MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Random observation - Wow, Gusties 5-7 Tyler Kaus with 6 rebounds in the game tonight.  Tied for 2nd most rebounds with Trevor Wittwer.  

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Nothing like a classic MIAC championship matchup.

Amen to that. Battle of defenses, 2 teams with lots of athletic players, both with great fan support....and no Bakko or Panning reffing!!!!!!!

[WXYZ]

both semi games were decided by one point! Amazing!

[jeepers]

The gustie game was unreal. By far the best crowd in three years down in gustieville. Huge threes by Kaus and Van Sickle, and some big missed freethrows down the stretch by Carelton were the difference. I'm not so sure I agree with Carelton getting a raw deal on fouls since it was pretty even the entire game. Another 200 hundred fans poured in after the playoff hockey game got done. Just an overall amazing night at Gus Young Court.

[TommieHoops4Life]

Gacbacker,

You want classy? I'll give you classy. In Carleton's win over SJU, Lieser got pulled in the closing minutes with Zach Johnson at the free-throw line. Johnson stops, gives Lieser a handshake and tap on the backside and leads an applause for him as he heads back to the bench. Doesn't get much classier than that. I also interviewed him after, and in the talk of MIAC MVP, he said he doesn't consider himself close to the caliber of the best players in the league. Fortunately for his case, he might be the only one who thinks that way.

I was listening to the Carleton/GAC game on the way home from state tournaments tonight. Gusties were down 6 with 12 seconds to play, and the Knights couldn't close them out because of missed FT's. Drake had a chance to put them away (80 percent shooter) but missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Johnson had a long three at the buzzer in regulation that rimmed out. Carleton also went 1-4 at the free throw line in OT, and Johnson took a fade away from the free throw line that didn't go in, and neither did the tip after from Rosett at the buzzer in OT.

All in all, sounds like a game where it was tough that somebody had to lose. For the Tommie fans, let's hope Saturday isn't anything close to what happened the last time the Gusties played at Schoenecker for the title. Yeah, I just brought that painful memory to the surface.

[Willy Wonka]

OVER 20! OVER 20!

TOMMIE JV! TOMMIE JV!

Those chants were great from the bench. I pulled a CON and lasted about 8 minutes that game.

[TommieHoops4Life]

Sorry for the double post, but a few things after looking at the box from BET/UST

*The Tommies were down 67-60 with less than three minutes left and used a 9-1 run to close the game
*Bethel's lead was as large as 10 in the second half
*UST had 20 assists and 7 turnovers, Bethel had 13 assists/15 turnovers
*Scott and Viau combined for 6 steals, Bethel only had 1 total
*How does a guard (Viau) out-rebound one of the most physical posts (Moberg) in the league? I know B.J. is big for a guard, but seriously...

St. Thomas (22-4) vs. Gustavus (19-7) for all the marbles. Wish I could attend. The Tommie students need to step it up and make The Shoe an impossible place to win on the road on Saturday. An atmosphere like last year against SJU would suffice.

Is there any chance that both teams get into the dance regardless of the outcome? Leaving UST out if they lose is a hard sell at this point, but I've got to think this is a must-win for the Gusties.

[PTPer35]

Great game at Gus Young. It would be nice if the Gusties could start with a lead for a change. It's really nice to have 4 seniors to put on the floor. The experience really shows on the defensive end of the floor. Down the stretch, the Carleton shooters couldn't find too many open looks. Credit the experience of the Gusties for the discipline to play solid defense without fouling.The Gusties did a great job on the glass, too.

The whining paid off however, as Carleton really got homered by the refs down the stretch.

Any particular plays in mind?

How about when Rosett took a shot with under a minute in regulation that looked like Charles Barkley's golf swing? He didn't do that on his own...

[VOJ]

I was reading the GAC game story and if what I read is true...you have to say that the Knights mislplayed the end of that game...with 11 seconds left and up 3 they are on D and Jesse Van Sickle brings the ball down and pulls up for a top of the key three...the guy is the top 3 point shooter in the conference how do you not find him and defend him?  

I feel bad for Tommy Drake, missing that front end of the 1 and 1 which might have salted the game away,  is a tough memory to have.

It should be a good final...gotta give the edge to the Tommies, the way they play D and being on their home floor...I will be hoping the Gusties win though as I hope the MIAC gets two into the NCAA tournament...

[big_shocker]

I think based on recored, strength of schedule, all that sort of statistical what-have-you, UST will get in no matter what. Some people might point to the UST snub in 2003, when GAC upset UST in St. Paul, because UST was not invited to the dance, but correct me if I'm wrong, but the records of the two teams were much closer, and UST didn't have nearly as high of a national ranking or RPI (or, however they decide regional rankings).

Flat out, UST was the dominant team in the MIAC record wise. They had the conference title sewn up with what, two weeks left in the season? GAC needs to win in order to get to the tournament.

It ain't gonna be easy.

[AO]

Sorry for the double post, but a few things after looking at the box from BET/UST

*The Tommies were down 67-60 with less than three minutes left and used a 9-1 run to close the game
*Bethel's lead was as large as 10 in the second half
*UST had 20 assists and 7 turnovers, Bethel had 13 assists/15 turnovers
*Scott and Viau combined for 6 steals, Bethel only had 1 total
*How does a guard (Viau) out-rebound one of the most physical posts (Moberg) in the league? I know B.J. is big for a guard, but seriously...

St. Thomas (22-4) vs. Gustavus (19-7) for all the marbles. Wish I could attend. The Tommie students need to step it up and make The Shoe an impossible place to win on the road on Saturday. An atmosphere like last year against SJU would suffice.

Is there any chance that both teams get into the dance regardless of the outcome? Leaving UST out if they lose is a hard sell at this point, but I've got to think this is a must-win for the Gusties.

Bethel had 3 steals--2 for Moberg, 1 for Lang.

Did Moberg get any touches in the last couple minutes?  Guy goes 7-8 from the floor and 2-2 from the line and doesn't get a shot in the closing minutes....though after what Madson did in the Augsburg game, how can you go away from him in the clutch.

The Gusties still have a good shot at a playoff spot by my figures if they lose Saturday to the West region #2 Tommies.  A strong road win against #5 Buena Vista is on the resume.  Also helping the cause was #7 Platteville losing in the WIAC quarterfinals a couple days ago.

[big_shocker]

Quick stats from the GAC page:

This is the 14th time in the 24 year history of the MIAC conference tournament that GAC is in the finals. It is the 13th year for UST.

This is the sixth time the two teams have met in the championship game.

Could this be the MIAC version of Celtics/Lakers?

[miacsuperfan]

what a great game last night at st. thomas.   the royals had a nearly perfect game plan, and almost pulled off the upset.  mccoy's hustle was the difference at the end of the game.   he played like a man possessed.
bethel's lockup of joe scott was super; nikolai fell off their radar a couple of times and really hurt them with some threes.  bj  (double double) was also tough, and made some huge plays down stretch. 
for the royals, tough loss in a tough (but great!)environment.   madson was a stud as he usually is; his shot at about :10 to play on the baseline was sweet but rimmed out.   this kid can flat out play.   he was worth the price of admission!  moberg was tough, but spent far too much time on the bench with some tough foul calls.    flannery and brown gave great effort---cory laugen would have really helped them in the final 3 minutes last night.   and jeff reck closes out a nice career at bu on a tough loss---but what a gamer he is.   
i am looking forward to the game on saturday.   the smart money probably has ust winning, but if the gusties have any of that magic left over from their houdini act last night, look out.  they could get 'em!! 

[abominable_snowman]

the stage is definitely set for a classic showdown on saturday.  It should be a rocking place.

props to bj viau for an amazing night.

check out the pickem board for everything playoff game related.

[abominable_snowman]

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