The Bears are on the prowl for a trip to the second round.. Ursinus athletics photo by Donovan Dyitt

Welcome to Quick Hits: Playoff Edition! As we enter the postseason, we’re switching things up from the regular season format. Games of the week and upset picks will go on the shelf for the season—we're focusing solely on the playoff matchups. This week, our expert panel will predict scores for each tournament game, giving you a glimpse of what to expect. Will we see dominant wins? Tight contests? Or surprising outcomes? Keep reading to see how our panel forecasts the postseason action.

Don't forget that if you want to see these games, you'll need an ESPN+ subscription! All playoff games before the Stagg Bowl are streaming in this manner.

Our playoff panel will be our regular crew of Greg Thomas, Pat Coleman, Ryan Tipps, Frank Rossi, Logan Hansen, and Riley Zayas.  We're excited to have UW-Eau Claire football alum Mike Shoultz joining the panel for the playoffs as well. Around The Nation originator and longtime Division III guru Keith McMillan will be joining us again this season on the Quick Hits panel later in the playoffs. 

— Greg Thomas

St. John's bracket

Northwestern (Minn.) at UW-La Crosse

Greg’s take: UW-La Crosse 49, Northwestern (Minn.) 13
Patrick’s take: UW-La Crosse 56, Northwestern (Minn.) 10
Frank's take: UW-La Crosse 52, Northwestern (Minn.) 7
Logan's take: UW-La Crosse 56, Northwestern (Minn.) 0
Riley's take: UW-La Crosse 42, Northwestern (Minn.) 7
Mike's take: UW-La Crosse 49, Northwestern (Minn.) 10

Consensus: UW-La Crosse advancing to top-seeded St. John's comfortably.

Coe at Bethel

Greg’s take: Bethel 27, Coe, 14
Patrick’s take: Bethel 31, Coe 11
Frank's take: Bethel 31, Coe 20
Logan's take: Bethel 38, Coe 17
Riley's take: Bethel 35, Coe 17
Mike's take: Bethel 38, Coe 21

Consensus: A sweep for Bethel, by a double-digit margin.

Cortland bracket

Alfred State at Endicott

Greg’s take: Endicott 38, Alfred State 16
Patrick’s take: Endicott 45, Alfred State 12
Frank's take: Endicott 47, Alfred State 17
Logan's take: Endicott 42, Alfred State 0
Riley's take: Endicott 37, Alfred State 3
Mike's take: Endicott 35, Alfred State 0

Consensus: The panel has Endicott advancing to a postseason rematch with Cortland. 

Pomona-Pitzer at Whitworth

Greg’s take: Whitworth 23, Pomona-Pitzer 22
Patrick’s take: Whitworth 35, Pomona-Pitzer 21
Frank's take: Whitworth 30, Pomona-Pitzer 7
Logan's take: Whitworth 31, Pomona-Pitzer 17
Riley's take: Whitworth 42, Pomona-Pitzer 10
Mike's take: Whitworth 34, Pomona-Pitzer 13

Consensus: A Pirate sweep, with most seeing a multi-score margin. 

Hardin-Simmons bracket

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Trinity (Texas)

Greg’s take: Trinity (Texas) 19, Mary Hardin-Baylor 17
Patrick’s take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 38, Trinity (Texas) 20
Frank's take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 27, Trinity (Texas) 24
Logan's take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 28, Trinity (Texas) 17
Riley's take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 23, Trinity (Texas) 17
Mike's take: Mary Hardin-Baylor 35, Trinity (Texas) 23

Consensus: Five out of six panelists agree- UMHB and Hardin-Simmons are headed for a third game.

Maryville (Tenn.) at Berry

Greg’s take: Berry 35, Maryville (Tenn.) 28
Patrick’s take: Berry 41, Maryville (Tenn.) 14
Frank's take: Berry 34, Maryville (Tenn.) 13
Logan's take: Berry 35, Maryville (Tenn.) 21
Riley's take: Maryville (Tenn.) 28, Berry 27
Mike's take: Berry 38, Maryville (Tenn.) 17

Consensus: Berry in a higher scoring game, but it is not unanimous. 

Salisbury bracket

Ursinus at King's

Greg’s take: King's 34, Ursinus 31
Patrick’s take: Ursinus 45, King's 42
Frank's take: Ursinus 37, King's 24
Logan's take: Ursinus 30, King's 21
Riley's take: Ursinus 31, King's 23
Mike's take: Ursinus 28, King's 14

Consensus: Ursinus is favored in a close, high scoring game. 

Mount St. Joseph at John Carroll

Greg’s take: John Carroll 42, Mount St. Joseph 21
Patrick’s take: John Carroll 42, Mount St. Joseph 15
Frank's take: John Carroll 37, Mount St. Joseph 21
Logan's take: John Carroll 49, Mount St. Joseph 24
Riley's take: John Carroll 38, Mount St. Joseph 17
Mike's take: John Carroll 48, Mount St. Joseph 14

Consensus: The panel sees John Carroll scoring a lot of points and advancing to get another shot at Mount Union. 

Got picks? Put them in the comments! Include your scores!