MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[big_shocker]

Went and watched the AUG/SMU game yesterday, and it was actually a close game, though I'm quite sure that both teams will remain at the bottom of the MIAC. SMU appeared to play a lot of streetball style, with their guards trying to do too much, and usually they paid for it by turning the ball over. The reason they won at the end was that one of their guys dribbled down the court on a 3-on-3 and pulled up with the score tied. He hit the shot, AUG lost their momentum, and game over. Too bad, because AUG had come back and made the game interesting.

A few points from the game...

1) These are two of the bottom teams in the conference. Since AUG lost to STO also, it could be a long year for them...

2) However, I really feel that the new coach for AUG is doing a solid job. AUG actually looked as if they were trying to run an offence. The only thing holding them back was that maybe some of their guys might not be the right guys for the system. Their guards are short, and not many guys seem to want to shoot the ball, which is weird because last year, there wasn't a shot any guy on AUG wouldn't take. Plus, I had a chance to chat with a couple AUG players, and they said that they liked the coach (unlike under the Amman reign), and seemed to think he knew what he was doing. AUG might get better as the season wears on...

3) The AUG crowd receives a B+ for effort. They actually had some students cheering, and there was actually some energy in the building. I think it's weird how UST can have an awesome team, with plenty of things to get excited over, and yet, it seems more like a social than a spectator event.

4) One stat I noticed on SMU struck me as interesting:

#34 Terrence Smith......... F..........6'1........250 lbs.

Emphasis on the height/weight.

5) To get some better perspective on this game, I think I will have to see how either team fares against a good MIAC team.

[funbballer]

Shocker......good observations on the Auggie game & the coaching situation.

Give the new coach, Greiss, 2-3 years of solid recruiting and he'll win. He's got a good positive attitude, has the energy needed to build a program and being in the metro, he'll attract players that want to play for a school in the city.

He may not win this year, but stay tuned.   

[Willy Wonka]

Pac Rim - Eckhoff dominated in the post to get easy baskets in the first half. He led the charge in the second half to nearly tie the game before a GAC timeout. Wittwer doesn't start, but came in and put the clamps on him at about the 15 minute mark I think. The bulk of his points after that came from the line.

I didn't check the play-by-play to make that claim, so I can't back it up 100%. However, I'm pretty positive that's how it played out. The Gusties also switched almost all positions against the ball screen, so they ended up with some weird matchups (Kaus on Linz in the post, Sowden on Eckhoff at the top of the key).

Is it Wednesday yet?

[gusties]

how about a random question for the board...

Does Trevor Wittwer have the best verticle in the MIAC?

Is he going to be the best player in the league within two years?

[onearmedscot]

Not sure.  Weaver at UST has some serious ups too.

Secondly, I don't care how animated and theatrical the Asian Sensation wants to be but when it gets in the way of accurately reporting the number of a player to the scorer's table, he needs to be reprimanded.

He called a fould on Stein #40, under the Tommie hoop.  He runs out to the table doing his ugly animated stuff and calls the foul on #50, Bosman.  A quick look at the tape will glowingly highlight his mistake.  I hope he is marked down for it and that we don't have to see his two sizes too small stripes anytime soon.

MAC is playing well, considering they hung with a team that is MUCH MORE athletic.

oAs

[pacific rim]

don't sleep on eckhoff's vertical, either.  they grow them springy up in northern minnesota.

in two years linz, drake, conboy, etc. will all be around.  i think the league can look forward to exciting and inconclusive debates over players' preeminence.

[Pipes]

I was also at the MAC-UST game yesterday and couldn't disagree with TH4L more.  MAC jumped out to an early since they simply outplayed UST, it wasn't that UST didn't want to play any defense.  MAC got the ball inside to Conboy early and then crashed the boards and attacked the basket.  They simply couldn't sustain their energy level due to fouls and a short bench (I konw the Tommies also play a short bench but that is by the coaches decision).

The game really turned with the incorrect foul call on Bosman then him picking up his fourth soon after.  On the same play, Stein went out with an injury and the Tommies took advantage, pushing their lead up to 12-15 or thereabouts.  I will give the Tommies some credit in that they milked the clock and got some open shots when the Scots went into a zone, but I don't really see how you can say the Scots are not a playoff team when they just beat Bethel and are missing two of their top players.  If the Scots can take care of SMU and STO in their next two games, going 3-1 into the break and then hopefully getting Johnson and Liddell back would be in pretty darn good position. 

I also must say that Bosman and Conboy were not outplayed by the Tommy posts.  Shimek didn't do much except took advantage of the smaller Scots when Stein and Bosman were out, and Keating threw up some pretty questionable shots too.  Roosefelt had a solid game, but he only got to the line once.  With his size and athleticism, he should be attacking the rim instead of turnaround jumpers - Conboy did a very good job on him making him take these turnaround shots, yes he made some and I give him credit for that but those types of shots aren't always going to fall.

Sorry for the long post everyone, but I don't think TH4L gives the Scots enough credit for a very solid game they played yesterday, even though shorthanded.

Also, the techinal Coach Kietzer got from the Asian Sensation was the worst call I have ever seen.  He didn't swear, he didn't make any innapropriate gestures or anything like that, he just questioned the call and got T'ed up.

[columbianmaffia]

teen wolf "keto" has some nasty ups...ive seen him hangin on the rim before hes only about 5-9

i like cheetos

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

words I never thought I'd type....I agree with OAS....the Sensatkion shoudl focus on calling the game, not adding flair to his calls. He calls like he went ot the Helen Hayes School of Reffing

Pipes.....Shimek did nothng?? He "only" held Conboy scoreless for the middle 23 minutes of the game.....yeah, thats "nothing" Conboy was a one-manwrecking crew the first 8-10 minutes of the game.

I disagree that the game turned around on the foul you mention...if anything, frmo that pont on, Mac played like that had the first 10 minutes, which was very good.

I was impressed with Stein, and really like llttle Assel....he is gonna be a dominant player and fun to watch for 4 years

Keitzer proabbly didnt earn the "T" on that play, but he was pushing and pushing and pushing the edge.....and his jump from his chair was a bit theatrical (maybe he and Sensation took a drama class togther?  ) He probably should have gotten one earlier, so the "T", non-"T" cancel out

I do agree that it was not a matter of UST not wanting to play D....Mac played beautiful ball in those opening minutes.

Assuming UST gets past Hamline, Weds will be exciting

[big_shocker]

Pac Rim-

Just so you know, being from up north has no advantage on vertical leap. I can speak from experience.  

[big_shocker]

Oh, and one other thing I remembered from the AUG game. During the game, Teen Wolf was met with howls from the home crowd, as if it were a term of endearment. I snickered in the stands, knowing that to me, they were insulting him, although apparently, the AUG crowd has adopted it as a crowd pleasing quality.

Just one thing that was bugging me.

[piperinsider]

With the Mike Koosikas (srory I prolly butchered it) out at CAR, do you they have enough quality guys to be a top 4 team in the MIAC?

Forkrud, Phillips, Drake all fantasic players. Zach Johnson also had a nice game but beyond that not very much. Sharkey is a role player from what I've seen and I don't know much about Jay Melson and Booby Schmitz.

If one of these guys gets in foul trouble, much like Phillps and Drake did on Sat. can they compete with playoff-caliber teams?

Local-
How did Charley Good get his baskets? Only had 3 off. rebounds, so I'm assuming he had a few post moves, which would be a positive.

Tomorrow's game vs UST should be interesting. If DeRock and THrasher play well, I think the Pipers can play with them a bit. I'd say Ike will get his points, focus on Swenney and Schnettler outside.

Going to try to watch part of the game on the webcast. Hopefully the camera work is comparable to masterful job that was displayed duiring the Northwestern game. Still waiting on my $16.50 check.

[Drake Palmer]

 Crazy weekend for hoops!  It was the season opener for high school ball, along with the developing story lines & games in the MIAC.  I was at the Auggie/SMU game as well, & for the most part I agree with your game summary B. Shocker. 

A couple of points I might add:  I might refer to SMU's style of play as "flex with flair" rather than the street ball style you referred to it as.     I felt both teams were fairly disciplined & seemed to switch easily from zone to man offense without taking 3/4s of the shot clock to recognize what defense the other team was in.

Both teams are somewhat small by even D3 standards & had guards at 5-6, 5-8, 5-9, 5-10 etc.  The Auggies also had Devin Rose, a 6-0 200lbs player basically playing one of the post positions, & of course St. Mary's has the aforementioned Smith who is a load in spite of his lack of height.

If both teams can stay the course with their respective coaches, I think they could have promising futures.  St, Mary's seems to have a pipeline to Chi-town  & the many Catholic schools located there.  If they can keep drawing quality student-athletes from Chicago, along with a core of SE MN players they could be competitive at some point in the not so distant future.  I also believe Greiss at Augsburg could have a good story to sell prospective athletes who want to continue their basketball career, & not leave the Twin Cities to do so.

Whodathunk?!?   Good, if not surprising win for the Pipers over Carleton yesterday.  I'm sure there were other factors that entered the picture but one statistic that impressed me from the box score was the # of treys the Pipers shot.  They only attempted nine treys for the entire game & still only managed to make three of them.  In comparison, in the 4 previous games they took 31, 16, 15 & 12 trey attempts. Thus far in this young season, they're shooting a rather anemic 31.8% from beyond the arc.   Also, in the game & a 1/2 I've seen them play this year, I haven't been overly impressed with their shot selection or offense.  To their credit, yesterday it appears they made a conscious decision to use their team speed & athleticism to drive by the larger if not slower, Knights.  Local I'm sure you're pleased with the result.

The Gusties give up 80 points in a win?!? Dang.  Could the genius of Coach Hanson be stealing a page out of the UW-Stout formula for success?  If posters may recall, Stout beat the Tommies in the first game of the season in a track meet OT score of 91-90.  Mebbe Hanson is planning on running the Tommies right on out of Gus Young Court on Wednesday & was getting in practice against the Cobbs.      As others say on the football boards - developing...  

Speaking of developing, I think Eckhoff is finally starting to get loose & is about ready to breakout this season.  I think last year around this same time in December he began to start getting his shooting eye together.

[Drake Palmer]

Damn -  Duke luck runs on!  Dochery hits a 3 just inside the halfcourt line to win at the buzzer 77-75 over VA Tech!

[columbianmaffia]

poopy duke...VT took the lead and my friend said what a great upset and i told him the game was far from over...why do i alway have to be right?