MBB: American Rivers Conference

SpartyBlue · January 20, 2023, 11:59:04 AM

Big ARC weekend. Seven teams scrambling for 6 spots and those coveted top 3 home seeds are up for grabs.

Current standings:

Central 7-1
NWU 6-2
UD 5-3
Loras 5-3
Simpson 4-4
Coe 4-4
Wartburg 4-4
BV 1-7
Luther 0-8

Weekend matchups:

Central @ UD Huge game here, Central can tighten its hammerlock on a conference championship by knocking off Sparty at home. Central was shaky against Luther last weekend, but keeps winning. UD got healthy vs. Simpson and Luther. Can UD slow down Van Gorp inside? Jaylin McCants presents huge matchup problems, can Central contain him? This will be a grinder of a game. No word on Bryce Prochaska being back or not for UD, his size presence inside would help defensively, has been out with illness.

Simpson @ Coe Coe was rolling along until NWU took them down at home last weekend. I just don't believe Simpson has the talent of the other 6 contenders after taking Coe and Wartburg scalps in early Dec., it's been a struggle. Kohawks should roll here.

Loras @ BV Loras has offensive firepower but has dropped two straight after winning Key City Classic. BV just hasn't shown anything this season, just don't have the athleticism to hang with teams. Duhawks win big.

NWU @ Luther The Norse are 0-8 but aren't the complete cupcake they usually are. They are hanging in games and the bigs in the middle are an annoyance. NWU is starting to put it together and eyeing Central for the top spot. Look for Wolves to win handily.

Schipper Strong · January 21, 2023, 09:23:49 PM

Congratulations to UD they didn't overlook us twice. They jumped out quick and never looked back. Central did not play sharp today, but I knew beating UD at home would be a challenge even on a good day. Too many empty trips to the Central side of the floor. It was a rough shooting performance for the Dutch. We get a break Wednesday night then back at it against Coe next Saturday. There is just so much parity in the conference this year. The average score for the top scoring team to the next to the lowest scoring team (Central) is 10 points. Any given day... I am just glad to see Central still in 1st after a loss.

restling · January 23, 2023, 05:38:54 PM

Luther beating Nebraska Wesleyan, and almost beating Central last week, means there really isn't an off night for anyone.

SpartyBlue · January 23, 2023, 05:50:41 PM

UD 67 Central 61 Spartans control this one from the tip with defensive intensity and good team execution on the offensive end. This really was a 8-12 margin type game throughout. Central is a tough squad with Van Gorp anchoring, but UD had the game plan--Be as physical as you can with Van Gorp, make Johnson make more plays and decisions, he went 0 for 8, rebound hard and limit offensive second chances with hard closeouts on the three shooters. Central is tough, but really feel that UD is the more dynamic team. UD also generated much more offensive flow and shot better than the offensive debacle that was the game in Pella.

Luther 79 NUW 65 The Norse had been competing, but this one is still a shocker. NWU had been rolling. Didn't watch this game, so not sure what happened here. Box scores are pretty similar, but 50 second half points for Luther decides it.

The ARC conference championship is up for grabs after Saturday. Central loses to drop to 7-2, UD/Loras/NWU all 6-3, Coe is very dangerous at 5-4, and Wartburg coming on with the return of Olson. Simpson is 5-4 but I don't think has the talent and is with BV/Luther on the outside looking in.

Schipper Strong · 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.

D3hoopsinsider · January 24, 2023, 07:39:38 PM

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!

D3hoopsinsider · January 24, 2023, 07:44:51 PM

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.

Schipper Strong · January 25, 2023, 04:11:00 PM

I should have corrected from conference MVP to POW. I would guess a number of schools have had siblings on the women's team or the men's team a number of times. I know Central has. It doesn't seem that siblings on both men's and women's teams at the same time should be that much different. Yet I can think of siblings who played at the same time on either the men's or women's team, the aspect of one on each is new to me. Central had the same pair last year, I just wasn't able to make the games easily then because of my work schedule. The fact that they have both been POW is impressive. Though at 6'10" for Josh and 6'3" for Allison, they do have a definite advantage.

As I said Central does have two brothers on the men's team this year and they have a sister who may play basketball, but had to leave Central for health reasons. Thankfully I believe she was planning to return this semester.

Schipper Strong · January 25, 2023, 04:23:51 PM

Quote from: D3hoopsinsider on January 24, 2023, 07:39:38 PM

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.

If you mean feeding the ball relentlessly to Josh Van Gorp, Coe was the first team to double/triple team him like a second skin. Pretty much every team since Coe has done that. It allows others to become open and score. UD caught us on a bad shooting night, part of it was their defense, but there were a lot of uncontested shots that just didn't go through as they have in other games. Grant Johnson has had some great games and normally scores a couple of 3 pointers where teams leave him wide open and he has made them pay. Our outside shooters have got to pick up if Josh is shut down. Saturday they just were not able to do that. If you look at the last few games though Josh's scoring average has really dropped.

SpartyBlue · January 26, 2023, 02:51:13 PM

Quote from: Schipper Strong on January 25, 2023, 04:23:51 PM
Quote from: D3hoopsinsider on January 24, 2023, 07:39:38 PM

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.
If you mean feeding the ball relentlessly to Josh Van Gorp, Coe was the first team to double/triple team him like a second skin. Pretty much every team since Coe has done that. It allows others to become open and score. UD caught us on a bad shooting night, part of it was their defense, but there were a lot of uncontested shots that just didn't go through as they have in other games. Grant Johnson has had some great games and normally scores a couple of 3 pointers where teams leave him wide open and he has made them pay. Our outside shooters have got to pick up if Josh is shut down. Saturday they just were not able to do that. If you look at the last few games though Josh's scoring average has really dropped.

I loved the strategy of playing off of Johnson and making him try and create something. He's a 24.5% 3 point shooter on the season (6-25 in January); he looked really lost against UD when left on an island with everyone else being hard guarded.

You are right your guards have to pick it up, but the other point here is to try and key on Terrell and limit his uncontested looks, he shoots the 3 at 40.5%, after that there's a real drop off. It will be interesting to see if Central can get back on the winning track vs. Coe and NWU and @ Loras in its next three.

Schipper Strong · January 26, 2023, 04:06:44 PM

Hey Sparty Blue glad you are still enjoying the high of beating Central. I mean we were picked to finish 8th in the conference, so I can see what an accomplishment it was. As a Central fan I am just enjoying the ride. We already have five more wins than last year so whatever happens, this is a great season for first year head Coach Steinkamp. Getting to spend almost the entire first half of the season in first place is just the cream cheese icing on the cake. I look for some tough games ahead in a conference where no one team has really dominated. Hopefully we can continue winning at home and pick up a few on the road.

SpartyBlue · January 27, 2023, 11:27:06 AM

I was enjoying it, but then we lost to Wartburg. For sure the Dutch are much improved and a tough match up. It's good for the conference to have this kind of parity with really no doormat teams this year. Case in point, Luther is riding a crazy two game streak over Coe and NWU, two teams they were a combined 0 for their last 16 against.

Schipper Strong · January 28, 2023, 02:44:20 PM

Central only beat Luther by 2 on the road. Just glad we get them, Coe, Wartburg and NWU at home.

Schipper Strong · January 28, 2023, 07:58:08 PM

Luther 44 - BV 43 as a FINAL score??? Wow or woe?

First half battle with Coe had Central up by one at the half. Dutch lost way too many passes trying to get the ball to Van Gorp. Second half Central stepped up the shooting percentage from 40% to 64% for a great finish 85-71.

It was a Coaches vs Cancer game tonight. I would like to ask for prayers from those so inclined for Summer Brand, Kaleb and Nolan's triplet. She was hoping to return to Central this semester, but her lymphoma is back. To say it is personal for the men's team is an understatement. Very fitting that Kaleb and Nolan combined for all 28 of Central's bench points tonight. They both played an outstanding game.

SpartyBlue · January 31, 2023, 03:20:06 PM

ARC Weekend Results

UD 75 NWU 61 Huge road win for Sparty, control this one for the duration. UD answered every NWU bucket and kept this a 10-14 lead, did an outstanding job passing through the gaps in the NWU 3-2 zone, 32 points in the paint.

Wartburg 81 Simpson 74 Wartburg wins fourth straight to move to 6-4 in the ARC. Simpson rapidly fading from postseason contention.

Central 85 Coe 71 Big win for the Dutch here, covered by Schipper.

Luther 44 BV 43 Ahh, brings back memories of the 1929 Norse/Beaver matchup, Luther 25 BV 15 in that one.