River Forest, Ill. — The stage is set for Tuesday's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal matchup between the Concordia University Chicago Cougars (14-9, 11-6 NACC) and the Edgewood College Eagles (11-13, 9-7 NACC). 

The top-seeded Cougars will welcome the No. 8 seed Eagles to Geiseman Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the semifinal round on Thursday night. For the Cougars, it's their first time hosting a postseason game in 10 years (68-62 loss to Lakeland University in the 2012 quarterfinals). Coincidentally, it was Edgewood who went on to win that 2012 tournament, the most recent time they've done so. 

How They Got Here

Fresh off their first conference tournament berth in nearly a decade, the Cougars entered the season with high expectations. They started slow, however, dropping five of their first seven games including a 1-3 start in conference play. The team got back on track with five-straight wins over a two-week span from Jan. 5-19, highlighted by their first win at Concordia University Wisconsin since 2007. After having the streak snapped at the hands of Benedictine University, the Cougars went on the road and picked up one of the defining wins in all of Division III this season, knocking off then-second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University. They put themselves in control of their own destiny entering the final week of the season thanks to a massive Senior Day victory over St. Norbert College on Feb. 12, before finishing off the regular season with a pair of road wins over Wisconsin Lutheran College and Rockford University. The win over Rockford secured them at least a share of a conference title, and when Illinois Tech beat Benedictine at the buzzer just a few minutes later, the road to the tournament officially went through River Forest. They are coming off a first-round bye and their longest layoff in nearly a month, resting up after ending the season with seven games in less than two weeks. 

After falling in the North Division Championship last year, Edgewood began the season 0-6, including a loss at CUC. They've gone 11-7 since, with statement wins over Wisconsin Lutheran, Benedictine, St. Norbert, and Wiscosnin Lutheran. Along with these big wins over some of the NACC's elite, the Eagles also dropped a pair of games to Aurora University as well as a game at MSOE, two of the bottom three teams in the conference standings. They defeated Rockford 92-86 at home in Saturday's first-round matchup, their second-highest scoring output of the season (98 against Rockford on Dec. 15). 

What's at Stake

As mentioned, the winner of this game will advance to the semifinal round, where they will take on the winner of fourth-seeded Illinois Tech and fifth-seeded Marian University. The Cougars haven't won a postseason game since 2010, a 71-60 victory at Edgewood in the quarterfinals before falling by three to rival Dominican University in the semis. This is the biggest tournament in the history of the conference, with each of the 13 teams qualifying regardless of record. 

Previous Matchup 

The teams met just once during the regular season, an 82-58 CUC victory in the conference opener on Dec. 1, the largest margin of victory this season for the Cougars. Three Cougars scored in double-figures in that matchup, led by fifth-year senior Jalen Meeks (Auora, Colo.) with 15. Junior Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) and sophomore Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) had 10 points apiece. The Cougars had nine players score at least five points, making the win a total team effort. In contrast, 40 of Edgewood's 58 points came from just two players; forward Jake Schroeckenthaler (22) and guard Caden Nelson (18). Schroeckenthaler was a presence in the paint, leading all players with nine rebounds while also adding three blocks, though he was held to just 9-21 shooting. The Cougars also protected the paint well, blocking a season-high 12 shots. Junior Tavarus Davis-Williams (Fox Lake, Ill.) led the way with four. Their 47 rebounds were also a season-high, as well as their 34 made field goals. 

Numbers to Watch 

• Senior Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) enters the postseason averaging 25 points over his last three games. The Cougars are 4-2 this year when he scores at least 20 points. 

• Wilson has scored in double-figures in seven-straight games. He is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc over that stretch. 

• The Cougars are 5-1 when Hatten scores in double-figures, with the only loss coming by one point to Lakeland on Feb. 9. 

• Schroeckenthaler leads the conference in both scoring and rebounding with 21.2 PPG and 10.9 RPG. He is fourth in field goal percentage at 55.7 percent. 

• Senior forward Eli Hartjes, who was held to just six points against CUC, is second on the team with 19.8 PPG. 

• Only five Eagles average more than three PPG, as opposed to the Cougars who have 10 players averaging at least 4.6. 

• Edgewood is just 1-9 on the road this season, but did pick up their lone win over Benedictine. 

• CUC has defended their home floor well with a record of 7-3 in front of the Geiseman faithful. 

All fans are encouraged to wear maroon to Tuesday's game as they team has called for a "Maroon Out" inside of Geiseman. The first 75 fans to show a valid student ID will be receive a free t-shirt courtesy of SAAC. The t-shirt giveaway will begin at 11:30 a.m. and sizes are limited. 

For fans unable to attend the game, a steam and live stats will be available on cucougars.com/coverage. 

You can keep up with all things CUC Men's Basketball on cucougars.com as well as on Twitter @cuc_menhoops.