MBB: American Rivers Conference

[restling]

It's crazy that Loras was tied for first going into Saturday's game, and will be underdogs in their next two.  If they lose them, they could drop to 5th.

[Schipper Strong]

No real surprises in today's game results except maybe how far Loras has dropped and mostly at home. Do they have injuries that could account for the sudden change? Central really dominated the game with Luther today. We even started today's game with both Josh Van Gorp and Grant Johnson, our two bigs, on the bench for an all senior starting 5. Grant Johnson is a senior, so I hope maybe his not starting means he will come back for his Covid year. Really enjoyed seeing the seniors that rarely play have a few good minutes at the start and end. Thanks guys for all you did to make the starters better. Don't let up against BV or Simpson.

[SpartyBlue]

Dubuque 75 Simpson 58  Sparty is coming together at the right time. Roll the Storm on senior day, have won 7 out of last 8, huge game on Wed. vs. Loras will help determine the second seed bye.  Sparty wants a bye.  Simpson and Coe will fight for the 6 spot.

Central 81 Luther 54 See schipper.  Central very likely 1 seed in tourney.

NWU 84 Loras 74  I'm not sure what's happened to Loras, have dropped three in a row at home.  Key City Clash on Wed. NWU in the running for 2nd seed, but need a UD loss since UD has beaten them twice. 

Wartburg 73 BV 63 Knights jockeying for seeding and a Tuesday home game. 

[doolittledog]

Central wins
Dubuque wins
NWU wins

Central..  12-3
Dubuque 11-4 
Neb Wes  11-4
Loras......  8-7
Wartburg.  8-7
Coe Coll... 6-9
Simpson.. 5-10
Luther.....  5-10
Buena Vista 2-14

Saturday games
Wartburg @ Loras
Dubuque @ Luther
Central @ Simpson
NWU @ Coe
BVU gets to ponder what went wrong.

Wartburg and Loras play for 4th place and which school gets to host the rematch
Coe, Simpson, and Luther get home games against the top 3 teams in their quest for the 6th and final conference playoff spot.
Central, Dubuque, and NWU all playing for a chance at some sort of conference title, be it an outright or shared title. 

[Schipper Strong]

Central is playing with well earned confidence now. We got through the early part of the season relying on strong defense and the ability to get the ball in to Josh Van Gorp for the easier shot. As those shots became more and more contested the outside shooting game picked up steam. Other changes were reduced turnovers and increased assists along with steady rebounding and strong defensive play. Central has grown into their surprising first place status. I don't expect them to stop fighting for it now.

[SpartyBlue]

Dubuque 66 Loras 61       Sparty takes installment II of the Key City clash in front of a raucous crowd of 1100+.  UD follows their pattern of quick start, controlling the first half, then letting teams creep back in the second half.  That said, UD has won 8 out of 9 and that one loss came without leading scorer, Jaylin McCants.  UD is now 18-6, 11-4, Massey ranked 38th in the 8th rated conference in the nation.  Win at Luther Saturday and Sparty gets a bye with the second seed, probable second round match up with Wartburg or Loras, then hopefully a clash with Central (I'm assuming they'll handle Simpson) in Pella.  UD is fully healthy and has it rolling again after some mid-season trials--time to keep winning!

Central 81 BV 54  Dutch well-positioned for a conference title; however, it's looking like a possible semifinal matchup vs. NWU, a team who beat Central in Pella 76-67 on Feb. 1.

Coe 79 Wartburg 78  Kohawks likely get themselves in with the 6 seed with this road win.  Coe is an extremely dangerous team because of Schmitt and Schnurr.  I'd love to see them on the other side of the bracket as  a UD fan. 

NWU 74 Simpson 57

[Greek Tragedy]

Thanks for the updates! +1

[Schipper Strong]

Central wins 76-74 at Simpson to lock up outright conference championship in the regular season in a game far too close for comfort. First half Simpson and Central fouls were fairly even, but they went to the free throw line consistently where Central always got the ball out of bounds. Ten more free throws kept them in the game and we just couldn't shake them the second half. Central was behind by 1 with exactly one minute remaining in the game. Outstanding play of the game was Kole Tupa guarding the inbounds pass and catching it then being fouled when they tried to take it away. Two free throws put us up, then a basket and one by Kade Terrell with 10 seconds left gave us the winning margin.

Good luck against the Wartburg-Loras winner Thursday night.

[SpartyBlue]

Central 76 Simpson 74  See above

Dubuque 65 Luther 53   Sparty rains a three barrage down on the Norse to finish 19-6, 12-4 and get the all-important bye and home court for rd. two of conference tourney. 

Coe 73 NWU 60  Coe beats NWU at home but will have turn around and travel to Lincoln tomorrow in a rematch with the Wolves.  Slight advantage to NWU based on home court, but an interesting pick em' type game. 

Loras 84 Wartburg 77 The knights will also have to rematch, traveling back to Dubuque tomorrow to take on the Duhawks on their home court.  Tough task. 

[SpartyBlue]

First Round - Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
No. 4 Loras vs. No. 5 Wartburg -- 7:00 p.m.
No. 3 Nebraska Wesleyan vs. No. 6 Coe -- 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
No. 1 Central vs. No. 4/5 -- 7:00 p.m.
No. 2 Dubuque vs. No. 3/6 -- 7:00 p.m.

Championship - Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023

[Greek Tragedy]

Wow. Coe wins by 18 at Nebraska Wesleyan.

Loras holds off Wartburg.

[Greek Tragedy]

Coe's hot streak continues, knocking off Dubuque.

Loras upsets top seed Central.

[Schipper Strong]

Tough game for the Dutch tonight. Loras always starts hot and Central is more a second half team, but we needed a full game tonight. Congratulations to Loras for outplaying us. I thought when we finally tied it up we would take over. We ran out of steam and Loras never gave up. Given the foul troubles and noise of the Central crowd, Loras played well to pull it out. Great game by Van Gorp, but we needed more balanced scoring and we didn't get it.

Would have loved to have this magical season go on longer, but that doesn't diminish what the Dutch accomplished. First place regular season champs when picked to finish 8th made it an extremely fun season. I hate to see it end. Thanks for making a dreary winter exciting. Good luck to Kade and any of the 4th year seniors that are not returning. It was quite the ride!

Good luck to Loras and Coe Saturday night and on into the playoffs for the winner.

[SpartyBlue]

Coe 78 Dubuque 73  Coe jumps to a 13 points halftime lead on 53% shooting, a furious second half comeback by Sparty falls just short, were within 1 with 2:30 left, Coe hit some tough shots down the stretch to seal it.  UD finishes at 19-7.  Great back and forth D3 game. 

Loras 79 Central 67  See above.

#6 Coe @ #4 Loras   on Saturday for the championship.  I think the fact that 6 v 4 happened shows the quality of the ARC--high quality league with lots of talent that, frankly, gets overshadowed by neighboring CCIW and WIAC.  Any of these four teams will/would be dangerous NCAA tourney opponents. 

[Pat Coleman]

What it shows is that the league is balanced. Can't show overall strength of a conference based on conference games only, however -- that's proven in non-conference contests.