Izaiah Anderson was one of four Green Knights in double figures when St. Norbert beat UW-Whitewater in late December. Photo by Patrick Ferron for St. Norbert athletics

Coming into the season St. Norbert had high expectations for their men's basketball team. After a slow start, the Green Knights have reeled off eight straight wins and currently are tied with Grinnell on top of the Midwest Conference with an 8-2 record. The Green Knights are 11-3 overall after starting off 3-3.

"Early in the year we had a lot of expectations," St. Norbert coach Gary Grzesk said. "We were picked to win the conference, we were receiving votes in the (D3hoops.com) basketball poll. There was a lot of pressure put on the kids by themselves. "

And it showed in the record as the Green Knights lost a non-conference game to Augustana (currently ranked) and two conference games with unranked Grinnell and Cornell, putting them in an undesirable position to start the year.

"They were playing not to lose, not playing up to their potential," Grzesk said. "We learned some things in the early part of schedule that we didn't play with sense of urgency and relaxed. We told them to not force it, just let it come to them more."

After the not so good start, it has been much more fruitful for the Green Knights as in the recent streak they knocked off defending national champion UW-Whitewater 66-55 in the Championship game of the St. Norbert holiday tournament on Dec. 29.

"That was a great atmosphere, both teams competed at high level," Grzesk said. "We were fortunate to come out of there with a win."

The seventh-year coach said his team bounced back from the adverse conditions of starting a season at 3-3 with high expectations.

"We've got good kids in the program," Grzesk said. "Going through some of those losses they've really learned for it. When you drop some games and you don’t play to your potential, it forces you to examine your team and look at your weaknesses. Going through those losses forced us to look at ourselves and really do some soul searching."

The resurgent Green Knights are led by Andrew Schwoerer with 14.2 points and 5.5 rebounds and Brandon Gries, who adds an average of 13.7 points and 3.6 rebounds. Grzesk said the rest of the team is stepping up as well.

"The other guys really understand their strengths and weaknesses and play their roles to the hilt," Grzesk said.

The Green Knights are now focusing on continuing to orchestrate their lock down man-to-man defense and making shots to continue to keep playing well in the stretch run.

"I think it goes back to individual improvement and really just taking it one day at a time," Grzesk said. "For us we need to continue to get better each and every day. We've defended pretty well all year. When you do that, you're going to be a tough out. When you're defending at a high level, everything seems to look better when you are making shots."

Respectability back, Banana Slugs aim for postseason

UC Santa Cruz has already tied the school record in wins this year with 12. Now, the last remaining independent on the west coast is looking to extend the magical year by earning a trip to the postseason. The Banana Slugs are currently 12-5 with wins over Emmanuel and North Park.

Upcoming for the Banana Slugs are five games with regional opponents, key for the Division III playoff selection process.

"We're going to have to win four of five of our regional games and hope that we have the teams we've beaten to continue to win," UCSC coach Todd Kent said. "All we can control is to continue to win our games."

As an independent, UC Santa Cruz is not eligible for an automatic bid (Pool A) and must rely on reaching the playoffs via Pool B, one bid set aside for teams without automatic bids to shoot for. Failing that, they could qualify for a Pool C bid, which is at-large, open to any eligible Division III team.

 The Banana Slugs have also been winning without their leading scorer Sarah Mackey, who leads the team in points (12.5 average) and rebounds (5.9). She has been out with flu-like symptoms but is slated to possibly return this weekend. Mackey has missed the last three games.

"It's a boost we can win without one of our starters," Kent said. "We'll be even better when she gets back."

Kent said junior guard Ryane Ortiz has stepped up as a captain and has hit big shots in Mackey's absence. Ortiz averages 12 points a game and is the team's second leading scorer. Kent said he has been pleased, not surprised with his team and leader in Ortiz.

"Ryane Ortiz doesn't let anything slack during practice," Kent said. "She has always been prepared at what we're trying to accomplish."

And now the Banana Slugs will try to see if they can get healthy and make a playoff push. "I really do believe we can play with most teams," Kent said. "I think if we got into the tournament, we would have some success."