MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[karma]

KnightArmour, thanks, looking at the number of players getting PT for MAC and their shooting %, MAC sure misses Liddell.  Hamstring could heal in no time, or could take the entire season.  I saw other iputs about about other MIAC players looking at medical redshirt.  Wonder if Liddell would consider requesting it.

[sumander]

I believe Pat Wotta recieved a medical redshirt at SJU this year.

[ustbumkneez]

UWL will give UST a good run, but I dont see the Tommies dropping this one to the Eagles. Theyve got a real good post, built like Ike with similar skills. He was just named WIAC player of the week, and has been a quality post for 3 years in the conference. Theyve also got a couple nice shooters on the perimeter, nothing like Schnettler, but they could heat up if Werner draws doubles down low. Sweeney will have his way with Fehrenbach, the UWL point-hes not much for playing D. This could be the game where Keating gets back on track, he has a favorable matchup with UWL playing a three guard lineup. Prediction: UST 75 UWL 68

[Drake Palmer]

UWL will give UST a good run, but I dont see the Tommies dropping this one to the Eagles.

Ouch!!   Not much detail on the websites yet, but the Tommies lose 55-45 to UW-LaCrosse.   After a quick skim of the boxscore both teams shot poorly but especially the Tommies & Ike (gasp) -  2 POINTS!!  Also turnovers - 15,  seem to bother them & in a close game like this, that's trouble.

The conference race is going to be interesting!

[ustbumkneez]

Whoops

[funbballer]

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team improved to 9-2 with a 55-45 non-conference victory over the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Tommies fell to 5-2 on the season.

Bryan Schnettler and Mike Keating led St. Thomas with 10 points each. Isaac Rosevelt, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points per game, was held to two points. Rosevelt had a team-high 10 rebounds.

St. Thomas shot 35.8% from the field, including 20.0% (three-of-15) from three-point range. The Tommies were four-of-seven (57.1%) at the line.

...not a good outing for UST! Looks like they left their game on the bus....   

[Willy Wonka]

They've clearly showed they can't play at that level consistently over the past two seasons and I'm counting on that continuing

Hate to say I told ya so but...

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

...not a good outing for UST! Looks like they left their game on the bus....   

Or maybe they left it at GAC. 

[Willy Wonka]

Courtesy of the WIAC page, follow this link to some video from last night. Click on sports and then the top headline to get the feed from the local news.

http://www.wkbt.com/

Ike got dunked on for the play of the game and scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting. Is this really the 2005-06 MVP?? Yuck!

Will the real Tommies please stand up! Are you the team who barely beat MAC and Hamline and lost to two WIAC teams or are you the team who crushed the Gusties on their home court?

[Drake Palmer]

(Longer post warning - read at your own risk)  [/b]

Hey Willy – you oughta be thanking me too.  If I don't go over to the WIAC board & post a question or two to their posters last night, you might not have been able to enjoy viewing this comeuppance of the Tommies.   Think if it as xmas present from me to you.   

Overall, I think the poster you got the link from had a nice review of the Tommies UW-L game with one exception in which he stated - I think the best part for UWL last night was that they didn't play that great of a game to get a nice win. 

Now before we totally throw the baby out with the bathwater, I think UST might have had something to do with UWL not playing that "great of a game" last night.  And if I'm Fritz & the rest of the Tommy coaching staff, this is one of the few positives that I can take away from last night's drubbing.  Defensively - in the last two games the Tommies have given up 51 (Gustie beat down) & 55 points against LaCrosse for an average of 53 ppg. That's good defense in anyone's league.  Now it's just a matter of rebuilding their confidence & a building block experience for Ike.  (psst, Coach coach, coach - get some of the younger players some more clock!!) There's always going to be a bigger, faster, stronger, tougher opponent.  What are you as a competitor going to do about it?  Hopefully a few days of rest, the holidays & ma's homecooking will help do it. 

I don't know who it was (Funbballer?) that earlier in the season were riding the GAC backers about their recent lack of success against UWSP & Lawrence in post season play; but I believe there's a bit of truth to why our top conference teams haven't fared as well.  IMO, our top teams are not really physical, & are more finesse style teams.  Witness the recent post- game grumblings by Mark Hanson of GAC following a foul fest against Hamline I believe. 

From the description of last night's game, sounds like LaCrosse & Werner was more than decent sized, Stevens Point was huge & talented, & Braier & his running partner McGillis (sp) at Lawrence are both beasts!

But if the old adage is true – "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" than I think UST, GAC, Carleton (who will play LaCrosse next week) will all benefit from playing a stronger non-conference schedule against the likes of – LaCrosse, Stout, Carthage, & Buena Vista rather than the Bethany Lutheran & Crown colleges of the state.   So hopefully these early season tough losses will harden up the resolve, experience, ability & skillz of the MIAC's elite – whoever it might be at the end of the season.

Cuz when it's all said & done at the end of the conference season, I'd like to think we all want to see a strong team head off to the big dance to hopefully knock heads, take numbers & wins.



Go St. Marys 

[funbballer]

Drake....very well stated, nice job!

One question I have as it relates to scheduling....why don't the MIAC teams play the NSIC teams more? I know CON plays Moorhead, St. John's steps up and plays CC-St. Paul (did I write that correctly?!!) and St. Cloud State (D-II); but, what about Bemidji State, SW State, Winona State, Northern St., etc., etc.?

Are the MIAC coaches too concerned about playing the lower level D-III schools like Crown, Martin Luther, etc. so they can get their W's? Are they afraid of the physical play? I mean, your team gets better if you play better competiton, correct? 

Your thoughts?

(Again, Drake, excellent post!)

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Drake Palmer]

One question I have as it relates to scheduling....why don't the MIAC teams play the NSIC teams more? I know CON plays Moorhead, St. John's steps up and plays CC-St. Paul (did I write that correctly?!!)...

Merry Christmas everyone!

FB - call me a f&cKin% geek, but you're close it's  - CC (college)- Moorhead & CU (university) - St. Paul 

If Sager comes out of his self imposed exile, he can fill you in,  but real quick here's the deal:

For post season tourney criteria QOWI (Quality of Wins Index) only, at D3 we really only get credit for playing fellow D3 schools.  While playing some D2 & NAIA schools might give us more competitive games,  they don't count in the + or -  side of the ledger. So it's to a D3 school advantage to schedule a mix of strong schools, but should face primarily D3 schools within the same region or 200 miles away or less.   Although Cord, UWSP, &  UW-Whitewater, Univeristy Puget Sound are more than 200 miles away, they count as regional games since they're officially in the "West region".

I'm sure they've thought of this before, but I think Miacmaniac's idea of having a MIAC/WIAC Shoot-Out like they they do in the ACC- BigTen would be a great idea!   For the most part the schools would get quality competition & the games would count toward the selection criteria used for the NCAAs.

As a side benefit, I also think it would be a great way of showcasing the high caliber of play in D3 hoops, for those prospective HS players that are sitting on the fence & not sure where they want to play ball the following year.   It's tough to beat quality academics & quality ball, & having your friends & family see you play; as opposed to going to Outlaw University, in BumFunk North of ND just so they can say they got a basketball scholie.

In the (unlikely  ) event I don't get back on the board before...

HAPPY RAMAKWAHANUKAMAS EVERYONE!!

[localcoach]

Drake and Willy it's good to see the both of you actively posting during the holiday season. 

After looking at the box score from the UWL and UST game last night I had a few comments to make, which will undoubtedly lead to more questions.

-Mike Keating had 0 assists and 6 turnovers? 

-Only 11 total free-throws for both teams?  What's up with that statistic?

-Lonnie Robinson saw 10 minutes of action off the bench.  Will Coach Fritz move to an 8-man rotation?

-While I agree with Drake that the UST defensive efforts recently had been stellar, how did the Tommies only manage to put up 45 points last night?  Did UWL play zone?

-Why wasn't Alex Weaver's name in the box score?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

[ustbumkneez]

back problems sidelined Weaver. hopefully he can be ready for the UWRF tourney, though Im not sure they will need him for those 2 games.

[sumander]

Story in the Fargo Forum this morning concerning Eckhoff. sound like he is inded done for the year. Tough break for any one, let alone your senior year.

http://in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=112394&section=Sports