MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

If you're measuring the WIAC's teams by past seasons, the individual teams may be up or down by their own standards. But if you're measuring them by the general standard of D3 in 2025-26, the WIAC as a whole is its usual formidable self. A 60-20 (.750) non-conference record is nothing to sneeze at; Massey Ratings, which as I said earlier is not entirely using clean data (it's contaminated in the WIAC's case by listing two preseason scrimmages as games that count), has the WIAC just behind the UAA as the #2 conference in all of D3. If all continues according to form in non-conference play, and if the league doesn't cannibalize itself too badly in January and February, the WIAC would probably not only get two teams into the D3 tourney, it might even get three.

As for my own observations, I've seen all eight of the WIAC teams this season, either live or via streaming, not just the teams that North Park has played. But if you'd like me to use NPU as a yardstick, UW-La Crosse is clearly the best of the three, and I'd put UWSP ever so slightly ahead of UWEC (I think that the Pointers will have trouble with the perimeter quickness of the Blugolds' Renta and Scales, but UWSP has better balance and more weapons).

After UW-La Crosse I don't see a lot of separation between teams two thru six, although UWRF and UW-Stout clearly trail behind them. And all of that parity in the middle of the league might bring cannibalization into play, vis-a-vis postseason bids. But it's interesting how leagues often sort themselves out, even when they look extremely balanced in late December.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Massey tends to count games that count for one team, because the ranking covers all divisions.  It's an overall ranking, so it doesn't generally allow for half and half games.