Concordia University - Austin, TX and McMurry University - Abilene, TX

Carleton's Carls knocked off St. Thomas in the MIAC playoffs last night.  St. Thomas is 23 and 3 and appears to qualify for an at large birth in the nationals.  What do you think this does to other teams and their chances if two come out of Minny?

When I graduated from Carleton College we participated in the Midwest Conference.  I played football and have many great memories of battles on the gridiron with Lawrence, Ripon, Beloit, Knox, Coe, Cornell and Grinnell. Nightmares of Monmouth still haunt me.  Since I reside in the Twin Cities I follow Carleton sports closely and can guarantee that neither Carleton nor St. Olaf will return to the MWC.  Both schools enjoy their presence in the MIAC.  One of the primary reasons involves the fact that Carleton can recruit high school athletes on an easier basis by participating in the MIAC.  High School student athletes from Minnesota, for the most part, have never heard of the MWC and are not impressed by the thought of playing in that conference.  On the other hand, the local media hypes the MIAC to the point that the locals think it is probably the premier D 3 conference in the country.  I can tell you I viewed a number of MIAC basketball games last year and other than St. Thomas was not impressed at all.  The second, third and fourth place teams, Gustavus, Carleton and Augsburg were slow half court oriented squads which would not have fared very well in the MWC.  I observed St. Norberts, Lawrence, Grinnell and Carroll among others last year and thought those squads were stronger than any in the MIAC other than the Tommies.

The LU transfer to Beloit is working out with the team everyday and intends to play for the Bucs this year.  He is an outstanding athlete and very aggressive player.  He is all heart!  Unfortunately, the incoming freshmen do not feature any significant height.

I'm thinking more like 140 to 10.

I cannot get the Beloit/Lawrence tilt.  Neither can a buddy down in Ames, Iowa.

The LU vs. Beloit game seems to be frozen off the world wide web by these 20 below temperatures.

For the Bucs to wins they must win the rebound battle, limit the Vikes to one shot per trip and get some offensive boards as well.  They must go inside and get Andy Horton more involved than he has been in the last two games.  The ball should go through Andy Horton nearly everytime down the floor.  The Bucs need to be an "inside-outside" team.  The last two games the defenses have suckered the Bucs into settling for outside shots and ignoring the big guy.  Turnovers need to be limited to less than ten, and the Bucs need to win the loose ball battles.  Intensity, both offensive and defensive, must be ratcheted up as well.  These goals are achievable.

Early 70's featured:  Lawrence, Ripon, Beloit, Knox, Monmouth, Lake Forest, Coe, Cornell, Grinnell, Carleton and St. Olaf.

Playing in the scrimmages and nonconference tilts are immaterial for a winner like Mr. Horton.  He will be ready to roll once the conference commences.  And remember its not who starts; its who finishes and plays during crunch time.  Starting is overrated.  Playing and winning when it counts is what matters.

Larry, didn't want to hurt your feelings, just trying to help you turn that paper into an A + instead of an A, or if you are not a student, help you get over in whatever is your thing.  anyway, forget about it, go Vikings!

Larry, good luck to the vikings.  they have been enjoying a good run here recently.  can the new coach, of last year, keep it going?  by the way, their is spelled their, not thier.  come on lawrence is a great skool!