MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Funballer sez:
OK girls, you done pissing & moaning now?     Let's talk some basketball and forget about the "what ifs" scenarios. Geez, that's 3 months down the road.

There are some interesting matchups and dogfights going on today...let's talk about those.

1.  Can/will Eckhoff prove he's this stud everyone thinks he is (everyone else's words, not his) and see what he can produce vs the Gusties 'D'?

If past history is any indication, I think the Big E is going to struggle against the Gusties.  Does this mean he's a flop?  Nah, just that GAC plays some serious D against most teams.  It's when they play the big, brawny & "smart" teams that the Gusties face their greatest challenges i.e. Lawrence, UW-SP etc.  

2.  Can/will Conboy produce big time vs UST and their inside strength and muscle? (Shimek will wear him down if he doesn't get in foul trouble.)

This ought to be a "good un."  Tommy C. Singular vs the Tommies Plural. For me, it'll probably be a game time decision which game I check out  - Tommies/Mac or the obligatory annual visit to the Auggies' dawg pound.

3.  It would be fun to watch the potential foul-infested brawl with Carleton & Hamline. Too bad Kootsikas is out...he'd lay some lumber on those HU boys.

Another interesting match up.  Will Wohler play the entire bench, plus the team managers & coaches in an attempt to wear out the short bench of Carleton's?  My guess is that Forkrud & company have their way with the Pipers.

4.  Will Koz continue to be a "no-show" for STO? Meaning, I'm assuming they've won because the team made him stay home. Or, will he show up, try to coach, and cost the Oles their next win?

No opinion ....yet.  

5.  Can the Auggies break out of their scoring slump and put together some points to knock of SMU? SMU apparently played well vs WSU....are they better than we think?  (remember, WSU knocked a good UMD team a couple of weeks ago)

As I mentioned earlier, I'm torn between choosing this game or the MAC/UST tilt.  We'll see.
___________________________________________________________________
Nice sparring match Greg & AK47.   I'm reminded of the lyrics of an old school song most of you are too young to know which went - ...helmets shining in the sun, polished as precise like the brain behind the gun (should be)

The older poster with a mind like a steel trap wins a convincing three round decision against the promising, young contender.   I believe Ak begrudgingly conceded defeat when he scowled at Wonka & said -

Memo to Willy -- Go make chocolate bars if you have nothing more meaningful to write than a defense for someone who obviously doesn't need one.  Oh, and we clearly have different views on what constitutes someone being a "chump."  

[columbianmaffia]

AK47
a kid i know that goes to FSU, his roomate is datin that girl...lucky him huh

funball
there is nothin wrong with a night of wine and cheese but i would much rather have a night with jack daniels, a girl and a can of ready whip

i like tacos

[3m71578]

UST barely beats MAC

[3m71578]

HAM beats CAR; at CAR!!

[miacwatchmen]

SJU over STO 86-69.  Overall well played game for the Johnnies. Ohme led them with 23 and C. Schafer had 20.  SJU jumped out to a 15-20 point lead right away. STO came withing 10 with 4 minutes to at the end with the SJU backups in but the starters came back and pulled it away again.

[funbballer]

Like I said......Koz should have stayed home, or least remained on the bus.   

Willy....what's with all the GAC TO's?  Eckhoff drops 34 against the GAC "D"??    

Big win for Wohler; haven't seen the box score so don't know how many free throws were shot. (thought there might  be 50-60!)

[TommieHoops4Life]

Tommies beat Macalester 72-68, but the Scots only got 68 because Conboy heaved a shot from near half court that went in to end the game. Both teams came out strong and played well in the early minutes. Mac led by as many as 10 in the first half, seemed at the time like UST didn't feel like playing much defense. Tommies went on a run with inside play and led at halftime thanks to a full-court press that completely confused Mac. UST stepped up big in the second half, and as much as people want to rip on Sweeney, he hit some absolutely huge shots in late in the game and was on fire. Conboy and Bosman completely disappeared from the game in the second half thanks to the defense of Ike and Shimek. Schnettler shot well, despite getting clocked in the face in the second half. Tommies won by four, but it should have been much more. Nate Assel definitely has potential in the league, and Conboy has a shotput for a free throw shot. The ugliest shot of the day award goes to Jesse Hollerand of Macalester. UST commits a foul early in the second half with four left on the shot clock. Apparently Hollerand wasn't aware of it and hurled up a double-clutch prayer from a few feet inside halfcourt, and somehow it went in. Macalester is not a playoff team if today is any indication. They don't have strong enough guard play to afford to have Bosman and Conboy get outplayed like they did. Conboy had 19 largely because of FT's. Tommies aren't looking past their road trip to Hamline Monday (they lost there last year) but the game of the week is at Gustavus Wednesday night. WW, I'll come down for the game, sounds like Patty's? email me please.

[localcoach]

Well I made the trip to Northfield with a few friends today for Carleton and Hamline.  It was quite an entertaining ball game.  As has been posted, Hamline won 81-75. 

Let me start by saying that Hamline was up by 16 midway through the second half, something that not too many of us probably expected to happen.  They really played well today.  Freshman Jon DeRock was anything but, as he finished with a game high 22 points, and 9 rebounds and 6 assists.  None of the Knights could stop him from getting to the basket when he wanted to.  The message board's favorite love to hate player, or so it seems lately, Kyle Foster, came off the bench to score 9 points and a game high 13 rebounds. 

Overall the key seemed to be Hamline pushing the ball offensively and tiring out the Knights.  HU also outrebounded Carleton 43-25, including 17 offensive.  Dan Forkrud played well for the Knights, finishing with a team high 20 points.  Tommy Drake fouled out late in the game and finished with 11.

Team fouls were surprisingly even, with HU having 22 and Carleton 19.

Who would have expected Carleton to start the conference slate 0-2?  One thing I will add is that Carleton is not a deep team and that was shown today.  Jake Phillips picked up 3 fouls in the first half and that hurt Carleton when he had to sit down. 

It will be interesting to see how this up and down Hamline team fares against St. Thomas on Monday.

By the way, how did I get -2 karma?  And how do you give or take away karma from another poster?

[kel_varnsen]

All around, it was a very sloppy game at Gus Young today. Both teams lost way too many possessions to errant passes. Concordia didn't start playing defense until fifteen minutes into the game. If Gustavus had been executing better early, it could have been out of hand in a hurry. Nonetheless, they held as big as a 16 point lead in the first half. Concordia primarily ran pick-and-rolls to isolate Eckhoff. He scored plenty of points, but Gustavus forced plenty of turnovers and bad shots from it. For the most part, it was a "a win is a win" game.

[scoo8b]

Yeah, the Auggies lost in a close one...

[Willy Wonka]

The Gustie game was sloppy today. GAC got any shot it wanted in the first half and made everything, but couldn't get a stop to save its life and turned the ball over a lot. The Cobbers crept back in before the Gusties slammed the door. It was their first good, close game of the season and I imagine they needed it with UST coming in Wednesday.

A few comments on the game:

Hollerich's validation failed. Eckhoff's shot was absolutely awful (1-5 from deep, including an open air-board), but he's an extremely heady player. He constantly went into the post and drove around people to draw contact. It wasn't until Wittwer was put on him in the middle of the second half that they slowed him down.

Speaking of which...Wittwer is going to be an absolute monster over the next three years. His length is unbelievable. I bet he had 5-7 tipped passes today besides his three steals. And he shot 6-7 to lower his FG% to 92 on the year. With his crazy vert, he needs to board more.

Kaus also played extremely well. He doesn't help on the boards and he got shot over a number of times on defense, but he's a much more well rounded player than I was expecting. He's one of four Gusties shooting over 50% from deep on the year.

GAC needs Stein to stay out of foul trouble, especially next game. He can be a force, but not on the bench. Getting outrebounded by 10 is a byproduct of playing a big team, having Stein on the bench and putting your "4" out guarding on the perimeter. It can't happen against UST or they are toast.

With Linz playing extremely well, the Cobbs don't miss Soren much at all. However, they don't have another perimeter player who can create besides Eckhoff. He couldn't do that today and putting him in the post clogged it up and they don't seem to have another threat to keep the floor spread.

Dixon played very well today. He seems to have channelled his psycho energy into a productive output. He still did some woofing, but he deserved to after putting up 16 and 10. Six TOs don't help the cause though.

Off to bed.

[pacific rim]

thanks for the recap willy.

looking at the box score, i believe that is the first half concordia has won over gustavus in at least four years.  scoring 80 pointsat gustavus is also another step forward.  perhaps concordia can play that intense, somewhat focused brand of basketball necessary for assailing league front-runners.

willy, those six turnovers almost give dixon a triple-double.

keith eckhoff is maybe the most effective maneuverer in the miac.  he has a triple pivot-pump fake combo that loses everyone; including wittwer, i'm willing to guarantee.  with 21 points in the second half it looks like regardless of when wittwer was matched up on him, he didn't slow down too much.

[KnightsArmor]

TH4L...

The ugliest shot of the day award goes to Jesse Hollerand of Macalester. UST commits a foul early in the second half with four left on the shot clock. Apparently Hollerand wasn't aware of it and hurled up a double-clutch prayer from a few feet inside halfcourt, and somehow it went in. Macalester is not a playoff team if today is any indication. They don't have strong enough guard play to afford to have Bosman and Conboy get outplayed like they did.

Hey at least get the kid's name right, Jesse Hollander from Katmandu, Nepal. After all you are a journalist/reporter, right?  And MAC led by at least 12 (20-8) midway throught the first half.  Get your facts staight, jeez!  The game was closer than I expected, given UST's superior talent.  MAC kept it close with some improbable play, like Hollander's trey, and superior coaching. MAC can edge into the playoffs after their two guards (Johnson and Liddell) return.

[piperinsider]

I love opening the paper to a you've goota be kidding me.

Pipes over the Carls. Much more later.

Patty's before GAC/UST- I'm in. Soaps- didn't really need directions, just knew Wonka had driven that route a few times.

God bless high school games not being on Wednesdays.

[columbianmaffia]

local
you click the word aplaud or smite to give or take karma right under the persons name

i didnt make it to any games this weekend cuz its too hard to roller skate in snow...im trying to invent a jet pack to make my travels a little faster