2013-14 Around the Midwest/West

February 25, 2014 UWW's Miller leans on his staff Every coach needs a strong group of assistants. Just ask UW-Whitewater’s Pat Miller, who had to turn his team over to assistant (and former D3hoops.com All-American) Nick Bennett for a key stretch this season.

February 19, 2014 Doing it all at Defiance A three-sport athlete is just who Kim Bingley is. She always has been. She moves from soccer in the fall to basketball in the winter to track and field in the spring.

February 11, 2014 IWU goes from Costa Rica to top of CCIW Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball coach Ron Rose said his team is focused on the journey this season. While that's a metaphor, the literal journey over the summer certainly helped.

February 5, 2014 Nord reaching for the top Conner Nord would be distraught if he is never part of a national championship at St. Thomas. That may seem like a lofty goal, but not necessarily, given the recent success of the program.

January 28, 2014 Bolstered St. Norbert on a roll What could be better than returning all five starters from a team that won a league championship, claimed the conference tournament and reached the NCAA tournament? How about adding a former Division I player?

January 21, 2014 Whitman knocks one more item off the list Despite reaching the Elite Eight last March, Whitman had never won at George Fox or won the Northwest Conference title. They took care of one of those this past weekend, however.

January 15, 2014 Coming home to Cal Lutheran Arik Smith enjoyed playing basketball for two seasons at UW-River Falls. But he felt like there was something missing – his family.

January 8, 2014 Five years later, Tillema trying again Tyler Tillema was a freshman on UW-Stevens Point's last national title team. He and fellow seniors Trevor Haas and Clayton Heuer are trying to return to the top.

December 10, 2013 Smith in 50th season at SJU When Jim Smith was contacted by St. John’s to be the men’s basketball coach, he didn't know the school existed. Now half a century later, the program hasn't known another coach.

December 4, 2013 Willamette's basketball team powered by Samoans The warrior culture synonymous with American Samoans often translates to football success. But the “skinny basketball Samoans” at Willamette are applying that same attitude and work ethic.

November 20, 2013 Transylvania shooting 3's for Max There's a lot of talk about 3-pointers the first week of the season, especially in the Midwest, but for Transylvania, each shot from beyond the arc has extra meaning.

November 14, 2013 A welcome from Wisconsin As I sit down to write this first installment of my Around the Region assignment, the Wisconsin weather has flipped instantly from autumn to winter. And that’s typically how the basketball season arrives too.