MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

UW-Stevens Point 82 - St. Olaf 81

A couple of days late, but I went down to Northfield on Saturday afternoon to check out the St. Olaf and UW-Stevens Point contest. Nice game, as the Oles gave the Top 15 ranked Pointers all they could handle for 39 minutes & 30 seconds.  The Oles were trying to close out the near win as they led 81-79 with 30 seconds left in the game.  However, a missed front end of a 1 and 1 by Charlies Aslesen, plus 2 missed FTS by Sterling Nielsen with approximately 4 seconds left proved to be quite costly.   A Pointer got off a virtually uncontested 3 pointer from 22-23' with nary an Ole by him to seal the 82-81 win. UW Stevens Point will need to tighten up their defense if they hope to have any serious post season aspirations.

Aside, from the last minute miscues, the young Olaf squad looked good. Soph PG Sterling Nielsen did a good job running the floor as he scored 22 points, dished out 4 assists, & snared 6 rebs.  Connor Gunderson was quite effective, when he was in the game & scored 13 points plus 5 boards.  A healthy Gunderson might have made the difference in this game as I thought I heard he sprained his ankle in the second half.  Generally he was too quick for the Point post defenders, but after he went out of the game, the Oles had no real threat to score from close to the basket.

The Oles may have picked up a real nice recruiting coup in 6-6 FY wing Riley Aeikens from MACCRAY HS, Maynard, MN wherever the heck that is.  He scored 11 points on 4-8 FGA, & was 3-4 from behind the 3 pt line.  In the first game of the season against Bethany Lutheran, Aeikens scored 17 points on 5-8 FGA, & 4-6 3FGA.  Another FY who looked promising was guard Justin Pahl from East Ridge HS in Woodbury. If the Oles can find another ball handler besides Nielsen & can find some guys to man the middle, they could very well jockey for one of the top 6 playoff spots.

Bethel
On the other hand, I watched a bit of the Bethel webcast on Friday & they are going to need their guys to get healthy or return from football to help out the talented Taylor Hall.  Hall goes off for 30+ points & 10 + rebs in both games but gets very little help from the rest of his team. Anybody have any idea where Kyle Zimmerman or Greg Myers was this weekend?  Any hopes of a top two league finish or playoff berth will be tough without those guys.

[Gacman]

Bethel
On the other hand, I watched a bit of the Bethel webcast on Friday & they are going to need their guys to get healthy or return from football to help out the talented Taylor Hall.  Hall goes off for 30+ points & 10 + rebs in both games but gets very little help from the rest of his team. Anybody have any idea where Kyle Zimmerman or Greg Myers was this weekend?  Any hopes of a top two league finish or playoff berth will be tough without those guys.

Greg Myers tore his ACL. Not too sure on Zimmerman.

[Drake Palmer]

Bethel
On the other hand, I watched a bit of the Bethel webcast on Friday & they are going to need their guys to get healthy or return from football to help out the talented Taylor Hall.  Hall goes off for 30+ points & 10 + rebs in both games but gets very little help from the rest of his team. Anybody have any idea where Kyle Zimmerman or Greg Myers was this weekend?  Any hopes of a top two league finish or playoff berth will be tough without those guys.

Greg Myers tore his ACL. Not too sure on Zimmerman.

That's a tough blow for Myers and Bethel.  Several years ago I think he had another injury shortened season. That's too bad.  From what I've heard he's a pretty good guy. And if Zimmerman doesn't play, really hurts the front court.  Although he's not particularly tall 6-3, he was quick, & athletic enough to average close to a double-double last year in rebounds & points. Bethel guards & post players will have to mature real quick.

Lots of interesting non-conference match ups around the league tonight.  The 3 I'm most curious about are  1) SJU @ UW-Stevens Point 2) GAC at UW-Stout & UWRiver Falls @ UST. 

I think Point has the decided advantage at home, if the Tommies are who we think they are, they should beat UWRF, but for my money, the marquee contest tonight will be the Gusties at Stout.  If the Gusties can hang with the athletic, up tempo, good sized Stout team, this should bode well for them in conference play this season (that would be a nod to the men in purple  )

Cool, new feature developed by the MIAC conference office.  A snazzy stats board

[John Gleich]

Btw, for Johnnie fans, I think there's going to be video for the SP/SJU game.  Check the WIAC board for the link (8 PM central start)

[GoldandBlueBU]

Bethel
On the other hand, I watched a bit of the Bethel webcast on Friday & they are going to need their guys to get healthy or return from football to help out the talented Taylor Hall.  Hall goes off for 30+ points & 10 + rebs in both games but gets very little help from the rest of his team. Anybody have any idea where Kyle Zimmerman or Greg Myers was this weekend?  Any hopes of a top two league finish or playoff berth will be tough without those guys.

Greg Myers tore his ACL. Not too sure on Zimmerman.

That's a tough blow for Myers and Bethel.  Several years ago I think he had another injury shortened season. That's too bad.  From what I've heard he's a pretty good guy. And if Zimmerman doesn't play, really hurts the front court.  Although he's not particularly tall 6-3, he was quick, & athletic enough to average close to a double-double last year in rebounds & points. Bethel guards & post players will have to mature real quick.

I'm curious about Zimmerman too...he's on the roster still, so hopefully nothing serious is holding him back.  They had a freshman guard last year (AJ Hatchett, I think?) who looked very solid for a young player, mostly played second fiddle to Baah, but looked very bright at times, and he isn't on the roster anymore either, which is a significant loss.  You are right, with the current lineup, they will have a tough year once the MIAC schedule gets rolling if they don't get some guys back on the court.

[miacsuperfan]

Good to see the board heating up.  Looks like UST is gearing up for yet another championship.  I hope the rest of the league can compete and make for an interesting season.  Sounds as if Bethel has already been bitten by the injury bug.  Yes, Hatchette looked good at times last year, but has left the program.  It will be fun to watch what kind of numbers Taylor Hall can rack up, particularly if he is called upon to carry the bulk of Bethel's mail. 
Snazzy stat board???  Looks kindo weird to me. 

[VOJ]

I have been told Zimmerman is hurt...Happy Thanksgiving to all...

[miacsuperfan]

VOJ, Any idea the type or extent of the injury? 

I stand corrected on the stats board.   First time I looked at it on my I-pad it was a scrambled mess.  Saw it this morning on my desktop and it looks pretty "snazzy."   

Anybody have a story on the Kornbaums (twins?  brothers?).  I see that Dan Kornbaum (UMD transfer) is off to a nice start leading the Dawgs to 3-0 out of the gate.

[carletonsid]

My Knights are either close or back in Minnesota, and heading to South Dakota to play at Northern State tomorrow night. Have to think it was a fun (but long) flight back after their 74-71 over Hawaii Pacific, thanks to yet another buzzer beater by Tom Sawatzke.

Tommy was 7-of-10 from three-point land and led five Knights in double figures with 23 points.

Second career buzzer-beater for him, as he beat Bethel at the horn a year ago.

[flyerfan]

VOJ, Any idea the type or extent of the injury? 

I stand corrected on the stats board.   First time I looked at it on my I-pad it was a scrambled mess.  Saw it this morning on my desktop and it looks pretty "snazzy."   

Anybody have a story on the Kornbaums (twins?  brothers?).  I see that Dan Kornbaum (UMD transfer) is off to a nice start leading the Dawgs to 3-0 out of the gate.

Ron and Dan Kornbaum are brothers.  Ron is a year older and played at Central Lakes College last year.

[AO]

My Wednesday "shot in the dark" Picks:

St. Olaf 85 - St. Mary's 70  - The Burf is back in the lineup, but it won't be enough.
Augsburg 64 - Gustavus 68 - Biewen with a big game.
St. John's 60 - Hamline 68 - Dior Ford goes 9 for 13 from the field.
St. Thomas 86 - Macalester - 74 Mac keeps it close for a half
Bethel 68 - Concordia 77 - off night for Taylor Hall
Carleton 68 - Northern St 67 - Sawatzke with another buzzer beater.  why not.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I'll shoot in the dark too:

St Olaf 72   SMU 67 (SMU could pull this one out)
Augsburg 71   GAC 68 (Kornbaums make their presence felt)
SJU 65   Hamline 70 (could be the start of a long season in C-ville)
St Thomas 88   Macalester  68 (UST too deep too strong for Mac)
Bethel 58   Concordia 67 (Cord wins the battle in the paint)

Carleton 70 Northen St 65  (to the wire, but no buzzer beater needed)

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Also my expected order of finish:

1. UST -- too deep, too talented
2. Augsburg-- Kprbaum gives power presence in paint to compliment 3-shooters
3. Carleton-- the cupboard is never bare with Kalland around...short bench hurts
4. Concordia-- size + experience= contender?
5. Gustavus-- never rule a Hanson-coached team out
6. Bethel-- Coulda been a title contender but injuries hurt (bad pun)
7. Hamline-- could be a sleeper, but front line is question mark
8. Macalester-- will be much improved
9. St John's-- it could be a LONG season
10. St. Olaf-- another potential sleeper
11. St Mary's-- wont go winless

The battle for 4-10 will be interesting....a lot of "ifs" and "what ifs" and "could bes"

Player of Year:  1. Hannon; 2. Peters; 3. Sawatzke; 4. Kornbaum (taller one); 5. T Hall

to the NCAAA field: UST, Augsburg and Carleton

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

rumors that just wont die......is it true that the Great Drake Palmer will introduce himself (heself?) to nemisis VOJ at tonight's SJU/HAM tussle? Or will he/she "Be like Sid" and watch the games on webcast only and then try to proclaim him/her-self an expert?

[Drake Palmer]

Nice to see the board sorta thawing out. 

Ok, here's my projected conference finish:

St. Thomas – an embarrassment of riches
Gustavus - At the end of the season, Gustavus is going to be right there near the top.
Augsburg - I might be a bit too high on Augsburg & they could flip-flop with Carleton.
Carleton – see above.

Concordia - Every 4 years or so, the Cobbs seem to have a playoff caliber team. This might be their year.
Bethel - If Kyle Zimmerman returns for Bethel, they find a serviceable guard, & outside shooter/s, Bethel could shoot up the ranks.  Taylor Hall will have a monster year.

St. Olaf – nice talent, good shooters, young, but no real banger in the middle.
Hamline – see above.

Macalester - Based on early season results, I think Mac might surprise some teams this year. They sure as heck surprised me thus far with their shooting & their grittiness. 

St. Johns – Pretty young.
St. Marys – The bottom of the league is going to be very competitive.