my best to try and sustain the success that Walthall built here."

Schlagel, who is still an avid basketball fan, watches every MSU-Moorhead game online. While he still attends every St. Cloud State game he can, he can't help but be a fan of his former player.

"Its very rare for a guy Tim's age to get a job like this and then to hit the ground running and not stop," Schlagel said. "I watch all of their games and if he's in St. Cloud we try and get together. I watch him on the sidelines and he's a lot different than me. He's not very demonstrative.

"He's very low-key and calls things out when he needs to. He lets his guys play."

One of Bergstraser's former SCSU teammates, Scott Hawkins, came up to Moorhead recently to watch a game and sit behind the Dragons' bench. Schlagel was infamous for throwing his tie at press row when he was angry with a referee's call. Bergstraser doesn't wear a tie since coaching attire is a lot more relaxed these days.

"Hawkins told me that I have a lot of Schlagel in me," Bergstraser said with a laugh. "I'm OK with that. I want these guys to show up, work hard and appreciate this special sport. That's what Schlagel taught me. He was a winner and all business. He was open and up front with his statements toward you. He was an incredible coach to play for and learn from."

Bergstraser credits his wife, Ashley, and his 2-year-old daughter Presley for keeping him grounded. He's come a long way since that confident 18-year-old arrived on campus at St. Cloud State not knowing what was in store for him.

"Life has been incredible. I would love to have a household of little kids running around very soon. My family has propelled my life in the right direction," Bergstraser said. "I know I wasn't on the right path until I met Ashley. She's a good-hearted, loving person. She's supportive of my coaching career and has sacrificed a lot.

"I realize how fortunate I am. Ashley knows this is my profession and how much I love it. I'm still addicted to this stuff."

The Bergstraser file 2009 graduate of St. Cloud Apollo Was an All-Area and All-Central Lakes Conference player at Apollo Played for St. Cloud State from 2009-13 Was part of the Huskies' Final Four team in 2010 Averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 2011-12 for SCSU while being named All-NSIC second team Suffered three torn ACL injuries in his left knee while at SCSU Was an assistant coach from 2014-2022 at SCSU, Wisconsin-River Falls, Quincy (Illinois) and MSU-Moorhead Was named head coach at MSU-Moorhead in May 2022 Guided the Dragons to a 25-7 record and an NSIC Tournament championship during the 2022-23 season Helped the Dragons to a No. 1 national ranking after a 15-0 start in January 2024]]>

DRAGONS MENS BASKETBALL

NSIC tournament pairings are set

St. Cloud native Tim Bergstraser following in his college coach's footsteps