MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[gacbacker]

Gusties finish the game on a 40-11 run over the final 16:20 of the second half to beat St. Olaf.

Gusties shoot 83% (15-18 FG) from the field in the second half. Now that's efficient.

Paulson comes alive for 15 points and 8 rebs including a really nice athletic finish on a lob pass in the second half when the Gusties were on their big run.

[piperinsider]

As Paul Allen would say: Hey GAC, let's play!

The bandwagon is heading south down Highway 169 Saturday! 

[Willy Wonka]

The Pipers and Gusties are both rolling right now. Should be a doozy on Saturday. You better believe Wonka will be in the House that Hanson built even for the girls game!

Has anyone seen both GAC and HAM play this year? I think I already know the answer, but how do my Gusties match up with Brown and Hipp? I've got to imagine the Gusties have the size and depth to keep Hipp in relative check, but Brown's length and athleticism would seem to be a bigger concern. Or am I way off?

I'd expect Wirtjes to get the first crack at Brown, since I doubt McPartland has the quicks to keep up with him. It probably creates some interesting cross matches, but I believe the Holy Angels product is GAC's best defender. Then again, is giving up 5 inches and 45 pounds really what Hanson will want to do? I'm getting a headache thinking about it already 

Papa - Check your messages in a minute.

[VOJ]

With St. Johns’ endowment & wealthy alumni you would think they could add webcast. If it wasn’t for work, the drive & the cold, I would consider making the trek up to C-ville. This is easily the game of the night.

Perhaps WBHR owns the right to broadcast, and thus a student run video webcast wouldn't be allowed?

We have no control over the potential "webcast" of an SJU sporting event...to be honest I have never asked about a webcast and why SJU does not provide one.

it's been a good news, bad news night in the miac.   

good news: GAC makes a great comeback vs. STO, as koz's oles struggle late in the game while playing with their collective hands around their throats.
bad news:  GAC's announcer says ". . . for THREEEEEEEEEEEEEE..." about 7 too many times.   

good news: SJ's announcer's dulcet tones make for easy listening as johnnies dump an undermanned team of dawgs. 
bad news:  SJ's announcer's mike is too close to jim smith's classless yelling at officials through much of the contest.   

good news: BU plays UST tough, losing by 11 points at ganglehoff.
bad news: UST has the worst website, audio and video streaming in the miac--so nobody really knew what was going on.   

bad news:  weather prevented me from making it to the hu vs. smu blowout tonite.
good news: weather prevented me from making it to the hu vs. smu blowout tonite.   

Superfan...thanks for the compliment...I can understand your take on Coach Smith's comments, but it is part of the "flavor" of the game, he is not the only coach who chats up the officials, but my position at Sexton only gives you his comments. 

WW is right on the Piper-Gustie matchup is the game of the day Saturday...followed by the Johnnies-Cobbers matchup.

I guess last night's Js-Auggies matchup fell a little short in the "game of the night" category, although it was a 5 point game with about 5 minutes to go...and brought to life the saying "live by the 3, die by the 3"  as the Auggies went 2-14 from beyond the arc. 

Marcus Brumm was unstopable last night, Johnnies did not have an answer for the rugged 6-4 wing with the broad shoulders who did major damage posting up down low and speaking of shoulders, Cory Polta is a pretty tough customer in the paint, one of these days he will pick up a couple of offensive fouls when he ducks that shoulder into his defender.  Auggies have added 6-10 Bemidji State transfer Jimmy Johnson to the roster as of last night...he played a few minutes but was not much of a factor.

I think the MIAC schedule is taking a toll on MAC...they hung tough in the first part of the season with other MIAC clubs but things are looking tougher now that the break has come and gone.

Barely any MVP talk for Will Wright? Whaaaaaat

I think the last two games will highlight why Will Wright will NOT be considered much for MIAC MVP...a home loss to Carleton and a shellacking courtesy of the Pipes might be a sign of things to come for the Cardinals.  I think the MVP needs to be on a playoff team...the Most Oustanding Player can come off a team that falls short of the top 6 IF he overwhelmingly shows he is the best player in the league but with regards to MVP if he can't will his team to the playoffs, then I don't think you can give him the award.

[miacsuperfan]

The Pipers and Gusties are both rolling right now. Should be a doozy on Saturday. You better believe Wonka will be in the House that Hanson built even for the girls game!

Has anyone seen both GAC and HAM play this year? I think I already know the answer, but how do my Gusties match up with Brown and Hipp? I've got to imagine the Gusties have the size and depth to keep Hipp in relative check, but Brown's length and athleticism would seem to be a bigger concern. Or am I way off?

I'd expect Wirtjes to get the first crack at Brown, since I doubt McPartland has the quicks to keep up with him. It probably creates some interesting cross matches, but I believe the Holy Angels product is GAC's best defender. Then again, is giving up 5 inches and 45 pounds really what Hanson will want to do? I'm getting a headache thinking about it already 

Papa - Check your messages in a minute.

hey, these are  the vipes that gac is playing, not the boilermakers!    gusties by double digits on saturday.   the game to see will be the following wednesday when the mysteriously bland but effective tomcats take their show on the road to st. peter!!   

The Pipers and Gusties are both rolling right now. Should be a doozy on Saturday. You better believe Wonka will be in the House that Hanson built even for the girls game!

Has anyone seen both GAC and HAM play this year? I think I already know the answer, but how do my Gusties match up with Brown and Hipp? I've got to imagine the Gusties have the size and depth to keep Hipp in relative check, but Brown's length and athleticism would seem to be a bigger concern. Or am I way off?
I'd expect Wirtjes to get the first crack at Brown, since I doubt McPartland has the quicks to keep up with him. It probably creates some interesting cross matches, but I believe the Holy Angels product is GAC's best defender. Then again, is giving up 5 inches and 45 pounds really what Hanson will want to do? I'm getting a headache thinking about it already 

Papa - Check your messages in a minute.

yes, way off.  hanson's defense will stop him up like a bottle of kaopectate.

[huhoops]

Here's a few numbers I thought could be interesting for the HU/GAC match up in St. Peter on Saturday:

50 Carl Hipp........... * 13-21   0-0    1-1    4  1  5   3  27  0  0  0  0  27

50 Carl Hipp........... *  3-5    0-0    0-0    0  4  4   3   6  0  2  5  0  17

50 Carl Hipp........... *  6-7    0-0    4-6    0  2  2   4  16  0  1  1  3  18

50 Carl Hipp........... *  4-7    0-0    0-0    0  6  6   4   8  0  1  2  0  25

Against Gustavus in the last 2 years, Hipp is 26/40(65%) from the field while averaging 14.25 ppg and 4.25 rpg (and 2 blocks per game to boot)

54 Sam Paulson......... *  2-8    0-0    3-4    0  1  1   2   7  0  1  0  0  21

54 Sam Paulson......... *  1-1    0-0    2-3    1  1  2   3   4  0  2  0  1  13

54 Sam Paulson......... *  1-1    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   2  0  1  0  0  15

54 Sam Paulson......... *  2-5    0-0    1-1    4  6 10   2   5  0  1  1  0  22

Against HU in the last 2 years, Paulsen is 6/15(40%) from the field while averaging 4.5 ppg and 4.25 rpg (and just over 1 block per game)

** dually noted that Hipp played 14 total minutes (3.5 min/game) more than Paulsen over this stretch, giving him a slightly better opportunity to accumulate statistics.**

Over the last 5 games, HU is only allowing 63.5 ppg, while scoring 75.4ppg--Over the last 5 games, GAC is holding teams to 56.6 ppg while scoring 66.2 ppg. Now, these numbers look like they should favor GAC, but I would actually argue the opposite. Any HU has scored 72+ pts, they have won. GAC on the other hand has only won 3 games the entire season when they score 70+ pts. Hamline has scored less than 66 points this year 1 time ( Loss at CON--61pts) and won 2 of the 3 games in the high 60's (both games in California).

This means one thing for GAC--they will have to hold HU to scoring in the low 60's, which is going to be really difficult for them to do. The dribble drive type system that has been successful for HU over the last few games does not flatter the athletic mismatches for GAC.

The most intriguing battle IMO is going to be on the boards. GAC only allows their opponents 26 rebounds per game (1st in the conference) while Hamline averages 38.8 rpg (1st in the conference). I'm willing to bet that the winner of this battle will take home a nice win.

The Pipers and Gusties are both rolling right now. Should be a doozy on Saturday. You better believe Wonka will be in the House that Hanson built even for the girls game!

Has anyone seen both GAC and HAM play this year? I think I already know the answer, but how do my Gusties match up with Brown and Hipp? I've got to imagine the Gusties have the size and depth to keep Hipp in relative check, but Brown's length and athleticism would seem to be a bigger concern. Or am I way off?

I'd expect Wirtjes to get the first crack at Brown, since I doubt McPartland has the quicks to keep up with him. It probably creates some interesting cross matches, but I believe the Holy Angels product is GAC's best defender. Then again, is giving up 5 inches and 45 pounds really what Hanson will want to do? I'm getting a headache thinking about it already 

Papa - Check your messages in a minute.

hey, these are  the vipes that gac is playing, not the boilermakers!    gusties by double digits on saturday.   the game to see will be the following wednesday when the mysteriously bland but effective tomcats take their show on the road to st. peter!!   

Interesting that you think GAC/HU game will be such an easy W. Especially when a much weaker HU team (in comparison to this year's team) went down to St. Peter and dominated GAC on their home floor. If nothing else, it will be amusing to see you dig out of that hole if HU happens to pull the "upset" 

[Drake Palmer]

Supe – I don't believe you've seen the latest reincarnation of the Vipes.  As the old Tiger Woods Buick commercial used to state- "this isn't your father's Buick anymore."  I fully expected the young Hamline squad to be full of it, develop fat heads & collapse after their successful west coast trip, but they just keep getting better & better. As HuHoops pointed out, the Gusties have very good reason to be concerned.
***
And by the way, the UST Bethel game was an NBA blowout type of game, as in - pick your final score. After the 7 or 8 minute mark in the first half, the final outcome was never in any real doubt. In fact this was one of the few games in my entire life I've left early because the game was just not that interesting.

At this point in the season, I'm just not that impressed with UST's level of play and the overall intensity they're bring to each game.  They played well against Augsburg & Concordia St Paul, but their precision & overall intensity seemed to be lacking in their other games.  For their sake they better hope they can turn it around.

[piperinsider]

As Wonka said to me late last night, this isn't 2002 anymore. The Vipers aren't about to lose 122-61 or whatever it was. Hamline has held their own with the Golden Gusties the past few years.

Still, Hanson is the better coach at this point and we'll see what he has in store for the five-game winning streak Vipers. Mr. Perrel had his Royals ready defensively (for one half).

If things fall into place, I might make my second straight Saturday game maybe with a pint and a burger beforehand at Patty's as well.

[miacsuperfan]

Supe – I don’t believe you’ve seen the latest reincarnation of the Vipes.  As the old Tiger Woods Buick commercial used to state- “this isn’t your father’s Buick anymore."  I fully expected the young Hamline squad to be full of it, develop fat heads & collapse after their successful west coast trip, but they just keep getting better & better. As HuHoops pointed out, the Gusties have very good reason to be concerned.
***
And by the way, the UST Bethel game was an NBA blowout type of game, as in - pick your final score. After the 7 or 8 minute mark in the first half, the final outcome was never in any real doubt. In fact this was one of the few games in my entire life I’ve left early because the game was just not that interesting.

At this point in the season, I’m just not that impressed with UST’s level of play and the overall intensity they're bring to each game.  They played well against Augsburg & Concordia St Paul, but their precision & overall intensity seemed to be lacking in their other games.  For their sake they better hope they can turn it around.

in person, i have not seen them.  but having seen this years improved version of pipes on webcasts, i can honestly say that my comments were merely an attempt to awaken the surprisingly quiet vipe supporters on the morn following their thumping of the "new and improved" smu cardinals.  looks like mission accomplished.       the dribble drive IS an effective way to attack gustie defenses, the vipes appear quite adept at that maneuver,  but i still have gac winnning on saturday.

and drake, (or anyone else) since you were at ust game----what ingredient (beyond the intensity that you mentioned) is the most missing piece from last year's remarkably good tommie's team?
while you are at it, respond also (if you know) regarding the royals injuries (vavra?  robinson?),the absence of mathson's name on the roster, and the minimal impact of taylor hall on the league up until now.  this is a team that was picked by the coaches to finish in the 'playoff six', and right now it appears that they are hanging on for dear life.

[VOJ]

Supe – I don’t believe you’ve seen the latest reincarnation of the Vipes.  As the old Tiger Woods Buick commercial used to state- “this isn’t your father’s Buick anymore."  I fully expected the young Hamline squad to be full of it, develop fat heads & collapse after their successful west coast trip, but they just keep getting better & better. As HuHoops pointed out, the Gusties have very good reason to be concerned.
***
And by the way, the UST Bethel game was an NBA blowout type of game, as in - pick your final score. After the 7 or 8 minute mark in the first half, the final outcome was never in any real doubt. In fact this was one of the few games in my entire life I’ve left early because the game was just not that interesting.

At this point in the season, I’m just not that impressed with UST’s level of play and the overall intensity they're bring to each game.  They played well against Augsburg & Concordia St Paul, but their precision & overall intensity seemed to be lacking in their other games.  For their sake they better hope they can turn it around.

in person, i have not seen them.  but having seen this years improved version of pipes on webcasts, i can honestly say that my comments were merely an attempt to awaken the surprisingly quiet vipe supporters on the morn following their thumping of the "new and improved" smu cardinals.  looks like mission accomplished.       the dribble drive IS an effective way to attack gustie defenses, the vipes appear quite adept at that maneuver,  but i still have gac winnning on saturday.

and drake, (or anyone else) since you were at ust game----what ingredient (beyond the intensity that you mentioned) is the most missing piece from last year's remarkably good tommie's team?
while you are at it, respond also (if you know) regarding the royals injuries (vavra?  robinson?),the absence of mathson's name on the roster, and the minimal impact of taylor hall on the league up until now.  this is a team that was picked by the coaches to finish in the 'playoff six', and right now it appears that they are hanging on for dear life.

I have not seen either team...in fact as long as they beat the heck out of each other I will be fine with whoever wins since the J's travel to Hamline next Wed and have the Gusties at home on the 18th with a matchup with the Tommies sandwhiched in-between ....wow is that a back loaded schedule...makes this Saturday's rumble with the Cobbers @ home much more important

Seriously...since Hanson must have had the paint peeling with his halftime talk last night I am sure the Gusties are a little more focused...but will it be enough??  Its amazing how close they are statistically with the Pipes having a bit of an edge in FG% Defense...even the rebounding is 1-2 in the conference...Hamline averages an assist more per game hits on average 2 more 3's per game, but also turns it over a couple more times per game...

So GAC might whip out the old triangle and two to try to contain Hipp, putting man coverage on Brown and Dan Anderson who look like the best 3 point shooters, do what Augsburg attempted to do to SJU last night, take away Burtzel, and make the others "step their game up"

Hamline has the athletes to turn this into a run and gun affair, and should try to increase the presure on the bball and push at all times.

In a surprising end Phill "big shot" Wirtjes puts a 3 in the air from half court...

[Drake Palmer]

in person, i have not seen them.  but having seen this years improved version of pipes on webcasts, i can honestly say that my comments were merely an attempt to awaken the surprisingly quiet vipe supporters on the morn following their thumping of the "new and improved" smu cardinals.  looks like mission accomplished.     

I think the Piper fans have toned it down after they were scolded by the board. But if they beat the Gusties on Saturday I think you'll see them throw off the chains of self restraint.  I saw one of them lurking on the board last night. 

and drake, (or anyone else) since you were at ust game----what ingredient (beyond the intensity that you mentioned) is the most missing piece from last year's remarkably good tommie's team?

Now keep in mind we are talking about a team that's currently ranked #5 in the country and has an ok, (smirk) decent 9-1 record.

*Intensity
*Terrific ball movement
*Unselfish team play
*Shooting
*Smothering, lights out defense – (which might be due to the lack of intensity.)
*Senior leadership

However having said this, I would add - earlier this season I, along with others were badmouthing Teddy Archer, but he's definitely out there, mixing it up & making things happen on the defensive end.

Obviously, the Tommies do show flashes of the positive attributes of a successful team or they wouldn't be 9-1.

They did have one outstanding play last night which brought a little tear to my eye & wistfully reminded me of last year, when plays like the following were the norm:

PLAY OF THE NIGHT

Tyler Nicolai, who's been chided for his defense, after a switch on a screen was stuck in the paint going one on one against Bethel's Nate Robertson.  Now keep in mind, Robertson is 6-7 & weighs about 220lbs or so, & Nicolai is 5-10 & barely 160 lbs. All of a sudden, Nicolai pokes at the ball, Robertson loses his grip, & Nicolai rips the ball loose.

Nicolai takes one or two dribbles up court, spots Joe Scott streaking down court, stops & throws a one handed outlet pass.  He ends up overthrowing Scott; but Scott runs it down, catches the ball just before he crossed over the baseline, & flipped a blind, no-look bounce pass to Teddy Archer who was trailing the play.  Teddy grabbed the ball in 1 motion, went up & threw down a 2-handed slam.  I started howling at the moon! Awesome! 

***
Regarding Bethel.  Heck, one of the coaches picked them to finish first in Coaches Preseason Poll.   I think Mose knows more about their injuries than I do, but I understand Chris Vavra's recent injury was a sprained ankle.  Hall has been back for the last couple of games, but during the 2nd half of the game last night he was lying on the floor behind the Bethel bench stretching his back or something. I think he only played about 6-7 minutes during the 2nd half.

[piperinsider]

Another guy the Gusties will have to deal with:
Dan Andersen - 8 of his last 9 from threes in the past three wins - if he only played more than 14 minutes per game

[Nites]

Quote from: miacsuperfan on Today at 01:42:00 pm
So GAC might whip out the old triangle and two to try to contain Hipp, putting man coverage on Brown and Dan Anderson who look like the best 3 point shooters,

My guess is that Hanson will have his defender try to cut off penetration by Brown and entice him into falling in love with the 3 point shot.  I don't think the Pipes are at their best when Brown is out on the perimeter jacking up threes.

Posted by: Drake Palmer
PLAY OF THE NIGHT

Tyler Nicolai, who's been chided for his defense, after a switch on a screen was stuck in the paint going one on one against Bethel's Nate Robertson.  Now keep in mind, Robertson is 6-7 & weighs about 220lbs or so, & Nicolai is 5-10 & barely 160 lbs. All of a sudden, Nicolai pokes at the ball, Robertson loses his grip, & Nicolai rips the ball loose.

Dang - a little less mustard on the pass and Nicolai could have had a 3 assist night!

[Willy Wonka]

Wow. I disappear for less than 24 hours and things really start to pick up!

VOJ - If by "making paint peel" you mean calmly writing things on the dry erase board while making his plans for improvement, I agree. I literally can't think of a single time Hanson yelled at my team's during a halftime talk...even when we were down 20ish at Carleton my junior year before we made our run. He did once bench the entire starting unit my sophomore year at Concordia, but I don't think his decibel level really changed. That 40-11 spanking is impressive...did Koz get any techs during that stretch?

I can also promise Hanson's never been caught riding the refs like your boy apparently was last night

But you know what I really love? When I spit fire and others start to pick up on it. Good form, Nites

For the record, there's literally zero chance GAC comes out in a triangle-and-two on Saturday. Hamline may somehow steal the victory, but they'll do it against a conventional defense. You can take that to the bank.

[huhoops]

Another guy the Gusties will have to deal with:
Dan Andersen - 8 of his last 9 from threes in the past three wins - if he only played more than 14 minutes per game

Andersen has been producing the past few games like the HU faithfuls thought he would coming into the season. Doesn't look like he's in peak condition yet (maybe the reason for limited minutes) but my god can he shoot. Between the 12 minute mark and the 6 minute mark in the 2nd half last night, he hit 3 treys. In early losses the HU shooters were struggling to connect which made the whole team much easier to defend. Packing it in really isn't a great option anymore, as open 3's have become a high percentage shot for HU.