MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[carletonsid]

At 4-7 in the conference the Jays still have a shot at the playoffs, but my guess is that they'll need to go at least 6-3 over the last nine games to have a chance.  

It's taken 11-9 to get into the playoffs the last 3 years, but St. Olaf made it at 9-11 four years ago (and then beat Bethel in the opening round). In 2005 and 2006, 10-10 made it, and in 2004 UST made it at 9-11. So maybe 6-3 over the final nine games would do it, but wouldn't be surprised to see some ties in there, either. SJU really helped themselves not only by winning, but sweeping the season series. That always helps in tiebreakers.

I do like SJU's schedule in that they have Carleton and UST at home, with their two toughest road games at St. Olaf and Gustavus. I think Saturday's game at Skoglund is almost a must win, though, because if they lost the J's would need to go 6-2 the rest of the way, which would mean no slip-ups at home (Concordia and Augsburg), taking care of business on the road (Bethel, Mac and SMU) and beating one of the top 3.

I think the battle for the top two seeds and the final spot are going to be very interesting.

[Drake Palmer]

Alright one last post - Here it is 4:30PM the day after the Bethel SMU game & still no boxscore?!?    Typical Bethel. 

From the MIAC website you can can't even direct link to their basketball website page.

[Drake Palmer]

At 4-7 in the conference the Jays still have a shot at the playoffs, but my guess is that they’ll need to go at least 6-3 over the last nine games to have a chance. 

It's taken 11-9 to get into the playoffs the last 3 years, but St. Olaf made it at 9-11 four years ago (and then beat Bethel in the opening round). In 2005 and 2006, 10-10 made it, and in 2004 UST made it at 9-11. So maybe 6-3 over the final nine games would do it, but wouldn't be surprised to see some ties in there, either. SJU really helped themselves not only by winning, but sweeping the season series. That always helps in tiebreakers.

I do like SJU's schedule in that they have Carleton and UST at home, with their two toughest road games at St. Olaf and Gustavus. I think Saturday's game at Skoglund is almost a must win, though, because if they lost the J's would need to go 6-2 the rest of the way, which would mean no slip-ups at home (Concordia and Augsburg), taking care of business on the road (Bethel, Mac and SMU) and beating one of the top 3.

I think the battle for the top two seeds and the final spot are going to be very interesting.

It will be very interesting to follow the fortunes of the Johnnies among the other contenders for the 6th spot.

Rumor mill has it that another Redbird has clipped wings.

[Buddo]

Drake, there's no way Olmschied goes over Palmer for 1st team MIAC!! How could you leave out a kid that leads the conf. in scoring and is second in rebounding?

[miacsuperfan]

Drake, there's no way Olmschied goes over Palmer for 1st team MIAC!! How could you leave out a kid that leads the conf. in scoring and is second in rebounding?

Is he hurt?  He was not listed in Wednesday's boxscore vs. Bethel.   

[Drake Palmer]

What, lured out of the cowboy retirement home to defend my good name and the prestigious (not exactly) Palmer MIAC Mid-Year Awards?     

Drake, there's no way Olmschied goes over Palmer for 1st team MIAC!! How could you leave out a kid that leads the conf. in scoring and is second in rebounding?

1) You're about a week late to the conversation. 

2) Its the Palmer awards, not the Buddo awards.

3)  My stats show Palmer at 2nd in both scoring & rebounding.

4) At the time the mythical awards were distributed, the Cobbs were in a playoff spot. Your Redbirds were turning into Snow birds, rapidly falling out of playoff contention and heading south for the winter.

In fact, the way Palmer (did not play) and other SMU hoopers played against Bethel the other night, my guess is they've already set up the old camper on South Padre island in Texas.

5) My man Pierce Peters at Macalester is having a fantastic year on a competitive, but bad Mac team. Peters is 4th in scoring at 16.1 ppg, 9th in rebounding at 6.6 rpg, & 2nd in blocked shots at nearly two blocks per game 1.73.  You don't see him listed on the first team do you?

[Drake Palmer]

I'll put this one out there and mebbe we can get some nibbles next week.

Lets' say the MIAC had a post season all-star game.  And let's say these were the two primary teams:  which team would win? 


Purple team
Forward Carl Hipp SR–Hamline
PG Tyler Nicolai SR– St. Thomas
SF Darrin Olmscheid SR – Concordia
W Jeremy Sutherland SR – Carleton
2G Alex Healy SR – St. Thomas

Black team

Forward Chris Palmer SO– St. Marys
Forward Aaron Burtzel SR – St. Johns
PG- Dan Schmidtknecht SR – Gustavus
SF Mike Campbell-JR - Hamline
W Bobby Fong JR – St. Olaf
2G Phil Wirtjes SR – Gustavus

[carletonsid]

I'll put this one out there and mebbe we can get some nibbles next week.

Lets' say the MIAC had a post season all-star game.  And let's say these were the two primary teams:  which team would win? 


Purple team
Forward Carl Hipp SR–Hamline
PG Tyler Nicolai SR– St. Thomas
SF Darrin Olmscheid SR – Concordia
W Jeremy Sutherland SR – Carleton
2G Alex Healy SR – St. Thomas

Black team

Forward Chris Palmer SO– St. Marys
Forward Aaron Burtzel SR – St. Johns
PG- Dan Schmidtknecht SR – Gustavus
SF Mike Campbell-JR - Hamline
W Bobby Fong JR – St. Olaf
2G Phil Wirtjes SR – Gustavus

Just to keep the convo going...

Purple. Very solid on perimeter defensively. Lots of scoring options and guys who can get their own, although I do like Black with Burtzel surrounded by Fong, Schmidtknecht and Wirtjes. But Purple could prolly single-cover Burtzel with Hipp and not double.

Reminds me after the 1997 season when Devean George (AUG), Eric Joldersma (BC), Luke Schmidt (GAC) and Josh Wilhelm (CAR) were supposed to convene here at West Gym for a 2-on-2 showdown. I think George skipped (and in hindsight prolly because he knew he was going to be drafted) and I believe Jim Lovrien (CAR) stepped in for George. Not sure of teams or score, but something similar might be kinda cool.

[Buddo]

Drake I totally respect your opinion. I just think his place in those stat standings is enough to warrant a first team selection... we will have to see how the rest of this year turns out!

[Drake Palmer]

Drake I totally respect your opinion. I just think his place in those stat standings is enough to warrant a first team selection... we will have to see how the rest of this year turns out!

All in good fun.  I just wish the MIAC coaches had the guts to list their All Conference selections by first team, second team & honorable mention.

Unless a player is having an exceptional statistical year, I guess I was giving the tiebreaker to players who had their teams poised to make a playoff run.  As it is, the coaches will have tough decisions to make at season's end.  Let's hope Palmer stays healthy & your Birds can give it a go in the 2nd half.  I enjoy watching him play.

[piperinsider]

I'll put this one out there and mebbe we can get some nibbles next week.

Lets' say the MIAC had a post season all-star game.  And let's say these were the two primary teams:  which team would win? 


Purple team
Forward Carl Hipp SR–Hamline
PG Tyler Nicolai SR– St. Thomas
SF Darrin Olmscheid SR – Concordia
W Jeremy Sutherland SR – Carleton
2G Alex Healy SR – St. Thomas

Black team

Forward Chris Palmer SO– St. Marys
Forward Aaron Burtzel SR – St. Johns
PG- Dan Schmidtknecht SR – Gustavus
SF Mike Campbell-JR - Hamline
W Bobby Fong JR – St. Olaf
2G Phil Wirtjes SR – Gustavus

I'll go with Black. That sixth man on the court will wear down Hipp and Co. 

Purple has a guy that can create his own shot, a guy that will pull it down if he misses, a three-point rainmaker, the best 2-guard in the league and that guy that Drake Palmer loves! 

[Buddo]

Drake I totally respect your opinion. I just think his place in those stat standings is enough to warrant a first team selection... we will have to see how the rest of this year turns out!

All in good fun.  I just wish the MIAC coaches had the guts to list their All Conference selections by first team, second team & honorable mention.

Unless a player is having an exceptional statistical year, I guess I was giving the tiebreaker to players who had their teams poised to make a playoff run.  As it is, the coaches will have tough decisions to make at season's end.  Let's hope Palmer stays healthy & your Birds can give it a go in the 2nd half.  I enjoy watching him play.

I couldn't believe UST fans criticizing his aggression a few weeks back. The kid is just playing hard.

I am honestly not being a homer - the kid is very talented. I've seen him a few times and been consistently impressed... here's hoping that the "redbirds" can get back on track. I like Olmschied too, don't get me wrong. Both are good players.

[miacsuperfan]

I'll put this one out there and mebbe we can get some nibbles next week.

Lets' say the MIAC had a post season all-star game.  And let's say these were the two primary teams:  which team would win? 


Purple team
Forward Carl Hipp SR–Hamline
PG Tyler Nicolai SR– St. Thomas
SF Darrin Olmscheid SR – Concordia
W Jeremy Sutherland SR – Carleton
2G Alex Healy SR – St. Thomas

Black team

Forward Chris Palmer SO– St. Marys
Forward Aaron Burtzel SR – St. Johns
PG- Dan Schmidtknecht SR – Gustavus
SF Mike Campbell-JR - Hamline
W Bobby Fong JR – St. Olaf
2G Phil Wirtjes SR – Gustavus

Just to keep the convo going…

Purple. Very solid on perimeter defensively. Lots of scoring options and guys who can get their own, although I do like Black with Burtzel surrounded by Fong, Schmidtknecht and Wirtjes. But Purple could prolly single-cover Burtzel with Hipp and not double.

Reminds me after the 1997 season when Devean George (AUG), Eric Joldersma (BC), Luke Schmidt (GAC) and Josh Wilhelm (CAR) were supposed to convene here at West Gym for a 2-on-2 showdown. I think George skipped (and in hindsight prolly because he knew he was going to be drafted) and I believe Jim Lovrien (CAR) stepped in for George. Not sure of teams or score, but something similar might be kinda cool.

i'll take purple in what seems to be a fairly easy choice, assuming that pi's power-play thought is not allowed. 

and i am still awaiting word on palmer.  is he hurt/sick/studying for tests/clipped? 

[piperinsider]

Looks like we're getting our separation:
St. Thomas 12-1
Gustavus 10-3
Carleton 10-3
Hamline 7-5
Augsburg 7-6
St. Olaf 7-6
Concordia 5-8
Saint John's 4-8
Saint Mary's 4-9
Bethel 3-10
Macalester 1-11

Nice wins from Auggie Tech over Carleton and STO over SJU in Collegeville.

[carletonsid]

At 4-7 in the conference the Jays still have a shot at the playoffs, but my guess is that they'll need to go at least 6-3 over the last nine games to have a chance. 

I do like SJU's schedule in that they have Carleton and UST at home, with their two toughest road games at St. Olaf and Gustavus. I think Saturday's game at Skoglund is almost a must win, though, because if they lost the J's would need to go 6-2 the rest of the way, which would mean no slip-ups at home (Concordia and Augsburg), taking care of business on the road (Bethel, Mac and SMU) and beating one of the top 3.

It will be very interesting to follow the fortunes of the Johnnies among the other contenders for the 6th spot.

Have to think that loss yesterday might have done in the J's. 2-7 in January, now need to win 6 of final 8 to get into playoff position. Just don't see it happening. Especially the way St. Olaf is playing and now the Oles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the J's. I recall a convo about Concordia and SJU and this nice group of juniors/seniors not really improving over these last four years, and it looks like both may miss the playoffs altogether.

Tough loss for my Knights yesterday. Good enough defense, but a few too many turnovers, didn't get to the line enough and shot horrible (4-21) from 3-pt. range. They have Monday off and then head to SJU before hosting GAC at West next Saturday.