Are the Tom Cats scared?

It is always great to be a Royal!

Happy 2009.

The Royals are seeming to play with "freedom" that they have not had all year!  Maybe the weight of expectations are lifted...or maybe they are hitting their stride. Hopefully they can keep it going! 

It is Great to be a Royal! 

Go Royals...Go Knights...I would rather drive 45 min instead of an 90 min!  And we all know what happens to the Royals in St. Peter during the playoffs - They either get killed...or screwed by the refs...nothing in-between 

http://athletics.bethel.edu/sports/mbball/2008/photos/AUG2/pages/IMG_4017_111_1_JPG.htm

It's Awesome Baby! 

It is great to be a Royal! 

p.s. Go Royals...Go Knight...I want to watch a game in the Shoe on Thursday! 

Quote from: abominable_snowman on February 19, 2008, 09:10:19 AM
So here are the numbers..... First, if each player was in the top ten for a category, where did he place.

Second how many categories was he a top 10 contender, and finally, what was his average rank.

The winner by numbers is Brady Brink

A few games to go though.

If you find another player that would do well, feel free to provide their position.  I have nobody from Bethel on here.

	team	Pts	Reb	FG%	A	FT%	Steals	3pt%	3's made	Blocks	a/to	O-Reb	D-Reb
Zach Johnson	CAR	3	9		6		2				10		5
Bobby Hunter	STO	5		6		6							9
Luke Linz	CON	6	10	8						4		10	6
Brady Brink	SJU	7	4				9			3		7	3
Trevor Wittwer	GAC		6	4						5		6	10
Joe Scott	UST	9		10				6	1

	# of top 10s	ave rank
Zach Johnson	6	5.83
Bobby Hunter	4	6.5
Luke Linz	6	7.33
Brady Brink	6	5.5
Trevor Wittwer	5	6.2

[/size]                                                            

Hunter gets on this "short-list" and Madson does not...absolutely hilarious!!!!

I am not saying Madson should be the MVP...I would actually vote for Linz, Johnson, Brink, and Wittwer over Madson. 

Just shows you the IQ of some people on this board (that is not a slam at Snowman...more just frustration at BU's performance in the second half of the season )

It is great to be a Royal! 

Does anybody else want a 5-way tie for 3rd at 11-9!! (actually I don't...but it would be exciting!  This is how it could happen:

Carleton   11-9 - (loss at StOlaf; loss at GAC)
SJU           11-9 - (loss vs. UST)
Concordia 11-9 - (loss vs. UST; win vs. Mary's)
Bethel       11-9 - (win @ MAC; win vs. Aug)
StOlaf       11-9 - (win vs. Carleton)

That could honestly actually happen!  The only one that I would call an upset is St Olaf over Carleton...and if St. Olaf pulls off a win over their cross-town rivals then they deserve to be in this "Ultimate Tie" 

Who is going to figure out that tie breaker scenario...Not it! 

It is good to be a Royal! 

As a bethel backer I am cheering for the Knights to drop Olaf to 10-10!  Then we don't have to worry about any of this.  Win and in...I love this time of year! 

Huge game tonight for the Royals in Northfield!  The Meidtless (congrats Meidter on the Redskins Job!) Oles are tough on their home court. 

The Royals need a win "big-time"...(trying to reference the Samurai Sword clip on YouTube...QVC commercial)  Hilarious...check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e77oXjFkIs


I am not sure if Laugen is playing tonight or not...he did not play in the Concordia loss.  Time to dig-deep Royals...I still think they will be in the playoffs (just hope they can pull off 4th place and get a home game)..

It is always good to be a Royal 

Drake -

That play you speak of was huge...it was 9 points at the time and Bethel had just hit two tough shots and had things rolling.  As a Bethel fan I wanted a whistle (it is hard to tell with McCoy if he is fouling or just being massive and people are bouncing off him)...I think the ref had the same confusion and by that time it was too late to blow the whistle. 

Joe Scott hits the three and it goes back to 12 points...dagger.

I respect the hustle by the big man!   

Great game by the Tommies last night...

Game re-cap -

If Joe Scott plays four more games like that, and the Tommies finish 18-2...he is the MVP.  Wow...I can't even remember the shots he missed...I honestly thought he was 6-6 or 6-7 from 3 pt. land.  

Twice Bethel plays solid "D" and have the shot clock under 10 seconds...I stand up and clap for encouragement...and both times...Joe Scott drains a deep 3.  The first one was off a high pick (and Moberg got a nice hand up to contest) and the second was off a wild kick-out pass that he bats the ground picks up quickly and drains it.  I sat down quietly  

Bethel could have played better D, but it wasn't terrible...give credit where credit it due...UST shoots 59.3 %

Two players who I thought were terrible (on the offensive end) the first game...were good last night...# 40 Sam Eicher, # 5 Teddy Archer.  

UST did a nice job of being physical with Madson...you could tell he was frustrated...he still goes for 20 on 50% shooting

Moberg was big in the first half...and once again, BU goes away from him in the second half...really frustrating!  

Laugen wasn't 100%...still having headaches and his eye is all messed up...once he is healthy it will really help the Royals!

I don't mind UST getting a big head at this point of the season (point in case: Archer's stupid/silly dance after a nice dunk).  I doubt/hope they won't play this well if the Royals play them again in the playoffs.  If is hard to beat a team 3 times (that is what I said for many years against GAC and that didn't work out  )

Nicolai plays like a junior...not a freshman.  

UST still has the craziest/weirdest/whiniest parents in the league.  

Nice BU student section...but way to quiet as a whole...where are the chants and jumping, and ooh-aahing...They need a lesson from Duke's student section...and No, Duke does not suck!

If you find your joy from a win or loss then you are looking in the wrong place...It is Always GREAT to be a Royal!  

Drake -

When the Cobbers have road games near the cities (not SJU) on a Saturday/Monday...they combine the trip into one.  Bethel agreed to play them at 6:00 on Saturday versus the traditional 3:00 time to shorten their trip some.  They will then stay somewhere in the cities on Saturday and Sunday night and travel to GAC for the Monday game.  Basically it just saves them two trips.   

That is sure nice of Bethel to accomodate them...The Baptists are giving the Lutherans a true lesson on how to freely give of themselves with nothing in return (very Christ-like!) Let's hope those Lutherans learn from this experience and run with it 

It is good to be a Royal!

Predictions for tonight...

I went 4-1 on Monday and am hoping for a 5-0 tonight! 

Ham @ Concordia - I wouldn't mind if the Cobbers dropped this one...but it is at home, and this is a must win for them if they want to make the playoffs, so...Cord by 8. 

StOlaf @ SJU - Local pointed out nicely that they have the hardest schedule remaining, they are in trouble...SJU by 9. 

GAC @ SMU - The only way this one stays close is if GAC is distracted by the surroundings of Winona...ish...GAC by 15. 

MAC @ AUG - Has MAC thrown in the towel?...wow what a turnaround...things started so well for them...AUG by 10 
Sidenote:  I predict right now that AUG beats out Concordia for the 6th playoff spot...what do you think of that Cord of the North ? 

UST @ BU - The first matchup has to be in the top five so far this year...and I hope this one is more of the same...BU by 1 (OT AGAIN!) 

Sidenote:  Laugen is still a question mark for tonight!!  He still had some symptoms from Monday night's concussion.  That hurts the Royals if he can not play...but I still think they can beat the Tom-Cats without him! 

It is good to be a Royal! 

p.s. if the Royals win tonight...I predict they win out, and go storming into the playoffs! 

Carleton makes 13 three-pointers (to Bethel's 7) and Bethel still picks up the win! 

Very similar box score for both teams (turnovers, shooting percentage) with the one big disparity coming in Rebounds...Bethel 37 - Carleton 19!!! 

Big win for the Royals...playing without their floor leader (Laugen) for most of the game because of an injury.  I do not know his status for Wednesday's showdown with the Tommies!  If memory serves me right...I don't think the Royals have beaten the Tom-Cats in 3+ years...they are due for a "W" at home on Wednesday night! 

Love playing leapfrog! 

It is good to be a Royal!

Tonights Predictions...

SJU @ GAC - Gusties too tough at home...Gustavus by 10.

Question for the Board:
When these two teams play...does Whittwer and Brink guard eachother?  Sidenote: I sweat these two guys could be long-lost brothers...their style of play is so similar! 

Carl @ BU - Bethel keeps rolling after their big win Saturday, win bigger than people think...BU by 15! (BU leapfrogs Carl & SJU into a tie for 3rd!)

Augs @ StOlaf - St. Olaf gets a big (close) win to keep the pressure on BU, SJU, CORD, & CARL for a 6th playoff spot!...Olaf by 4

MAC @ UST - Conboy scores 35 and Abe scores 33 and Mac still loses...UST by 18.

SMU @ HAM - Yawn...Ham by 12

It is good to be a Royal! 

 

Weekend Review Part 2.  (actually, looking ahead at the upcoming week -  )

Things could get real interesting this week.  Either more separation by the two frontrunners or it could get real bunched up.

*UST: MAC, @ Bethel, GAC
*GAC: SJU, @ SMU, @ UST (& then a weird Monday night game against the Cobbs. More on this in a moment*)

*CARL: @ BET, SMU
*SJU: @ GAC, STO, @ AUGS
*CORD: HAM, @ BET
*BET: CARL, UST, CORD (Crunch week for the Royals)

*STO: AUGS, @ SJU, @ MAC

*AUGS:  @ STO, MAC, SJU (realistically, this is the playoffs or bust week for the Dawgs.  And, IMO they have the most difficult remaining schedule of the playoff pretenders/contenders)

Mathematically, Ham & MAC are still alive, but they would have to pull off a Disney like recovery to slip into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Scots don't have enough firepower or rebounding-- they were out-rebounded by 20 boards in their loss to the Cobbs yesterday.  And Lord Admiral Whitmore's Hamline crew seems to be suffering from scurvy, and injuries – both physical & emotional. 
***************************************
*I've noticed in past years, sometimes the Cobbs would come down to the cities on a Saturday for a game, drive to Winona after the game & spend the night, play the Cards the next day, & drive back to Moorhead Sunday night.

DP - nice preview of the upcoming week!  It is nice that all of those games are at home for the Royals! Let's hope they can build an atmosphere in the Robertson Center to help them! 

P.S.  I am going to go out there and predict a Bethel win up at SJU this weekend!  They are due up there!!  They have come close the last couple of years, but just can't get it done!  Also, they have had enough of that darn arena (SEXton Arena) mocking their religious convictions and it is time to end this tomfoolery!  Anybody want to predict otherwise??


Nice call - Yeah BABY...BU wins 78-66!


Huge win for the Royals! 

They get Carleton and UST at home this week.  I predict they win one of those two...not sure which one. 

It is good to be a Royal!

On Wednesday I talked to Hanson after the game a little bit about Doble actually...He was hurt at the beginning of the year, and it really allowed Paulson to mature quickly.

Doble is a great athlete, but he fouls way to much. He doesn't get his body into position and tries to rely on his athletic ability. 

At the beginning of the year I said something like..."Whittwer and Doble will be a nice dynamic duo"...I now change that to Whittwer and Paulson. 

* The Redwood B-Ball days also go back to when Jiminez was the coach...his kid ended up playing for Bobby Knight at Indiana I believe.

Bethel won at Carleton in Overtime...SJU won at Carleton in Overtime...Doesn't logic suggest that we will have a good game on our hands in Collegeville tomorrow...I only wish I could be there 

It is good to be a Royal!