MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[papahoops]

I was inable to attend a semi-final game, but am looking forward to attending the final tomorrow.

Amazing playoff turnaround by the Gustie squad after a miserable second half of the regular season. It seems their shooting skills seem to benefit from the air in Northfield   Will the Gustie's "cinderella" run continue tomorrow, or will their playoff run fizzle with a visit to the nu-Shoe They played well during their visit to the Shoe earlier in the season, so anything is possible. My guess is the UST's defense will be the key and will give them the edge in the final.

Although unable to witness it first hand, I noted with pleasure Mr. Halvorsen's outstanding offensive explosion last night. We had to wait a tad bit longer than I expected, but papahoops' much savaged prediction on the the board of his offensive potential finally came to fruition
It just goes to show that if you wait long enough, all good predictions will come true

Good luck to both squads tomorrow!

[miacsuperfan]

Very nice game between HU and UST tonight. Hipp was a dominant figure in the game with an MVP performance of 23 pts, 21 rebounds, and 3 blocks while clocking 29 minutes. However, I am still greatly troubled by our inability to get him the ball. I would bet that almost half of his shots came from his own offensive rebounds. (Notice he had some nice passes out of the post also!) The game was lost by our 3 point shooting. We failed to convert even one 3pt attempt in the second half and had too many turnovers. Pannell reared his ugly little head shooting 2-8 from outside the arch. Hamline could have easily rode the coattails of Hipp through the game, but decided to use other routes  The only credit I will give to Whitmore was letting Hipp play for more minutes than usual. 

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect. St. Thomas should be ashamed of itself for the level of flopping and acting they did in order to get calls, namely Teddy Archer. Please say someone else noticed he was trying to force more fouls than he was actually trying to play real basketball.

Interesting.   The announcers on the UST webcast were commenting on Teddy's mother taunting the Hamline players near the end of the game.  Is that possible? 

As for the games, I was able to watch large portions of both---but will also defer to those in attendance for the REAL reports.  Seth Anderson's game has picked up of late; he hit some BIG buckets for the Gusties down the stretch.  Jeremy Sutherland was quite unproductive---hope it had nothing to do with his little pre-game video on the Carleton website!      The Gusties came ready to play, as they usually do.  Mark Hanson is a great basketball coach.   Don't be surprised if he has something cooked up for Sunday afternoon at St. Thomas. 

I didn't see as much of the UST-Vipes game until the second half, and did not see Hamline build their big lead.  What I did see was second half pressure defense leading to quick, untimely shots by Hamline.   CARL MVHIPP was tougher than pine knots.  I know there have been many "black hole" references to him on this board in the last 3 years, but if you take him off this team. . . the Vipes don't make the playoffs.  Heck, Vipes wouldn't have been .500!  He had quite a game to end a very productive career.  Nicely done, Carl.

Will the Knights have good enough "credentials" to merit an at-large NCAA bid?   

[big_shocker]

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but apparently I saw my version of the Batsignal come up on the board- just making sure no one was trying to contact me.

[Drake Palmer]

Very nice game between HU and UST tonight. Hipp was a dominant figure in the game with an MVP performance of 23 pts, 21 rebounds, and 3 blocks while clocking 29 minutes. However, I am still greatly troubled by our inability to get him the ball. I would bet that almost half of his shots came from his own offensive rebounds. (Notice he had some nice passes out of the post also!) The game was lost by our 3 point shooting. We failed to convert even one 3pt attempt in the second half and had too many turnovers. Pannell reared his ugly little head shooting 2-8 from outside the arch. Hamline could have easily rode the coattails of Hipp through the game, but decided to use other routes  The only credit I will give to Whitmore was letting Hipp play for more minutes than usual. 

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect. St. Thomas should be ashamed of itself for the level of flopping and acting they did in order to get calls, namely Teddy Archer. Please say someone else noticed he was trying to force more fouls than he was actually trying to play real basketball.

Sfan- while I can understand & appreciate your frustration, I do have to disagree with you on a couple of points.  As I said in my previous post Hipp had a monster ball game.  And yes, he did a good job of passing back out of the post.  Probably the most I saw from him all season.   However he had to work for every s-i-n-g-l-e basket he scored in the 2nd half.  UST did a great job of denying easy entry passes into post, & a nice job fronting Hipp.

One area which I thought Hamline could have used better was the high ball screen with Hipp.  This was a new wrinkle the Pipes added in the last 3-4 games (?).  I never saw Hamline go back to Hipp on the roll to the basket, or the cutter drive, & kick to the weakside for the 3ball.

Also, in the 2nd half, the Tommies did an excellent job of shutting down Hamline's transition offense with their press.  A lot of the Pipes' treys come early in the shot clock when opposing teams are getting back down the floor, or from drives to the basket & quick ball reversal.  UST's D took those options out of the Hamline playbook.

Regarding officiating:   I was watching the game with a HS official and he thought that overall, the refs did a solid game of not letting the game get out of control.  And yes there were a few questionable calls.  One of my favorites was when the refs called an over & back on UST to give the ball to Hamline. The refs huddled up & ended up reversing the call. When one of the refs went over to explain the reason to a seated yet visibly agitated Coach Whitmore, the coach with obvious disgust motioned him away with both hands & appeared to be saying "get out of my face with that sh.." cracked me up. 

Theodore Archer – I love that kid.  Sfan – if you were at the last Ham-UST game you saw Archer do the same thing – dribble the ball up court, pause, & let the defender run into his back, & the defender get called for a foul.  The last time it was Hipp who got called, & in last night's game it was Mike Campbell.  If my semi-untrained eye has picked this up, then players & coaches who are doing this every single day should be aware of Archer's shenanigans.  Fouls were called fairly evenly:  23 fouls for Hamline with Campbell & Noah Aguirre fouled out; 20 fouls for UST, & Peter Leslie fouled out.

[Drake Palmer]

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but apparently I saw my version of the Batsignal come up on the board- just making sure no one was trying to contact me.

Big shocker, I suppose Kel Varnsen, SD Gusties & Westie will be showing up next.  Fair weather Gustie alumni. That must be a requirement in the graduation packet they give you guys. 

Unfortunately I'll have to miss the GAC-UST game on Sunday afternoon.  Stupid tourney format change.  If someone wants to see good ball movement out of the post, it's tough to go wrong watching Gustavus.  They don't necessarily always have the consistent horses to play the position  , but their principles are sound.  Will the Gusties be able to maintain that torrid shooting pace, has Bobby "Lazarus" Johnson really been reborn as a new basketball  player?  Are the Tommies going to be emotionally spent from that semi epic comeback against the Pipes? 

Keys to the game: For those who are at the game, check how tightly the game is called. If the Tommies are not able to successfully bump the cutters (Phil Wirtjes, & Seth Anderson in particular) as they're making their cuts, the Gusties will have a field day.

Will the Gusties depth match the Tommies depth? Run or walk, run or walk? For my money nobody runs the floor as well as Dan Schmidtknecht, & find the open man. But does that go against what is a winning formula for the Gusties to beat St. Thomas? Tick tock, tick tock,  Gustie & UST brain trust are both at work. Seems like some things just don't change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRTMWzVoT_U

[Gault]

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect. 

Big win for St. Thomas last night! Very talented team, and I always enjoy watching Nicolai play his game. Congratulations on a fine season and an exceptional D3 college career.

Taking nothing from St Thomas' fine young men.... BUT.... if you were at the game and had the ability to be even somewhat impartial, this particular win against Hamline does not happen without the extra effort of apparently St Thomas' 6th man on the court...The Officials.

Ref  Louis "Old Spice" Garrison was so blatant in his actions -- changing the momentum and tempo of this game thru missed  and phantom calls, it was a crime. The other two officials, Mike Petrich and Steve Bullert were no better allowing this to continue from the 8 minute remaining mark in the first half (HU up by 17) through most of the remaining game. I'm not sure how they slept last night knowing how they directly affected the outcome of any game, especially a MIAC semi final playoff game.

The MIAC should be ashamed.

[Drake Palmer]

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect. 

Big win for St. Thomas last night! Very talented team, and I always enjoy watching Nicolai play his game. Congratulations on a fine season and an exceptional D3 college career.

Taking nothing from St Thomas’ fine young men…. BUT…. if you were at the game and had the ability to be even somewhat impartial, this particular win against Hamline does not happen without the extra effort of apparently St Thomas’ 6th man on the court…The Officials.

Ref  Louis “Old Spice” Garrison was so blatant in his actions -- changing the momentum and tempo of this game thru missed  and phantom calls, it was a crime. The other two officials, Mike Petrich and Steve Bullert were no better allowing this to continue from the 8 minute remaining mark in the first half (HU up by 17) through most of the remaining game. I’m not sure how they slept last night knowing how they directly affected the outcome of any game, especially a MIAC semi final playoff game.

The MIAC should be ashamed.

I see Mose is on the board & obviously he's biased, but no Tommie blood courses through my veins. One word - Bull.

[carletonsid]

Regarding officiating:   I was watching the game with a HS official and he thought that overall, the refs did a solid game of not letting the game get out of control.  And yes there were a few questionable calls.  One of my favorites was when the refs called an over & back on UST to give the ball to Hamline. The refs huddled up & ended up reversing the call. When one of the refs went over to explain the reason to a seated yet visibly agitated Coach Whitmore, the coach with obvious disgust motioned him away with both hands & appeared to be saying "get out of my face with that sh.." cracked me up. 

Worst call of the night (and didn't impact outcome of the game at all), with about 1:15 left, Sutherland tries to run through a Bobby J screen and is called for the foul (rightfully so, although a late whistle IMO). Wirtjes pulls a fast one on the officials and goes to the line instead. Coach Kalland and Hayes tried to tell the officials they had it wrong, along with about 750 Knight fans to no avail. Three officials out there on the floor and couldn't get it right...

I would also second the comments of inconsistency on the calls. One sequence, which ended up being key, started with Sutherland getting hacked three different times going to the basket (I have the photos to prove it), and after he eventually lost the ball after getting raked the third time, he turns and bumps into a Gustie for his second foul. At the time, Carleton was ahead 8 with about 5 minutes left in the first half. Gusties took full advantage, using  big run to lead at the half and then another run to open the second half to pull away from the Knights. I don't think the officials were against the Knights or anything (come on, Gault, really?!?), it was just one of those games where the calls seemed to go against your team. Of course, the Knights' shot selection, lack of execution on about 8-10 possessions and failed transition opportunities were really the reason things didn't work out better. Oh, and Gustavus played a heck of a game.

One other tangent on officiating, not really related to last night but just to officiating in general. I'll never understand why there's this sentiment that the playoffs should be called differently than the regular season. The rule book doesn't change at playoff time. If it was a foul in the regular season, its a foul in the playoffs, IMO. The amount of grabbing, bumping and shoving never happened the previous 25 games, so not sure why those aren't fouls in the postseason. It went both ways last night--Jonker figured out pretty quick that legal post defense could include two hands in the back of the offensive player, with a good amount of pushing being allowed.

Totally gutted Knights squad afterwards last night. They've played so well for these last two months and just picked a rotten time to lay a stinker of a game. Kudos to Coach Hanson and his staff for getting his guys turned around after their dismal end.  The eternal optimist I am says the Knights will get into the Dance, but hopefully no more upsets occur...

[jquentint]

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect.  

Big win for St. Thomas last night! Very talented team, and I always enjoy watching Nicolai play his game. Congratulations on a fine season and an exceptional D3 college career.

Taking nothing from St Thomas' fine young men.... BUT.... if you were at the game and had the ability to be even somewhat impartial, this particular win against Hamline does not happen without the extra effort of apparently St Thomas' 6th man on the court...The Officials.

Ref  Louis "Old Spice" Garrison was so blatant in his actions -- changing the momentum and tempo of this game thru missed  and phantom calls, it was a crime. The other two officials, Mike Petrich and Steve Bullert were no better allowing this to continue from the 8 minute remaining mark in the first half (HU up by 17) through most of the remaining game. I'm not sure how they slept last night knowing how they directly affected the outcome of any game, especially a MIAC semi final playoff game.

The MIAC should be ashamed.

I see Mose is on the board & obviously he's biased, but no Tommie blood courses through my veins. One word - Bull.

I wear purple colored glass-but come on it wasn't the ref's that lost the game.  UST down nineteen points in the first half and hamline blew the lead.-refs don't makeup nineteen points.  Carl Hipp was amazing-and should be the MVP of the conference!  I thought the difference maker in the game was Anders Halvorsen-he played with  confidence and a sense of urgency. t
Finally, Teddy is Teddy.  If he's your guy you love him, if not he is the villian in a bad 'b movie' for the opposing team. He's been doing his defensive routine for the last five years at UST-this isn't anything new and I am sure that this ref crew has experienced Teddy's act

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect. 

Big win for St. Thomas last night! Very talented team, and I always enjoy watching Nicolai play his game. Congratulations on a fine season and an exceptional D3 college career.

Taking nothing from St Thomas’ fine young men…. BUT…. if you were at the game and had the ability to be even somewhat impartial, this particular win against Hamline does not happen without the extra effort of apparently St Thomas’ 6th man on the court…The Officials.

Ref  Louis “Old Spice” Garrison was so blatant in his actions -- changing the momentum and tempo of this game thru missed  and phantom calls, it was a crime. The other two officials, Mike Petrich and Steve Bullert were no better allowing this to continue from the 8 minute remaining mark in the first half (HU up by 17) through most of the remaining game. I’m not sure how they slept last night knowing how they directly affected the outcome of any game, especially a MIAC semi final playoff game.

The MIAC should be ashamed.

Those with beefs about the officiating should take them up in a proper form by contacting the league offices. To prattle on here is just sour grapes.
I spend a lot of every game beefing about the officiating-- no matter what sport or teams are involved. It's human nature. But I also recognize the fact that they are trained and paid to be impartial  and make the right calls-- not necessarily the call I want to see.  For example the "over and back" being reversed. The ref who called in over & back had a poor angle. It looked to me like he admitted blowing the call but couldn't reverse himself and needed his partners to overrule him. Which they did, righting the wrong.  It would be nice if Gault had some specific plays where he felt the refs jobbed HU or altered the game. My guess is he doesnt.

Bottom line is this-- Hamline played an excellent first half. They had UST on the ropes to the point I was convinced they'd end their 34-game losing streak at UST. BUT the Tommies' defense turned the game around. The press became a huge factor, and HU couldnt figure out what to do. The Toms were able to keep the ball from Hipp in the paint much of the 2nd half. HU's perimeter shooting was hot for 10 mins early but turned more frigid than the temp outside as they missed 9 or 10 threes in a row.

The play of Halverson, particularly in the 2nd half.  He and Archer- love or hate Teddy, he's the straw that stirs the UST drink- were vital to the turnaround. The two huge 3s by Ders at the top of the key were spikes to the heart of the HU hopes.

A truly awesome performance by Hipp—its been a pleasure watching him play for 4 years. The rest of the HU team returns, and they will have a lot to say about who wins the MIAC title in 2011-12.

[miacsuperfan]

i agree, carsid.  a tommie loss to gac on sunday would be a killer for the knights.  hard to imagine ust staying home, win OR lose.

Going on a tangent, I was/am embarrassed to be in the MIAC due to the inconsistency of our refs. I am sure some fans will disagree, but I felt there were several calls tonight that were blatantly incorrect.  

Big win for St. Thomas last night! Very talented team, and I always enjoy watching Nicolai play his game. Congratulations on a fine season and an exceptional D3 college career.

Taking nothing from St Thomas' fine young men.... BUT.... if you were at the game and had the ability to be even somewhat impartial, this particular win against Hamline does not happen without the extra effort of apparently St Thomas' 6th man on the court...The Officials.

Ref  Louis "Old Spice" Garrison was so blatant in his actions -- changing the momentum and tempo of this game thru missed  and phantom calls, it was a crime. The other two officials, Mike Petrich and Steve Bullert were no better allowing this to continue from the 8 minute remaining mark in the first half (HU up by 17) through most of the remaining game. I'm not sure how they slept last night knowing how they directly affected the outcome of any game, especially a MIAC semi final playoff game.

The MIAC should be ashamed.

I see Mose is on the board & obviously he's biased, but no Tommie blood courses through my veins. One word - Bull.

I wear purple colored glass-but come on it wasn't the ref's that lost the game.  UST down nineteen points in the first half and hamline blew the lead.-refs don't makeup nineteen points.  Carl Hipp was amazing-and should be the MVP of the conference!  I thought the difference maker in the game was Anders Halvorsen-he played with  confidence and a sense of urgency. t
Finally, Teddy is Teddy.  If he's your guy you love him, if not he is the villian in a bad 'b movie' for the opposing team. He's been doing his defensive routine for the last five years at UST-this isn't anything new and I am sure that this ref crew has experienced Teddy's act

Hmmmm, it seems longer than that.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

C-Sid-- 750 Knight fans in a crowd of 799 (as per the box score)?  Only 49 GAC fans/alum/parents made the trek to Northfield? 

I'd say win or lose, UST is in the field...a win should get them home court. It going to take a LOT for Car to sneak into the tourney field...but they are the MIAC's best hope, assuming a UST win tomorrow.

[hoopsof80]

MIACMANIAC - "The rest of the HU team returns, and they will have a lot to say about who wins the MIAC title in 2011-12."

Dont bet on "the rest" of the team returning.  They will be looking at several transfers.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

MIACMANIAC - "The rest of the HU team returns, and they will have a lot to say about who wins the MIAC title in 2011-12."

Dont bet on "the rest" of the team returning.  They will be looking at several transfers.

led by #34? 

[carletonsid]

C-Sid-- 750 Knight fans in a crowd of 799 (as per the box score)?  Only 49 GAC fans/alum/parents made the trek to Northfield? 

I'd say win or lose, UST is in the field...a win should get them home court. It going to take a LOT for Car to sneak into the tourney field...but they are the MIAC's best hope, assuming a UST win tomorrow.

Estimate on my part.

I agree that UST is in field with loss. Knights really need Toms to win, tho.

I'm not sure it will take a "LOT" for the Knights to get into the field. I felt if they'd won last night they were in for sure. We'll see if that one loss is enough to knock them all the way out. The next 24-28 hours will tell.