MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Bethel Preview and interview with Coach Novak, plus Brycen Wojta MIAC article

http://athletics.bethel.edu/news/2016/11/14/preseason-preview-mens-basketball-picked-second-in-miac-coaches-poll.aspx

http://athletics.bethel.edu/news/2016/11/18/mens-basketball-miac-profile-of-excellence-wojta-ready-for-final-act.aspx

SMU Preview

http://www.saintmaryssports.com/news/2016/11/4/mens-basketball-the-2016-2017-nuts-bolts.aspx

[Drake Palmer]

Man, rough night for the MIAC in non-conference play as Mac & UST are the only teams to win, and the conference goes 2-7.

Heidelberg 89      Bethel 87
UST 80         Pacific Lutheran    72
Whitman 108       St. Olaf 78
Buena Vista 81    Gustavus 60
Macalester 79   Crown 71
Wis Superior 86     Hamline    82
Simpson 95          Augsburg    71

I would certainly think the teams fare a bit better tonight. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but my guess is 3-3 today.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Slightly wider margin than I would have guessed in the SCSU vs. SJU game last night.   Perhaps SCSU felt they had something to prove after losing 2 straight to SJU.   I always like to see how D2 and D3 match up in basketball.

BU plays Concordia St. Paul in a few weeks, which I hope to attend, and though I'm guessing CSP will win, I think it will be a good experience for BU to play a presumably more athletic team.

[Smitty Oom]

With such a young team and less experienced I am not to shocked at the Johnnies getting blown out. Stokman was shutout, guessing he was guarded by someone bigger and more athletic than him as he is pretty small in stature, but I didn't watch the game. Guessing that the Johnnies will take this as a learning experience...

Hamline continues to beat teams in the UMAC, for whatever that is worth. They may exceed peoples low expectations this year.

Cobbs got beat bad by a very tough MSUM team. Watched a lot of this game and Cobbs showed great promise but the NSIC North reigning champs were too much for them on offense.

St. Thomas bounces back with three straight wins after an opening day loss. Still dont think they will be as great as in the past but still very solid.

MAC lost a tough one to Northwestern and barely beat Crown... I hope they are still working out the kinks otherwise my sleeper pick of the Scots to make playoffs doesnt look too good.

[GoldandBlueBU]

With such a young team and less experienced I am not to shocked at the Johnnies getting blown out. Stokman was shutout, guessing he was guarded by someone bigger and more athletic than him as he is pretty small in stature, but I didn't watch the game. Guessing that the Johnnies will take this as a learning experience...

Hamline continues to beat teams in the UMAC, for whatever that is worth. They may exceed peoples low expectations this year.

Cobbs got beat bad by a very tough MSUM team. Watched a lot of this game and Cobbs showed great promise but the NSIC North reigning champs were too much for them on offense.

St. Thomas bounces back with three straight wins after an opening day loss. Still dont think they will be as great as in the past but still very solid.

MAC lost a tough one to Northwestern and barely beat Crown... I hope they are still working out the kinks otherwise my sleeper pick of the Scots to make playoffs doesnt look too good.

You failed to note BU sneaking past Martin Luther...

[Smitty Oom]

With such a young team and less experienced I am not to shocked at the Johnnies getting blown out. Stokman was shutout, guessing he was guarded by someone bigger and more athletic than him as he is pretty small in stature, but I didn't watch the game. Guessing that the Johnnies will take this as a learning experience...

Hamline continues to beat teams in the UMAC, for whatever that is worth. They may exceed peoples low expectations this year.

Cobbs got beat bad by a very tough MSUM team. Watched a lot of this game and Cobbs showed great promise but the NSIC North reigning champs were too much for them on offense.

St. Thomas bounces back with three straight wins after an opening day loss. Still dont think they will be as great as in the past but still very solid.

MAC lost a tough one to Northwestern and barely beat Crown... I hope they are still working out the kinks otherwise my sleeper pick of the Scots to make playoffs doesnt look too good.

You failed to note BU sneaking past Martin Luther...

LOL! I only mentioned games I thought were important. Bethel handing it to Martin Luther is about as non-noteworthy as it gets! Will be fun to see the Royals stack up against the CU-Golden Bears.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Quiet here!  So does Augsburg possess UST kryptonite (they knocked them off last year as well, if I'm remember correctly)?

I'm guessing the case is rather that UST is still growing into their new cast, will be interesting to see how that goes over the course of the year.

[Smitty Oom]

Has been very quiet... But yes they did beat them last year at Si Melby Hall as well. I think it is more St Thomas growing into their cast as you mentioned, but also shows that Augsburg early season slump in non-conference has been busted and proved they are a real MIAC championship contender this year. Chuckie Smith a SCSU transfer for his final year of eligibility has been VERY good for them so far. Carleton better wake up before they get too far behind... They should have enough talent to be a playoff team this year.

[Smitty Oom]

Hamline beats UST... It may be time to face it that St. Thomas is not what they used to be and we may be seeing a changing of the guard. Bethel your window is open.

[bball1122]

First part of league play is finished - it's a jumbled mess after Bethel.

Augs, Cord, and SJU all sit at 2-1.   Hamline, GAC, UST, and SMU all 2-2.  Olaf 1-2.  Carleton surprisingly 1-3, and MAC struggling again at 0-4.

This weekend's games:

Bethel cruises at MAC on a Friday (any idea why?  Finals scheduling?).  Hard to pick an MVP for Bethel.  Magnuson is the horse in the middle, Wojta is the steady leader at the point, Tusler is capable of carrying them for stretches, and Hall is probably the most underappreciated, smartest player in the league.  MAC has talent but little depth - any idea what is up with Wyatt Ferm?

UST makes a statement at home, beating SJU.  Seems as though back to back conference losses had them fired up, as they hung 55 on the Johnnies in the first half, including 12-17 from 3 point range.  Elijah Hannah seems to be emerging as a freshman to watch.

Cord beats Olaf at home - Austin Nelson, Zach Kinny and Dylan Alderman have turned into really good MIAC players.  Winning by 13 despite 22 turnovers is impressive for the Cobbers.

Hamline with their second big road win in a row, after knocking off UST.  Zach Smith continues to impress, and Jay Betts is one of the most exciting players in the league.  Carleton has an imposing front line but just is struggling to score right now.  Depth is an issue for the Knights.

Saint Mary's knocks off GAC at home.  Wiley Ferron impressive, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh has been a great addition for the Cardinals.   GAC still seems to be searching for the right combination to be consistent. 

All in all, it seems like Bethel is the class of the league.  After that, who knows?  UST seems like they are "down" this year, but I still think they are going to be tough.  Hamline is outplaying their preseason last place ranking.  I think we could end up with 7 or 8 teams between 8 and 12 conference wins - should make for an exciting January and February. 

[GoldandBlueBU]

UST's early performance has surprised me - couldn't have imagined them losing to Hamline.  However, it is only December, and I think it's far too early to count them out.  They have talent, and a couple of months to get things clicking, and I would bet that they'll make the MIAC playoffs and still be a team that nobody wants to play.  I think we saw a bit of that in their response to losing to Aug and Hamline by drubbing the Johnnies on Saturday.

I am curious to see how BU handles a "sustaining" role within their performance...wondering whether they'll be able to keep things at a high level all year, while taking everyone's best shot, as they've never been "that" team before.

[Gregory Sager]

Given that the Royals are being touted on this board as the likely class of the MIAC this season, I watched about two-thirds of Friday's Bethel @ Macalester contest before the lack of competitiveness forced me to turn it off. BU looked pretty solid, although some of what I was seeing was the consequence of Macalester being nothing more than a one-man band.

[bball1122]

UST's early performance has surprised me - couldn't have imagined them losing to Hamline.  However, it is only December, and I think it's far too early to count them out.  They have talent, and a couple of months to get things clicking, and I would bet that they'll make the MIAC playoffs and still be a team that nobody wants to play.  I think we saw a bit of that in their response to losing to Aug and Hamline by drubbing the Johnnies on Saturday.

I am curious to see how BU handles a "sustaining" role within their performance...wondering whether they'll be able to keep things at a high level all year, while taking everyone's best shot, as they've never been "that" team before.

For the record, my "down" comment about UST meant they may not win a national title.  I still see them as a top 3 team in the league, and wouldn't be surprised if they made the NCAA tournament again.  I certainly would not want to play them in the MIAC playoffs.

[Smitty Oom]

Given that the Royals are being touted on this board as the likely class of the MIAC this season, I watched about two-thirds of Friday's Bethel @ Macalester contest before the lack of competitiveness forced me to turn it off. BU looked pretty solid, although some of what I was seeing was the consequence of Macalester being nothing more than a one-man band.

MAC is terrible and there seems to be no hope. I appear to be quite wrong with my bold prediction of them making the playoffs this year. Bethel is super solid all the way around, lacking depth at times but a few people have stepped up for them, namely Granger Kingland. What a start of his Royal career for him! Lock for All-Rookie team at this point. Tune into a Bethel UST game Sager and you will not be disappointed, those will be a couple fun ones!

As for UST... I still like them to take second and possibly take the crown from the Royals this year. With that being said they are no longer deserving of receiving votes for the top 25 and Bethel should be receiving quote a few votes IMO, although the opening day loss hurts the resume. Tauer will find a way over the break to get them on a roll, as they seemingly always do in February. Don't Quote me on this but I believe UST has lost a couple conference games the past couple seasons in Dec, like last year against a non-playoff Carleton team. Will be fun to see how it plays out!

[Drake Palmer]

Given that the Royals are being touted on this board as the likely class of the MIAC this season, I watched about two-thirds of Friday's Bethel @ Macalester contest before the lack of competitiveness forced me to turn it off. BU looked pretty solid, although some of what I was seeing was the consequence of Macalester being nothing more than a one-man band.

MAC is terrible and there seems to be no hope. I appear to be quite wrong with my bold prediction of them making the playoffs this year. Bethel is super solid all the way around, lacking depth at times but a few people have stepped up for them, namely Granger Kingland. What a start of his Royal career for him! Lock for All-Rookie team at this point. Tune into a Bethel UST game Sager and you will not be disappointed, those will be a couple fun ones!

As for UST... I still like them to take second and possibly take the crown from the Royals this year. With that being said they are no longer deserving of receiving votes for the top 25 and Bethel should be receiving quote a few votes IMO, although the opening day loss hurts the resume. Tauer will find a way over the break to get them on a roll, as they seemingly always do in February. Don't Quote me on this but I believe UST has lost a couple conference games the past couple seasons in Dec, like last year against a non-playoff Carleton team. Will be fun to see how it plays out!

Sorry to have missed out on the sudden posting flurry.     It's been a busy week or so for me. I've still been following the league and even watched a portion of Greg Sager's North Park team play Illinois Wesleyan last week.  Nice surprise.

Speaking of surprises, major surprise by the Tommies' early showing in the conference with losses to Augsburg & Hamline. Then when everyone is starting to write them off (me included) improbably, they followed up with a thorough beat down of what were the high-flying Johnnies.  Whodda thunk?  If the Tommies can beat UW Stevens Point this week, the Tommies might be back on track.  "Might be."  I'm still not sold on their defense, and who shoots the three ball the way they did against the Jays?

On paper, Bethel still should be favored to win the league, but I've been soured on them ever since watching a stinko game against Heidelberg, and the narrow win over Luther, who is generally a doormat in the IIAC. However, the season is still young and they certainly have the talent to win the league this year.  I like Bethel's Granger Kingsland as well (although that headband ought to go  )  I'm also quite high on the Johnnies' Jubie Alade. Very athletic, and a nice finisher around the rim.

Smitty, I was with you and thought Mac might make some noise this year.  But several key factors:

* Dylan Kilgour doesn't seem to have found a consistent groove yet this year.

* Where the heck is Wyatt Ferm?

* Ferm, Kilgour, Gutierrez, and Ismail should be a strong foursome.