MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[KnightsArmor]

Poor Cobbers lose today down in Winona 81 to 60.

That's a very long road trip back to Morehead.

[KnightsArmor]

And that would be Moorhead....jeesh

[miacwatchmen]

Only about 5 or 6 hours     yeah gonna be a tough rest of the season for CON.

[Flip the Red Bird]

Wow is Concordia bad now.  After watching yesterday's game it would be amazing if they win another game the rest of the year.  To bad too, as tough as they would be if they had all their players.

Question for OAS: How does someone his six 3's all year and then his 6 in the game vs the Cards?

[onearmedscot]

Flip--

I know.  It's about the same odds as a kid spelling "hit" wrong twice in the same sentence.  You wouldn't think it possible but I watched it with my own eyes.

In all seriousness, Lars started the season on the bench with the kissing disease--not sure how he got mono but it knocked him down to about 165 pounds.  He has recovered and has played since the River Falls game.  Looks like he finally found his stroke.  The four point play was sweet, straight swish as he landed on his back in front of the MAC crowd.  Fun times.

PS If anyone needs a serious karma boost go to D3football.com and go to the east region Liberty League board.  Post something funny and karma will be thrown at you abundantly.

oAs

[sumander]

Yep, the next 3 weeks will be fun for fans and hell for coaches!!

Interesting games tonight. While most eyes will be on the GAC @ UST game a big one will be taking place in Collegeville. SJU has a 1/2 game on BET. After 4 games on the road the Johnnies could use some home cooking. If they win tonight a 12-8 finish is still within reach.

SMU has the most difficult schedule of the teams battling for the playoffs. They play 6 of 7 on the road, with the only home game being UST. Schedule makers did not do them any favors. They could easily finish 9-11.

Johnnies have only two road games left @MAC and @AUG, but they have UST and GAC left at home. Unless they collapse totally I think the worst they will finish is 10-10.

BET doesn't have a too bad a finish. After tonight they have 3 road games @STO,CORD, HAM with home games agianst SMU,GAC,UST,CAR. They could easily finish 10-10 as well.

STO could also finish 10-10. SMU might be the odd man out at this point!

Fasten your seat belts! It should be fun (frustrating)!

[Flip the Red Bird]

What a rookie.  Can't even spell a three letter word.  So Lars made some tough shots?  I was just wondering if SMU didn't respect him because of his 6-30 on the year and was playing off him or something.  I didn't realize he had been sick, he in the past has shot the ball at a much better rate than he was this year.

[localcoach]

What a weekend of basketball in the MIAC.  

St. John's almost ends Carleton's phenominal winning streak.  It looks like Gustavus has the next best chance to do so later this week.  

St. Thomas just crushed Hamline in what I was told was a game in which the Tommies played their best basketball of the year.  Apparently the Pipers had trouble defending Mr. Rosefelt and rebounding the basketball, among other things.

St. Olaf has all of a sudden come to life, winning four in a row.  Leading the charge is Mark Bergstrom.  

Macalester finally gets a victory thanks to Lars Johnson putting on a shooting clinic.  (3-6 from the free-throw line though?)

Bethel looks to have the balance and shooting strength to make a push for a playoff spot.

And yesterday SMU hits 12 3's and wins again at home.

Just when you think you have things figured out   At this rate the fifth and sixth place teams might both make the playoffs with losing conference records.

Here's my opinions on tonight's slate of games.

Bethel @ Saint John's - The Johnnies are coming off a heartbreaker vs. Carleton and I think they will hold serve at home against a much improved Bethel team.  It will be a close game.

Gustavus @ St. Thomas - The question is which UST team will show up?  The one that just beat Hamline by 40 or the one that lost to Carleton by 30?  If the first one shows up I think the Tommies will win this game.  

Augsburg @ Carleton - The Auggies upset UST earlier this year but I'm not sure that they have an answer for Mr. Forkrud and Mr. Johnson inside.

St. Olaf @ Macalester - Two teams that have been playing well as of late.  I'm going to pick a minor upset and say MAC wins at home.  That gym is just a tough place to play.

[Flip the Red Bird]

[quote author=sumander STO could also finish 10-10. SMU might be the odd man out at this point!

That means that SMU will only win 2 more games this season.  There is a lot of talent down here, so I think that it is very unlikely even with a lot of road games.  It's not like the other middle of the pack team are that tough.  Also, the last game of the year is vs STO at home, I would guess that if SMU isn't already a lock for the playoffs that game will put them in.  STO won't beat SMU at home.  SMU has never played in the MIAC playoffs, this is the year they break that trend!!!

[bchoops]

One thing that has gone relatively unnoticed regarding the Royals is the production of Frederickson off the bench.  Coach B has started giving him more minutes, and his production has gone dramatically up.  He is now consistently second on the team in scoring, right behind Meadowcroft.  I think this has much to do with BU's improved play lately, and what I think is going to be their successful push to the post-season.  Earlier I was thinking that Frederickson ought to be starting, but now I like his role off the bench.  This gives BU a spark that most teams covet.  Having a sixth man who has the capability to score like Freddy does is nothing but a positive (which is an obvious statement, I know).  For what it's worth, I like this decision to keep him in a substitute role, I think they are finally figuring out a line-up that's going to push them into the post-season.  After what was a very disheartening beginning, things are looking up.

[sumander]

I think they are finally figuring out a line-up that's going to push them into the post-season. After what was a very disheartening beginning, things are looking up.

BCH, That is one of my concerns with the Johnnies. They have not seemed to figure out a line up yet, as evidenced by Henrichs line on Saturday.

[

quote]

FRB, Johnnies have a lot of talent as well and have struggled on the road. 4 of SMU's top 7 players are underclassmen. We will see how they handle the next two weeks.

I am not saying they will finish at 9-11. Just saying it is a possibility.

[gustiesoaps]

Survivor Research:

I was curious about this Bethel grad on survivor and did a little research.  Here is her response to favorite drinks:

Corona, Stella, gin & tonic, bloody Mary

Let the bethel jokes begin

[onearmedscot]

Flip--

Fill me oin on T Smith aka Warren Sapp.  How the heck is he still playing?

Also, how do people not play better D on Mike Sweeney?  If Schnettler has the quickest release in the league, Sweeney as the slowest and most ugly.  But he hit a few on us and I believe was 5-6 against CON.

oAs.

[Drake Palmer]

Warning to Funbballer & other Koz-hatas:  FATPITCH

Like other posters I was looking at the week's schedule of MIAC games & noticed some very compelling match ups for the week - GAC vs. UST, & BET vs. SJU etc.  Good week of hoops!

But in one of those cases where hindsight is always 20-20, what the H-E- double hockey sticks was Coach Koz thinking as he made his schedule at the beginning of the year?!? Tonight's match up against the (ahem) suddenly dangerous, trey dropping Mac Scots on the Scots home court is no easy task, but if the Oles win -  then what?

All of a sudden STO could be 7-7 & in the thick of the playoff hunt.  To top that off, on Wednesday night they could be playing an absolutely huge game against another team desperate to make the playoffs, the 6-7 Hamline Pipers.  And where do the Oles get to play their home game at - the Metrodome!  Yup, that's right, the sterile, plastic seat, cavernous, non basketball arena - the Metrodome.

Apparently, Koz was asked if they would like to move one of their home games to the Dome, so the local NCAA tourney operations staff could practice setting the dome up for the big boys tourney later on this spring.  Of course, he agreed with the request. Talk about giving up your home court advantage.  Sheesh!

[Flip the Red Bird]

Sumander:  Yep, very young.  Hopefully they don't know any better so they just win a few more games and make the playoffs.

OAS:  Sapp was academically out last season, so of course that doesn't count against you as far as playing.  So he is a junior as far as athletics is concerned.  He still has one more year left.  He has matured a lot since his freshman year when he was a bit out of control.  Anyone who is some 300 lbs and has the hands he has will score some points in the paint in the MIAC, he can really create problems for opposing Deffenses.