MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Cav-J]

Team | Remaining opponents winning %

SJU [.794]
UST [.673]
GAC [.627]
Bethel [.612]
SMU [.529]
St. Olaf [.500]
Augsburg [.451]
Macalester [.385]
Carleton [.324]
Hamline [.283]
Concordia [.201]

No bragging but I picked last night's games perfectly. Let's keep it rolling..

Augsburg over Mac [Trap game however? Mac beat Augsburg last year in the final week of the season. Augies by 8]

SMU over Hamline [Normally I would say this a trap game for Red Birds but Fanny's crew needs the win for 1st ever playoff birth [SMU by 17]

Bethel over GAC [Two teams seeming in free-fall. Bethel played better last night but still not right without Granger. SMU would like GAC to lose]

Carleton over SO. [Carleton looked absolutely dog tired last night in Winona. I thought they would come out with fire since they were still in the playoff hunt but were down 12-2 and by 27 points at one point. The Carls have 5 guys with 32+ mins/game. Looked tired. I still think that they beat SO because the 'goat' is on the line and this gives the seniors something to play for. Carls by 8. Oh yeah, SMU would like to see SO lose].

UST and SJU. Doesn't matter which teams wins this game. The fans and basketball world wins. UST by 4.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Team | Remaining opponents winning %

SJU [.794]
UST [.673]
GAC [.627]
Bethel [.612]
SMU [.529]
St. Olaf [.500]
Augsburg [.451]
Macalester [.385]
Carleton [.324]
Hamline [.283]
Concordia [.201]

No bragging but I picked last night's games perfectly. Let's keep it rolling..

Augsburg over Mac [Trap game however? Mac beat Augsburg last year in the final week of the season. Augies by 8]

SMU over Hamline [Normally I would say this a trap game for Red Birds but Fanny's crew needs the win for 1st ever playoff birth [SMU by 17]

Bethel over GAC [Two teams seeming in free-fall. Bethel played better last night but still not right without Granger. SMU would like GAC to lose]

Carleton over SO. [Carleton looked absolutely dog tired last night in Winona. I thought they would come out with fire since they were still in the playoff hunt but were down 12-2 and by 27 points at one point. The Carls have 5 guys with 32+ mins/game. Looked tired. I still think that they beat SO because the 'goat' is on the line and this gives the seniors something to play for. Carls by 8. Oh yeah, SMU would like to see SO lose].

UST and SJU. Doesn't matter which teams wins this game. The fans and basketball world wins. UST by 4.

I am as excited as anyone outside the immediate SMU "family" about the Cardinals success thus far this season. however,  this will NOT be their first ever berth in the playoffs.  In the first year of the MIAC Playoffs- way back in the 1984-85 season, SMU was a semifinalist, losing to Hamline 64-56. Granted only 4 teams made the field so everyone involved was a semifinalist but as far as I know SMU has not vacated nor had that playoff appearance rescinded. (for reference see pages 29-31 of the MIAC record book https://www.miacathletics.com/history/records/2019MBB.pdf)

So this year  will be their second appearance and I'm thinking they should win the 4/5 game over Bethel (with Augsburg winning easily over either Olaf or GAC)

[Cav-J]

Team | Remaining opponents winning %

SJU [.794]
UST [.673]
GAC [.627]
Bethel [.612]
SMU [.529]
St. Olaf [.500]
Augsburg [.451]
Macalester [.385]
Carleton [.324]
Hamline [.283]
Concordia [.201]

No bragging but I picked last night's games perfectly. Let's keep it rolling..

Augsburg over Mac [Trap game however? Mac beat Augsburg last year in the final week of the season. Augies by 8]

SMU over Hamline [Normally I would say this a trap game for Red Birds but Fanny's crew needs the win for 1st ever playoff birth [SMU by 17]

Bethel over GAC [Two teams seeming in free-fall. Bethel played better last night but still not right without Granger. SMU would like GAC to lose]

Carleton over SO. [Carleton looked absolutely dog tired last night in Winona. I thought they would come out with fire since they were still in the playoff hunt but were down 12-2 and by 27 points at one point. The Carls have 5 guys with 32+ mins/game. Looked tired. I still think that they beat SO because the 'goat' is on the line and this gives the seniors something to play for. Carls by 8. Oh yeah, SMU would like to see SO lose].

UST and SJU. Doesn't matter which teams wins this game. The fans and basketball world wins. UST by 4.

I am as excited as anyone outside the immediate SMU "family" about the Cardinals success thus far this season. however,  this will NOT be their first ever berth in the playoffs.  In the first year of the MIAC Playoffs- way back in the 1984-85 season, SMU was a semifinalist, losing to Hamline 64-56. Granted only 4 teams made the field so everyone involved was a semifinalist but as far as I know SMU has not vacated nor had that playoff appearance rescinded. (for reference see pages 29-31 of the MIAC record book https://www.miacathletics.com/history/records/2019MBB.pdf)

So this year  will be their second appearance and I'm thinking they should win the 4/5 game over Bethel (with Augsburg winning easily over either Olaf or GAC)

Jumped the gun. 1st playoff appearance in the new system [2001]. Also, I graduated from SMC in 1991 and I went back that far when doing my stats so I missed the 1985 appearance [4 teams]. Either way, been a really, really long time..

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Also, assuming SJU beats Bethel next week and UST beats Olaf and SMU... if UST wins Saturday's "Mother of all battles"....the two would end up tied for fist. the tie-breaker??  RANDOM DRAW (https://www.miacathletics.com/championships/mbkb/2019-20/index). Mackenzie v Tauer in a Vegas-style cut of the deck for home court edge? Maybe a coaches v. coaches game to break the tie?

Should the Tommie women move into second place (very doubtful but mathematically possible-- they need to win out with Augsburg losing all three of its games and GAC losing one) then UST would host a semifinals doubleheader with the men at 5 pm and the women at 7pm.

Cav-J--- you did the same thing SMU's SID did

[jamtod]

Peak VOJ so far on the stream.

[jamtod]

I get to eat my pessimistic words in advance of this UST SJU game.

[txg]

The coronation of St. Mary's as a playoff team is on hold after today's loss to Hamline.  If they win at Gustavus they are in.  But if they don't, they are in real trouble, as I believe they would lose tiebreakers to both St. Olaf and Gustavus.  They would probably need Olaf to lose to Mac.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I get to eat my pessimistic words in advance of this UST SJU game.

need mustard for on them? 


God what a fun game! Packed house in Johnnyville, the Pack was loud and enthusiastic but UST came out firing the trey...draining 6 of their first 8 to race off to a 23-10 lead.....the Js fought back and even tied it, but UST quickly ran the gap to 9. The Toms held their own on the board and shot 55% from the floor and 57.9% for 3 pt range (and held SJU to 21.1% on threes.

I hear VOJ was carping forever after the game that a 3-seconds in lane violation cost SJU the game. VOJ-- if the kid had been in the lane any longer, he'd owe property tax on the land.

So now the Toms need to take care of  business at Olaf Wednesday and at home v SMU Sat and hope for either a Bethel win over SJU or luck in the draw 

[Walter Eagle]

I get to eat my pessimistic words in advance of this UST SJU game.

need mustard for on them? 


God what a fun game! Packed house in Johnnyville, the Pack was loud and enthusiastic but UST came out firing the trey...draining 6 of their first 8 to race off to a 23-10 lead.....the Js fought back and even tied it, but UST quickly ran the gap to 9. The Toms held their own on the board and shot 55% from the floor and 57.9% for 3 pt range (and held SJU to 21.1% on threes.

I hear VOJ was carping forever after the game that a 3-seconds in lane violation cost SJU the game. VOJ-- if the kid had been in the lane any longer, he'd owe property tax on the land.

So now the Toms need to take care of  business at Olaf Wednesday and at home v SMU Sat and hope for either a Bethel win over SJU or luck in the draw 

VOJ and his buddy were obsessed with that call and talked about it several times as the game unwound.  There is no way either of them was watching the lane at the time so they couldn't really comment on the accuracy of the call. 

Instead they complained about a "non-consequential" action been called a foul, taking away 3 points and stopping momentum at a crucial point in the game.  In other words a foul away from the action should not be called when the game is on the line.  Problem is that it was consequential if the 3-point shot was missed and had to be rebounded. 

Also, I don't understand why the primary camera operator wasn't fired at half-time.  Lost track of the number of times he/she didn't follow the action up the floor, in a couple of cases missing the entire action at the other end.  Somebody in the booth was trying to cover up for the inattention problem by switching to the corner camera occasionally.  From a broadcast quality perspective, this game sucked. 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

The 3 second violation happened with over 10 minutes left in the game, It hardly tipped the scales of the game Crying and bellyaching "we was robbed & jobbed"  is a key part of Johnnie DNA and a gigantic part of VOJ's schtick as the most biased announcer in the business. He should be explaining the nuances of the game as well as describing the flow of action, rather than whining and bitching about the officials, the opposing coach, and any other perceived slights to his beloved Js.

I have always said I'd never want to ref a Tommie/Johnnie game and I'm sure its one assignment most refs hope not to get. I thought the crew yesterday called a good  and even game. They let a lot of things go both ways but kept the defenses honest. There were a couple of calls and non-calls that I thought UST got screwed on and if I'm honest an equal number on which SJ2 got screwed, but I also admit moste of those were the fan in me wishing our guy hadn't traveled or whatever the infraction was.

I get to 2-3 games a year at collegeville and each and every game there is at least one scoreboard/scorekeeper/clock foul up. There were a couple of minor flub ups yesterday but nothing too major-- although messing up the number of timeouts left  in the closing minute of a tight game could have been far more impactful than a 3 second call 10 minutes earlier. (One of my all time favorite SJ2 scoreboard screwups was about 12 years ago when a fan weakling behind the table tripped over the cords connecting the clock etc to the power source and disconnected them. Talk about chaos!)

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

game report from a neutral viewer (good to see you again yesterday Pat): https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/02/wrapup-men-0215
just the facts, unbiased.

[Pat Coleman]

game report from a neutral viewer (good to see you again yesterday Pat): https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/02/wrapup-men-0215
just the facts, unbiased.

I think one of the great things about a game like that is that everyone sees it a little differently, and everyone can have a different turning point or key play to call out.

By the way, he had been in the lane for quite some time and on previous possessions as well. Tauer had been in the officials' ear on previous possessions. The call was going to come eventually.

[Titan Q]

I get to eat my pessimistic words in advance of this UST SJU game.

need mustard for on them? 


God what a fun game! Packed house in Johnnyville, the Pack was loud and enthusiastic but UST came out firing the trey...draining 6 of their first 8 to race off to a 23-10 lead.....the Js fought back and even tied it, but UST quickly ran the gap to 9. The Toms held their own on the board and shot 55% from the floor and 57.9% for 3 pt range (and held SJU to 21.1% on threes.

I hear VOJ was carping forever after the game that a 3-seconds in lane violation cost SJU the game. VOJ-- if the kid had been in the lane any longer, he'd owe property tax on the land.

So now the Toms need to take care of  business at Olaf Wednesday and at home v SMU Sat and hope for either a Bethel win over SJU or luck in the draw 

VOJ and his buddy were obsessed with that call and talked about it several times as the game unwound.  There is no way either of them was watching the lane at the time so they couldn't really comment on the accuracy of the call. 

Instead they complained about a "non-consequential" action been called a foul, taking away 3 points and stopping momentum at a crucial point in the game.  In other words a foul away from the action should not be called when the game is on the line.  Problem is that it was consequential if the 3-point shot was missed and had to be rebounded. 

Also, I don't understand why the primary camera operator wasn't fired at half-time.  Lost track of the number of times he/she didn't follow the action up the floor, in a couple of cases missing the entire action at the other end.  Somebody in the booth was trying to cover up for the inattention problem by switching to the corner camera occasionally.  From a broadcast quality perspective, this game sucked.

I was watching the game as a very neutral observer - literally didn't care who won.  I vote in the Top 25 poll and just wanted to get a better feel for each of these great teams.

I was kinda blown away by the St. John's play-by-play guy who obsessed over the 3 seconds call.  I tweeted the following in the moment - https://twitter.com/IWUhoopscom/status/1228776168813481987?s=20.

I think he called it a phantom call first...and then went on to basically say it shouldn't have been called because it didn't impact the play.  Then in the final seconds of the game, with the result decided, he came back to this play and, I believe, called it a turning point.

1) I don't think there is any way the broadcaster was watching the lane.

2) To suggest it shouldn't have been called - if indeed a violation - was kinda crazy.

3) To point to it as the turning point seemed like a crazy batch of sour grapes.

Ultimately I think it was his tone while he as saying all of this that bothered me the most.  I'm not even sure what the right word is for it.  Condescending?  I don't know just rubbed me the wrong way.

[Pat Coleman]

Mark (VOJ) is well known around these parts for being pretty much just that -- being a St. John's fan definitely colors his PBP. In football, he has a couple of analysts who help ameliorate that, but I don't watch nearly as much SJU basketball to know the dynamic.

[bball1122]

The Tommies were the better team yesterday.  I thought Tommy Anderson was outstanding - he's become a very good player.  Nelson was good (found the color commentary calling him a "punk" and poking fun at his "cute" man bun haircut to be classless), and Lindberg knocked down some big shots.  The Tommies were much better defensively this time around, and the Johnnies couldn't knock down enough outside shots (4-19 from three).   It's clear that Coach Tauer has tightened his rotation, with Will Engels falling out.    The Johnnies need more out of their guards.   It will be interesting to see if SJU gets another home NCAA tournament game this year and, if so, can they avoid another upset.  Final point on this game - as I (and others) previously mentioned, I thought the broadcast was borderline embarrassing for Saint John's.   It's one thing to be a homer, it's another to spend the entire broadcast carping about missed calls, calling the other team entitled, taking potshots at their players, etc.  Not a good look for the university.

In other action, Augsburg avoids the trap game and beats Mac.  Booker,with a cool 19, 8, 7, and 5,  is rounding into form and, in my opinion, is clearly the Player of the Year again.  Leading the league in scoring by over 4 PPG, third in rebounds, tied for third in assists, eighth in steals, fourth in blocks.  He set the bar so high last year that I think we're overlooking how truly dominant he has been again this year.  Not sure how long Carik is out, but mid-season transfer  Jack Sorenson could be in for some big minutes if it is an extended absence.  After scoring a ton of points during his HS career at Lakeville South, he went to prep school for a year, then to a D1 (American), then I believe was at a JUCO in Iowa for the first semester this year before landing with the Auggies.   As I said, he can score, as evidenced by his 17 against the Scots, and if Carik is out, they're going to need it. 

Carleton's six man band lights up the scoreboard, shooting a scorching 55% from the field, 57% from three.   Kent Hanson is having an outstanding senior season, and the trio of Battist, Beckler, and Tessier are a great start for next years team.  The Oles haven't been particularly good defensively this year, and it showed yesterday.    That controversial loss to Augsburg could cost them a playoff spot.

Bethel outlasts GAC, who is in a major tailspin.  At one point, the Gusties were sitting at 8-4 in the conference and looking like a near-lock for the playoffs.  Six straight losses later, they face a massive game at home on Wednesday against SMU.  No Kingland again for Bethel - have we confirmed he is out for the year?

SMU does not avoid the trap game.  Hamline pushed the lead to 14 with just under 5 minutes left, only to watch it go away with increased pressure from the Cardinals, who tied it up with just under 2 minutes to play and eventually took a lead.  Hamline keeps their heads, knocks down their free throws down the stretch, and prevails.  The Pipers have been playing fairly well the last few weeks and only lose one senior, plus they will return guard Jake Larson.  Another team with a good core returning next season.  For the Cardinals, they get lucky that the two teams below them both lose.   Wednesday is a massive game for them, as I don't see them beating UST next Saturday.   

As it stands, here are the teams fighting for the final two playoff spots:

SMU (9-9, @GAC, @UST)
GAC (8-10, SMU,  @AUGS)
STO (8-10*, UST, MAC)
CAR (7-12, HAM)

SMU is in with a win over GAC.   However, if they end in a three -way tie, they would be in tie-breaker trouble, as TXG mentioned.  If all three end up 9-11 or, less likely, 10-10, the  first tie-breaker is head to head vs all teams tied.  SMU would be 1-3, while GAC would be 2-2 and STO would be 3-1, leaving SMU out.  Olaf wins a tie-breaker with GAC. Carleton still has a glimmer of hope - if they win, they need GAC and STO to lose out.  If that happens, SMU and CAR will be the final two teams.

Setting up to be an exciting finish to the season!