MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Buddo]

After checking with a few sources, apparently that is indeed Concordia's SID that wrote that.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I'm pretty sure Mr Cella was attempting to satirize the game notes of the UST SID. Still, it does come across snarky and sophomoric. Although I do wish it was UST's 118h conference win in a row!

[Drake Palmer]

I'm pretty sure Mr Cella was attempting to satirize the game notes of the UST SID. Still, it does come across snarky and sophomoric. Although I do wish it was UST's 118h conference win in a row!

If that's the case, I'm guessing he left the typos & erroneous facts in to make it appear an intern wrote the article.  Nice cover.   

[papahoops]

Looks like the Oles had a bit of a hangover after their 102 point win versus Hamline on Wednesday as they score only 18 in the first half versus MAC today. St. Olaf recovers nicely in the scond half and escape with a 57-53 win. I haven't always been a fan of Bobby Fong's game, but must give him kudos today. Although only 6-16 overall from the field, he was 3-6 in treys and a perfect 8-8 at the line, giving the Oles a much needed offensive spark today when Koz's squad sorely needed it.

[papahoops]

I was just getting ready to puff out my chest and do some smack talking on the pickum board and claim a perfect selection week for papahoops. Just to be sure, I checked the Bethel web site and was surprised to see results of the Royals' first MIAC win over the Cobbers 81-77 (no one saw this one coming).  After knocking on the door the past couple of games, Bethel finally knocks down the door. 

As for miacmaiac's claims earlier in the week that the Cobbers should be considered on par with Carleton/Gustavus..... well I guess he had too much chicken that day and it influenced his thought process

[TheSuperfan]

Clearly, the game of the day went from an "easy" pick to a huge upset as Bethel beats the Cobbers. Looking at the box score, only Olmscheid showed up for Concordia as he netted 30.  Also notable, the Cobs dropped to a frosty 35.5 shooting % in the second half to help Bethel in the win.

Pipes were able to let the Cardinals have the halftime lead but to my delight turned it up in the second half to coast to a 85-66 victory. Dismal shooting in the second half from Mary's (27%) and another great performance by "The Nasty One" with another double-double (23 pts, 16 boards) led to the win. Slightly troubling this year, my pipes need to be more selective on their 3pt attempts going 4-14 from beyond the arch (29%) with the help of Mr. Oregon going 0-4.

I'm gonna need to find myself some lucky chicken when the Tommies come to Hutton on Monday. 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I was at Si Melby yesterday. If you wanted to see the definition of "frigid shooting", SJU put on a great display of it in the second half. A nice assortment of airballs, clangs off the rim, bad tip-in attempts, and just plain bad shots.  30% from the floor and 11% from 3-pt range. SJU looked listless and bland on the court and at times looked like they didnt want to be out there. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm from the Augs bench and players was a stark contrast to the morgue-like pall that hung over the visitors.

If SJU continues to sleepwalk like they did yesterday, they will not only finish behind Cord and not only miss the playoffs but could drop to 9th, 10th or lower. With the excess of talent on that roster, there is no way they should be lower than 3rd....but right now they need to close the season 8-4 to slip into the playoffs. Any thoughts of winning the conference are purely mathematical, as they'd need to run the table and get a ton of help. 

Nice to see Bethel finally crack the W column. Maybe they can bounce back to where they are used to being.

Kind of sad to see the once-perennial powers slide downhill.

[Drake Palmer]

I was at Si Melby yesterday. If you wanted to see the definition of "frigid shooting", SJU put on a great display of it in the second half. A nice assortment of airballs, clangs off the rim, bad tip-in attempts, and just plain bad shots.  30% from the floor and 11% from 3-pt range. SJU looked listless and bland on the court and at times looked like they didnt want to be out there. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm from the Augs bench and players was a stark contrast to the morgue-like pall that hung over the visitors.

If SJU continues to sleepwalk like they did yesterday, they will not only finish behind Cord and not only miss the playoffs but could drop to 9th, 10th or lower. With the excess of talent on that roster, there is no way they should be lower than 3rd....but right now they need to close the season 8-4 to slip into the playoffs. Any thoughts of winning the conference are purely mathematical, as they'd need to run the table and get a ton of help. 

Nice to see Bethel finally crack the W column. Maybe they can bounce back to where they are used to being.

Kind of sad to see the once-perennial powers slide downhill.

Dang – Mose breaking out the gospel of hoopsology and telling it like it is. Preach on bro! 

I'm with you -this year's version of the Johnnies is an absolute mystery to me.  And what I don't understand is that they had such a terrific non-conference season.  It's been so long ago that many people may have forgotten that the Johnnies upset a nationally ranked DII team back in November - St. Cloud State.
***
I took in the game at the Leonard Center yesterday & watched Mac play the Oles.  STO 57- 53 MAC.  Until Pierce Peters got into foul trouble early in the 3nd half, the Scots were brewing a nice little upset over St. Olaf.  He is a very, very nice player.  It took awhile for STO to adjust to Mac's overall team speed & even forced the Oles to play zone & sub in some quicker players.  Mac's Coach Whittle is starting to put some nice players together & seems to be one legit post player away from being very competitive in the MIAC. As I've said before, Soph post Andy Bowman does a nice job on both sides of the ball but he just cannot close or finish his shots.  Too bad.

On the other end of the court - talent wise, I think the Oles have definitely moved into the "haves" end of the scale.  Although they are younger, in terms of total talent & depth, I think the Oles might have as much talent as Gustavus, UST, & the Johnnies. Outside of UST, they might have had the best recruiting class in the MIAC this year – nice, young players.  However, as with the Johnnies, the plot line will be if they can turn that talent into wins.  Fortunately for the Oles, the athletic, but streaky shooting JR Bobby Fong was "on" yesterday & was able to help lead the STO to victory.  He scored 21 points & was 3-6 from the 3 pt line. I'd like to see what he could do if they took a few shackles off their offense & turned him loose a bit.
***
A couple of observations on the GAC-CARL game/wrestling match. GAC won 56-51. Sounds like it was a grizzly vs. mountain lion type of game -a physical, snarling, defensive scrum.    Carleton put up their usual number of trey attempts around 15 per game & made 6 of them while the Gusties only took TWO 3-pt FGA attempts all game! Plus, Gustavus nearly doubled up Carleton on the boards 35-20.

[papahoops]

If SJU continues to sleepwalk like they did yesterday, they will not only finish behind Cord and not only miss the playoffs but could drop to 9th, 10th or lower. With the excess of talent on that roster, there is no way they should be lower than 3rd....but right now they need to close the season 8-4 to slip into the playoffs. Any thoughts of winning the conference are purely mathematical, as they'd need to run the table and get a ton of help. 

I take it you are not applying for the SJU SID job in the near future Mose Given what a big fan you have been of the Johnnies, I am surprised you have turned so negative

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

If SJU continues to sleepwalk like they did yesterday, they will not only finish behind Cord and not only miss the playoffs but could drop to 9th, 10th or lower. With the excess of talent on that roster, there is no way they should be lower than 3rd....but right now they need to close the season 8-4 to slip into the playoffs. Any thoughts of winning the conference are purely mathematical, as they'd need to run the table and get a ton of help. 

I take it you are not applying for the SJU SID job in the near future Mose Given what a big fan you have been of the Johnnies, I am surprised you have turned so negative

not unless Kims opens a branch in St Joe... thats just too far away from my chicken 

[Buddo]

Kind of sad to see the once-perennial powers slide downhill.

I can understand being sad if you are an alumnus... but otherwise, why would you want to see the same old teams enjoying success? Parity is good.

[TheSuperfan]

Kind of sad to see the once-perennial powers slide downhill.

I can understand being sad if you are an alumnus... but otherwise, why would you want to see the same old teams enjoying success? Parity is good.

Speaking of parity, it would be nice if the Tommies could have some and lose a game. Preferably Monday night to be more specific... 

[piperinsider]

Kind of sad to see the once-perennial powers slide downhill.

I can understand being sad if you are an alumnus... but otherwise, why would you want to see the same old teams enjoying success? Parity is good.

Speaking of parity, it would be nice if the Tommies could have some and lose a game. Preferably Monday night to be more specific...  

"Do you believe in miracles? YES!" Hamline 92, St. Thomas 79! Hamline last beat the Tommies in a 78-64 win at home on December 4, 2006.

[TheSuperfan]

My dreams have come true! The Pipers beat St Thomas in yet another offensive battle. Surprisingly, the Pipers won partly because they out shot the Tommies from behind the arch.

St Thomas: 5-19 3pt fg
Hamline: 12-21 3pt fg

To go along with that, the Pipers shot an impressive 61% from the field in the game. As expected, Nicolai had some key threes to keep the Tommies in the game, but they couldn't keep it up. Drake would say the "Bad Teddy" showed up tonight as he fouled out with 2 pts, 3 to's, and 4 assits.


Hamline was paced by Player of the Week, Carl Hipp, with 20 points, 15 boards, and 4 blocks. Pannell chipped in 17 hitting 5 of his 7 threes.

In other news, it was nice to see the Johnnies get a win as Burtzel got his 1,000th point. Now St. Mary's is looking in a rut...

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Hats off to Hamline. I was worried about this one, as UST has trouble in Hutton Arena as far back as I can remember. The Pipers shot the lights out, and were lethal from three-point range. The battles in the paint, particularly between Hipp & Hannon, were intense and fun to watch.  The refs were horrible, but not in any manner that altered the outcome. They missed a lot things both ways and made some "interesting" calls, again both ways. The play of Parnell, Gullickson (isnt that a tennis player's name?), and Campbell was the key to HU's success. IMO, Hipp was not as big a factor in the outcome as his stats line would imply and I've been a fan of the big man for 4 years. The lights out shooting of Pernal and Gullickson as well as clutch play by Campbell, sparked the Pipers and spelled the difference.

PI-- trivia question to cool your jets some   -- When was the last time HU won at the UST campus? (HINT-- none of today's players were born but Smitty was coaching at USJ)

I knew I shoulda left the office earlier and had my Kim's chicken