Quote from: Schipper Strong on January 23, 2023, 08:33:55 PM
Just curious, this is a first time I have noticed it for Central and wonder if there are other dynamic duos out there. Have any of the other conference schools had a brother and sister become conference basketball player of the week in the same season? I have to admit I was a really poor Central fan last year, so I could have missed it then. I think Josh Van Gorp has been conference MVP three times this year and his sister Allison is conference MVP this week. Central doesn't have games Wednesday so I thought I would throw the question out there.

Also for the Luther announcer that said they were twins, they are not. Also the Brand brothers are not twins either. Yes they are the same age and look very similar, but they are triplets along with their sister.

The only sibling duo I can remember playing together was JT and Matt Vonderhaar from Coe. Both were all-conference performers but I do not believe they were ever conference players of the week in the same season. Coe also had brothers be back to back all-conference performers when Josh and Cael Schmitt did it a few years back.

Love this discussion, would be interested in hearing more sibling "dynamic duos" on the men's and women's side in ARC history.

It was quite a week for the conference. NWU rolls white hot Coe on Wednesday then turns around and loses to winless Luther on Saturday. I rewatched the NWU Luther game and it was tied 65-65 with less than 3 minutes to go before Luther finished the game on a 14-0 run!! No off night in the ARC this year is right.

I am at a loss for who is going to come out as the conference champion this year. Central is so unique in how they play which has been very effective but I also think teams will figure them out the second time around, much like Dubuque did on Saturday. It will be a race to the finish and this is a year where I wouldn't be surprised if the conference champion doesn't win the tournament.

On another note, I attended the Simpson Coe game in person on Saturday and the Kohawks look fantastic. They are very athletic and have great length across the board. Cael Schmitt was elite once again and TJ Schnurr very well may be a 1st team all conference player as well. Don't be surprised if they find away into the top 3 by year's end. On the other side of the coin, Simpson seems to be searching and are trying to get off a 4 game skid.

The Wartburg Dubuque game on Wednesday night is a big one. A Wartburg win would go a long way towards locking themselves into the conference tournament and a Spart victory puts them at the same number of wins as Central.

By week's end the standings are likely to look completely different than they do today. Excited to see some great games this week!

Quick recap of yesterday's ARC games:

Central @ Luther: Close contest all the way thru, Luther tied it on a jumper late but Drew Edwards sprung free for a layup in the last few seconds to win it for the Dutch. Central leads the ARC at 6-1 while Luther falls to 0-7 (tough year again for the Norse).

NWU vs Loras: NWU with more late game heroics, this time out of Carter Glenn who put the PWolves up with an and one with under 10sec to go leading to the NWU win.

UD @ Simpson: Story of the game was Rashad McCants, who had 35 and 10 in the win for the Spartans. I believe he had at least 21 in the first half and looked unstoppable. Big win for Sparty who wold have dropped to a tie for 6th with a loss.

Wartburg @ BV: Wartburg with a big road win here. Drew Olson is back and has played well the last two games. Watch out for a Knight run in the second half of league play with a full strength lineup. Not sure what is up with the Beavers, who fall to 1-7 in league play. From what I have gathered talking to those around the league, they are not 100% healthy right now. They are still extremely well coached and I wouldn't be shocked if they beat anyone down the stretch.

My game of the week is Coe @ NWU on Wednesday. NWU has won 3 games in a row and are playing really good basketball but the Kohawks have won 6 of their last 7 and are white hot. Something will have to give. I think the Kohawks will prevail behind the play of Cael Schmitt and the fact that they have the size/athleticism to matchup with Peter Lash.

Loras @ Wartburg is another big one Wednesday night, I'm taking the Knights as they always play well against the Duhawks.

It sure didn't help losing 2x ARC MVP!! Peter Ragen was a great player but maybe an even better leader for the Spartans during their run.

Like I told SpartyBlue earlier this season, 3pt shooting is their biggest weakness. They are currently 8 of 9 in 3fg% at 30%. That isn't going to cut it. We will see if they can get back to form today against Simpson on the road.

It has been quite a roller coaster in the ARC lately. Central and Loras leading the way with a number of teams right behind them. I think it is going to be a really exciting finish to the conference season.

I am surprised no one in this thread has mentioned the play of the Kohawks. They have won 3 straight over UD, BV and Wartburg with all 3 being double digit victories. Cael Schmitt has been elite, he very well may he the best player in the conference along with Van Gorp and Sabet. Couple that with hyper athletic forward TJ Schnurr and some other nice pieces, it will be interesting to see if Coe can continue making a run next week.

I hate the term "must win" but UD and Wartburg need a win today if they are going to keep themselves in the mix at the top of the league. An exciting slate of games coming up today!

Great night of American Rivers Conference hoops!

Dubuque looks like the real deal, dominated a solid BV team from start to finish. When Brock Simon is shooting like that (4-7), the Spartans are incredibly difficult to beat. Athletic on both ends of the floor and 10-25 from 3. Will be interesting to see them go to Central who just beat NWU on the road.

The surprise of the night is Central going into Lincoln and pulling out a win over NWU. They were really in control most of the game before a late Prairie Wolves run. The Dutch look much improved and are defending at a very high level. Playing two 6'9 post guys together makes them very difficult to score and rebound against. They head into a huge home game against Dubuque on Saturday.

Wartburg beats Luther by 10 but it was a tight contest for most of the game. Still no Drew Olson for Wartburg, not sure if injured or when he will be back. Luther heads to Lincoln Saturday and Wartburg takes on Bethany Lutheran.

Loras pulls out an OT game with the Kohawks, really great game that Loras controlled until Coe made it interesting. Coe is really going to rely heavily on Cael Schmitt in these games but when you look at their roster they are a fairly young and inexperienced team playing only one Senior. Loras moves to a 2-0 start in conference play.

More great games coming Saturday!

Tough day in the ARC as everyone lost except for Central. A few recaps:

NWU went 0-2 but looked VERY good against top flight opponents in Illinois Wesleyan and Oshkosh. Could have very easily won both games the way they played. I think they will be one of the teams most likely to push UD for the top spot in the conference this year.

Wartburg went 1-1 with a win over Concordia Wisconsin and a loss to a ranked UW-Lacrosse team. Still no Drew Olson for the Knights as they head into a big matchup with Dubuque on Tuesday.

Coe was down 20 at half to Ripon and lost 80-64. They really struggled to defend and take care of the ball (20 turnovers). Ripon is a very good team that was picked to win the MWC but the Kohawks need to figure some things out if they are going to compete in the ARC this year.

Buena Vista lost by large margins to St. John's and Elmhurst. Tough to gauge these games as both teams were ranked. I think BV will be in the top half of the league but their depth will ultimately decide where they end up in my opinion.

Central went 2-0 this weekend beating Webster and Westminster pretty handily. While the opponents for the Dutch have not been the strongest, there seems to be a renewed vigor in the playing style for the Dutch under new head coach Joe Steinkamp.

Loras moves to 1-2 after a bad loss against Principia. Loras really struggles to defend, as has been the issue in past years, and seem to be searching for their offensive identity without McGowen and Navigato. Heading to Indianola on Tuesday will be a very intriguing matchup as Simpson is still undefeated on the year.

Luther loses 49-48 against MSOE. They head to Cedar Rapids to take on the Kohawks Tuesday, so we will know much more about both programs coming out of that game.

To me the most intriguing matchups on Tuesday are Wartburg vs. Dubuque and Simpson vs. Loras. Simpson was picked low in the conference but is playing very well to start the year. We will see if SpartyBlue is right and the Knights struggle again to get over the UD hump on Tuesday!

My Tuesday ARC Picks:
Wartburg over Dubuque
Coe over Luther
Simpson over Loras

Let the ARC season begin!

Agreed SpartyBlue, Snyder will make a big difference in their 3pt shooting. Dubuque is clearly the favorite and opening against a team as good as NCC was a tough draw.

Crazy to think we will see conference matchups next Tuesday already. Luther @ Coe, Dubuque at Wartburg and Loras @ Simpson.

Should be a great season!

Quote from: SpartyBlue on November 14, 2022, 02:59:44 PM
Weekend Results:

North Central 81 UD 70  Ouch.  North Central is for real--shoots over 50% from three, Matt Helwig goes off.  I don't see how NCC won't be at the top of the CCIW.

UD 68 Carroll 53  UD back on track after NCC loss.  Great team defense and intensity on Carroll's home floor--great bounce back game shows UD deserves to be favored in the ARC again.

Loras 120 Greenville 92  Loras feasts on The System after the bad loss to CUC.

Macalaster 79 Wartburg 71  OT  This is game the Knights should win over a middling team even on the road.  Wartburg is loaded with 5th year seniors, but I'm not sure they deserved three conference first place preseason votes.   Guard oriented team that shot terribly in this one.

NWU 86 Colorado College 67  Wolves beat up a traditionally weak CC. 

BVU beats two SLIAC teams, Westminster and Fontbonne.   Not sure what to take from that.

Graceland 73 Coe 63  Elvis goes for a double double as Coe falls to the King and his Court. 

Hamline 61 Luther 58  ARC order is restored as Luther back to losing ways.

I have to disagree on the Wartburg take. Macalester went on a run at the end of last season and  almost won the MIAC conference tournament. They  have most of their scoring back from that team and Wartburg was playing without all-conference guard Drew Olson. Not to mention being on the road.

I watched both UD games and while they should be favored, I think the ARC is far more wide open than many think it will be. The Spartans lack consistent 3pt shooting (11-42 in two games) and depth which can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Their starting 5 is likely the best in the ARC from what I have seen however.

Quote from: doolittledog on November 10, 2022, 12:15:25 PM
Welcome d3hoopsinsider. Always nice to have an additional voice on here. I'm anxious for the season to really get going.

Nothing better than D3 hoops! Looking forward to contributing any way I can. More great games today!

Fantastic overtime game between Macalester and Wartburg. Macalester pulls it out, 79-71, behind a monstrous 36 point outing for Caleb Williams. I believe he scored 10pts in overtime alone. A very high level D3 hoops game in an awesome environment.

Macalester seems to be carrying the momentum they had to finish last season and is a team to keep an eye on. They have great scoring guards and while Badu Ba isn't the most polished offensively, he is an absolute force around the rim. He had 11 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 monster dunks in this game. Well coached team that is fun to watch.

Quote from: SpartyBlue on November 10, 2022, 10:31:40 AM

Quote from: D3hoopsinsider on November 08, 2022, 11:02:51 PM
Some interesting scores from around the ARC.

Luther shakes off the system to roll Grinnell 95-76

Simpson beats Faith Baptist handily. A few new faces for the Storm including leading scorer/transfer Andrew Gibbs but interestingly no Tajen Ross on the roster.

Loras loses to Concordia Chicago 98-88 and were down double digits for most of the game. Sabet and Bass the mainstays in scoring for the Duhawks.

Central looked tough early against Waldorf but went cold in the second half, losing 58-53.

Next up is Coe vs Cornell tomorrow and big regional games this Friday with Dubuque taking on North Central and Wartburg going to Macalester.

The Luther result is a bit of a shock, not sure whether Luther has improved or just a result of System variance. 

Loras also a shocker.  It doesn't look to me like Loras added any pieces, they are relying on Sabet, Singleton, and Bass to make improvements.  CUC is a team yo should beat on your home floor.

Simpson and Central don't tell me much.  I know nothing about Waldorf, does a close game there mean anything?

Coe sneaks by Cornell...again, the usual suspects for Coe, don't see any new pieces doing much but I feel like they should have won this more handily at home.

I would agree on Simpson and Central, hard to gauge both of those teams without knowing much about the opponent. My guess is Simpson will be much improved this year with some strong transfers that came in.

Coe was up big at half and early second half but went on a scoring drought late in the second half. Their starting 5 looked solid but they will need to find some depth. Again hard to judge in an opener vs a rival, their game Saturday vs Graceland will be interesting.

Luther hasn't won many games the last few years but they have an experienced group and looked to have good size against Grinnell. They have always defended well so if they can piece together the offense they could have a much better year.

Some interesting scores from around the ARC.

Luther shakes off the system to roll Grinnell 95-76

Simpson beats Faith Baptist handily. A few new faces for the Storm including leading scorer/transfer Andrew Gibbs but interestingly no Tajen Ross on the roster.

Loras loses to Concordia Chicago 98-88 and were down double digits for most of the game. Sabet and Bass the mainstays in scoring for the Duhawks.

Central looked tough early against Waldorf but went cold in the second half, losing 58-53.

Next up is Coe vs Cornell tomorrow and big regional games this Friday with Dubuque taking on North Central and Wartburg going to Macalester.

Wartburg playing UNI tonight. The usual suspects for the Knights with a couple new faces off the bench. Marshun Williams leading W with 7 points at the half.

Most ARC teams open up their season tomorrow night:
Loras vs Concordia-Chicago
Luther vs Grinnell
Central at Waldorf
Simpson vs Faith Baptist

Coe opens up at home Wednesday against Cornell.