MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Smitty Oom]

Watched a lot of this Jays Pipers game and it has to be the best game of the season so far. What a game with teams exchanging blows, excited to see how it ends up!

[Smitty Oom]

Sorry GoldandBlueBU... 

[GoldandBlueBU]

Sorry GoldandBlueBU... 

Don't be!  Like I said...pretenders.

Edit:  I don't want to sound too negative on them, just calling it like I see it.  I said before the season that I had doubts about their ability to "maintain" throughout the regular season as top dog.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them make a run to the championship in the playoffs...they just haven't ever really sustained a high level of performance consistently yet.

[AO]

Watched a lot of this Jays Pipers game and it has to be the best game of the season so far. What a game with teams exchanging blows, excited to see how it ends up!

I caught the end of this one, really rough way to lose when you're up 7 with the ball and only 44 ticks left.  I think I can safely say this is the first time I've seen this sequence happen.  Johnnies draw an offensive foul on an inbounds play when they were the ones attempting to intentionally foul and score 9 points in 17 seconds.

00:44               FOUL by SMITH,ZACH
00:44               TURNOVER by SMITH,ZACH
00:36   GOOD 3PTR by STROM,PATRICK   67   Hamline University   71 (+4)   
--   ASSIST by STOKMAN,DAVID            
00:34   FOUL by GOETZ,GARRETT            
00:34      67   Hamline University   72 (+5)   GOOD FT by LUKES,BRET
00:34      67   Hamline University   73 (+6)   GOOD FT by LUKES,BRET
00:34   SUB IN by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:34   SUB OUT by OLIVER,JOHN            
00:30   GOOD LAYUP by STOKMAN,DAVID(in the paint)   69   Hamline University   73 (+4)   
00:30               FOUL by LUKES,BRET
00:30   GOOD FT by STOKMAN,DAVID   70   Hamline University   73 (+3)   
00:30   TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM            
00:30               TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM
00:29   FOUL by GOETZ,GARRETT            
00:29               MISS FT by BETTS,JAY
--   REBOUND DEF by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:19   GOOD 3PTR by STROM,PATRICK   73   Hamline University   73   
--   ASSIST by STOKMAN,DAVID            
00:15   TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM            
00:15   SUB IN by OLIVER,JOHN            
00:15   SUB OUT by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:02               MISS LAYUP by BETTS,JAY
--   REBOUND DEF by OLIVER,JOHN            

[faunch]

Watched a lot of this Jays Pipers game and it has to be the best game of the season so far. What a game with teams exchanging blows, excited to see how it ends up!

I caught the end of this one, really rough way to lose when you're up 7 with the ball and only 44 ticks left.  I think I can safely say this is the first time I've seen this sequence happen.  Johnnies draw an offensive foul on an inbounds play when they were the ones attempting to intentionally foul and score 9 points in 17 seconds.

The official that made that call was horrible last night.  I hope for the sake of the MIAC he just had a bad night.

[Drake Palmer]

Watched a lot of this Jays Pipers game and it has to be the best game of the season so far. What a game with teams exchanging blows, excited to see how it ends up!

I caught the end of this one, really rough way to lose when you're up 7 with the ball and only 44 ticks left.  I think I can safely say this is the first time I've seen this sequence happen.  Johnnies draw an offensive foul on an inbounds play when they were the ones attempting to intentionally foul and score 9 points in 17 seconds.

00:44               FOUL by SMITH,ZACH
00:44               TURNOVER by SMITH,ZACH
00:36   GOOD 3PTR by STROM,PATRICK   67   Hamline University   71 (+4)   
--   ASSIST by STOKMAN,DAVID            
00:34   FOUL by GOETZ,GARRETT            
00:34      67   Hamline University   72 (+5)   GOOD FT by LUKES,BRET
00:34      67   Hamline University   73 (+6)   GOOD FT by LUKES,BRET
00:34   SUB IN by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:34   SUB OUT by OLIVER,JOHN            
00:30   GOOD LAYUP by STOKMAN,DAVID(in the paint)   69   Hamline University   73 (+4)   
00:30               FOUL by LUKES,BRET
00:30   GOOD FT by STOKMAN,DAVID   70   Hamline University   73 (+3)   
00:30   TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM            
00:30               TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM
00:29   FOUL by GOETZ,GARRETT            
00:29               MISS FT by BETTS,JAY
--   REBOUND DEF by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:19   GOOD 3PTR by STROM,PATRICK   73   Hamline University   73   
--   ASSIST by STOKMAN,DAVID            
00:15   TIMEOUT TEAM by TEAM            
00:15   SUB IN by OLIVER,JOHN            
00:15   SUB OUT by HENTGES,BRENT            
00:02               MISS LAYUP by BETTS,JAY
--   REBOUND DEF by OLIVER,JOHN            

First of all, that was a terrific ball game between Hamline and St. Johns last night, and a great environment at Hutton arena.  Unfortunately, the Pipes cracked a bit under pressure in the waning seconds of regulation, and the Johnnies took advantage of it with some terrific clutch shooting down the stretch. The first trey that Strom hit must have been a ridiculous 23-24 feet from the basket, while the Pipes had sagged off and were prepared to pick him up just behind the 3 pt line.

Tough luck for Hamline's Zach Smith who played a whale of a game, and broke several Johnnie defenders' ankles in the process as he glided into the paint to score on some sweet jumpers.  Sadly for Hamline fans, the sequence that AO linked was the beginning of the end for the Pipes. From my perspective, that was clearly an offensive foul by Smith as he pushed off with two hands to get away from his defender.  A tough break, but the right call.

The non foul call that had Hamline coach Jim Hayes rightfully blowing a gasket was at the end of OT when Smith took his last second trey  attempt. Hamline's Kalu Abosi went up for the offensive rebound and the Jays' John Oliver draped himself over the shoulders of Abosi, pulled him down, and then grabbed the rebound. Abosi then fouled Oliver trying to get the ball back.  After the game was over, Coach Hayes walked to the end of the team line and waited for the officials to exit the gym. Hayes angrily gestured to the ref who missed the call and demonstrated the foul that should have been called.

***

The remainder of this season and next year looks very promising as the Pipes, and Jays return virtually their entire starting lineups.  UST, Augsburg, Carleton, & St. Olaf will all have a great nucleus to build around.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

In every season there are surprises. Teams who rise to the top at some point making everyone take a second look at what is going on. For most, it is a matter of making sure they are still around come the midway part of the season. Are they still for real?

On Thursday's night's Hoopsville, Dave chats with teams who clearly aren't just start-to-the-season flash-in-the-pans. Some conference races are not shaping up how many expected when the season began and for these squads they are perfectly fine with that.

Don't forget tonight's coverage looks primarily at the East, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, and West Regions, but will also include taking a look at this week's NCAA Convention and other news around Division III basketball.

Hoopsville hits the air live at 7:00 PM ET. You can watch the show on the following link or on Facebook Live: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/jan19. If you are unable to watch the show live, you can catch up On Demand or listen (or download) the podcasts (available when the show concludes).

Don't forget to contribute to the new "Hoopsville Mailbag" segment. Email questions you may have to hoopsville@d3hoops.com. Dave will answer them on air tonight or on a future show.

Guests scheduled to appear (in order of appearance):
- Mike Miller, Messiah women's head coach
- Chris Downs, St. Lawrence men's head coach
- Jon Miller, Hanover men's head coach
- Chris Novak, Bethel men's head coach

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
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[GoldandBlueBU]

Strong home showing for the "up" side of BU's inconsistenty in a 94-70 drubbing of Hamline, which actually makes it sound closer than it was, as BU put up a total of 4 points over the last 6 minutes after the young guys came in for mop-up duty.  Bethel shot pretty well  from outside, but their overall shooting percentage was gaudy simply due to how many layups Hamline gave up.

I didn't catch Bethel's earlier game with Hamline, and haven't seen any of Hamline's other games, but was left perplexed as to how they basically had beat SJU week, though they lost the game.  Their win over UST is impressive as well, though it seems that the Tommies were just getting organized in the losses to Ham and Augsburg, and have now figured things out pretty well.

A bit of an opportunity for a tune-up this week (or it should be, anyway) with St. Olaf and Mac, before a tougher stretch of @UST, home vs. Carl, and home vs. SJU the following week.

[Smitty Oom]

I think that Granger Kingland has a very good shot at being the d3hoops.com West Region of the year... he has been unreal good as a freshman for a very solid team. With that being said I dont follow the other leagues quite as close so I could be missing someone else really good in the region. It will be very interesting to see how he improves and how he handles being opposing teams number one/a more workload in the upcoming years.

[GoldandBlueBU]

I think that Granger Kingland has a very good shot at being the d3hoops.com West Region of the year... he has been unreal good as a freshman for a very solid team. With that being said I dont follow the other leagues quite as close so I could be missing someone else really good in the region. It will be very interesting to see how he improves and how he handles being opposing teams number one/a more workload in the upcoming years.

He's been a great surprise.  Tusler will still be around next year, along with 2 more years of Magnusson, and Jack Jenson emerging as a Freshman Phenom right along with him, though he doesn't have the quite the same long ball, so he isn't putting up as big of numbers. 

There will certainly be a bit of a dropoff next year losing Wojta and Hall, but not nearly what I would have guessed before this season.

[Smitty Oom]

With the second half of the MIAC calander already started I have decided it would be a good time to do a quick Mid-Season award list!

Rookie Team:
Granger Kingland, BU
Chuckie Smith, AU*
Jubie Alade, SJU
Nate Albers, STO
Kalu Abosi, HU

*He has been sent to the bench for McKiernen, who has been great for them and minutes have been declining so he may not be in the end of season team. Kent Hanson for the Knights has come on strong lately, could see him in there instead.

Defensive All-MIAC:
Austin Nelson, Cord
Ryan Boll, UST
Kevin Grow, CC
Trevor Hall, BU
Freddie Gillespie, CC
*Had some reservations putting two Knights on here but they are both one and two in terms of blocks and voters will use this stat as a separator.

HM Team All-MIAC:
G Brycen Wjota, BU
G Q Smith-Pugh, SMU
G Dylan Alderman, Cord
F Robert Trobroxen, STO
F Peter Kruize, GAC
F Kareem Ismail, MAC**

Third Team All-MIAC:
G Michael Gutierrez, MAC**
G Grant Shaeffer, UST
G Zach Kinny, Cord
F Austin Nelson, Cod
F Derek Magnuson, BU

Second Team All-MIAC:
G Bridge Tusler, BU
G David Stokman, SJU
F Ryan Boll, UST
F Riley Sharbono, GAC
F Wylie Ferron, SMU

First Team All-MIAC:
G Trevor Hall, BU
G Zach Smith, HU
F Colin Olmsheid, AU
F Tyler Weiss, SJU
F Kevin Grow, CC

**Need to see more wins for him to bump up to next tier of teams.

Sixth Man of the Year: Granger Kingland, BU
Has been consistently great off the bench providing a spark for one of the best teams in the MIAC. Other contenders would be Peter Kruize from GAC, Jubie Alade from SJU or Michael Hannon from UST.

Joe Hutton Player of the Year: Colin Olmsheid, AU
Unbeilavebly tough to stop and can score in many different ways. With that being said though, his lack of assists is kinda concerning. Also, if the Auggies do not make the playoffs I cannot give him the award, as good as he has been. I would give it to Weiss if he keeps up his stellar play or Zach Smith if Hamline finishes the second half as strong as the first half.

As for team awards...
Most Improved: Hamline Pipers
Coach of the Year: Coach Jim Hayes*
Best Team: St. Thomas Tommies

*This is kind of like in the NFL, where Belichick should win every year but people get voting fatigue so they will vote for someone else. Tauer is the best coach in the MIAC and if he wins another Regular season it would be tough not to vote for him. But at this point Hamline has been the most impressive team so I will give the nod to Coach Hayes.

I see the Tommies beating BU at the Shoe and winning their 100th straight MIAC title.

[Drake Palmer]

Nice list Smitty. With the Australian Open going on, I hardly have a chance to keep up with the hoops.  I should point out that the MIAC has an All FY team, while yours is an All Rookie team - which includes transfers. But no problem, this is your list.

I think a lot could change over the next 3 weeks or so, but right now my vote for 6th Man of the year would be Granger Kingland, Nate Albers, or Jay Betts. It would also be great to see one of the POY front runners step up and start carrying their team.   

Hopefully, beginning next week, I'll be able to get out from behind the computer console and see some games live in the next few weeks.

[Smitty Oom]

I went to the Cobber Oles game on Saturday and Realized that the Oles have an unreal 5 game non conference schedule.

#2 Whitman
#4 UW River Falls
#6 Whitworth
Stevens Point who is usually very solid
Bethany Lutheran or some UMAC school I dont know for

That explains there such high SOS and regional ranking despite average record.

They are playing better as of late winning 5 of the last 7 including a win at the Shoe.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I went to the Cobber Oles game on Saturday and Realized that the Oles have an unreal 5 game non conference schedule.

#2 Whitman
#4 UW River Falls
#6 Whitworth
Stevens Point who is usually very solid
Bethany Lutheran or some UMAC school I dont know for

That explains there such high SOS and regional ranking despite average record.

They are playing better as of late winning 5 of the last 7 including a win at the Shoe.

Um... what regional ranking? They haven't come out as of yet. First rankings are released Feb. 8. And unless you are checking out KnightSlappy's SOS numbers, those aren't out from the NCAA, either.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Man, the fact checking on this board is relentless!

Attended a closer than anticipated BU vs. MAC game on Saturday...Mac shot 50% for the game, but Bethel was able to answer and maintained a lead for all but a brief moment in the second half when they went down 67-65, and eventually had a strong push to close out the game (they were up 10 before mac hit a couple of threes to close the gap).  Mac has some talent, but just doesn't seem very cohesive on offense...lots of individual efforts at trying to break down defenders / score.  Gutierrez is a solid guard, and hit a number of threes, but doesn't seem to try and facilitate much, or at least didn't Saturday.  Ismail was solid in the post, and did just fine against a taller Magnusson. 

Ferm (IMO) has a ton of potential...super athletic, looked great a number of times, but disappeared for large portions of the game.  I'd want him more involved offensively if I'm a mac fan.

Big week for the Royals with the Tommies tonight (@UST), and Carleton Wednesday, SJU Saturday (both at home).  I'd be happy to see them go 2-1, but my head says 1-2.  Seems like they just can't every quite get over hump with UST, and then I'd bet they'll drop either the Carl or SJU games.  Would love to be proven wrong.