MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Retired Old Rat]

In a show of support to the SMU Cardinals I will be wearing red tomorrow.

[miacsuperfan]

Interesting stats, Badgerhawk.   Wish you had the time to dig those up for the MIAC!  (Mose, you listening?)
I also find your comment on the regular season conference champion being an automatic bid quite interesting.  It would like to know how many regular season champs  DID NOT win a conference championship and continued on in the tourney.  My guess is the percentage would be quite high.   

nothing to dig up....one click and here we go (I didn't have access to my hoops files at the office or the post-work Happy Hour)....

In the 13 years of the present format:

Seed-- Record in final
#1        10- 1      .909
#2         2-10      .167
#3         0- 1       .000
#4         1- 0     1.000
#5         0- 1       .000
#6        never to title game

In the 16 years of the 4-team format:
#1     7-6
#2     4-7
#3     3-2
#4     2-1

over all:
#1   17- 7   .781
#2    6-17   .261
#3    3- 3    .500
#4    3- 1    .750
#5    0- 1    .000
#6    n/a

so, while home-court in Wednesday's 4 v 5 game is crucial to some or an "achievement" .....if you wanna win the Tourney, it really, really helps to be the #1 seed (just tweekin' your overly red nose, VOJ) ... SJU last had a home game in 2009 quarterfinals--- lost to GAC


ROR--- you need to pray for a SJU win AND a SMU win....then you get the #3 slot and host Bethel

MIACSUPERFAN--- 12 of the past 13 years =, the MIAC regular season champ has advanced to the NCAA field  (10 times with auto-berth, 2 Pool C)...the other time, my understanding was that injury-depleted UST asked not to be considered....which may be true or urban legend.... so, yeah, winning the MIAC regular season crown is a virtual lock on a NCAA berth

Great stuff, Maniac!  So it appears that the playoff participants (regardless of the format) are mere pawns in the purple empire.     Actually, the number of 2, 3, and 4 teams to play on (including both recent playoff formats) suggests that the system works.  Interestingly, the 3 and 4 seeds have statistically done better than the 2s.
But I still like the 6 team format, particularly in a league so dominated by one school recently.  It does give some mid-level MIAC schools a shot (though brief) at an extended season.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

In a show of support to the SMU Cardinals I will be wearing red tomorrow.

+k... I'm SURE that's the reason for your red attire 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Interesting stats, Badgerhawk.   Wish you had the time to dig those up for the MIAC!  (Mose, you listening?)
I also find your comment on the regular season conference champion being an automatic bid quite interesting.  It would like to know how many regular season champs  DID NOT win a conference championship and continued on in the tourney.  My guess is the percentage would be quite high.   

nothing to dig up....one click and here we go (I didn't have access to my hoops files at the office or the post-work Happy Hour)....

In the 13 years of the present format:

Seed-- Record in final
#1        10- 1      .909
#2         2-10      .167
#3         0- 1       .000
#4         1- 0     1.000
#5         0- 1       .000
#6        never to title game

In the 16 years of the 4-team format:
#1     7-6
#2     4-7
#3     3-2
#4     2-1

over all:
#1   17- 7   .781
#2    6-17   .261
#3    3- 3    .500
#4    3- 1    .750
#5    0- 1    .000
#6    n/a

so, while home-court in Wednesday's 4 v 5 game is crucial to some or an "achievement" .....if you wanna win the Tourney, it really, really helps to be the #1 seed (just tweekin' your overly red nose, VOJ) ... SJU last had a home game in 2009 quarterfinals--- lost to GAC


ROR--- you need to pray for a SJU win AND a SMU win....then you get the #3 slot and host Bethel

MIACSUPERFAN--- 12 of the past 13 years =, the MIAC regular season champ has advanced to the NCAA field  (10 times with auto-berth, 2 Pool C)...the other time, my understanding was that injury-depleted UST asked not to be considered....which may be true or urban legend.... so, yeah, winning the MIAC regular season crown is a virtual lock on a NCAA berth

Great stuff, Maniac!  So it appears that the playoff participants (regardless of the format) are mere pawns in the purple empire.     Actually, the number of 2, 3, and 4 teams to play on (including both recent playoff formats) suggests that the system works.  Interestingly, the 3 and 4 seeds have statistically done better than the 2s.
But I still like the 6 team format, particularly in a league so dominated by one school recently.  It does give some mid-level MIAC schools a shot (though brief) at an extended season.

To me, the present setup it ideal. It rewards the team most likely to go to NCAA (regular season champ) and the runner up with a bye, allows 4 others to experience post-season excitement and keeps things interesting. Usually, the top 2-3 spots are nailed down well before the final week of play but the chase for the final spot(s) and seeding order nearly always comes down to the final game of the final day. It gives the league a revenue source (although I wish they'd use that to upgrade on refs) and has seen many, many thrilling games. To me, the most thrilling finish to a MIAC Playoff game was seeing a current MIAC coach drain three 3s in the final 8 seconds on the road to overcome an 8 point deficit. leading his team to a 1 pt win.

[faunch]

Football and basketball sweep baby!!!  Tommies still do and always will SUCK!!!
GO JOHNNIES!!!

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Football and basketball sweep baby!!!  Tommies still do and always will SUCK!!!
GO JOHNNIES!!!

and can we have a quick count of the # of championships this adds up to?  Oh yeah, zero. Congrats on 4th place. Join the US men's hockey team celebrating that one 

amazing atmosphere at Shoe II today--- packed close to the gills, and festive not to mention loud.  I'm still scratching my head about the game. After a solid first half, UST came out about as flat and listless and I've ever seen them play and seemed to sleepwalk through the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half. SJU played well, but UST could not shake off the lethargy or whatever it was. Having Tengwall get mugged and out of the game hurt. If Reusse didn't like the officiating at Olaf, he would been nauseated by this crew (both teams got away with WAY too much clutching, hacking, elbows, shoves and trips...the penalty box woulda been overflowing if this was hockey, which it resembled).

I'd said all along UST would go 17-3 or 18-2 and win the conference--- so I'm 2 for 2. (I also said UST would win the MIAC Playoff and make the Sweet 16...the jury is out on those yet).

GAC @ SJU should be interesting but the Gusties will earn the trip to the Shoe II.  Auggies will shut down BU to go to Olaf for a thriller

[miacsuperfan]

Wow, shocker on Summit!!  VOJ must have been beaming broadly!!  Tengwall injury serious?   Mose commented on the officiating.....was it a factor or just general incompetence?   

The BU scoring output of 40 points is a bit disturbing; sounds like the Oles were even defending their free throws.   Royals are going to need to step it up, or they will be buried in the Dawg pound on Wednesday!

Better get your seats early in Collegeville.  I say that place will be rockin.'   

[Drake Palmer]

Wow is right!

Big upset over at Summit & Cretin over the weekend.  Work obligations prevented me from taking in the SJU-UST game, but it sounds like I missed a dandy.  Nice season sweep by the Johnnies over their archrivals.  In both SJU-UST games this season the scores were nearly identical:

77-69
76-69

And the shooting percentages were similar.

Game 1
SJU 57.4% FGA
UST 39.3% FGA

Game 2
SJU 54.8% FGA
UST 42.0% FGA

The other common denominator in both games was the outstanding play of senior guard Patrick Butcher.  Butcher scored 20 & 22 pts in two games against the Tommies.

Football and basketball sweep baby!!!  Tommies still do and always will SUCK!!!
GO JOHNNIES!!!

...I'd said all along UST would go 17-3 or 18-2 and win the conference--- so I'm 2 for 2. (I also said UST would win the MIAC Playoff and make the Sweet 16...the jury is out on those yet).

GAC @ SJU should be interesting but the Gusties will earn the trip to the Shoe II.  Auggies will shut down BU to go to Olaf for a thriller

At this point I'm thinking Mose & the other purple clad supporters of UST are desperately hoping that the Gusties knock off the Jays in C-ville on Wednesday night, as they want no part of SJU.  Talent wise, the Johnnies match up with the Tommies out on the wing & are just as athletic, making cuts to the basket, or running their dribble drive offense.  Over the past 5-6 years the Tommies' team calling card was superior guard play on both ends of the floor. In the 4 games the Tommies have lost this season, their guards were beat by the opposing teams' guards. Butcher & crew from SJU, Tyler Tillema & Trevor Haas et al from UW-Stevens Point, & the kid from Pomona who went off for 24 points. 

One consolation the Tomcats can take from the end of their 31 game home winning streak is that the last time this happened (also against the Jays), the Tommies went on to win the national championship in 2011.    Having said that I would be shocked to see this happen this year.  If the Tommies can regain their guard form they'll be ok. Based on their regular season record, UST is all but assured a place at the big dance & they should have a respectable showing in the tourney. One, mebbe two wins?  I'm thinking Buena Vista, Carroll College,   

But it's going to be a dogfight getting out of the MIAC playoffs.

[VOJ]

Maniac...I and many others are wondering how many years the MIAC has been a two bid league to the NCAA tournament?

Also with regards to the officials...neither team was happy at the calls on Saturday, did they favor one team or the other, at times yes, but that's the way it goes.  I have never seen anyone come on this board and say it was a great job by the officials, hell will probably freeze over before that happens or Maniac will actually credit SJU with playing a good game against UST. 

With regards to how the Toms played in the second half, I thought they played hard and had great crowd support behind them.  Obviously I wasn't at the UST-StO match up, but I would have to say that for total atmosphere with the Johnnies faithful that showed up it made for the best atmosphere at an MIAC game this year so far...

Big test for SJU Wednesday night...Gusties with the exception to the home loss to the Tommies have played pretty well down the stretch.

[AO]

One consolation the Tomcats can take from the end of their 31 game home winning streak is that the last time this happened (also against the Jays), the Tommies went on to win the national championship in 2011.    Having said that I would be shocked to see this happen this year.  If the Tommies can regain their guard form they'll be ok. Based on their regular season record, UST is all but assured a place at the big dance & they should have a respectable showing in the tourney. One, mebbe two wins?  I'm thinking Buena Vista, Carroll College,   

But it's going to be a dogfight getting out of the MIAC playoffs.

I don't see much of a home court advantage at the new shoe.  They certainly couldn't play much better on the road so it's hard to tell if there's much of a boost at home.  Is it too late to add a couple thousand seats?  Might need the help in the first couple rounds this year if they host.  I'd also recommend copying Kansas' tip-off song to get the students hyped.  The first 1:45 of this video, if I'm an opposing player used to subdued crowds, I'm contemplating sneaking out of there after half-time.

[Retired Old Rat]

One consolation the Tomcats can take from the end of their 31 game home winning streak is that the last time this happened (also against the Jays), the Tommies went on to win the national championship in 2011.    Having said that I would be shocked to see this happen this year.  If the Tommies can regain their guard form they'll be ok. Based on their regular season record, UST is all but assured a place at the big dance & they should have a respectable showing in the tourney. One, mebbe two wins?  I'm thinking Buena Vista, Carroll College,   

But it's going to be a dogfight getting out of the MIAC playoffs.

I don't see much of a home court advantage at the new shoe.  They certainly couldn't play much better on the road so it's hard to tell if there's much of a boost at home.  Is it too late to add a couple thousand seats?  Might need the help in the first couple rounds this year if they host.  I'd also recommend copying Kansas' tip-off song to get the students hyped.  The first 1:45 of this video, if I'm an opposing player used to subdued crowds, I'm contemplating sneaking out of there after half-time.

I've attended several SJU games at UST since the Purple Palaced opened its doors.  For those games the UST students show up and are quite vocal.  Saturday was the best SJU showing at UST I've seen seen in a long, long time.  Even with that, the UST faithful were able to drown out the good guys anytime they wanted.

[Pat Coleman]

Maniac...I and many others are wondering how many years the MIAC has been a two bid league to the NCAA tournament?

Go to the D3hoops.com home page and download the Conference Guidebook from under the men's menu. Gives you a great rundown of each conference's participation and performance in the NCAA Tournament since the current playoff format went into place in 1999-2000.

[Retired Old Rat]

Maniac...I and many others are wondering how many years the MIAC has been a two bid league to the NCAA tournament?

Go to the D3hoops.com home page and download the Conference Guidebook from under the men's menu. Gives you a great rundown of each conference's participation and performance in the NCAA Tournament since the current playoff format went into place in 1999-2000.

Nice, didn't know that existed. 

[gustie12]

Maniac...I and many others are wondering how many years the MIAC has been a two bid league to the NCAA tournament?

Go to the D3hoops.com home page and download the Conference Guidebook from under the men's menu. Gives you a great rundown of each conference's participation and performance in the NCAA Tournament since the current playoff format went into place in 1999-2000.

Pat - If any other team besides the Tommies or Oles win the MIAC Playoff - does the conference stand a chance getting three teams into the NCAAs? In this scenario St. Thomas and St. Olaf would each receive an at-large bid. Tough choice by the selection committee considering that St. Thomas is ranked #12 and the Oles are receiving 18 votes (essentially ranked #31)

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Football and basketball sweep baby!!!  Tommies still do and always will SUCK!!!
GO JOHNNIES!!!

and can we have a quick count of the # of championships this adds up to?  Oh yeah, zero. Congrats on 4th place. Join the US men's hockey team celebrating that one 

amazing atmosphere at Shoe II today--- packed close to the gills, and festive not to mention loud.  I'm still scratching my head about the game. After a solid first half, UST came out about as flat and listless and I've ever seen them play and seemed to sleepwalk through the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half. SJU played well, but UST could not shake off the lethargy or whatever it was. Having Tengwall get mugged and out of the game hurt. If Reusse didn't like the officiating at Olaf, he would been nauseated by this crew (both teams got away with WAY too much clutching, hacking, elbows, shoves and trips...the penalty box woulda been overflowing if this was hockey, which it resembled).

I'd said all along UST would go 17-3 or 18-2 and win the conference--- so I'm 2 for 2. (I also said UST would win the MIAC Playoff and make the Sweet 16...the jury is out on those yet).

GAC @ SJU should be interesting but the Gusties will earn the trip to the Shoe II.  Auggies will shut down BU to go to Olaf for a thriller

either hell truly froze over, or VOJ needs reading instruction. looks pretty clear that I said "SJU played well"    Any time a team shoots 66.7% from the field for a half and limits its opponent to 11% from 3-pt range (WAY under its average), id call that playing well, regardless who the team is

Also, I did not in any way imply that the officiating effected the outcome Saturday. I merely said it was "nauseating" and that "both teams got away with too much".

At this point I'm thinking Mose & the other purple clad supporters of UST are desperately hoping that the Gusties knock off the Jays in C-ville on Wednesday night, as they want no part of SJU.  Talent wise, the Johnnies match up with the Tommies out on the wing & are just as athletic, making cuts to the basket, or running their dribble drive offense.  Over the past 5-6 years the Tommies' team calling card was superior guard play on both ends of the floor. In the 4 games the Tommies have lost this season, their guards were beat by the opposing teams' guards. Butcher & crew from SJU, Tyler Tillema & Trevor Haas et al from UW-Stevens Point, & the kid from Pomona who went off for 24 points. 

One consolation the Tomcats can take from the end of their 31 game home winning streak is that the last time this happened (also against the Jays), the Tommies went on to win the national championship in 2011.    Having said that I would be shocked to see this happen this year.  If the Tommies can regain their guard form they'll be ok. Based on their regular season record, UST is all but assured a place at the big dance & they should have a respectable showing in the tourney. One, mebbe two wins?  I'm thinking Buena Vista, Carroll College,   

But it's going to be a dogfight getting out of the MIAC playoffs.

Nope, not "desperately hoping" to avoid a rematch with SJU. Bring it on!  however, I've followed the MIAC reasonably closely over the past coupla years, and have noted a pattern--- SJU can get up for UST but that rarely carries over into the next game (wins over SMU or Mac excluded). Also, looking at Playoff historical performance (see my next post) and you have solid evidence supporting my belief that GAC will prevail Wednesday.

Oh and Drake? Should you be correct and UST wins 2 games in the NCAA--- that puts them into the Sweet 16.  I'm tasting that chicken now