MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

It's official. Big blow for Augsburg

Palmer to Colorado State is official:

https://twitter.com/csumbasketball/status/1550208437203922945?s=21&t=r7ia94chIInKSA07O6SRnQ

Will be really fun to see how all these D3 stars fare in D1 next year ....

[SagatagSam]

It's official. Big blow for Augsburg

Palmer to Colorado State is official:

https://twitter.com/csumbasketball/status/1550208437203922945?s=21&t=r7ia94chIInKSA07O6SRnQ

Will be really fun to see how all these D3 stars fare in D1 next year ....

That's a gut punch for Augsburg. Although they had other weapons so it's not like Palmer was an absolute one man show. They should still be pretty solid--top half of the conference for sure, if not higher.

[Greek Tragedy]

It's official. Big blow for Augsburg

Palmer to Colorado State is official:

https://twitter.com/csumbasketball/status/1550208437203922945?s=21&t=r7ia94chIInKSA07O6SRnQ

Will be really fun to see how all these D3 stars fare in D1 next year ....

That's a gut punch for Augsburg. Although they had other weapons so it's not like Palmer was an absolute one man show. They should still be pretty solid--top half of the conference for sure, if not higher.

Mostly a one man show. No offense to the other players. Palmer averaged 21 a game. The next two guys averaged 23.1 ppg, combined. Palmer averaged 9 rpg. The next THREE starters averaged 8.8 rpg, combined. It is impressive to see that the top 5 guys all had double-digit plus assist/TO ratio.

Sorenson was listed as a senior last year, but he's not on this season's roster. Carik and Knoepfle were listed as seniors, but only Knoepfle returned.

[jakeMN91]

https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/Article/Minnesota-Gophers-Basketball-Five-Takeaways-from-Minnesotas-71-55-Exhibition-Win-over-St-Olaf-196703746/Amp/

Oles lost 71-55 against a injury-filled Gophers team in an exhibition game

[SagatagSam]

FYI--last week the conference announced that it will be going back to its top six format for the conference tournament.

https://miacathletics.com/news/2022/11/4/2022-23-miac-mens-basketball-season-preview.aspx

While last year's conference tournament was exciting to watch, I prefer going back to the top six format.

[D3hoopsinsider]

Fantastic overtime game between Macalester and Wartburg. Macalester pulls it out, 79-71, behind a monstrous 36 point outing for Caleb Williams. I believe he scored 10pts in overtime alone. A very high level D3 hoops game in an awesome environment.

Macalester seems to be carrying the momentum they had to finish last season and is a team to keep an eye on. They have great scoring guards and while Badu Ba isn't the most polished offensively, he is an absolute force around the rim. He had 11 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 monster dunks in this game. Well coached team that is fun to watch.

[SagatagSam]

Fantastic overtime game between Macalester and Wartburg. Macalester pulls it out, 79-71, behind a monstrous 36 point outing for Caleb Williams. I believe he scored 10pts in overtime alone. A very high level D3 hoops game in an awesome environment.

Macalester seems to be carrying the momentum they had to finish last season and is a team to keep an eye on. They have great scoring guards and while Badu Ba isn't the most polished offensively, he is an absolute force around the rim. He had 11 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 monster dunks in this game. Well coached team that is fun to watch.

I was thinking Macalester could be a team to watch out for, but then they lost to Crown last night. That took the wind out of the sails on that thought for me right away. I could be wrong and Crown could be a real contender. Crown is 7-1. Crown lost to St. Mary's (1-4, 0-3 MIAC), beat Concordia (2-4, 1-2 MIAC), and beat Gustavus (2-3, 2-1 MIAC), so they are a mixed bag at best.

[AO]

Fantastic overtime game between Macalester and Wartburg. Macalester pulls it out, 79-71, behind a monstrous 36 point outing for Caleb Williams. I believe he scored 10pts in overtime alone. A very high level D3 hoops game in an awesome environment.

Macalester seems to be carrying the momentum they had to finish last season and is a team to keep an eye on. They have great scoring guards and while Badu Ba isn't the most polished offensively, he is an absolute force around the rim. He had 11 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 monster dunks in this game. Well coached team that is fun to watch.

I was thinking Macalester could be a team to watch out for, but then they lost to Crown last night. That took the wind out of the sails on that thought for me right away. I could be wrong and Crown could be a real contender. Crown is 7-1. Crown lost to St. Mary's (1-4, 0-3 MIAC), beat Concordia (2-4, 1-2 MIAC), and beat Gustavus (2-3, 2-1 MIAC), so they are a mixed bag at best.

St. Mary's has a solid squad, definitely has the talent to get in the playoffs.

[txg]

St. Mary's is definitely better than their record indicates.  All of their conference games have gone to the wire.  I'm interested to see how Carleton does down there tomorrow.  I think Carleton has a chance to be the best team in the league, if they aren't already.

[SagatagSam]

St. Mary's is definitely better than their record indicates.  All of their conference games have gone to the wire.  I'm interested to see how Carleton does down there tomorrow.  I think Carleton has a chance to be the best team in the league, if they aren't already.

That may be true, but they need to show it sooner rather than later. Close losses early in the season can easily develop into a story of a team that can't close out tight games. Carleton has a very good team this year, and I think we can agree they are probably favored to beat SMU. Then SMU takes a six hour road trip up to Moorhead to play Concordia. If they can't win at least one of those games, they will enter January at 0-5 in conference play.

Should be interesting to see how the season develops over the next few weeks before Christmas.

[SagatagSam]

Well, St. Mary's sure took care of business today! I'll eat my skepticism on the Cardinals for now.

[SagatagSam]

A bunch of interesting matchups set for Wednesday evening--battles at the top, middle, and bottom of the conference standings. No team is more than 3 spots apart in the standings from its Wednesday night opponent.

Bethel (T-10) and Scholastica (8) face off in Duluth to see who can attempt to salvage its season.
Concordia (T-10) travels to Augsburg (9)--can Augsburg bounce back after the beatdown in Collegeville? Can Concordia get a win after nearly coming back from down 15 points in the second half against Bethel?
St. Olaf and Gustavus (both tied for 5th) meet in St. Peter after coming off losses to Hamline and Macalester, currently tied for the conference lead.
Hamline (T-1) travels to Northfield to face Carleton (4). Carleton is reeling after the thumping it took at the hands of St. Mary's on the road, losing by nearly 20 after a miserable first half in Winona. Hamline is flying high with an undefeated 3-0 conference record, but its opponents thus far have a combined record of 8-11 (4-7 MIAC).
Saint John's (3) hits the road to St. Paul to take on Macalester (T-1) in a rematch of last year's MIAC Tournament Championship Game. The Scots come into the game undefeated with wins over Augsburg, St. Mary's, and Gustavus. The Johnnies come in with its only conference setback at St. Olaf, but seem to be hitting their stride with three consecutive wins over Gustavus, St. Scholastica, and Augsburg with an average margin of victory of 22.3 points.
St. Mary's has Wednesday night off and resumes play on Saturday against Concordia in Moorhead.

[SagatagSam]

Johnnies took care of business Wednesday night and leapfrogged both Macalester and Hamline for the MIAC lead.

Saturday's matchups:

Macalester (T-2) travels to Bethel (T-10) to attempt to get back on the winning track against a Bethel team that does not appear to be anywhere close to a playoff team right now.
Augsburg (T-10) goes to St. Peter (5) Gustavus can begin to solidify its place as a playoff team whereas Augsburg needs to pull off a win to avoid slipping to 1-5 in the MIAC.
St. Mary's (9) makes the longest road trip in the conference from Winona up to Moorhead to face Concordia (T-7). St. Mary's has had a week to prepare since their 85-66 drubbing of Carleton. Concordia righted the ship against Augsburg. A win for either team keeps them within striking distance of the sixth and final playoff spot.
St. Scholastica (6) makes the long trek down I-35 to Northfield to take on a Carleton (T-2) squad coming off a big 79-78 home win against Hamline. A win for Carleton plus a Saint John's loss could put Carleton back into the conference lead.
Saint John's (1) travels to Hutton Arena in St. Paul to take on Hamline (T-2). The Johnnies have had an average margin of victory of 23 ppg since its MIAC opener loss to St. Olaf. Hamline could catapult itself back into at least a share of the MIAC lead with a win.
St. Olaf is idle Saturday and will return to action on Tuesday hosting UW-River Falls.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Based on the results so far... I'll take St John's and Macalester as the teams that will finish 1-2 in the MIAC.

[SagatagSam]

Only a couple close games this weekend.

Augsburg took Gustavus down to the wire but the Gusties prevailed, 84-81. And, St. Mary's hung with Concordia for portions of the game, made a few runs to try and take the lead, but fell short, 82-77.

Macalester, Carleton, and Saint John's all won their respective games by margins of 23, 23, and 29 points, respectively.

That puts a bow on the first part of the conference season.