MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

St John's 64  Carleton 75-- no need for last second heroics, just a solid thumping
Augsburg 73  Bethel  65-- BU may hold Aug close for a while, but Aug wins on guard play
St Mary's 50  Hamline 75 -- Hamilnes aggressive play is too much for SMU
Gustavus 60 St Olaf 66-- GAC starting slower than usual, Olaf playing well thus far
Concordia 60 St Thomas 81-- UST's athleticism wears down the Cobber size, Nance bottles up Ebo

[gustie12]

Carls over SJU - Carleton playing well, will be interesting to see how SJU plays after big win at GAC
Auggie over Bethel - Auggies have too much depth
Hamline over SMU - Pipers handle Cards with ease
GAC over St. Olaf - this is assuming Gusties learn quickly, couldn't contain dribble vs. SJU, GAC size will beat up Oles with Shay, Hill and Sallstrom
Tommies over CC - Tommies to good overall, too much depth. We'll see how CC plays with UST

[Drake Palmer]

Saturday Update

I took in the last portion of the 1st half & all of the 2nd half of the Augsburg- Concordia game yesterday afternoon which the Dawgs won 81-76.   The Cobbs are going to be a factor in the conference this year.  They've got size, depth, & some shooters. Ebo Nana-Kweson had a great game as he scored 26 points, but didn't grab a single rebound from his small forward/wing spot? 

The Dawgs looked sweet.  It's early yet, but I might almost like the new post combination of newcomers Dan Kornbaum, & Brett Rasmussen better than the recently departed All Conference Andy Gresziak-Grim, & Cory Polta. While not as quick or as explosive as AGG, Kornbaum can physically hold his own better in the paint, has the size to body up against most opponents, exhibited nice foot work, & touch around the basket.  Brett Rasmussen looks like a chunky version of Polta, but is in fact, quicker, nice moves in the interior, & has a sweet outside jumper. Barring injuries, Rasmussen should be a lock for the All Freshman team.

Developing depth & staying out of foul trouble is going to be crucial for Augsburg this season.  As talented as Parker Hines is, being a PG, I still can't believe he hasn't developed a reliable left-handed dribble.

***
Random

Those of us who were predicting the rapid demise of the Johnnies may have been too hasty in heaping dirt on their season.    On the other hand, what's happening with the Gusties?

Bethel seems to be stabilizing the ship with the return of Kyle Zimmerman, & the emergence of guard Quinn Gorski.

The ironmen of Carleton led by their version of Mr. Clutch, Tommy Sawatzke & the return from last season's knee injury by Taylor Hanson will have the Carlies poised for another playoff run.

Oles have got some nice young FY shooters in Riley Aeikens & Justin Pahl along with upperclassmen Conner Gunderson, Sterling Nielsen. etc. But with no heir apparent to Stu Neville, it will be tough for the Oles to compete for a playoff spot. 

Hamline will be scrappy, & Mac will be a tough out.  The SMU Birds - ??

Misc.

I understand the Vikes have got a depleted receiving corps, but Christian Ponder either seems to get lucky & force the occasional pass completion into Kyle Rudolph (or throw an interception), or miss w-i-d-e open receivers.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

about all I can say about UST's rout of Concordia is WOW! Tommies opened the game with a 22-0 run, allowing Cord a free throw with 13:03 left in the opening half to get them on the board. The purple D was in top form, suffocating the Cobbers, keeping them totally off balance and not allowing them much in the way of good shot selection as well as dominating the boards throughout the night. Pella with a monster block to get the crowd on its feet.... all in all, a finely played game. UST led 81-50 with 9 mins to go when Tauer put in the deepest end of the bench to keep UST from "going Grinnell"  This has me REALLY looking forward to 12/21-- a rare Friday night game in which #5 UST hosts #7 UWSP--- could be the best game played in Minnesota this winter!

[Drake Palmer]

about all I can say about UST's rout of Concordia is WOW! Tommies opened the game with a 22-0 run, allowing Cord a free throw with 13:03 left in the opening half to get them on the board. The purple D was in top form, suffocating the Cobbers, keeping them totally off balance and not allowing them much in the way of good shot selection as well as dominating the boards throughout the night. Pella with a monster block to get the crowd on its feet.... all in all, a finely played game. UST led 81-50 with 9 mins to go when Tauer put in the deepest end of the bench to keep UST from "going Grinnell"  This has me REALLY looking forward to 12/21-- a rare Friday night game in which #5 UST hosts #7 UWSP--- could be the best game played in Minnesota this winter!

If those Auggie Doggies continue their winning, undefeated ways, we could be talking about another big, prime time Saturday afternoon contest on January 5, 2012 when the Dawgs & Tomcats collide.  Augsburg is currently receiving votes in the D3 Top 25 and is listed at 36th. They have a pretty decent shot at still being undefeated on January 5th.

Holiday greetings from the Pound. 

 

Just trying to stir the pot a bit.   

[Drake Palmer]

Csid - what's the latest on the snakebit Taylor Hanson's injury?  Hopefully nothing too serious.  They'll need him to stay healthy if they hope to vie for one of the top spots in the MIAC this winter.

[Retired Old Rat]

CSID, tuned in for the final 5 minutes of the game last night.  I've got to say, Carlton does an awesome job on the webcast of hoops.

Funny note, at least funny to me.  I watched the Vikings/Packers on Sunday and Dr. Pat McKenzie has his usual national television exposure on the Pack sideline.  I fire up the webcast last night and it's a time out with the camera pointing directly at the Johnny bench.  Who do I spy a few rows up?  Dr. McKenzie.  Dude gets more airtime than anyone I know.   

[carletonsid]

CSID, tuned in for the final 5 minutes of the game last night.  I've got to say, Carlton does an awesome job on the webcast of hoops.

Funny note, at least funny to me.  I watched the Vikings/Packers on Sunday and Dr. Pat McKenzie has his usual national television exposure on the Pack sideline.  I fire up the webcast last night and it's a time out with the camera pointing directly at the Johnny bench.  Who do I spy a few rows up?  Dr. McKenzie.  Dude gets more airtime than anyone I know.   

ROR - Thanks for noticing and chiming in on the webcast. The new lights in West Gym and the HD feed makes it pretty awesome. Too bad you missed halftime - our students had an impromptu interview with President Hemesath! The students, I believe, were both on the Cambridge Seminar with Mike this summer and asked him to come on at halftime, so there was some great back-and-forth between them.

The Dr. McKenzie thing, was of course, unintentional, but funny. His market penetration is likely a bit higher when he's on FOX, although his audience recognition was likely better on our broadcast!

Drake, I'm too much of an insider to say exactly what's happening with Taylor. I will say, thankfully, it's nothing major like last year. Not sure how long he'll be out. The Knights, obviously, have no margin when it comes to injuries. They  looked awesome when Taylor was in there, building the lead to 18, and then SJU started hitting from outside and getting stops. Carleton very fortunate to come away with the win.

[Drake Palmer]

Power ranking Wednesday's games

UST @ SMU – Tommies 4.  In 3 conference games UST is winning by a 32.6 point margin
MAC @ SJU – SJU 3 – Johnnies are on the big "Lazarus, I ain't dead yet," payback tour
HAM @ AUGS – Dawgs 2 – If I'm Hamline I'm pressing & trying to wear out the Augsburg guards
BET @ GAC -   Gusties 1 - I thought I had a decent read on both teams, but who knows?

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Yes DP, the AUG/UST game in Jan (and the rematch in Feb) could be a great battle, but it might lack the national impact and attention of UST/UWSP.

tonight's shots in the dark
Macalester 58  St John's  63 -- it gets easier after the holidays for the Scots, who could pull this one out
St. Thomas 86  St Mary's 62-- UST has beaten SMU something like 50 times in a row
Bethel  58 Gustavus 56-- something's gotta go right for BU sometime soon
Hamline 67 Augsburg 79-- Dior's red dye-job wont intimidate Kornbaum or Rasmussen

and on Dec 11 (looks like a pushed back date from tonight)
Carleton 62 Concordia 58-- a long trip after grueling finals but the rested Knights will prevail without last-second heroics for a change

[Drake Palmer]

Yes DP, the AUG/UST game in Jan (and the rematch in Feb) could be a great battle, but it might lack the national impact and attention of UST/UWSP...

Agreed, but it would be nice to have 2 teams from the MIAC ranked in the Top 25. If Augburg is undefeated at that point, I think they will be ranked. Although, I did look at the Auggie site &was reminded that they started out fast last year & were 5-0 as well.

If Carleton loses Taylor Hanson, the game with Cord could be a heck of a lot closer than a 4 point win for the Knights, i.e. a win for the Cobbs perhaps.

[Drake Palmer]

Stirring the nearly empty pot...

Carleton lost to Wartburg of the IIAC last night 67-53.  The Knights better hope Taylor Hanson return soon.  Carleton was nearly out-rebounded by a 2-1 margin as the "Iowa" Knights snared 45 boards compared to 27 rebounds by the Minnesota Knights.   And to make matters worse, Wartburg was picked to finish last in the IIAC this year. 

It will be interesting to see how Carleton fares when they make the trek up to Moorhead next week to take on the Cobbs.  The Cobbs don't always shoot straight, but they can grab a few rebounds.

Speaking of boards, after 7 games, Gustavus is bringing up the rear of the MIAC as they're averaging a paltry 27.2 rebounds per game.

[Drake Palmer]

Lost amid UST's big national semi-final football win on Saturday,

*Bethel slipped by Martin Luther 93-80
*Crown beat SMU 72-69 (hunh?)

* Gustavus lost to Buena Vista at home 69-66.
Maybe that projected 2nd place finish in the conference this year put too much stock in the Gustavus reputation and not enough stock in the players? However, it's tough trying to replace a "do everything" conference MVP in Seth Anderson who led the Gusties in so many categories last season.

Misc.

In a scheduling quirk, UMAC's Bethany Lutheran will play three MIAC teams this week. Tonight they square off against UST at home, Wednesday night versus SMU at home, and then finish up the MIAC portion of their schedule with a game against Carleton on Friday night in Northfield.  It will be interesting to see how the BLC Vikings fare.  They lost to Gustavus by 20 points 3 weeks ago, & are currently sitting with a 2-5 record. My guess is that they'll probably knock off the Redbirds, & will loss their other two MIAC games this week.

[AO]

Lost amid UST's big national semi-final football win on Saturday,

*Bethel slipped by Martin Luther 93-80
*Crown beat SMU 72-69 (hunh?)

* Gustavus lost to Buena Vista at home 69-66.
Maybe that projected 2nd place finish in the conference this year put too much stock in the Gustavus reputation and not enough stock in the players? However, it's tough trying to replace a "do everything" conference MVP in Seth Anderson who led the Gusties in so many categories last season.

Misc.

In a scheduling quirk, UMAC's Bethany Lutheran will play three MIAC teams this week. Tonight they square off against UST at home, Wednesday night versus SMU at home, and then finish up the MIAC portion of their schedule with a game against Carleton on Friday night in Northfield.  It will be interesting to see how the BLC Vikings fare.  They lost to Gustavus by 20 points 3 weeks ago, & are currently sitting with a 2-5 record. My guess is that they'll probably knock off the Redbirds, & will loss their other two MIAC games this week.

I assume you haven't seen Crown this year.  7'1'" Anthony Diloretto from Hopkins, transfer from Cal-Poly and Utah State after some problems(i'm sure you can do your own google search if you haven't heard of him) is averaging 21 and 13 per game while shooting 67% and blocking 3 shots a game.  I don't know that they're going to beat Bethel, but they're capable.

Buena Vista is solid, no shame in that loss.

Bethany has been disappointing thus far, no contest for the Tommies tonight.

[miacsuperfan]

Lost amid UST’s big national semi-final football win on Saturday,

*Bethel slipped by Martin Luther 93-80
*Crown beat SMU 72-69 (hunh?)

* Gustavus lost to Buena Vista at home 69-66.
Maybe that projected 2nd place finish in the conference this year put too much stock in the Gustavus reputation and not enough stock in the players? However, it’s tough trying to replace a “do everything” conference MVP in Seth Anderson who led the Gusties in so many categories last season.

Misc.

In a scheduling quirk, UMAC’s Bethany Lutheran will play three MIAC teams this week. Tonight they square off against UST at home, Wednesday night versus SMU at home, and then finish up the MIAC portion of their schedule with a game against Carleton on Friday night in Northfield.  It will be interesting to see how the BLC Vikings fare.  They lost to Gustavus by 20 points 3 weeks ago, & are currently sitting with a 2-5 record. My guess is that they’ll probably knock off the Redbirds, & will loss their other two MIAC games this week.

I assume you haven't seen Crown this year.  7'1'" Anthony Diloretto from Hopkins, transfer from Cal-Poly and Utah State after some problems(i'm sure you can do your own google search if you haven't heard of him) is averaging 21 and 13 per game while shooting 67% and blocking 3 shots a game.  I don't know that they're going to beat Bethel, but they're capable.

Buena Vista is solid, no shame in that loss.

Bethany has been disappointing thus far, no contest for the Tommies tonight.

Yeah, right.  Tommies escape with an unbelievably fortunate win. . . thanks to an inadvertant whistle with 2 seconds to play.  The Bethany fans had even begun the "over-rated" chant.  Coach Tauer must have been wondering 'what the . . '