MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sumander]

Johnnies win 82-62. Sounds like they shot the ball well in the second half! Looking for details.

[TommieHoops4Life]

Carleton absolutely dominates St. Olaf 85-55. The Oles couldn't stop Forkrud in the first half. He scored 20 in the first half on 8-8 from the field, including two 3's. Wound up with 24 and 10 boards. Zach Johnson goes for 22 with a big second half. St. Olaf shoots just 30% for the game. That is one mediocre basketball team.

[KnightsArmor]

UST 98, SMU 62
Bet 74, CON 69

[KnightsArmor]

GAC 59, AUG 46

[ustbumkneez]

UST wins real big over SMU, 98-62. Schnettler goes nuts again, ringing up 30 including 6-9 from deep. Ike dominated the post from the first time down the floor, scoring 25 with a ridiculous number of dunks. Tommies take care of the ball while simultaneously forcing TOs, something they hadnt done early in the season but have started to do during their recent stretch of dominance. Shimek had a very efficient day-though it seemed he relaxed a little on the glass, and Sweeney controlled tempo at both ends-pestering Buccieri and Haywood on defense and distributing the ball well. UST seems to have regained their flow on offense, even though that isnt too complicated and ultimately means getting Schnettler looks on the outside and Ike touches on the block. Keating and Shimek didnt seem so isolated on that end of the floor today, which was encouraging to see. Solid minutes from Lonnie Robinson, who has become more of a threat on offense to complement his defensive prowess. Great game for the Tommies, was enjoyable to watch.

[miacwatchmen]

Does anyone remember, was Hamline the one that had trouble posting the Box Score to their game last week? They still havent posted it yet and i am pretty upset. The only stat i know for sure is the Johnnies shot 11-20 from 3pt FG range. That is a far cry from the 4-18 they shot at SMU.

[sumander]

Watchmen, The Box score is posted on the Ham website!

Local, did you attend the Ham-SJU game?

[sumander]

I watched the 2cnd half of the game via the live webcast on the Ham BB site.  While the picture quality was lacking it still was a fun way to keep up on the game.

A couple of things jump out of the box score: FT shooting the Johnnies were 17-20, The 2cnd half they shot 64% from the field and 77% beyond the arc! Veurink lead them in scoring with 19, Westman had 17.

Brady Brink played 28 minutes, Ohme 14 & Henrichs 17. From what I saw The Johnnies handled the HAM pressure fairly well. I attribute a portion of that to Mr. Brink's presence. I like his calm demeanor on the court. He makes good decisions and doesn't get flustered.

Would like to hear the thoughts of someone who was able to attend the game in person.

[columbianmaffia]

carleton got their biggest win in over 90 years today...they are rollin

shimek is better than some of you are giving him credit for...he is the motor for that team

[localcoach]

sumander - I did make it to Hutton Arena this afternoon for the Hamline/SJU game. Early on it looked like the Pipers would run away as they built a nine or ten point lead and held the Johnnies to I believe 11 or so points after 12 minutes of play.  As was stated earlier,  Tim Veurink came off the bench and really sparked SJU, hitting three-pointer after three-pointer.  Surprisingly, the Pipers also struggled with SJU's three-quarter court press, turning the ball over a handful of times.  Conversely, SJU seemed to make shot after shot even when the shot clock ran down below 10 seconds, which happened on a number of occasions.  I also thought that Hamline got complacent when they got the lead and started taking quick shots and stopped moving the ball around.  They also didn't rebound well.

In the second half, Hamline kept it close, but each time they got within three or four points it seemed like one of the Johnnie guards would hit a shot, many times with a Piper defender in their face.  Kyle Foster returned for Hamline and although he's still apparently not 100%, or so the coaches told me after the game, he managed 16 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes to lead the Pipers.  Veurink finished with 19 points and Westman had 17.  The Johnnie big men totaled 13 points and I thought that Mr. Ohme struggled yet Veurink and Westman made some big shots at the right times.

I have seen Gustavus, St. Thomas, and St. John's now, and in my opinion, I think that if SJU can make their perimeter shots, they will be a top three team in the MIAC. 

I see that Carleton won their fifth in a row and St. Thomas blew out another MIAC opponent. 

The question was asked recently as to what the record will be of the team that earns the final playoff spot.  I have to think that 10-10 probably gets in, and possibly even 9-11.

[miacwatchmen]

carleton got their biggest win in over 90 years today...they are rollin

shimek is better than some of you are giving him credit for...he is the motor for that team

Ike is the motor for UST not Shimek.......think what you might, Shimek is not important to UST's success. They could take anyone and be just as good. Their team defense is good enough to deal without Shimek. He has been replaced in the lineup.!!! UST is the best team in the MIAC  and Shimek is not a factor in that.

[sumander]

Local, Thanks for the report. Appreciate your insight on the game and where the Johnnies fall in the MIAC pecking order.

I think that if SJU can make their perimeter shots, they will be a top three team in the MIAC. 

I have seen a limited number of MIAC teams this year, but I agree. The Johnnies can be awfully tough when the shots are falling. MiacWatchmen makes a good point though "live by the 3 and die by the 3".

I am more than a little suprised that the Pipes struggled with the SJU press. They have only shown token pressure in games past and have rarely turned up the heat on the press. I am also suprised at the showing of the SJU front line. I expected more out of Schafer and Henrichs. I have seen Henrichs play a number of games this year. I have yet to see him have what I would term a quality game. He has shown flashes of being an All-MIAC player, but too often I have seen him "settle" for a mid range jumper when I thought he could have gotten more out of a play. I presume the line-up the Pipers went with dictated to a large degree who Coach Smith countered with. This and the fact that Veurink had the hot hand probably relegated Henrichs to the bench.

Local, are my thoughts on B. Brink off base?

[Drake Palmer]

Hmmph, interesting day in MIAC land.

SJU 82/Ham 62 – Hubris thy name is Hamline Pipers?  There's an old basketball truism/cliché that states something to the effect -- a team that presses hates to be pressed.  Looks like this is what happened to the Pipes,  along with a healthy dosage of Johnnies dispensing a little muscle flexing of their own.  Prior to the game I'm sure most people thought this game was a pickem, but I don't think anyone was predicting a rout.  For SJU, it seems Brady Brink & Tim Veurink did their best Trevor Wittwer (GAC) & Bryan Schnettler impersonations.  Brink does remind me of a slightly shorter Wittwer from GAC – a do everything type of player.  Score, board, athletic, handle the ball, play solid D etc.  In the game I saw the Johnnies play at Bethel, Veurink had a similar type of shooting performance - 5-7 FGA, 3-5 3-pt FGA for 13 points.

...I have seen Gustavus, St. Thomas, and St. John's now, and in my opinion, I think that if SJU can make their perimeter shots, they will be a top three team in the MIAC.

Local, I'm curious, when have you seen the Gusties play this year?  Yesterday was their first appearance here in the cities for the season, unless you made a trip down to St. Pete's.  Hmmm...  I'm hoping to see the Gusties play next week, so I'll withhold my assessment of the Gusties until that time.  I have seen both CARL & SJU play, & at this point I would give the definite nod to Carleton.  During conference play, Carleton has not exhibited any of the Jekyll & Hyde tendencies that the Johnnies have been showing & nearly causing Miacwatchmen to recant his vow of loyalty to Coach Smith.   

GAC 59/AUG 46 - Speaking of the Gusties, what's going on Willy or others?  I know a win's a win, but down a point at the half to the Dawgs? Granted the Dawgs did pull off the upset of the season over UST, but that's what it was - an upset.  You all are THE Gustavus Adolphus College, the long time dominators of the MIAC. But in all seriousness, if yesterdays' performance means that Augsburg is making forward progress as SMU also appears to be doing (the game against UST & GAC not withstanding) I'm all for it.  This means our league is becoming that much more competitive.

BET 74/CORD 69- Other than the game they "stole" from SJU at Collegeville at the beginning of season, the Cobbs just can't seem to win on the road this season.  They've played 3 competitive road games against MAC, Carleton & Bethel, & ended up losing by 1, 5 & 5 points.  Looks like the Cobb biggs did a decent job with Miller, Linz & Mad Dog scoring 25, 18 & 14 points.  But Eckhoff's replacement, Brock Citterman struggled as did the rest of the Cobb guards.  On the other hand, Bethels' wings out played their Cobber counterparts, & reluctant hero Chuckie Meadowcroft stepped up with another strong performance with 26 points & 7 rebounds. The kid oozes talent, & if his motivation ever caught with his ability, Bethel would have another quality T. Jones type player.

UST 98/SMU 62– the big Catholic brother spanks the upstart little brother from down river. OUCH!!  As long as the Tommies continue to have games like that, it's going to force me to keep the quote from Willy in my signature line. 

CARL 85/STO 55 – The Knights doing their part to keep pace with the Tommies.  Ouch once again!

That's too bad about the Oles' hoops misfortunes.  Is it the players, coaches, school or all of the above? I know Funballer & others might disagree, but I would think pitching the school's academics, facilities, & close proximity to the cities would be a great attraction for players coming out of high school.  Coach Miedt & the football team have certainly enjoyed some success in recent years, no reason why the hoops team couldn't as well.

[Willy Wonka]

Drake - Augsburg is VASTLY improved without Ammann on the sidelines. That team is really scrappy, plays good defense and is otherwise just a pain to watch. However, they just aren't that talented.

The Gusties didn't make a single shot outside the paint (not one!) in the first half of yesterday's game. Sowden got in early foul trouble and didn't play the last 10+ minutes. Without Wittwer and Stein in the first half, GAC is down 10+. T-Dubs, in particular, dominated the game with something like 8 straight points and a little poke towards the end of the half. The Auggie crowd was razzing him pretty hard until he shut them up with the dunk and a nasty swat on Teen Wolf.

GAC is maddeningly inconsistent. They've played some awful defense this season, but last night it was great. Auggie shot terrible, but the Gusties looked like they actually knew what they were doing. The help defense was finally there and it was refreshing to see. If the team can play defense like that and make some open looks from the perimeter, they can challenge the Tommies and Carls for the top spot. Until they can put together a few solid performances, it's tough to hop on the MIAC champs bandwagon again though.

I would list the Tommies as the prohibitive favorites to win the title, with Carleton second. The Gusties should finish no lower than third, with SJU and Marys both struggling down the stretch. Wednesday's game at GAC will be a big test, as the Johnnies haven't exactly been road warriors and GAC hasn't done much to defend its own turf.

[piperinsider]

What's lacking for the Pipers? defense.

Second game in a row they allowed 50 in the second half. Checked into a bit more, the last 10 games played, the opposing team has scored 40+ points in the second half.

Wohler introduces yet another player to the court. Zev Kujolic. Aaron Seliga see the court for the first time since Northwestern I believe. 13 points from the Pipers bench isn't enough.

@ Bethel and at home against CON to finish the first lopp.

Not really surprised by what else took place on Saturday. I really like Carleton right now. Besides the loss to HAM, Carleton has been right on target and should be top 3. St. Thomas is clearly the league champion and looking at their schedule, who can you favor over them?