MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[onearmedscot]

Won't the real Trent Perry please stand up, please stand up, please stand up...kid was averaging almost 17 ppg and now is under ten in the MIAC.

The MIAC is a bit whacked right now.  DeRock should be fun to watch for four years. 

oAs

[Drake Palmer]

Justin "for a child shall lead them " Kozlowski leads the Auggies in scoring with 15 points & goes 3-4 from downtown.  He's the player the Auggies have generously listed as 5-6 in their roster.  Nice 1st win Auggies & Coach Griess!!

After I've had a chance to absorb all of the games scores, I'll comment on the UST/HAM game which I attended.  

A brief note - Local I apologize for any of the harsh things I may have said about the Pipers.  If they do not implode, these team could be very dangerous in a short period of time.   They have improved 100% since the last time I saw them play which was just over a week 1/2 ago.  What made their outside threat so tough tonight was that they were legitimately going inside to their "bigs" for a post up & score, or the kickout & reversal.  David Johnson is going to be a player as well as Tony Thrasher & DeMan, oops DeRock.

Mad props to Sean Sweeney!!

[Willy Wonka]

How soon until every team in the league has webcasts like Hamline and St. Marys? It's a VERY cool feature.

DeRock is going to be the man over the coming years. Very fun to watch. The Pipers, as a whole, are weird to me. They jack a lot of threes, their posts are hacks and their offense is pretty stagnant in the half court. They hung right with the Tommies, but were pounded by the Gusties and got edged by Northwestern.

Watching Keating play was extremely disappointing. Sweeney and Schnettler dominate the ball - and played VERY well - and they only seem to go to Ike in the post. Keating and Shimek were very ineffective and didn't seem to touch the ball much in a position to make a play. The Tommies don't defend on the perimeter very well either.

As long as they keep winning, I'm sure these close games are good for UST. If I'm Fritz, I'd be a little concerned that my team is just sliding by right now though. I expect them to play much better on Wednesday. They'd better, or a tough GAC team who's playing pretty well may be more than they can handle on the road with talent alone.

How bad is BU? Olaf beat Aug by 20 on the road and then AUG goes into BU and beats them by 3. Do we spot the Royals 25 when Koz comes to town??

[BETHEL34]

Tough stuff for Bethel to digest, losing at home to the baby eagles.  Don't need to say much, except that some bad coaching or bad defense in the last min killed any chance Bethel had in the end.  Bethel down one with 50+ secs left with 2 fouls to give start hacking and put Augsburg at the line for one and one situation with 18 secs left.  Instead of playing good straight up D for 35 secs they start hacking (looked intentional).  Just doesn't make sense to me.  Augsburg went 4 for 4 down the stretch and Tyson had a three at the buzzer to send it to overtime and just missed.  Bethel better figure something out, or it is going to be a long long season.  

3M... Let's be honest... "MAC beat BET reasonably bad."  Were you at the game?!  Bethel was up by 1 with 7 mins left, and down 4 with 3 mins left.  THey had 3 Three's missed in the last 3 mins to get within 1... Sorry, but that is not beating up on a team badly.  Just because you hit a bunch of meaningless ft's at the end of a game to put you up ten, doens't make it a beating.  

[Freebird]

good point 34, what do you think about going for the quick two with 18 seconds left instead of shooting the three?  I felt like we should have shot the three with 10 seconds to go and still would have had time to get the rebound and take another one if there was a miss.

4) Besides, MAC beat BET reasonably bad.

you clearly didn't go to the game if you are going to say that.  MAC played good D/we missed almost every shot and MAC won at home.  There wasn't anything reasonably bad about that.

[Russian Mig AK47]

UST/HAM -- I am positive that HAM has improved significantly over the last 2 years, but before we jump on their bandwagon remember that they ALWAYS play UST tough at home.  I think we lost there the last 3 years in a row before this year. So, it is not all that suprising that it was a close game.  I am a broken record, but, UST starters are going to run out of gas toward the end of the season if they continue to play 38-40 minutes a game.  UST outrebounded by 10 (35-25) in this game, unacceptable with their frontcourt.  Should be a great game this week down in St. Peter, if I was a betting man I would say it will be less than a 5 point game... I am going to go call my bookie right now.

[columbianmaffia]

Foster had a nice block tonight, but he's absolutely awful.

nuff said bout that

also
WW i hear your car broke down...i might get some pegs on my bike if you wanna buck a ride to a game or 2 

also
forkrud is the man

also
thats all i got i didnt make it to any games again tonight but word on the street is someone said "TOES" during the SJU CAR game and it caused a player to miss a free throw

[big_shocker]

Hey, both MAC and BU have lost two games. All I said was that they were both doing poorly. Never said, "MAC and BU are at the same level." Just thought I'd clarify what I actually said.

SMU and GAC now tied for the second place in the conference? Never thought I'd see the day...

[Pipes]

Stat of the week for the Scots -

Vs. UST 6-9 from 3

@ SMU 6-21 from 3

I will say that MAC usually plays pretty poorly down in Winona, but check out last years box score.  The team even shot well in that gym.

http://www.macalester.edu/athletics/mbasketball/stats05/0129-smu.htm

If the Scots continue to shoot 6-21 from 3, I'll agree with TH4L that they are not a playoff team.  They can still win shooting 30% from three, but that needs to be on 8-12 shots rather than 20-25 from 3.

[piperinsider]

I know this has been said before (Including Mig-47 a few posts ago), but how does a front court of two 6-6 players and one 6-8 player get outrebounded by a three-guard offense?

Is it hussle or do they just really miss Neal Anderson?

HAM never plays well against GAC. For some reason, we can never beat those guys. The one time we actually led, Wonka and Co. put a second-half beating on the Pipes.

I'll never forget the elbow Derek Nelson received from Charley Good. Ouch.

One good thing about the MIAC right now is parity. Anybody can win on any given night.

[localcoach]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any games last night, so I appreciate all of the recaps that other posters have provided.   

Instead I looked at the official box scores and thought I would throw some numbers out there.

1) Brendan Bosman has 18 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause for MAC.  He has played well this season, while transfer Andy Stein has been average.

2) Saint Mary's gets production from yet another starter, this time it's Mr. Batterman who scored 22 points and led the way.  SMU @ Concordia on Wed. might be a more interesting matchup then at first glance. 

3) Kudos to Craig Schafer of St. John's who continues to impress with his production.  Last night has scores 9 points and gets 11 rebounds.  The Johnnies are winning the games they should and have a nice 3-1 record.  I do however find it interesting that they are winning this year for the most part with the same players from last season and not the transfers that came in during the summer.

4) Bethel blows a double-digit halftime lead and loses to Augsburg.  A friend of mine attended this game and said that Coach Greiss did a nice coaching job in the second half.  I see that Bethel once again lived and in this case, died, by the 3-pointer (9-28) which was almost half of their total shots.  Andy Cook with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.  Why can't he be inserted into the starting line-up?

5) Hamline has an impressive showing against St. Thomas.  I too was able to catch part of the webcast and the first thing I noticed was the play of Isaac Rosefelt.  He appears to have gotten stronger and is now finishing plays consistently above the rim like he's capable of.  His line of 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers was stellar!  Sweeney however was the man down the stretch, much like I remember him being in high school for Cretin.  I see he's sporting a shaved head this season.  It has been noted that Keating didn't fare well last night, however he only took 5 shots.  I think part of that was good defense by the Pipers, who actually committed less fouls then usual.  The freshman duo of DeRock and Thrasher will be fun to watch for the next four years. 

6) That leaves Wednesday's matchup of UST and GAC.  I wish I could attend, but I have a previous commitment.  I will be sure and make the second go around.  I will offer a prediction of St. Thomas winning by 3 or 4 points down the stretch.  After watching Sweeney play last night, and knowing the capabilities of Schnettler, they will come through in the clutch.  The only thing that makes me question my pick is will Rosefelt come to play like he did against the Pipers last night?  If so, I feel confident with the Tommies.

[miacwatchmen]

3)   I do however find it interesting that they are winning this year for the most part with the same players from last season and not the transfers that came in during the summer.

Leiser, westman, Fogt, and Kincade. All are transfers and all get minutes. I think Leiser and Westman make significant contributions to the team and Fogt and Kincade get important playing time too. I agree that the players from last year are helping alot but without Leiser and Westman especially this would be a different team with a different record.

If SJU hadn't had Fogt and Kincade to go to last night when the Schafers each picked up two fouls what would they have done?? If they went to a 4 guard lineup they would have gotten killed inside. Fogt and Kincade offer a great aid from the bench and have the ability to score as well. The transfers provide starters and they add depth to SJU's bench.

[Drake Palmer]

DeRock is going to be the man over the coming years. Very fun to watch. The Pipers, as a whole, are weird to me. They jack a lot of threes, their posts are hacks and their offense is pretty stagnant in the half court. They hung right with the Tommies, but were pounded by the Gusties and got edged by Northwestern.

Willy, compared to the last game I saw Hamline play against NW, their ball movement was much improved, which resulted in better shot selection & FG %.  The Hamline posts actually took over a third to 40% of the shots last night which opened it up on the perimeter.

Northwestern runs a similar style of motion, equal opportunity offense (with less talented players) as the Gusties which makes it really difficult to zone in on one particular player & try to stop him. (That's a left handed compliment by the way)  UST comes at you with a bludgeon & sickle & challenges you to stop them.  The latter is a little easier to defend if you have the horses which Hamline does.

Watching Keating play was extremely disappointing. Sweeney and Schnettler dominate the ball - and played VERY well - and they only seem to go to Ike in the post. Keating and Shimek were very ineffective and didn't seem to touch the ball much in a position to make a play. The Tommies don't defend on the perimeter very well either.

I think the Tommies & Keating are still learning to adjust to each other & Fritz's style.  Prior to last night Keating was 3rd on the team in FG attempts & in points scored at 12.8 PPG.  As you know Keating only took 5 shots last night.  The way the Tommies kept running their high screen & roll I think they spotted something in their scouting report which made them keep running it all night long & continually force the ball inside to Rosefelt.

Personally, I believe they need to open it up & get their other big scorers involved i.e. Keating, Shimek.  Mike Keating just wants to win, & will do whatever it takes to win, period. If that means only taking 5 shots so be it.  If you look at the stats you'll notice he's second on the team in assists.  

The other game factor was that Hamline kept pressuring the ball up on top in an attempt to force a TO from Sweeney or Schnettler.  This resulted in either a feed to Rosefelt down low or the one of those two would hit the J & make the Pipers pay.

Willy sez - The Tommies don't defend on the perimeter very well either.

Their defense could stand improvement, but I can recall at least three different times DeRock would be dribbling the ball down the court, or in their half court set he would stop & pop the J, or the trey.  Those are tough shots to defend.  Then late in the 2nd half when the Pipes went small & they had Thrasher playing a post, Rosefelt was late getting out the ball & Thrasher would hit a trey.

I would most definitely agree with Ak47's broken record tune of – "the Tommies need to develop their bench."  Last night it appeared that Weaver was the designated Iron Man off the bench.  It seems Weaver got all the 6th man minutes from Peterson who got in all of what - a minute?!?  I think Fritz comes from the Jerry Sloan school of thought & keeps his substitutions to a minimum.  I believe this approach definitely hurts the Tommies as witnessed by last year's performance against the Gusties in the championship game.   No chance to play in regular games, then all of a sudden throw the kid out in the biggest game of the year, & then proceed to go red in the face & apoplectic when the player doesn't perform.

With regard to the rebounding situation.  Ike still has a tendency to jump first, box 2nd & was pushed off the ball a couple of different times.  Also, for much of the 2nd half Shimek was on the bench which negated some of their rebounding strength.  As maligned as Foster has been on this board, the kid is a good rebounder & averages just under 8 boards a game. The rest of his game maybe hack-"neyed" but he can go grab a  board. DeRock at 6-2 has got some upps & is the 2nd leading rebounder for the Pipers. In his last game against Carleton I think he had NINE rebounds & 6 against UST.
 
Willy sez...I expect them to play much better on Wednesday. They'd better, or a tough GAC team who's playing pretty well may be more than they can handle on the road with talent alone.

Ahem, what was the score last Saturday against the Cobbs?  I also believe one Olowokandi poster   8) said - "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."

[Drake Palmer]

3)   I do however find it interesting that they are winning this year for the most part with the same players from last season and not the transfers that came in during the summer.

Leiser, westman, Fogt, and Kincade. All are transfers and all get minutes. I think Leiser and Westman make significant contributions to the team and Fogt and Kincade get important playing time too. I agree that the players from last year are helping alot but without Leiser and Westman especially this would be a different team with a different record.

If SJU hadn't had Fogt and Kincade to go to last night when the Schafers each picked up two fouls what would they have done?? If they went to a 4 guard lineup they would have gotten killed inside. Fogt and Kincade offer a great aid from the bench and have the ability to score as well. The transfers provide starters and they add depth to SJU's bench.

Unless I'm reading the boxscore wrong, Westman didn't play (stress fracture foot out til end of December right?) &  Fogle & Kincaide totaled 11 minutes between the two of them.

Leiser certainly has made a big impact but, I think the point Local was making holds up. With the exception of Leiser, it's the players from last year's squad that are out there doing it.

[onearmedscot]

I think the Pioneer Press is having a writing contest for those that like to write columns!!   

oAs