MBB: American Rivers Conference

SpartyBlue · January 31, 2023, 03:30:08 PM

Wipeout Wednesday in the ARC

Loras 7-3 @ Coe 5-6 Kohawks looked like world beaters three weeks ago, have lost 3 of last 4. Duhawks up and down, inconsistent and have not been a good road team. Every game is huge now for conference title contention and tournament seeding.

UD 7-4 @ BV 1-10 McCants is back for Sparty. UD dominated BV at home, looks for 8th win to keep pace with Central.

NWU 7-4 @ Central 8-2 Game of the week here. Dutch have been unbeatable at home and NWU has been looking shaky--I just don't think the Wolves have the athleticism and toughness yet to match up with the top of the conference. That said, as a UD fan, pulling for NWU here, a Central loss makes things very interesting heading into this weekend. Hate to say it, but go Wolves.

Luther 3-8 @ Wartburg 6-4 The mighty Norse storm out of Decorah, winners of three straight. Chaminade beats Georgetown!!! Ok, a tad colder...a road win would be massive and dare we say, pull the Norse into fringe contention for the conference tourney??? Nah.

SpartyBlue · February 01, 2023, 04:42:58 PM

A quick look at the ARC Massey ratings. Five teams in the top 100. ARC ranked 8/49.

Dubuque 52 projected final record: 18-6 11-5
Loras 61 16-9 10-6
Central 74 16-8 11-5
NWU 78 15-10 10-6
Coe 79 15-10 9-7
Wartburg 104 13-12 10-6
Simpson 131 13-11 6-10
BV 156 8-16 2-14
Luther 200 7-18 3-13

SpartyBlue · February 02, 2023, 03:22:40 PM

UD 65 BV 57 UD picks up the perfunctory road win over a surprisingly abysmal Beavers group.

NWU 76 Central 67 Upset of the week! This makes things very interesting--four teams with 8 conference wins. 19% shooting in the first half dooms the Dutch.

Loras 79 Coe 75 Big road win for Loras...Coe continues to slip, now just a half game ahead of Simpson for the 6th and final tourney spot.

Wartburg 66 Luther 50 Luther back to its Luther-ish ways.

Revised Standings:

Loras 8-3
Central 8-3
UD 8-4
NWU 8-4
Wartburg 7-4
Coe 5-7
Simpson 4-7
Luther 3-9
BV 1-11

Schipper Strong · February 02, 2023, 07:28:13 PM

Dutch lost a game they should have won last night. Abysmal shooting the first half really put the game out of reach. I was afraid Central would have a woe final score like the Luther-BV game. Have to give credit to my Dutch, they actually made a game out of it after being down 28 in the first half. I didn't think that would be possible. I was expecting a win last night and a probable loss on Saturday, now they need to pull off a road win at Loras to stay on top. I am also wondering why Kaleb Brand hasn't moved to starter status. He has been playing very well, with the exception of the first half last night when none of the Dutch played well.

So is there a record anywhere of most technicals called on opposing teams? Central is really doing well in this category. NWU 2, Coe 2, Simpson 2, UD 1, Loras 1. Central pissing off opponents in 2023.

doolittledog · February 03, 2023, 08:57:32 AM

While a part of me wants to see UD running away with the conference title, there is another part of me that enjoys seeing the 5th place team 1 game out of 1st place!

SpartyBlue · February 03, 2023, 11:13:16 AM

Weekend Preview:

Central @ Loras Somebody is taking over first with their 9th win here. Van Gorp destroyed the Duhawks in Pella, but Loras is tough at home, Duhawks don't have great size, but are athletic. I suspect Loras will set the tempo, look for a high scoring shootout with Loras winning.

NWU @ Wartburg Both teams are up and down this season, but Knights on a five game roll. UD absolutely handled NWU last weekend, then NWU comes back and beats Central. Wartburg is guard-centric and the best 3 pt shooting team by percentage in the ARC. I suspect the Knights have the slight edge at home on their own rims.

Coe @ BV Kohawks are the biggest mystery team to me. Schmitt and Schnurr are two very tough players, but Coe has dropped 4 out of 5, including a horrible loss @ Luther. BV has few weapons to stop the Kohawks here, though.

Simpson @ Luther The Storm need this to stay in touch with that 6th seed spot, but Decorah has become a tough place to get a win, see: Norse almost beat Central, wins over NWU, Coe, and BV. Wouldn't be surprised if Luther rains on the Storm's parade.

SpartyBlue · February 03, 2023, 11:55:33 AM

Pasteur projections are of note--about as close as it gets for the conference championship:

Central (11-5) 36% #1, 26% #2, 19% #3, 12% #4, 7% #5
Loras (11-5) 27% #1, 20% #2, 19% #3, 19% #4, 15% #5
Dubuque (11-5) 21% #1, 27% #2, 24% #3, 17% #4, 8% #5
Nebraska Wesleyan (10-6) 8% #1, 15% #2, 22% #3, 26% #4, 26% #5
Wartburg (9-7) 8% #1, 12% #2, 15% #3, 22% #4, 28% #5, 14% #6
Coe (7-9) 13% #5, 58% #6, 22% #7
Simpson (6-10) 22% #6, 62% #7, 13% #8
Luther (4-12) 13% #7, 77% #8, 8% #9
Buena Vista (2-14) 8% #8, 91% #9

Greek Tragedy · February 03, 2023, 01:14:20 PM

Good work, Sparty. +1

Schipper Strong · February 03, 2023, 08:47:16 PM

Good analysis of the upcoming games SpartyBlue. As I previously stated, my expectations for a Central win at Loras were not real high. Tough to beat good teams at home. That said I have moved from the odds favoring the home team to toss up and would no longer be surprised by a Central win. Central has proven they can bounce back from a loss and I think some of the momentum from the second half against NWU will carry though to the next game. I think the coaching staff will put together a good game plan with some key matchups for defense as they did when we played UD the first time. We have to win the rebounding battle, get some good blocks and have good outside shooting to take the pressure off Van Gorp. Still a toss up, but the Dutch have something to prove to themselves.

Schipper Strong · February 04, 2023, 07:49:55 PM

Well, I got it wrong, Central did not carry any momentum into the Loras game. They were not dominating the rebounding and we were not getting great outside shooting in the first half. Central is/is becoming a second half team. Luckily we did not stretch the boundary of our comeback ability again. Nice to see Central be able to scratch their way back on the road against a team in first place with us. Of course it helped that Loras only scored 8 points in roughly the last 15 minutes. We lost a game with ice cold shooting and won a game with ice cold shooting. Now if Loras, UD and NWU can just split their winning ways to Central's advantage it would be greatly appreciated. I am glad our second matches with those teams are over. Grant Johnson had a phenomenal game with 26 points. He has improved so much over the season, his confidence level and comfort with the ball have really become a lot of fun to watch! I would love to see him come back for his Covid season.

SpartyBlue · February 07, 2023, 04:35:02 PM

Central 66 Loras 56 Huge road win for the Dutch. I got it wrong. Central made Loras play their game. The Dutch controlled the second half and dictated their glacial pace--the size and length of Central really bothered Loras and made everything difficult offensively. 56 points the lowest point total of the year for the Duhawks. Central is in a good position to win the conference title--relatively easy path to winning out.

BV 79 Coe 77 Coe drops its fourth straight, adding a lot of intrigue to that 6th tournament spot. Simpson and Luther just a game back of the faltering Kohawks. Coe needs a repeat performance against UD at home tomorrow.

Luther 66 Simpson 48 Weird result...Norse get 40 points off the bench and throttle the Storm. It's amazing what a win will do for a losing team's confidence. Norse have won 4 out of 5 and are in the mix to make the conference tourney for the first time since the actual Viking era.

NWU 76 Wartburg 68 Parity, parity, parity in the ARC this season. Wolves go into Waverly and end the Knights' 5 game win streak.

Schipper Strong · February 08, 2023, 10:58:41 PM

Central takes another big step in earning the season conference title with a win over Wartburg. Luther, BV and Simpson are the remaining opponents. The conference standings site doesn't show it yet, but I have to think Central has qualified for the conference tournament. Central also picks up an NCAA rating. Nice first season for Coach Steinkamp and a long awaited return to conference championship contender status. After Luther beats Loras at home we will have to be ready on Saturday for a battle. It was a battle up there and they have some nice momentum building. We just have to nail it down.

doolittledog · February 09, 2023, 08:00:41 AM

I realize students working the camera for work study aren't necessarily the most motivated to do a good job. But this is ridiculous

Shout out to the announcer for coming up with "Sam Kilburg with the kill shot for the Spartans" That was well done

https://twitter.com/itsAntWright/status/1623527827487219713?s=20&t=hvygVM69gza0ss3kZjch_A

SpartyBlue · February 09, 2023, 10:32:09 AM

UD 67 Coe 65 Sam Kilburg buzzer beater for the win! As Doolittle indicated, only one possession did the camera operator NOT TURN THE CAMERA...that would be the career highlight dagger by Kilburg. #d3hoops. Nonetheless a huge road win for Sparty, home seeding is looking very likely even if the regular season championship is not.

Central 84 Wartburg 77 Dutch just keep winning, move to 10-3 and looking very likely they'll win the regular season crown, although Saturday's game vs. Luther is looking very interesting because.......

Luther 71 Loras 54 Wow, what a huge upset @ Loras, a very difficult place to play. Incredibly, Luther has won 5 of 6. How did this happen? I'm not sure...Loras archived videos disappear like Chinese weather balloons! I'd like to have watched some of this one. Loras has hit a chilly offensive stretch, they are at risk of going on the road for a first round tournament game. Can Luther sneak in to the tourney?? Mathematically, yes.

Simpson 87 BV 62 Just an embarrassing loss for the Beavers, Storm end a seven game skid and stay in postseason contention.

restling · February 09, 2023, 03:44:04 PM

Quote from: doolittledog on February 09, 2023, 08:00:41 AM
I realize students working the camera for work study aren't necessarily the most motivated to do a good job. But this is ridiculous Shout out to the announcer for coming up with "Sam Kilburg with the kill shot for the Spartans" That was well done

https://twitter.com/itsAntWright/status/1623527827487219713?s=20&t=hvygVM69gza0ss3kZjch_A

Too bad they weren't students. They were adults, and I told them after the game that they missed the play, and they continued to tell me they moved the camera in time even though I told them many people texted me that they didn't.

Couple that with them making fun of Dubuque players shots, and I have nothing good to say about their effort.