MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[miacsuperfan]

and a happy thanksgiving to you, d.p.
you have to like how the gusties rebounded from a rather stinky opener at the gus, with a nice win in iowa last night.   they will be a team to be reckoned with and that almost goes without saying.   the royals losing in morris is not exactly a shock.  anybody who thought that they could "run the table" this year cannot be taken seriously as a savvy basketball  fan. that is a young team trying to figure out some things (sounds like particularly defensively) and in time they will.   mike moberg needs to turn it up a few notches and bethel will be a force.   the fact that the johnnies beat morris by 17 (at home, granted) would indicate that nobody should be feeling sorry for sju's basketball hopes.  look out for those guys.  and st. thomas continues to show early season evidence that they are simply in the re-load mode.  i was hoping that augsburg might have won a game by now;  not quite sure what to make of them at this point.   and will the oles contend, or was their trip to the playoffs last year (and a big upset over bethel) just a flash in the pan?   road win over luther was certainly a positive for them.
but, nobody really remembers (nor cares) about these ealy season games when the shoes hit the floor to begin the conference season in about a week.    should be interesting.

[Willy Wonka]

After returning from a PC imposed hiatus, I'd just like to reiterate the message my fellow Gustie Frank Rickard displays proudly on a t-shirt each time SJU plays BU in football...

[size=30]Bethel is bad[/size]

Seriously, if you refuse to play defense, feed the post or have good player/ball movement, how can you expect to win consistently against even average teams? It's been a problem at Bethel for years and don't expect it to change just because they have the "best" post in the conference. They'll win their share of games with good shooting, but they'll lose more with the other undesirables. This would drive Hanson, Fritz or any other good coach nuts by Christmas.

[Gregory Sager]

Welcome back, candyman!

[Drake Palmer]

And where's Woody?  I saw that he was signed in on the board over the weekend.    It's safe to come out & post now, Willy Wonka hasn't been around for over a month.
------------------------------

Oops, look like I misspoke & you missed your opportunity Woody!  It would still be nice to have more posters active on the board. 

After returning from a PC imposed hiatus, I'd just like to reiterate the message my fellow Gustie Frank Rickard displays proudly on a t-shirt each time SJU plays BU in football...

Bethel is bad*Seriously, if you refuse to play defense, feed the post or have good player/ball movement, how can you expect to win consistently against even average teams? ...It's been a problem at Bethel for years and don't expect it to change just because they have the "best" post in the conference. They'll win their share of games with good shooting, but they'll lose more with the other undesirables. This would drive Hanson, Fritz or any other good coach nuts by Christmas.

*I fixed your special formatting for you. 

Welcome back as well. How was the food during your exile on Elba Island?  8)

[Gregory Sager]

DP, I was going to ask him if they use smokes for currency in Coleman Penitentiary. Great minds think alike!

[AO]

Does the MIAC still plays 20 conference games?  18 wouldn't be running the table, and based upon the talent of Bethel, I still wouldn't be too surprised by it.  Moberg isn't just a good post in the league, he's head and shoulders above the rest. 

[Willy Wonka]

Moberg isn't just a good post in the league, he's head and shoulders above the rest. 

That's hardly the issue at hand. You could make the same case for Jacobs and, to a lesser extent, Robertson over the last seven years and those guys had to straight beg to even get a handful of touches a game.

Plain and simple, the Bethel mentality seems to avoid passing to anyone in the paint at all costs. You can't even begin to realize how much it pained me to silently watch everyone anoint the Royals as the best in the league these last few weeks

DP - Thanks for fixing the post. Apparently my skills are rusty from the hiatus

[VOJ]

Bethel losing to Morris is not the end of the world for the Royals and their MIAC title hopes.  If you hadn't noticed, the UMAC is not too bad at basketball.  This was supposed to be a tough year for Morris after losing 4 starters and only winning 6 of 14 conference games last year, but that doesn't mean they don't have talent.  From looking at the boxscore Moberg wasn't really in foul trouble until late in the game and probably could have safely played for 30 min versus the 20 that he did play.  It does shock me that the reason Morris won was Phil Allen, but he's definitely a savvy player.

Just don't be surprised when Bethel does win 18 MIAC games this winter.

AO...I just don't see that happening...the league looks topsy turvy this year, I see 16-4 at the most...losses to UST, SJU, GAC and pick a night where the focus isn't there...or Moberg gets into foul trouble, apparently Bethel is a little weak on the boards, that will hurt them starting on Wednesday night

[abominable_snowman]

Sum- I think next week we should ask the posters to recast their Snowman MIAC league standings prediction.  Through the convoluted process of seeing several games,  reading boxscores, knowing a little bit about the game, making some educated assumptions, and making some wild-eyed, comparative scores guesses,  I would suggest the following: 

The more things change, the more things remain the same. 

When the snow finally settles & the sniff of spring thaw is back in the air, UST, GAC & or the Johnnies will once again be standing atop of the league pecking order.  Those teams at least make more than a reasonable attempt at playing good team defense. And if pictures don't lie, at least I saw a photo of Johnnie FY Chris Schwartz driving to the cup.  Not unlike the Royals who seem to be content playing video basketball – one on one, threes & dunks.

Well, I can offer this Holiday Special.  If you want to submit a new standings pick, deadline for season pick part 2 will be the first night of conference play.

For more fun, include final records (before playoffs). 

Speaking of records, winning 18 is pretty unlikely, but how about LOSING 18?

[sumander]

Willie, Good to hear from you! Welcome back.

[Drake Palmer]

...Well, I can offer this Holiday Special.  If you want to submit a new standings pick, deadline for season pick part 2 will be the first night of conference play.

For more fun, include final records (before playoffs). 

Speaking of records, winning 18 is pretty unlikely, but how about LOSING 18?

Thanks for the offer Snow, I might have to take you up on it.

Just to clarify my position on Bethel, I do think they might be the most talented team in the conference.  Only problem is that the new personnel – Otterson, Much etc. they brought in seem to fit the Bethel stereotype of rangy, perimeter oriented marksmen without a nose for the ball, or the inclination to mix it up on the inside.  One, if not both of them, or somebody else needs to become a slasher & attack the basket (along with their much loved jumpers  ), & become a hardnosed defensive stopper - ala Travis Jones of recent years.

It seems the Royals could take a page or two from their football brethren's manual – dig around in the trenches & get after people – offensively & defensively.  Our good title teams of recent years – GAC, UST had that defensive sneer & swagger.  Even for a game last year, the much maligned Oles & Jon Bain had the swagger & intensity & knocked off the highly favored Royals in the playoffs on their home court.

My crystal ball hasn't totally come into focus, but so far it looks like the Royals are co-winners of the regular season title with 3-4 losses, & an upset loss in the playoff semis.  I'll see if my focus improves by next Wednesday. 

[MiacLostProphet]

WOW, a 100-90 loss brings a lot of peoples opinion of Bethel as the outright champion in question.  I myself am surprised and have some doubts too, but mainly because of how well St. Johns has been playing.  Brink is out of his mind, if he keeps it up the sky is the limit for the Johnnies.

I am surprised that Bethel's D is as sketchy as it is.  Isn't Dan Perrel the Defensive Guru of the MIAC.  I mean he did a superb job at Mac, but having BVT in the middle helps a lot as well.  Every team where that man goes they do well, then he journey's to another after his second year.  He even got Hamline into the playoffs his second year there.  I would think that Bethel's D will pick up going into conference play.

St. Thomas has a stud freshman in Tyler Nikolai (spelling?).  I saw him play at Hopkins and he managed the team and played stellar defense.  I think in the next few years he will be a floor general for the Tommies.

Thank you for the help Drake, I'm not the quitting type so I think I'll fit in fine.

[miacfan55]

Willy Wonka and Drake please stop hating on Bethel's football team, because they have beaten you the last two years and are going to beat you in basketball when the time comes. Bethel always seems to struggle definsively early in the year, they always give up lots of points. As for Moberg it will just be a matter of time before he gets in the groove again. You have to realize that Bethel has only 4 players back from last year's team that saw minutes (Madson, Moberg, Laugen, and Reck). Yes they have talent, but it's going to take a few games to get things figured out chemistry wise before they really get in the groove. The Morris loss should wake them up and get them playing at the level where they belong.

[Gregory Sager]

Willy Wonka and Drake please stop hating on Bethel's football team, because they have beaten you the last two years and are going to beat you in basketball when the time comes.

Did I miss a memo? What football team did Drake and Willy play for?