MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OxyBob]

they're the only team in their pod that'll be flying/adjusting to a different time zone which is a disadvantage

The gym will probably be hot, too.

St Thomas is also not the same team they were earlier in the year....they're better and they've been hot of late.

Last 10 games: St. Thomas 8-2, Claremont 9-1 (loss by 1 point).

OxyBob

[CMSfan]

St Thomas is also not the same team they were earlier in the year....they're better and they've been hot of late.

Last 10 games: St. Thomas 8-2, Claremont 9-1 (loss by 1 point).

So what's your point?  That CMS has been hot, too?  That the game is winnable?  Well, yeah...obviously.  CMS has been playing amazing basketball and I like their chances against anyone (in Division 3), anywhere!

But it's certainly not an easy match up.  St. Thomas is probably better than the Stags' competition in SCIAC, and the travel (for both teams) adds a wrinkle.  If the Stags are favorites vs. St. Thomas, it's by a small margin.  This is a game CMS can, should, and needs to win.  But it's also going to be as big a test as the Stags have had this season.

[summers]

I don't mean to rehash Tuesday's game or cast aspersions on the officiating crew.  It's a really tough job and I appreciate that so many refs are willing to do it and maintain professionalism despite the verbal abuse they take. But I just saw this from CMC's student newspaper and thought I'd share: http://cmcforum.com/sports-connection/02252012-watch-live-stags-v-sagehens-sciac-finals

The thing about still photos is that they only capture one specific moment of time. You can see on the scoreboard that those two photos are at 2.1 and 1.9. Would be nice to know what happened in between, right? Well - here's a shot at 2.0:

http://willhummel.blogspot.com/2012/02/last-seconds-part-ii.html

Not so cut and dry is it? That hand sure is in the cookie jar here. Not only that, but he clearly recoiled it by 1.9 in the sort of reaction someone might have if they touched a hot stove (or a shooter's arm). And since the shot went behind the backboard (McAndrews was wide open and on balance when he caught the pass, which was a little behind him), the most logical explanation for the sequence of events is that Pinson hit him on the elbow, recoiled his arm, and McAndrews' mechanics got throw off to the point that his shot missed by five feet.

You can also see in the first photo on that blog, that McAndrews was clearly fouled on his lay-up with 30 seconds left. Sagehens might have defended that last possession differently if they led by two (where a two ties the game) instead of one (where a two wins the game).

[DoubleDomer]

For those traveling to Whitewater from California:

1. Fly to Milwaukee, not Chicago (ORD or MDW), Madison, or Rockford.  If you're in LA county, fly from ONT to Milwaukee on Southwest.  Multiple flights daily through PHX, DEN, or Las Vegas.  Milwaukee Mitchell is an hour from Whitewater--maybe 60% of which is freeway.  (There are beau-coo flights into Midway, but it's going to take you 2:30-3:00 to get to WW, and you're going to fight Chicagoland traffic to do it.) If you're really adventurous, AirTran has a red-eye from LAX that leaves 11:59 pm and arrives MKE dawn or so.  Rode that back from a couple of Stags football games this fall; not as bad as it sounds--but pay the $75 to upgrade to business class.

2. Do yourself a favor and book a hotel room in Madison, not Whitewater.  (And DEFINITELY do not be beguiled by Expedia into thinking that Janesville or Beloit are options.) Unless you're a fan of the stalag experience--think treeless campus graced with 70s-vintage gulag architecture--or unless you dig hog-wrestling coeds who could whip your left coast a**, Whitewater has nothing to offer.  There are 3 or 4 nice, new, cheap hotels (Cambria Suites is the best) on the East Side of Madison (Eastpark Drive), which is 45 minutes to the northwest.  Up there, you've at least got access to State Street, the Square, and some decent restaurants.

Go Stags.

[GBMAN]

Welcome to Wisconsin, Stags fans!  Sorry to hear that you have to travel halfway across the country to play at a dump like Whitewater. As the parents of a !

Dump?

[CMSfan]

Not so cut and dry is it?

Welcome to the board, summers. You know, I think that photo, combined with the others, actually makes it even more cut and dried that Pinson didn't touch him, given that Pinson is fully extended and McAndrews is really fading away.  But, it was a tough call and, as we all know, refs are aren't perfect. More importantly, they are also the final word on any call. It doesn't matter if Pinson actually touched him. One ref thought he did and, therefore, it was a foul.

In retrospect, it may have been good for the Stags to lose that game.  And it was certainly good for the rivalry...Next year will be a lot of fun when these two get together.  PP played three tough games against a really good team and they deserve a lot of credit for that. As a CMS fan, I thank them for preparing us well for the tournament. I hope our guys do a good job of representing SCIAC!

[OxyBob]

So what's your point? 

I'm on your side. Calm down. Geez.

OxyBob

[CMSfan]

I'm on your side.

I'd certainly hope so!

Calm down.

Didn't mean to scare you...it's just that the point of your post was unclear to me. WoostAr was making the point that St. Thomas is hot and a tougher match up than some were making it seem by calling it a "good draw" and a "very winnable game."  The Stags record in the last 10 isn't relevant to that point.  Hence my confusion.

[OxyBob]

Hence my confusion.

Well, your SAT score wasn't as high as previously reported, hence your confusion.

OxyBob

[CMSfan]

Well, your SAT score wasn't as high as previously reported, hence your confusion.

I love the irony. Thanks, OxyBob!

[Gregory Sager]

Does anyone know where CMS plays and when? Is it at UW Whitewater or St. Thomas? Is it March 1 or 2?
Is there snow?

I believe they will play Friday, March 2 at Whitewater. As for the weather:
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Whitewater+WI+USWI0745

That's very favorable weather for this time of year in southern Wisconsin. We've had a mild winter here in this part of the midwest. As for current snow cover, the weather maps show that there's zero to two inches of snow on the ground in southern Wisconsin. That usually means scattered patches of snow here and there. Based upon the weather report, that snow may or may not be there when you arrive.

Long story short, you will not be flying into a winter wonderland.

[woosterbooster]

While I'd love to see CMS avail themselves well against St. Thomas, I don't see it in the cards.  A good friend of mine is a CMS grad (years ago), so I watched good portions of several of their games this year.  The level, and style, of play out there just seems different.  Almost intramuralish.  Basketball in the midwest has gotten very physical (not that I like that, but that's the way it is), and CMS will have to adjust to that, quickly, or they're going to be in real trouble.

[Gray Fox]

All-SCIAC Team

http://www.thesciac.org/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/All-SCIAC

[stag44]

Should be a fun pod in Whitewater!

I arrive in Milwaukee at 330pm Friday, so hopefully I'll be able to make it for the tip in Whitewater!

Excited to see CMS supporters and see what a WIAC gym is like!

More to come through this week from me on the matchups!

[GBMAN]

Should be a fun pod in Whitewater!

I arrive in Milwaukee at 330pm Friday, so hopefully I'll be able to make it for the tip in Whitewater!

Excited to see CMS supporters and see what a WIAC gym is like!

More to come through this week from me on the matchups!

It's basically an hour to Whitewater from Milwaukee.... I'll be wearing a Purple, hoodie.... It will say Warhawks on the front with a Nike swoosh.... Say hi...