ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Saturday will mark the end of the regular season to conclude an exciting winter on the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) basketball courts and ice arenas. The final day should bring a significant dose of drama, as several teams are vying for an outright or shared regular-season championship, a spot in the MIAC Playoffs or an improved seed.

The MIAC men's hockey and men's basketball outright regular-season champions have already been crowned, and both hail from St. Thomas. The Tommie men's basketball team have claimed their ninth-straight title, while the UST men's hockey team is the MIAC's regular-season champion for the third season in a row. Both will be the No. 1 seed in their respective tournaments.

The Saint Mary's women's basketball team has also earned at least a share of the MIAC regular-season crown and the top seed in the MIAC Playoffs, and a win Saturday would give the Cardinals the outright crown. This is Saint Mary's first MIAC women's basketball championship since 1985-86, and the third MIAC title in program history.

However, there is still much to be decided. Gustavus, St. Thomas and Bethel all enter the final weekend with hopes of hoisting the MIAC women's hockey championship trophy. Concordia and the Tommies also have hopes of sharing the women's basketball title with Saint Mary's, with both needing a win Saturday and a Cardinals' loss to move into a tie for first. There are also two MIAC Playoff bids still up for grabs - one each in men's hockey and women's basketball - and plenty of seeds still to be sorted out. Here is a sport-by-sport guide to the final weekend of action, and the Playoff implications.

MEN'S BASKETBALL | MIAC Playoff Page |
The six teams and three of the six seeds are set, but Saturday's action will finalize the order and matchups of the 2013-14 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs. Champion St. Thomas (21-3, 18-1 MIAC) will be the No. 1 seed, and St. Olaf (19-5, 16-3 MIAC) has locked up the No. 2 seed and both will enjoy first-round byes and home games in the semifinals. Bethel (13-11, 9-10 MIAC) is also locked into place as the No. 6 seed.

That leaves Augsburg (17-7, 13-6 MIAC), Gustavus (16-9, 13-7 MIAC) and Saint John's (14-10, 12-7 MIAC) to sort out the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds with Saturday's results. Gustavus has completed its schedule and will be idle Saturday, while the Auggies travel to Saint Mary's and the Johnnies head to St. Paul to face the Tommies, with both games tipping off at 3 p.m.

Augsburg is in the best shape heading into the weekend, with control of its own destiny in the battle for the No. 3 seed. The Auggies will be the third seed with a win, or even with a loss if Saint John's also loses. Head Coach Aaron Griess' club would win the head-to-head tie with Gustavus based on Augsburg's 1-3 record vs. St. Thomas and St. Olaf (the Gusties are 0-4). The Auggies are guaranteed to finish third or fourth, and have a quarterfinal home game.

Saint John's could also claim the No. 3 seed, but it would need a big win and some help, and SJU could also end up fourth or fifth. The Johnnies handed St. Thomas its only MIAC loss of the season thus far, and SJU will need to topple the Tommies again to grab the No. 3 seed, along with an Augsburg loss. In that scenario, Saint John's would be 2-2 vs. the top two teams in the league and would be seeded third, Augsburg would be fourth (1-3 vs. top two) and GAC (0-4) would be No. 5. If Saint John's and Augsburg both win, the Johnnies would hold the tiebreaker for the fourth seed over Gustavus by the same criteria, as Saint John's would be 3-3 vs. the top three, and the Gusties would be 1-5.

Gustavus will be the No. 4 or the No. 5 seed, and will be intently watching the Saint John's-St. Thomas game. If the Johnnies lose, the Gusties will be No. 4. A Johnnie win would knock Gustavus down to No. 5. Regardless of the outcome, it should be an exciting final day as the middle three seeds work themselves out.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | MIAC Playoff Page |
One bid and three of the six seeds will be up for grabs in an action-packed final day of women's basketball. Saint Mary's (22-2, 19-2 MIAC) is locked in at No. 1, but will no doubt strive for one more victory and the outright title when it hosts Augsburg. The Cardinals hold the head-to-head tiebreaker and three-way tiebreaker with Concordia and St. Thomas, thanks to a sweep of the Cobbers and a split with UST. Bethel (18-6, 16-5 MIAC) is secured at the No. 4 seed, and will host No. 5 St. Olaf (14-10, 12-9 MIAC) in the postseason quarterfinals regardless of Saturday's outcomes.

Concordia (20-4, 18-3 MIAC) and St. Thomas (20-4, 18-3 MIAC) still have some sorting out to do for the second and third seeds with the other first-round bye on the line, and each could still claim a share of the title as well with a win and some help. Concordia has the clearer path to the No. 2 seed. If both remain tied at either 19-3 or 18-2, the Cobbers would be seeded second thanks to its sweep of the Tommies in the regular season. For St. Thomas to earn a bye and a semifinal home game, UST will need to win at Saint Benedict Saturday at 3 p.m., and needs Concordia to lose at Hamline at 1 p.m.

There is also a two-team fight for the sixth and final seed between the Gustavus (13-11, 10-11 MIAC) Blazers (12-12, 9-12 MIAC). A Gustie win at St. Catherine at 3 p.m. would put Gustavus into the Playoffs, as would a Saint Benedict loss against St. Thomas. However, if the Blazers get a win and a Gustie loss (and an Augsburg loss to avoid a three-team tie), they would win the tiebreaker thanks to a 2-8 record vs. the top five teams (Gustavus would be 1-9). Augsburg (12-12, 9-12 MIAC) could also finish tied for sixth place, but the Auggies were swept by Gustavus and would lose the head-to-head with the Gusties, and if a three-team tied were to emerge with Gustavus, Augsburg and Saint Benedict, the Gusties would again hold the edge and grab the No. 6 seed.

MEN'S HOCKEY | MIAC Playoff Page |
The MIAC will also have an exciting final weekend on the ice, with four of the five seeds and one final Men's Hockey Playoff bid on the line. St. Thomas (18-3-2, 12-0-2 MIAC, 39 points) has locked up the championship and No. 1 seed, and Gustavus (13-6-4, 10-3-1 MIAC, 32 points), St. Olaf (10-9-4, 8-3-3 MIAC, 27 points) and Saint John's (15-8, 9-5 MIAC, 26 points) also punched their tickets to the postseason and will be seeded second, third and fourth in some order, but there is still much to be determined Friday and Saturday.

Gustavus needs just one point this weekend, or St. Olaf to get five or fewer in its series, to lock up the No. 2 seed, as it would hold the head-to-head tiebreakers with St. Olaf and Saint John's and the edge if all three ended up tied in the points column. The Gusties got five points in its series against St. Olaf and all six against the Johnnies. In a three-way tie, St. Olaf would be the No. 3 seed with 4 points against all teams tied, and SJU would be No. 4 with three points in that scenario. This weekend, Gustavus faces Bethel, St. Olaf takes on Augsburg and Saint John's squares off with the first-place Tommies.

If St. Olaf and Saint John's end up in a head-to-head tie, Saint John's holds the edge in nearly every scenario, but with 0-6 points possible for each team this weekend, it's tough to predict every possible outcome. The two split their head-to-head series with three points apiece. The Johnnies currently have nine MIAC wins (in regulation or overtime) to the Oles' eight, which is the next criteria. However, the two could end up tied in that category as well, in which case Saint John's would hold an edge in the total goal series between the two teams, 7-6. It's mostly likely SJU would prevail in a head-to-head tie with St. Olaf for third place.

Both Concordia (12-8-5, 6-6-4 MIAC, 23 points) and Augsburg (12-8-3, 5-6-3 MIAC, 18 points) are eyeing the fifth and final seed. The Cobbers are idle this weekend, so they'll be intently watching the Auggie-Ole series. Augsburg needs to sweep all six points to leapfrog Concordia and make the Playoffs. Any other outcome puts the Cobbers in the field, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking four of the six points in the two teams' head-to-head series in late January.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY | MIAC Playoff Page |
The five-team field is set for the 2013-14 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs, but beyond that almost everything is up in the air. Gustavus (15-6-2, 13-3 MIAC, 26 points), St. Thomas (15-5-3, 12-2-2 MIAC, 26 points) and Bethel (16-5-2, 12-4 MIAC, 24 points) all enter the final weekend with a chance to claim the conference championship and No. 1 seed, while Concordia (10-9-4, 9-5-2 MIAC, 20 points) and St. Catherine (11-11-1, 8-7-1 MIAC, 17 points) will square off in a Playoff preview this weekend that will decide the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

The Gusties and Tommies are in the driver's seat for the title, with the Royals needing a big performance this weekend and some help. The Royals face the Gusties this weekend, and would need at least three points to hope for a share of the championship or better, along with some help from Saint Benedict in its series against St. Thomas.

Gustavus is the one team with control of its own destiny for the No. 1 seed. If the Gusties end up in a two-team tie for the title with the Tommies, the two split their season series but in any such scenario Gustavus would have more MIAC wins to win the tiebreaker. St. Thomas will need to finish alone at the top to take the No. 1 seed. If Bethel can work its way into a two-team tie for first, it would hold the tiebreaker against both St. Thomas and Gustavus, with a 1-0-1 record against the Gusties if the two tie at 27 points, or more MIAC wins than St. Thomas (14-13 or 14-12), if the two tie at 28 points.

If Gustavus, St. Thomas and Bethel all tie, which can only happen at 27 points, Bethel would be the No. 1 seed with a 2-1-1 record against the other two, with St. Thomas second at 2-2 and Gustavus third at 1-2-1.

Meanwhile, the rest of the MIAC's attention will turn north towards Moorhead, as the Wildcats visit the Cobbers for a postseason preview. If Concordia were to sweep St. Catherine, and Bethel gets swept by Gustavus the two would tie for third at 24 points but the Royals would hold the tiebreaker. The two split their series, and Bethel would have more MIAC wins, 12-11, in that scenario. Concordia definitely has the inside track on the No. 4 seed with a three-point lead on the Wildcats. St. Catherine would need to sweep the Cobbers this weekend and claim all four points to leap into fourth. Any other outcome has Concordia slotted fourth, and hosting St. Catherine again next Friday in the quarterfinal game.

COMPLETE MIAC PLAYOFF DETAILS COMING SATURDAY
The final weekend of MIAC hockey begins Friday night, and will conclude Saturday, with the basketball regular season ending Saturday with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Following the conclusion of Saturday's games, the MIAC will officially announce the 2013-14 MIAC Winter Playoff fields, including seeds and schedules. For complete details on each postseason tournament, visit the 2013-14 MIAC Playoffs and Championships home page, which has links to each sport's Playoff page.