Back Where They Belong

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/29/23)—Concordia will face No.20-ranked Illinois Wesleyan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Mar. 1 in a game that features two programs that have each won an NCAA championship. The Cobbers are making their first national playoff appearance since 2014, while the Titans make their fifth trip to nationals in the past seven seasons. The two teams will be meeting for the very first time in the history of the storied programs. 

TICKET INFORMATION: Full day ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for students, senior citizens and youths

WHAT: NCAA Tournament First Round

WHEN: Friday, Mar. 1 at 5:15 p.m. 

WHERE: Levick Arena - Wartburg College - Waverly, Iowa

TEAMS: Concordia (20-5) vs. #20 Illinois Wesleyan (22-5)

LIVE LINKS:  Live Video | Live Stats

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Both teams earned one of the 21 at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament. The Cobbers finished second in the MIAC and advanced to the championship game of ththe e MIAC playoffs. The Titans claimed the regular-season title in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) with a 14-2 mark. Illinois Wesleyan advanced to the championsip game of the league playoffs befpre losing to Carroll in the title game. 

HOME AND AWAY: Concordia was 8-5 on the road in 2024. They won five of their final seven games away from Moorhead. The Titans were 14-2 on the road. Their two road losses came at Hope in November and at Millikin at the end of January. Both Hope and Millikin were nationally ranked at the time of the games. 

PLAYOFF PEDIGREE: Concordia is making its 20th overall NCAA playoff appearance. The Cobbers are making their first trip to nationals since 2014. CC is 20-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Concordia  won the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and made the championship game in 1987. Concordia is 10-9 in first round games, but hasn't advanced to the second round since 1995 when they beat Bethel and lost to St. Benedict in the second round. Concordia is 0-2 in the national playoffs in the state of Iowa and has never played a team from the state of Illinois in the tourney. 

Illinois Wesleyan is making its 15th overall NCAA playoff appearance. The Titans have been to the national playoffs since they won the NCAA championship in 2012. The Titans are 20-14 in the NCAA tourney. The Titans played in the third-place game in 2011 and won the Division III National Championship in 2012. Illinois Wesleyan is 8-6 in NCAA first round games. They have won three of their last five first round games games since 2012. The Titans are 0-1 in NCAA tourney games played in Iowa. Their only other trip to Iowa was in 2007 when they lost to Carroll at Luther College. The only tie to Minnesota for Illinois Wesleyan came in 2019 when they played in St. Paul and lost to Wis. Lutheran in the first round.    

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Each team's stat totals for the entire season

ON THE TEAM NATIONAL STAGE: Concordia is at the top of the national rankings in free throw percentage and free throws made per game. The Cobbers are connecting 80.0% of their foul shots and make an average of 17.64 free throws per game. CC is also in the Top 20 in assist/turnover ratio and free throws attempted per game. Concordia checks in at No.17 in assists/turnover ratio (1.21) and 13th in free throws attempted per game (22.04).

Illinois Wesleyan has the fifth ranked offense in Division III with their 82.8 points per game average. They are also in the Top 15 of the country in field goal percentage, 3-pointers per game, steals per game and turnover margin. They are 14th in FG percentage (44.2%), 15th in 3-pointers per game (8.4), 14th in steals per game (13.7) and 12th in turnover margin (8.15).   

ON THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL STAGE: Concordia has two players ranked in the Top 25 of the country in stat castegories. Carlee Sieben is 13th in free throw percentage (86.2) and 16th in 3-point percentage (40.7%), while Maddie Guler is No.6 in assist/turnover ratio (3.0).   

Illinois Wesleyan has a pair of players in the Top 25 in DIII rankings. Kate Palmer is No.5 in assist/turnover ratio (3.08) and Sawyer White is sixth in steals per game (4.0). 

ALL-CONFERENCE AWARD WINNERS: Concordia had three players earn MIAC All-Conference honors. The trio of Carlee Sieben, Makayla Anderson and Emily Beseman all claimed the award for the second straight season. Sieben was also named the MIAC Offensive Player of ther Year. Sieben was the team's main outside shooting threat for the entire MIAC campaign. Sieben was second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (39.1) and tied for second in 3-point field goals per game (2.3). She was fifth on the league's scoring list. Sieben averaged 14.2 points per game in the 20 league games. Sieben also finished in the Top 5 of the MIAC in assists and free throw percentage. She was fourth in helpers with a 3.3 assists per game average. Sieben was the third-best free throw shooter in conference play. She led CC with an 84.8% success rate.   

Anderson was second in the MIAC in scoring (14.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Anderson also recorded a field goal shooting percentage of 52.8%, which was fifth in the conference.

Beseman was in the Top 15 in the MIAC in six different stat categories. She was No.11 on the scoring chart with a 12.1 ppg average. Beseman was sixth in field goal percentage (49.7%), ninth in 3-point field goals per game (1.5/game) and seventh in free throw percentage (80.2%). She finished off her stat stuffer season by being No.2 in assists (3.6/game) and third in steals (2.2/game).

For Illinois Wesleyan, juniors Lauren Huber and Mallory Powers were voted First Team All-CCIW, while junior Kate Palmer and sophomore Ava Bardic garnered Second Team All-CCIW status. Huber received First Team All-CCIW honors for the third straight season, while Powers, Palmer, and Bardic reeled in league honors for the first time in their careers.