Saint Xavier Gains No. 1 Seed In CCAC WBKB Tournament
CHICAGO — One of the hottest teams in the nation with its 14-game winning streak, regular-season champion Saint Xavier University will be the team to beat when the 2022 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament starts on Tuesday night at four different sites.
The NAIA No. 18-ranked Cougars (23-5) have not lost since Dec. 18 and dropped only one contest in conference play this season, a 65-60 setback to Olivet Nazarene University on Dec. 7. In their second go-around over the weekend, SXU claimed a 100-86 victory.
Two other teams that have not lost in an extended period of time are University of St. Francis and Indiana University South Bend. The Saints, as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, have won 10 straight games and are 23-6 overall. Their only losses in league play have come against Saint Xavier (71-66 on Jan. 15) and Indiana University Northwest (57-53 on Dec. 1). They are among others receiving votes in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Poll.
Indiana South Bend, meanwhile, comes in riding a nine-game winning streak, earning the Titans (24-6) their No. 3 seed. They, along with No. 4 seed St. Ambrose University (24-5), boast the most regular-season wins on the year with 24.
Each of the top four teams will host first-round games on Tuesday.
Traveling on Tuesday will be No. 5 seed Olivet Nazarene University (19-10), No. 6 Indiana Northwest (19-10), No. 7 Holy Cross College (15-14) and No. 8 Trinity Christian College (14-14).
First-round matchups for Tuesday find Trinity Christian heading just down the road to Saint Xavier, defending tournament champion Olivet Nazarene going to Davenport, Iowa to face St. Ambrose, the two Indiana contingents squaring off in South Bend and the two Saint teams – Holy Cross and St. Francis – meeting in Joliet.
Semifinal-round action continues on Thursday at the sites of the highest-remaining seeds followed by the title game on Saturday, also at the site of the highest remaining seed.
On the line is the conference’s final berth in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. The first two bids went to Saint Xavier and St. Francis as the top two teams in the conference with the third bid going to the conference tournament champion. Should Saint Xavier or St. Francis also claim the tourney title, Indiana South Bend would gain the third berth as the third-place regular-season finisher.
The complete schedule follows:
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Game #1: No. 8 seed Trinity Christian (14-14) at No. 1 seed Saint Xavier (23-5) — 5:30 pm CT
Game #2: No. 5 seed Olivet Nazarene (19-10) at No. 4 seed St. Ambrose (24-5) — 7 pm CT
Game #3: No. 7 seed Holy Cross (15-14) at No. 2 seed St. Francis (23-6) — 7 pm CT
Game #4: No. 6 seed Indiana Northwest (19-10) at No. 3 seed Indiana South Bend (24-6) — 6 pm CT
Thursday, February 24, 2022 (at site of highest remaining seed)
Game #5: Winner-Game #1 vs. Winner-Game #2 — TBA
Game #6: Winner-Game #3 vs. Winner-Game #4 — TBA
Saturday, February 26, 2022 (at site of highest remaining seed)
Game #7: Winner-Game #5 vs. Winner-Game #6 — TBA
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