Quote from: Greek Tragedy on April 22, 2023, 08:45:25 PM

Quote from: MNd3Hoops on April 19, 2023, 09:37:59 PM
To summarize: The MIAC is the better league. But to say the UMAC is "not very good" is incorrect. The UMAC has been gaining for a couple of years and there are going to be a lot of great nonconference battles in the state in the coming years, and we should all be happy about that!! The basketball in this state is very good right now

I'm not going to keep beating a dead horse, and that's fine. The top UMAC team has pulled some upsets in the NCAA tournament recently, and I applaud them for that. In fact, one year, it helped Stevens Point avoid the top MIAC team in the following NCAA round. LOL

I still don't think the UMAC is very good. You continue to compare the UMAC and MIAC and how the UMAC is closing the gap, while admitting the MIAC is better. Maybe the MIAC is getting "worse." It's probably a little of both.

I don't disagree with that statement. Plus, I think you just agreed that the gap is a bit closer than it has been in the past, and that's the only thing I wanted 

I enjoy comparing and ranking conferences around the country. Maybe one day I will pop into the WIAC forum and debate you on if the WIAC or the CCIW has been the best/deepest league in the country over recent years 

Quote from: txg on April 21, 2023, 08:50:17 PM
Not disagreeing with your overall thesis, but you said "you can't cherry pick games to make a point", and then you did exactly that for a paragraph.

Haha that's fair. Wasn't trying to cherry pick, tried to use a large number of examples of both conferences winning games to paint an accurate picture.

I can tell that I am fighting a losing battle here and I have the unpopular opinion. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out on the court next season and beyond... can't wait!

 The UMAC, as a whole, isn't very good, IMO. Yes, if you take the top team, they have done damage the last few years in the NCAA tournament. But, I'll stand by my statement. You can't say the UMAC is good simply because the top team has pulled off a few upsets in the NCAA tournament. And if you're saying the MIAC is pretty good by comparing results to the UMAC, that probably isn't a good thing. The MIAC has some good teams, and they are better than the UMAC. Maybe if I have time, I'll go through the results. I guess we'll agree to disagree.
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I agree with what Pat said, you can't cherry pick games to make a point. And I'll make this clear: The MIAC is currently the better and definitely the deeper league. My point is that the gap is significantly smaller than it was lets say five years ago. If you've watched any UMAC-MIAC nonconference games especially this past season, you can't deny that. The UMAC was 7-13 against the MIAC this season, with Martin Luther going 0-4. Bethany Lutheran was 1-1 against the MIAC, they lost at Carleton by 8 with all conference guard Xavier Patterson not playing, and they led at halftime of that game. If BLC had played any other any MIAC teams, they would have been favored. If you watched any MN basketball this year, the two best teams were Carleton and Bethany Lutheran. Northwestern beat Hamline (a MIAC playoff team) by 23 on the road and UNW was not at the level that they have been every year for the past 10 years. Crown finished SIXTH in the UMAC and beat Concordia, and then Gustavus and MAC with D2 transfer and All-UMAC player Cade Carroll not playing. Even the losses were very close. Superior missed a shot at the buzzer to lose by one at Bethel. Crown lost in overtime to Bethel without Carroll who is one of the best players in the state. Northwestern played St. Olaf without the UMAC Player of the Year and lost by two at the buzzer. North Central led 21-3 to start the game over Macalester and ended up losing by 3. Morris lost to MAC by 2 in a game they controlled for the majority of the game.

To summarize: The MIAC is the better league. But to say the UMAC is "not very good" is incorrect. The UMAC has been gaining for a couple of years and there are going to be a lot of great nonconference battles in the state in the coming years, and we should all be happy about that!! The basketball in this state is very good right now

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on March 21, 2023, 11:23:07 AM
The UMAC is not very good

That is a very 2014 blanket statement to make. The days of rolling over the UMAC are over. The UMAC has beaten the MIAC the last three times they've matched up in the NCAA Tournament and two of the games weren't that close. Look how the UMAC did against the MIAC this season and you will see the two conferences have very similar talent levels in 2023