MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Before Pat.C. or Greg Sager goes upside my head, I just realized I made a mistake in an earlier post.  Last year D3Hoops did correctly project Carleton making the tourney, but they were assigned to the Midwest region rather than the West region.  Which by the way, both regions were eventually lumped into one large sectional the 2nd weekend at Lawrence College.

[piperinsider]

Please email me, retiredoldrat@wardo.net, if you would like me to buy and advance
ticket for you.  I will be at O'Garas pre game and can deliver at that time.

Sent.

[ustbumkneez]

sweetness...where is O'Shaughnessy hall??

Mob, O'Shaughnessy Hall is the building you walk through on your way to enter the Shoe. When youre in the walkway that you have to pass through on game nights, take a left through the door, and then an immediate left up the stairs. The first door is obviously second floor, and go right once you get to it. Youll go through the walkway above where you came in, and it will be the 2nd door on your left (the ADs office). JoAnn Andregg is who you want to find.

[columbianmaffia]

bum & sumander

thanks for the help

+k

should be a doozy

[bethelguy]

Now that my team is out (  ) here are a couple thoughts not related to Saturday's MIAC Champtionship.

1.  The 10 finalists were announced for the Jostens Trophy.  Disappointing that Ike or BS didn't get any love, I thought BS had a shot at being a finalist since he is probably the best pure SG in the country.  But I'm not losing any sleep over it.  Secondly did anybody notice that Dan Wheeler is a finalist.  He is from Bloomington Jeffferson.  I know Bethel recruited him pretty hard (along with Ohme), imagine this BU squad with someone like him on the team!  Also, that B-Jefferson team was pretty good with Ohme, Wheeler and Augustine but imagine if they would have been closer in age to Aldrich that could have been an historic Minnesota high school basketball team.

2.  NCAA playoffs, if we assume UST wins on Saturday, I would fully expect they'll be really close to getting a 1st round bye and 2nd round home game.  SJU will get a 1st round home game but both would eventually have to travel to Point for the Regionals.  Unless Point loses in WIAC tourney, then UST would be in the mix but there are still a lot of variables.  Worst case scenario at least we'll get to watch UST in the 1st round at home against a weaker Pool A team. 

3.  There have been a few notes on teams matching up well or not well with particular teams.  Anybody else find that fascinating?  From BU's perspective STO matched up well with the Royals, but I also felt that BU matched up well with SJU and I liked our chances had we been able to beat the Oles.  But then I think BU matched up horribly with UST and that would have been a tough W.  GAC clearly did not match up well with SJU, but they probably would have been relatively confident going to UST.  At the college level how team's matchup based on personnel and off/def systems is SO important and classically undervalued.

4.  I miss the GAC student body.  They really haven't been the same the last couple years, but compared to anybody else's fans they were the best.  Their chants were original and funny.  BU fans do the "left, right" when guys foul out (boring).  BU also loves to resort to what happened during FB.  I support the FB team and the BU FB team supports the basketball team better than any other MIAC school imo, but the FB chants are irrelavent.  I've heard UST with "Warm up the bus" (yawn).  I haven't seen a legit SJU student body since 1999 (to be fair I didn't make it to Collegeville this season, but their FB team probably doesn't know they even have a basketball team).  GAC used to kill me with the nerd chant and "This is our house" isn't completely original but that clearly is their house and is very fitting. 

5.  I'll throw a bone out for the conf Championship game.  My money would be on the favorite.  When UST is focused and motivated I don't think the Johnnies can beat them on the road.  Both teams will still be playing next week (UST students take note and  please don't go with the cliched "Season's Over" cause it is unoriginal and will be entirely inaccurate).  The game will really be about an 8 point differencial but after free throws down the stretch I put the spread at UST -13.

[Drake Palmer]

Nice job BG! 

Watch - remember when we had this debate a month or so ago, about best gyms in the league?  Look at BG's item 4.  Here's further proof for my claim that when busy, the atmosphere at Gus Young was/is like none other!  When the Gusties are on top of their game, Gus Young is a madhouse!  Every time I went down there, I almost got seasick looking at all that bouncing & bobbing sea of black & yellow clad fans, & hearing those obnoxious cheers!  Good stuff. 

For smaller gyms, Bethel can heat it up fairly well.  A couple of years ago I was there for an Espo led Gustie team vs. the Royals & the place was crazz-y! The small, but very vocal, & loud group of guys that used to stand in the front row of the Bethel student section leading cheers used to crack me.  The Carlie & Mac fans can get fairly creative themselves too.  How's the one Mac cheer go? "We're from Mac, we're on crack..."

[columbianmaffia]

wheeler is tight...i hope he wins


i wonder if anyone will fall for TOES!! on saturday

time will only tell

[abominable_snowman]

Now that my team is out (  ) here are a couple thoughts not related to Saturday's MIAC Champtionship.


4.  I miss the GAC student body.  They really haven't been the same the last couple years, but compared to anybody else's fans they were the best.  Their chants were original and funny.  BU fans do the "left, right" when guys foul out (boring).  BU also loves to resort to what happened during FB.  I support the FB team and the BU FB team supports the basketball team better than any other MIAC school imo, but the FB chants are irrelavent.  I've heard UST with "Warm up the bus" (yawn).  I haven't seen a legit SJU student body since 1999 (to be fair I didn't make it to Collegeville this season, but their FB team probably doesn't know they even have a basketball team).  GAC used to kill me with the nerd chant and "This is our house" isn't completely original but that clearly is their house and is very fitting. 

GAC also has the theme song/dance that fans tend to every so often, that no school duplicates.

*****************

On another note, a snowy pre-championship party is right up my alley.  Chances are pretty good that I will be going after some grilled burgers.  There may very well be a Mrs. Snow on my arm as well.

[Willy Wonka]

BG - The SJU crowd was great up through the 2001-02 season. They regaled Henke with "Stalker!" chants all through warmups after some sneaky research and called TeBrake "Opie" in the MIAC title game. They also had a faculty member giving the Macho Man elbow drop to a GAC doll about 3 feet from the end of the Gustie bench for most of the second half. The crowd was PACKED, with SJU fans sitting on both endlines and within reach from the GAC bench. It was great stuff.

However, it's hard to keep the fanbase fired up when Kevin Buth and Pat McKenzie are the best players on bad teams. Gustavus is going through a mini-stretch like that right now, though they'll still apparently come out for the big games (RE: UST at home).

As for Wittwer...I doubt anyone has gone through a tougher MIAC season in a long time, if ever. His father passed, he was forced to play with a broken pelvis (non-basketball related, which opens up some...interesting possibilities) and then a badly sprained ankle for the season finale.

[kel_varnsen]

BG - The SJU crowd was great up through the 2001-02 season. They regaled Henke with "Stalker!" chants all through warmups after some sneaky research and called TeBrake "Opie" in the MIAC title game. They also had a faculty member giving the Macho Man elbow drop to a GAC doll about 3 feet from the end of the Gustie bench for most of the second half. The crowd was PACKED, with SJU fans sitting on both endlines and within reach from the GAC bench. It was great stuff.

I'll never forget it. That was the Gustie game I ever watched.

[bethelguy]

BG - The SJU crowd was great up through the 2001-02 season.

Willy - I just grabbed a year when I posted that.  But there hasn't been a good SJU crowd for a BU game in a very long time.  It is easy to pull out the big crowds for GAC when they were at their finest or for UST, but the GAC crowds have been there for every game I've been to down there (although they have dwindled in the last couple years, hence my pining for the old GAC student body).  Even before your time when SJU had Bigalke and won back to back titles the crowds were incredibly weak whenever I was at Collegeville.

The atmosphere you described sounds great, but I haven't seen it at SJU for any BU game or any other game I've been up there for.

[sumander]

BG - The SJU crowd was great up through the 2001-02 season.

Willy - I just grabbed a year when I posted that.  But there hasn't been a good SJU crowd for a BU game in a very long time.  It is easy to pull out the big crowds for GAC when they were at their finest or for UST, but the GAC crowds have been there for every game I've been to down there (although they have dwindled in the last couple years, hence my pining for the old GAC student body).  Even before your time when SJU had Bigalke and won back to back titles the crowds were incredibly weak whenever I was at Collegeville.

The atmosphere you described sounds great, but I haven't seen it at SJU for any BU game or any other game I've been up there for.

BG, I would agree with you. I have been to every home game at SJU for the last two years! The only time it has been close to electric in Sexton is for the two UST games.

Even last night, I was disappointed with the size of the crowd. The bleachers across from the team benches may have been 1/2 full.

[miacwatchmen]

Nice job BG! 

Watch - remember when we had this debate a month or so ago, about best gyms in the league?  Look at BG's item 4.  Here's further proof for my claim that when busy, the atmosphere at Gus Young was/is like none other!  When the Gusties are on top of their game, Gus Young is a madhouse!  Every time I went down there, I almost got seasick looking at all that bouncing & bobbing sea of black & yellow clad fans, & hearing those obnoxious cheers!  Good stuff. 

For smaller gyms, Bethel can heat it up fairly well.  A couple of years ago I was there for an Espo led Gustie team vs. the Royals & the place was crazz-y! The small, but very vocal, & loud group of guys that used to stand in the front row of the Bethel student section leading cheers used to crack me.  The Carlie & Mac fans can get fairly creative themselves too.  How's the one Mac cheer go? "We're from Mac, we're on crack..."

Drake- I hope some day I can see the Gus when its rocking. I imagine its a fun atmosphere.

[piperinsider]

Gus Young was pretty sweet a few years ago for MAC and GAC title game. Surprisingly nice crowd from MAC that year, and it was a great game.

I just hope this system misses us or just nips us because I'm going to be on the road a lot this weekend and I don't want to miss a thing, especially the burgers.

[Willy Wonka]

Is anyone else picturing PI driving around this weekend cranking Aerosmith's "I don't want to miss a thing"?