NAPERVILLE – The top six teams from the final College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) regular-season standings will begin their collective annual pursuit of the league’s automatic berth to the national postseason when the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament begins play Tuesday night.
 
Quarterfinals (Tuesday)
#6 North Central at #3 North Park, 7 p.m
#5 Elmhurst at #4 Augustana, 7 p.m.
 
Semifinals (Friday, Kenosha, Wis.)
#2 Illinois Wesleyan vs. highest remaining seed, 5 p.m.
Lowest remaining seed at #1 Carthage, 7:30 p.m.
 
Championship (Saturday, Kenosha, Wis.)
Thursday’s semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
 
Admission to all five tournament games is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+) and children ages 6 and up. Children under 5 are free. Students at a CCIW institution will receive free admission upon presentation of a student ID. No passes will be accepted.
 
#1 Carthage
Carthage is the top seed in the CCIW Tournament and the host of the final four for the first time since 2017. The Firebirds were 14-2 to finish atop the final regular-season standings, earning their first outright title since 2010.
 
This season’s trip to the league postseason is the Firebirds’ third in a row and fifth since 2020. Carthage has won quarterfinal games in each of the last two seasons, but hasn’t advanced past the semifinal round since winning the 2010 CCIW Tournament.
 
The Firebirds will play the lowest remaining seed on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. CC has won six in a row and 12 of their last 13 since Jan. 8. They are 10-1 on their home floor in 2024-25.
 
#2 Illinois Wesleyan
Friday’s first semifinal game will mark Illinois Wesleyan’s eighth straight appearance in the CCIW Tournament – seven of which will have included a trip to the semifinal round. IWU has participated in all but three CCIW Tournaments since 2006.
 
The Titans went 12-4 during the conference schedule that was headlined by a nine-game win streak from Jan. 4 through Feb. 1. The Titans surged as far as #3 in the D3hoops.com national rankings during the stretch. 
 
IWU’s semifinal matchup on Friday against the highest remaining seed from the quarterfinal round is guaranteed to be a neutral-floor matchup. The Titans are 3-0 in neutral-site games this season.
 
#5 Elmhurst at #4 Augustana, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Elmhurst and Augustana will square off in the CCIW Tournament for the sixth time since 2007 when the Vikings play host to the Bluejays in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal on Tuesday. It’s the first meeting between the two programs in the CCIW Tournament since the Bluejays claimed an 81-63 win in the 2022 quarterfinals, as well as the first postseason meeting between the two programs at the Carver Center since the 2016 championship.
 
Augie collected an 85-76 win over Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, its sixth win in its last seven outings since Jan. 29. The result helped the Vikings notch a final league mark of 9-7 – their most CCIW wins since 2020. Augustana – which is 10-2 at home this season – is aiming to snap a three-game skid in the CCIW Tournament that dates back to 2021.
 
Elmhurst’s 2025 berth to the CCIW Tournament marks its seventh in a row since 2019. The reigning CCIW Tournament champions are 11-2 in their last 13 CCIW Tournament games that included titles in 2020, 2022 and 2024. EU has also won four consecutive games in the quarterfinal round.
 
Augustana swept the season series from the Bluejays, including a 60-58 win in Rock Island on Feb. 13.
 
#6 North Central at #3 North Park, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinal in Chicago brings a new layer to league history – the first-ever CCIW Tournament meeting between North Park and North Central.
 
North Park finished in a third-place tie in the conference standings at 9-7, reaching nine wins during the league schedule for the second time in the last three seasons but just the third time since 1992. The Vikings solidified their standing in the top half of the CCIW race during a six-game stretch in which they went 5-1 from Jan. 11 through Feb. 1. NPU also swept the three-game league slate before the holiday break from conference play. The Vikings will be seeking their first-ever win in the CCIW Tournament quarterfinal round.
 
North Central won three of its last five CCIW games to earn a tourney bid at 7-9 for a fifth-place tie. The Cardinals will be playing in the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive year and the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. NCC has won quarterfinal games twice – in 2022 versus Millikin en route to the CCIW Tournament championship game and last year over Carroll.
 
The home team won each of the two matchups between NPU and NCC this season. The Vikings’ win in Chicago was on Jan. 18 by a score of 96-84.