The Division III men's basketball talk in the state of Wisconsin centers around a handful of schools this year. UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater have been ranked from the get-go, while Carthage, as the regular-season winner of the CCIW, is on the radar as well. Two of those teams are NCAA Tournament locks, while the third is pretty close as well.

But even though St. Norbert has been ranked in 11 consecutive polls, and been as high as No. 9, the Green Knights remain significantly under the radar heading into this weekend's Midwest Conference tournament.

&&f-boxl&&Even so, that's a lot better than the eight-, seven- and nine-win seasons the Green Knights went through just a few years ago. Evans Clinchy has more in this week's Around the Nation.

Plus, Scranton faces a tough test this weekend -- a test they've failed twice already this season. Williams finds itself in a familiar spot, while Cal Lutheran finds itself in an unexpected spot -- in the SCIAC tournament after going 2-5 on its first swing through the conference. It's a big turnaround for a team that was our preseason No. 14 pick but was 7-9 four weeks ago.

All that in this week's Around the Nation.