MBB: American Rivers Conference

[Co Coe Nut]

Sorry for not posting in a while guys.  Been on the road quite a bit.  Saw the Coe/BV game in person, and it definetly was not Coe's night.  Terrible shooting performance from Coe, and a great shooting performance from BV.  It looked to me that their bigs and their outside shooting were really hitting.

One comment for Phred.  BV, most definietly, Simpson, questionable?  Really, it's any teams conference to win right now.  (With the exception of Cornell, Warburg, and Loras.)

As of right now, Coe is the only team to topple the defending conference champs in Luther.  (At Luther.)  With that said, it's going to take a lot of help from every team in the conference to take out Luther half way through the conference season. 

My predictions, seeing quite a few of the teams play so far this year.

1)  Luther (I wish I could say Coe, but they're sitting nice right now.)
2) Coe (Still a young team at the beginning of the season, but realizing what it takes to win now.  Especially on the road.)
3) Dubuque  (May come down to the same result as last year.  Same record as Coe, but Coe wins the tie breaker.)
4) BV  (Looked good against Coe, and apparently took it to Dubuque.  If they win at home, they jump up to the 2 spot.)
5) Central  (Lack of size, may be coming to fruition.)
6) Simpson (Talented team, but I think they lack discipline defensively, especially down the stretch when the games really matter.  Also, if they're not hitting shots, see previous comment.)
7) Loras (They're just too talented not to win a more games then the basement dwellers.)
8) Wartburg.  (May get a couple of wins if Murphy and Sathoff both have great games.)
9) Cornell (Don't think there is a debate here....)

It truly is any team's conference to win right now, but those are my predictions.  Let's look back on these in a 3 weeks or so.

I see the road to the NCAA tournament going through Decorah, with Coe beating Dubuque in the second round.  What happens after that, toss-up.

[doolittledog]

BV didn't take it to Dubuque.  Dubuque lead until about 12 minutes left in the game and then it was about a 4 point BV lead until Dubuque needed to foul with about 2 minutes left in the game. 

Now Luther...they took it to Dubuque   Dubuque @ Luther was a see/saw battle in the 1st half with Luther going on a run at the end of the half and then the 2nd half was all Luther, all the time. 

[iowan]

Co Coe Nut: I dont see how you can put Coe & BV ahead of Central. Central beat Coe by 21 and BV by 8. I do think Luther is the team to beat in the IIAC.

[5 Words or Less]

Here are my impressions from the first half of the IIAC season:
1.  It seems that physical play is being tollerated more this year than last.  Hand checks still aren't allowed, but the refs aren't calling the defenders bodyblocks on shots.  I think this works to the advantage of Coe and BV as their big men have done a lot of work in the weight room during the off season and use their hips and shoulders well.  I think the physicallity is being allowing because other conferences out muscle IIAC teams in the NCAA tournament. 
2.  Simpson has the most athletic team in the conference, but also the streakiest (sp?).  Watch out if they get hot in February.
3.  Most games are being decided by double digit differences.  I'm not sure why that is.
4.  I like the new buzzer lights in the bankboards.  Why didn't anyone think of that before.
5.  Of all the teams in the IIAC, Luther has the hardest time keeping their shirts tucked in.

Sincerely yours,
5 Items or Less

[Kohawk Krazy]

Co Coe Nut: I dont see how you can put Coe & BV ahead of Central. Central beat Coe by 21 and BV by 8. I do think Luther is the team to beat in the IIAC.

Those games were also back in November and early December when Central was playing really well.

[Phred]

Luther seems the team to beat.  I do think however that Simpson will make a comeback and watch BV.
Cobbers not doing so well.

[doolittledog]

What happened to the programs at Loras and Wartburg?  Those are pretty big drop offs in a pretty quick period of time.   

[Phred]

What I hear is that Wartburg has a lot of conflict between teams and in the athletic dept.  I don't know about Loras.

[iowan]

Co Coe Nut: I dont see how you can put Coe & BV ahead of Central. Central beat Coe by 21 and BV by 8. I do think Luther is the team to beat in the IIAC.

Those games were also back in November and early December when Central was playing really well.

So a win in first part of the season doesnt count?

[Co Coe Nut]

Co Coe Nut: I dont see how you can put Coe & BV ahead of Central. Central beat Coe by 21 and BV by 8. I do think Luther is the team to beat in the IIAC.

Those games were also back in November and early December when Central was playing really well.

So a win in first part of the season doesnt count?

Number one, Central is already behind in the race to Coe and BV.  Coe was rough on the road at the beginning of the season, and I can go back to numerous occasions when Coe gets beat by Central and then takes care of business at Eby against the Dutch.  BV is always better at the end of the season.  (How many times has BV got into the tournament as a low seed and then made the NCAA tournament?)  Also, I believe my point on Central's lack of size is still valid.

Guess will just have to see how the season turns out.  As many sports people like to say Iowan: "What have you done for me lately?"  This is conference ball in January not November.

[5 Words or Less]

IIAC Midseason Offensive Power Rankings

Coe ... 182.0181
Central ... 181.3191
Luther ... 175.5092
Dubuque ... 169.9045
Buena Vista ... 168.6244
Simpson ... 168.0600
Wartburg ... 167.7448
Loras ... 158.1023
Cornell ... 142.8256


IIAC Midseason Defensive Power Rankings
Luther ... 153.1135
Central ... 161.4275
Dubuque ... 161.4726
Cornell ... 161.7770
Buena Vista ... 162.4552
Simpson ... 167.9300
Coe ... 168.2353
Wartburg ... 168.7026
Loras ... 175.1184

[5 Words or Less]

I was looking through Central's stats tonight to see if there is a common thread explaining their current 4-game skid.  One of the things that I noticed was that when the Dutch were winning, Nick Marinkovich was in the lineup playing 30 minutes a game off the bench and regularly scoring double digits (7.8 ppg season average).  What's happened?  Did he get hurt? 

They also lost the rock nearly twice as often as their opponent (52-29).  Hopefully they can get their turnover problem corrected.

[Klompen]

Very belated congratulations to UD on their win over the Dutch.  Central's current problem, for those on the board wondering, is that they are only playing half a game these days.  At the start of the season, Central came out early and put on a big lead with 3 pt shooting making it hard for teams to battle back, now Central is on the losing side of that same scenario.  We did a big hole, play a good second half, but can't overcome a bad start. 

Early on Boschee commented that he wanted to work on the inside game and I expressed concern on here that we would do so at the expense of great outside shooting.  100% accurate.  One difference is certainly that Marinkovich is out, he was injured in the game at UD in the first half or early in the second.  He was one player really coming into his own at that point and it was a very untimely injury.  Also KJ Cool who was so hot early is now living up to his name, but it might be better changed to ice cold.  Brock Caves is doing a great job on defense and running the offense, but his scoring has also dropped.  I do think size is an issue and there are times that the inside game is going to be tougher because of our lack of it and we have lost our outside shooting touch, so that leaves little in the tank.

The team is coming out strong after the half, so Boschee knows what to say to them, but why can't he get them fired up out of the gate.  To Central's credit?  Last year they started the slide immediately after the Christmas break, at least they kept winning a bit longer this year.

[Co Coe Nut]

Two big games for the middle of the conference teams this week. 

Central at Coe and Simpson at Dubuque.

Luther at home against Loras and BV on the road to Wartburg.

Predictions for the games tonight?  It would be great to see a couple of upsets tonight to help Coe out.  It would be great to see Loras to play up to their potential/hype for once tonight and take it to Luther.

[doolittledog]

Article in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald...
http://www.thonline.com/sports/local_sports/article_260b2749-e379-58f4-b679-f7acaf08db16.html?success=1

The AD at Dubuque had some insight to the IIAC basketball race.

Spartan showdown tonight -- When you're chasing an Iowa Conference title in an airtight race, there's no breathing easy.

Sitting a game behind first-place Luther (14-3, 8-1), the Spartan men (12-5, 7-2) hosts sizzling Simpson (8-9, 5-4) for another must-have game at 8. The Storm are surging on a four-game-winning streak that has brought it back to the fringe of the wide-open league race.

"It's a white-knuckle race," Runkle said. "The thing about our conference is it's so even, certain teams match up better against other teams. It's all about matchups.

"(The league title) is going to come down to the old saying: You've got to win at home and steal on the road."