MBB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

SpartyBlue, with finals week coming up next week and a bit of a schedule break, does your view of how the conference will play out change from the preseason or you see it a pretty much the same, or is it too early to form an opinion from what you have seen so far?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Big win for Wartburg tonight.  Eau Claire is a very good squad and that was a pretty dominant performance. 

[SpartyBlue]

UD 76 NWU 63 Huge road win for the Spartans, Ragen with 24, McCants with a big game 17 pts. 11 reb., his physicality showed down the stretch.  UD really controlled most of this game, won the rebounding and turnover battles.  It's coming together.

Wartburg 77 Simpson 59  Wartburg beat UW-EC Thursday and rolled Simpson.  The Knights have to be looked at as contenders at 9-1, 3-0.  Nothing flashy, but good, solid guard play with multiple guys who can shoot it. 

BV 64 Luther 46  Luther is dreadful.  BV follows up big road win at NWU with an easy one. 

Coe 83 Central 65  Easy money for the Kohawks.

Loras 107 Blackburn 82  Loras continues to put up impressive offensive numbers against bad teams. 

Doolittle, I don't think it's too early to form some opinions.  If I'm betting on personnel and eye test I'd put Loras, UD, and Coe as top contenders, with Wartburg right there.  Can't count BV out this early as we know Demers and Thompson are capable of winning games.  NWU is a year away from being a contender again, in my view.  What are your thoughts?

[doolittledog]

I haven't watched anything so far this year.  Was busy this fall, but I think over the winter I will get to tune in some. 

[doolittledog]

Dubuque takes down #10 ranked Roanoke 75-67

[SpartyBlue]

Dubuque takes down #10 ranked Roanoke 75-67

Huge win after an uneven fall semester.  We'll see if UD can carry that momentum forward.  Here are my current ARC power rankings with current Massey rank and Massey Strength of Schedule rank (because it factors in here).

1.  UD 7-5    76, 46
2.  Wartburg 10-2   46, 130
3. Coe 11-2   66, 122
4.  Loras 10-2   51, 176
5. BVU 5-8    113, 38
6.  NWU  7-4   141, 270
7.  Simpson 4-7   265, 240
8.  Central 3-8   300, 326
9.  Luther 3-9   316, 191

[SpartyBlue]

UD 71 Coe 63  Trailing at the half, 3/4 court press blunts the Coe offense, Sam Kilburg hit some huge shots sparking a 15-0 run midway through the second sending Sparty to this huge road win.  UD has now picked off three big conference road wins:  BV, NWU, Coe.  Justifies my power rankings, Sparty has flaws, but their rotation is the most talented in the ARC. 

Luther 78 Loras 74  Really bad home loss for the Duhawks.  Loras was in control, Norse hit threes in the last five minutes and Loras went cold on their own court.  This game perfectly illustrates my SoS point, building a resume on cupcakes does not help you in conference play.  Luther has now won three straight.

Wartburg 80 Central 75  The Dutch are quietly competing with Luther for bottom of the barrel.   

BV 88 Simpson 74  Beavers send Storm to their sixth consecutive loss.  Key stat: 24 assists for BV

[doolittledog]

UD 71 Coe 63  Trailing at the half, 3/4 court press blunts the Coe offense, Sam Kilburg hit some huge shots sparking a 15-0 run midway through the second sending Sparty to this huge road win.  UD has now picked off three big conference road wins:  BV, NWU, Coe.  Justifies my power rankings, Sparty has flaws, but their rotation is the most talented in the ARC. 

Luther 78 Loras 74  Really bad home loss for the Duhawks.  Loras was in control, Norse hit threes in the last five minutes and Loras went cold on their own court.  This game perfectly illustrates my SoS point, building a resume on cupcakes does not help you in conference play.  Luther has now won three straight.

Wartburg 80 Central 75  The Dutch are quietly competing with Luther for bottom of the barrel.   

BV 88 Simpson 74  Beavers send Storm to their sixth consecutive loss.  Key stat: 24 assists for BV

I tuned in just in time to see the post game interview with the Coe coach.  May try to watch the replay tonight if I don't really feel like finishing up a report.  I'm cautiously optimistic for the Spartans right now.   

[SpartyBlue]

Weekend Update (not with Dennis Miller)

UD 98 Finlandia 78  Sparty with a light sparring session before Key City Clash, Part I on Wed.  Seven in double figures.

BV 80 Coe 73  BV moves to 4-2 and puts themselves in the conference conversation. 

Loras 98 Central 59  Duhawks bounce back from horrible Luther loss against a struggling Dutch squad.  Loras slinks up the hill on Wednesday for a huge rivalry game.  Last spring's game was entertaining as heck, good guys coming out 99-91 to the good.  This four game stretch will determine Loras's regular season conference fate:  @UD, @NWU, Wartburg, BV  A win by Sparty here puts them in a great spot, 5-1 with Simpson, @ Luther, @ Central before the big showdown @ Wartburg on 1/26.  8-1 would be nice going into that game. 

Wartburg 81 NWU 65  Knights keep winning.  This is a good team, but by no means dominant.  Circle 1/26 vs. UD. 

Simpson Luther PPD 

[doolittledog]

Dubuque with the 70-64 home win over cross town rival Loras.  11 ties and 11 lead changes in the game.  It was 58-58 when I initially logged onto the game.  Decided I was too nervous to watch that.  Later thought that was ridiculous to think that way and I believe it was 61-60 UD at that point.  So I think it's scientifically proven that the Spartan victory can be broken down to 99% players/coaches and 1% me tuning in and providing that extra bit of mojo the team needed 

[SpartyBlue]

UD 70 Loras 64    For boarders who may not know, these two schools are separated by one mile.  This game was a slugfest in front of a raucous crowd of 1200+ (attendance policy, Iowa style).  Both student sections were large and loud; I believe this rivalry is one of the better at the D3 level and deserves more press, but nonetheless, as Doolittle indicated, back and forth defensive struggle.  Freshman Jaylin McCants had 22 pts. 10 reb. off the bench and is becoming a primary dynamic scoring threat, Ragen added 22.

Dubuque has won four straight, mauled top 25 Roanoke on a neutral court, went on the road and locked down Coe and then took over late against Massey top 50 Loras.  UD has a chance to win out to the Wartburg game on 1/26 and if they win that, I think they deserve back in the national conversation. 

Wartburg 76 Coe 72  Knights move to 13-2, 6-0.  WC is a tough guard-oriented team with multiple shooting and driving threats.

BV 86 Central 70  Beavers are a quiet 5-2 in conference, but the home losses to Loras and UD really hurt, will be tough to win those return games on the road and they have a tough stretch coming up @WC @ Loras vs. NWU

Simpson NWU PPD

[SpartyBlue]

So much for my spotless Karma, sheesh!  I'll soldier on.  It would be nice to get some posters from other schools on these boards, has anyone ever sent out links on twitter feeds or anything like that so fans are aware D3boards exist?  Just a thought.

My ARC current power rankings with recent results (Massey rank, Sos)

1.  UD 11-5, 6-1  (60, 47) W Simpson 69-48.  I still think UD is battle tested and deeper than any team in the ARC.  Currently on pause for Covid issues.  They will come into the biggest game of the year @ Wartburg not having played a game in 11 days.  Not ideal.  Remember, UD only plays one senior as well.

2.  Wartburg  14-3, 7-1 (32, 75) L 88-84 BV, W 86-83 @ Loras.  Home loss to the surging Beavers opens up the ARC race, Wartburg is vulnerable in the paint, outrebounded by 10 in this one.  Really nice bounce back win at Loras.  Knights guards continue to impress, can get to the rim, have multiple shooters, smart offensively.  Again, though, outrebounded by 10, WC will have to clean up the glass to win the ARC.

3.  BV  9-8, 6-2 (82, 26)  W Central 86-70, W Wartburg 88-84  Beavers have turned it around after dreadful start.  Tough early schedule doesn't lend itself to glittering record, but battle tested, fifth year senior heavy team.  Sittner comes off the bench for 38 pts. against WC...BV was having trouble scoring the ball, could be the spark they needed.  Demers is great, but if you stop him you really bog down BV on the offensive end.

4.  Loras 11-5, 3-4 (66, 190)  L 86-83  Wartburg.  Duhawks have dropped 3 out of 4, but I have them at four based on eye test.  I think that at the end of the day they have more weapons than Coe, all of these losses have been close, just haven't made buckets down the stretch when needed.   Chris Martin coached team will still be dangerous down the stretch.  The Luther loss really hurt and will likely keep them from a regular season title, but I want to avoid them in the ARC tournament, if possible. 

5.  Coe  12-5, 4-4 (74, 78)  W NWU 67-53.  Kohawks are in the mix here.  Another experienced team starting five seniors.  I do think they lack depth and rely a bit too much on Kruse to have big games. 

6.  NWU 8-7, 2-4 (105, 164) L @ Coe 67-53.  Looks like the Wolves are coming off a Covid pause.  This team has some young talent, particularly Lash, but to me just lacks the physicality to create on the offensive end.  They really struggle against pressure and not a great rebounding team despite some size and length.  Wellman is a great coach and this could turn around going into tournament time, so keep watching.

7.  Luther 5-9, 2-4 (245, 169)  W Central 61-53.  Norse have won four in a row, Loras road win likely huge for this program's confidence.  They simply don't have much talent, but they are playing hard and acting like they belong in games.  ARC teams need to be on alert that the Norse may not roll over as they have for years.

8.  Central 4-12, 1-7 (294, 217) L Luther 61-53, W @Simpson 75-66.  Dutch have no offensive weapons whatsoever.  A once winning program in a current horrible rut.

9.  Simpson 4-11, 1-5  (284, 203) L @ UD 69-48, L Central 75-66.  Storm have no offensive weapons whatsoever.  Incredible to think that two years ago this program was garnering top 25 votes.  Dropped eight straight since huge upset @ Coe on 12/4.

[Greek Tragedy]

Good work +1 Scooby snack.

[doolittledog]

Dubuque takes the 59-42 win @ Wartburg to take over 1st place in the conference at 7-1.  The superstitious part of me says the Spartans are getting these wins because I don't watch live and wait to watch later.  This old Spartan feels like we're getting back to the 1986-1992 years of UD success.  Love to see what Coach Sieverding is getting done in Dubuque.

[SpartyBlue]

UD 59 Wartburg 42   Big game of the year so far in the ARC.   Dubuque comes off of Covid pause and absolutely shuts down Wartburg in their own gym. Ragen, Kilburg, and McCants with the scoring the for Sparty, but the story was defense.   Knights shoot 3-27 from three--an almost unbelievably bad number.  UD goes to 7-1 in the ARC and is in a very good position to win the conference. They have now beaten every team with road wins over BV, NWU, Coe, and Wartburg. 

NWU 90 BV 88 OT  Really bad home loss for BV drops them to 6-4 in the conference. 

Loras 81 Simpson 68  Duhawks hold court, move to 5-4 conference.

Coe 89 Luther 51  Luther back to being Luther.