MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Great game atmosphere & environment at the Shoe last night for what many MIAC fans hoped would be a post season coming out party for UST.  However, the Buena Vista Beavers had other plans. They played decent enough throughout most of the game, and weathered a furious comeback by the Tommies in the last couple minutes to pull out the win 72-70.  Solid ball club, little men were quick, and they were dominant on the boards.

Officiating wasn't bad, wasn't great, but no excuses in that department.  I spoke with a few Tommie parents after the game & it seemed like the flu bug was running through the team & several players were sick with the flu – Tyler Nicolai & Al McCoy.  Also at one point I saw Sam Eicher go running off the court into the locker-room, but I wasn't sure what that was all about.

Still, in spite of a couple of players being less than full strength, the strengths of this particular Tommie team all season has been their athleticism, depth, shooting & balanced scoring. Their athleticism and defense kept them in the game, because their shooting just wasn't there last night. Without checking the stats, I'm pretty sure this was their worst shooting performance of the season.  BV played good defense, but it certainly wasn't of the lights out, suffocating variety of defense.  Good looks from the wing weren't dropping, & when they got their defenders 1x1 in the post, Baker, McCoy or Eicher didn't have the explosiveness to either out-quick, or finish strong at the basket against their taller defenders.

From the depth perspective, Brett Tuma had a solid showing, but none of the other players who came in off the bench were able to provide the shot in the arm that they had typically done this year. Scoring wise, B.J. Viau was the only player to consistently bring it most of the game, but they needed one or two of their other scorers to step up, & last night it didn't happen.

Obviously, a very disappointing way to end the season but I tip my cap to this UST team.    They certainly exceeded most everyone's expectations this season and showed resilience & heart in every game they played.  With virtually their top 8-9 players returning next season, they've certainly built a solid foundation to begin next season. 

Good luck Buena Vista & UW-Stevens Point.

[Drake Palmer]

i was at the game (obviously)....For example, the foul called on Lonnie late in the game was touch at best, 35 feet from the hoop, with 8 left on the shot clock.  Who makes that call? Answer: consistent refs who call touch fouls.

Still, a great effort by BV in a hostile environment and a good learning experience for the Tommies.  They should be pretty good in years to come.

Good post TP, but my opinion, that was a dumb play on Lonnie's part, especially with the shot clock winding down - he had the guy locked up. On the other hand, Lonnie was a BIG reason why the Tommies were able to mount that furious comeback.

[gacbacker]

Hey Wonka, do you have your Shane Battier jersey on tonight like I do for the big Duke-UNC game? 

[VOJ]

First of all props to BV for the win...but lets debate some things here...

Why is it when the Tommies have the home court at a tough place to play can they not move on...two years in a row losses at home.

Is the MIAC more physical than other leagues or were the Tommies more physical than they needed to be like up at Moorhead late in the season?  In looking at the boxscore points in the paint were pretty even...rebounding went to BV but they had two less offensive rebounds than the Toms did, it boiled down to shooting and you really can't shoot 39 percent and win...

Tough loss, does not help the conferences national reputation...

[Dawg-Dude]

Great game. UST with a nice run at the end.

Scott 2-11 from 3 land - ouch But still able to come up with a clutch three late to tie the game. Definitely an off game for him.

Critical exchange early in the game with UST up 17-8 and momentum. Halvorsen comes in and in 4 1/2 minutes of play he gets 2 rebounds, commits a foul, and misses 3 three's. UST goes down 25-17.

[abominable_snowman]

First of all props to BV for the win...but lets debate some things here...

Why is it when the Tommies have the home court at a tough place to play can they not move on...two years in a row losses at home.

Is the MIAC more physical than other leagues or were the Tommies more physical than they needed to be like up at Moorhead late in the season?  In looking at the boxscore points in the paint were pretty even...rebounding went to BV but they had two less offensive rebounds than the Toms did, it boiled down to shooting and you really can't shoot 39 percent and win...

Tough loss, does not help the conferences national reputation...

I wouldn't accuse the tommies of being overly physical.  In fact, that should be an advantage as you get deeper into the tournament.

I can't really speak to the physicality of other leagues, but in general they are very competitive. Especially when you get to the national stage.  Winning in the tourney is tough.  You have to earn every victory.  Look at some of the scores in the bracket, you will see overtime games, and games decided by 1,2, and 3points.  It is rare to have a completely dominate team in D3 ball.  Maybe Stevens Point a couple years ago.

If anything, my reasons for the UST loss include:
-illness (nicolai just fell apart)
-youth (minimal exposure to what it takes to win/adapt to tourney ball, although Lonnie is an exception)
-what Drake said about poor post production in the paint.
-overconfidence? maybe coming with youth and with the early lead, perhaps things loosened up a bit, and when that happens you let a team in and sometimes all a team team needs is a chance. It happened to UST vs lawrence in '06.  Early lead, which turned into a halftime deficit, and then a UST comback attempt that fell short.

[columbianmaffia]

i think the only current man crush i have right now is on tubby smith

Yeah, that's right, you and Tubby are tight.  How do you think his first year with the Gophs has gone?

i wish i was tight with tubby...then i could sit next to his wife in the sweet seats behind the bench instead of my upper deck seats

if you told me they would have 18 wins at this point of the season before it started i would not have believed it...so on those grounds i would say it was a great season...but it was kind of disappointing that they didnt knock anyone off or have a signature win...it was a very vanilla season...but hopefully the nice recruiting class coming in can pick it up another notch

[columbianmaffia]

Mafia - How them boombalaties in NYC?  Do they all look like Mariah Carey?  Do they offer tripple burgers there?

the boombalahties dont all look like mariah carey but they looked damn good my friend...i love boombalahties...it was a very successful weekend and im paying for it right now with a wicked hang over

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD DELI IN MPLS??

i ate at this deli out there 2 times and had 2 of the best sandwiches i have ever had...the tripple burgers took a break this weekend for the deli sandwiches

[Drake Palmer]

Mafia - How them boombalaties in NYC?  Do they all look like Mariah Carey?  Do they offer tripple burgers there?

the boombalahties dont all look like mariah carey but they looked damn good my friend...i love boombalahties...it was a very successful weekend and im paying for it right now with a wicked hang over

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD DELI IN MPLS??

i ate at this deli out there 2 times and had 2 of the best sandwiches i have ever had...the tripple burgers took a break this weekend for the deli sandwiches

Cmob - Try this

[Drake Palmer]

In a break from basketball news, here's an inspiring story of a student at a school that gets its share of flak on the board - After the Collapse

[abominable_snowman]

Mafia - How them boombalaties in NYC?  Do they all look like Mariah Carey?  Do they offer tripple burgers there?

the boombalahties dont all look like mariah carey but they looked damn good my friend...i love boombalahties...it was a very successful weekend and im paying for it right now with a wicked hang over

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD DELI IN MPLS??

i ate at this deli out there 2 times and had 2 of the best sandwiches i have ever had...the tripple burgers took a break this weekend for the deli sandwiches

This is my favorite: Pastrami Jacks  A little outside the cities though.

[Willy Wonka]

gacbacker - How dem **** taste, Paulus? ~ Green

Drake - Eicher changed shoes as soon as he returned to the court. While he may have been sick, the safer bet would revolve around one of his super quick moves causing a blown tire.

A little late in my feedback, but I'm back after winning the state old man tourney. Here are a few thoughts I had while taking in the games...

1. I'm with CON. The refs were more than fair on both sides.

2. No comment on the UST fans yet?
    • One female student was hauled off to detox (I assume) by two security guards after passing out in the stands before the game started.
    • Fritz had to shift from coach to AD before the opening tip to settle the fans in the front row down.
    • One big UST male tackled a BV female in the stands to get a beach ball back. It nearly caused a fight.
    • A frisbee was thrown on the court with under a minute to play and BV shooting free throws.
    • An empty water bottle was thrown at the refs — and nearly connected — as the final buzzer sounded. One ref turned around and nearly responded, but decided against it.
    • Six shirtless Tommie "superfans" were kicked out of the game for their antics with 2 minutes remaining in the game.

If G stands for Gentlemen, what does UST stand for?

3. I've seen Nicolai play three times now. He's been borderline bad in all three, with the exception of his hot start on Friday night. Sick or not, he didn't seem to have the strength and/or quickness to stick with the two BV jitterbugs. I'll be interested to see if he can live up to the expansive hype over the next three years because I'm far from impressed so far.

4. McCoy's sickness may have had something to do with it, but he wasn't able to push his way into position for rebounds or back his way into the paint against the big BV posts. Perhaps more surprisingly, Baker may have been the most effective post UST had.

5. The Beavers controlled the game for around 35 of 40 minutes. The start and the end were almost enough for the Tommies to steal the win. Scott needed to make just one more shot and UST may have snuck out of there with a win.

6. At least the Tommies beat the Beavers in softball on Friday

7. Chicago raced to a 17-0 lead in the first game. Point countered with a 19-2 run of its own. It was redic. Neither team looked sharp, so I was surprised to see Point hang with the Beavs.

The play of the game came with 1.2 seconds left in the half. Some bonehead Chicago bench player threw an inbounds pass under his own hoop straight to a Point player who cashed a 3 at the buzzer. It turned a 26-24 lead to 29-24...and the Chicago scrub didn't go back in until the outcome was decided.

[MiacLostProphet]

Wonka, what old man tourney and in what division did you take part in.

Mafia, though it is a big chain, you can never go wrong with a Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich.

[AO]

BTW,  what is this ridiculous banter about triple cheeseburgers and the like???   Isn't this a board about MIAC basketball?

you're out of your element, donny

[Gregory Sager]

BTW,  what is this ridiculous banter about triple cheeseburgers and the like???   Isn't this a board about MIAC basketball?

you're out of your element, donny

Dude, the Chinaman is not the issue here!