MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[TommieHoops4Life]

I don't know the details, but my guess about Keating is that he transferred to UST to be closer to home. The school is practically walking distance from his alma-mater, and now his family and friends can watch him play. The fans at UST have been horrible the last few years. We were lucky if half the students there were even paying attention to the game. I tried to throw in my 10 cents with my yelling and berating players , and compared to the rest of the crowd, I probably looked intoxicated when I was actually sober for every game! When you try to get them to cheer, it's like pulling teeth for them to yell, which is disappointing. The Tommies are at Gustavus next Wednesday... hmm I may have to show up to that one, I can definitely get out of work early enough for a game like that, especially at a great atmosphere like Gus Young.

[pacific rim]

rather a rough comparison there, don't you think, willy?  dixon is a little classier than your typical miac cellar-dwelling thug.  concordia is a little more reputable in these years than smu and hamline.

[megalomaniac]

First hand knowledge that Keating came to UST from St Michaels College in Vermont (a D2 school-where he was on scholarship) in order to be closer to home. Having an old high school teammate on the squad, an assistant who he has a close relationship with, and a lot of friends at the school certainly helped.

[Russian Mig AK47]

Craig, I mean Greg, Sager-- I realize you are some sort of legendary poster.  However, in retroactive response to the comment in which you insinuated that it is more important to win a regional non-conference game that may have national implications than exploring your team and preparing for conference play, I couldn't disagree with you more.  Correct me if I am wrong, but, you get an automatic bid if you win your conference tournament.  Not only that, but winning a conference championship is a much more tangible goal than winning the national title.  You have to do well in conference play before you can be concerned about the national tournament.  So, in my opinion your non-conference games are much better served through bench exploration against a high caliber opponent than say playing a short bench in order to win a big game.

OAS -- That guy in the picture you posted has enormous pipes, he must work out.

Tim G -- Your posts are long-winded, you need to be more concise.  Or at least trick us by breaking your posts up in to many short paragraphs so we don't feel we are reading so much.  Keep in mind some of the audience, namely me, has a severe case of ADD.  I think you probably have good things to say, I just can't get over that obstacle.

UST/GAC game -- UST plays horrible defense.  It is a good thing they have such a talented and experienced offense because they are going to need to score a lot of points.  Again, the bench was way too short - 7 people legitmately played.  Forkrud is going to be the key player for CAR, he has incredible lower body strength and it allows him to take extremely easy shots.  Tommy Drake is a great scorer, but he will not be nearly as consistent as big Dan. Drake did not take a single uncontested shot, and seemed to make everything (although looking at the box score 9-20 is not that hot), however, shots like that will lead to inconsistency.

UST Fans -- my freshman year we had a fairly gnarly team and still maintained little to no fan support (besides the obvious rivalry matchups) UNTIL, that is, we made it to conference championship and in to the national tournament -- Shoenecker Arena has never rocked so hard.  But, it is safe to say that there simply won't be a great and unruly fan base until the end of the season, if then.

TH4L-- I remember seeing you at those games when you were a boisterous undergrad, and it is safe to say that you did not just look drunk, YOU WERE WASTED.

[Drake Palmer]

Craig, I mean Greg, Sager-- I realize you are some sort of legendary poster.  However, in retroactive response to the comment in which you insinuated that it is more important to win a regional non-conference game that may have national implications than exploring your team and preparing for conference play, I couldn't disagree with you more.  Correct me if I am wrong, but, you get an automatic bid if you win your conference tournament.  Not only that, but winning a conference championship is a much more tangible goal than winning the national title.  You have to do well in conference play before you can be concerned about the national tournament.  So, in my opinion your non-conference games are much better served through bench exploration against a high caliber opponent than say playing a short bench in order to win a big game.

Ak47 - This ought to be fun to watch.

As you may recall Greg, in a previous post of mine I stated that there will be 58 teams in the Mens' Tourney.  I would like to point out that I did obtain my information  directly from the D3Hoops FAQ section.  I'm assuming there must be a more recent update than the one I referenced?  The 2005-2006 NCAA D3 hoops manual?   



D3Hoops FAQ


http://www.d3hoops.com/faq.php?question=32

[Willy Wonka]

Mig - I think you may be misconstruing what Gregory had to say. Everyone seems in agreement that St. Thomas will do well in the MIAC, thereby earning a spot in the enlarged tournament field (58 or 59, depending on who you ask ) regardless of whether they nab the AQ. Perhaps I am putting false words in Gregory's mouth, but I think he was implying that - especially in the smaller field of the past - such an in-region loss to a team competing for the same spot may have been a killer for an at-large berth - love to play'em, learn to win'em.

I don't think you will find anyone - outside of the BU coaching staff - arguing that preseason patsies are the better way to go. Regardless, I can't wait to see his response to you chumps questioning his authority

Gregory - Since I know you will be here sooner or later...rumor has it a small gaggle of Gusties will be making the trip to Kenosha on the 30th. Have any restaurant recommendations for us...err...them?

[sju4life]

hmmm..... interesting SJU game vs the cobbers.  I would like to say the cobbers won because they were or are a better team but thats just false information.  did they win and deserve the win, oh yea cant take that away from them.  They had so many easy baskets in the second half it was sickening.  Not only did the cobbers outshoot the jonnies 47% for the game to 39% of the game the jonnies also shot an aweful 62% from the free throw line (13-21).  Throughout the whole game though  sju still had a lead for i would guess 75% of the game. Also later in the second half Ohme and Hinrichs were both in foul trouble. To go even farther sju was missing probably there best offensive weapon in tyler westman.  Now with all that said, SJU loses fair and square, cobbers played a heck of a game and deserved win but when SJU gets westman back, hits a couple more freethrows they are going to be able to compete and compete well with any miac team including st. thomas

[Willy Wonka]

Assuming both teams take care of business this weekend...when was the last time an undefeated team ranked 13th in the nation who enjoys a huge homecourt advantage was NOT favored in a home game against a team who isn't receiving ANY votes and isn't undefeated?

Voters are crazy.

[columbianmaffia]

if any of ya are on the facebook "college guys you know what im talkin about" you might want to check this girl out from florida st. university http://fsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70103 it is well worth your time

[Gregory Sager]

Craig, I mean Greg, Sager-- I realize you are some sort of legendary poster.

... which has nothing to do with anything. HOF status doesn't give anybody immunity. If I'm wrong I expect to be called out for it on Posting Up. I'd actually be disappointed if I wasn't.

However, in retroactive response to the comment in which you insinuated that it is more important to win a regional non-conference game that may have national implications than exploring your team and preparing for conference play, I couldn't disagree with you more.

I insinuated no such thing. You're reading something into my posts that wasn't there. The topic of "exploring your team and preparing for conference play" was never even raised in our earlier exchange back on November 20 and 21.

In fact, I upheld the primacy of league play. Allow me to quote myself from waaay back in post #632 (November 20): "I disagree -- not with the idea that conference play is of paramount importance, but with the idea that the national scene will take care of itself and that the St. Thomas vs. Wisconsin-Stout game is therefore of minor importance."

This bit about "exploring your team and preparing for conference play" is just stuff that you threw into the debate tonight. It doesn't have a thing to do with anything I've said up to this point.

[Correct me if I am wrong, but, you get an automatic bid if you win your conference tournament.  Not only that, but winning a conference championship is a much more tangible goal than winning the national title.  You have to do well in conference play before you can be concerned about the national tournament.  So, in my opinion your non-conference games are much better served through bench exploration against a high caliber opponent than say playing a short bench in order to win a big game.

You're shotgunning a bunch of different concepts into one paragraph, so let me sort them out and deal with them one at a time.

1) "conference championship is a much more tangible goal than winning the national title": Yes. You're stating the obvious there. Aside from the fact that a conference title means getting a leg up on an automatic NCAA tourney bid via hosting the conference tourney, programs do attach a lot of importance to winning a conference title as a goal for its own sake. You get prestige, bragging rights, and a trophy for that, too.

2) "you have to do well in conference play before you can be concerned about the national tournament": Sure, if you're speaking of "well" in relative terms. But it's not an absolute that you have to win your conference in order to succeed in the NCAAs. There have been plenty of examples of at-large teams that've come close to running the table in March. Calvin finished second to Albion in the MIAA last season, and yet it was the Knights and not the Britons that made it to the Final Four. Ditto for Illinois Wesleyan, which finished third in the CCIW in 2001 but made it to the Final Four while CCIW champ Elmhurst and runner-up Carthage fell short of Salem.

3) "So in my opinion your non-conference games are much better served through bench exploration against a high-caliber opponent than, say, playing a short bench in order to win a big game.": As you say, this is where we enter the realm of opinion. You have a valid point, although one can make an argument the other way and say that the effect of winning a big non-conference game against a powerful opponent (UW-Stout qualifies as one, IMO) can be a huge morale boost to the team regardless of how many players get to play and how much tick they get. Plus, there's the basic argument that winning a game is always important, no matter the surrounding circumstances.

What isn't a matter of opinion, though, is that this was a West Region game. As such, it bears more weight for the Tommies than a garden-variety non-conference contest against a Culver-Stockton or a Lake Forest or even a D2 team such as St. Cloud State. The fact that you have not yet addressed this in any of your arguments is telling.

Look, nobody doubts that Steve Fritz holds winning the MIAC as a primary goal, for several reasons. But his team is good, and he knows it. I'm sure that he aspires to make some noise in March, whether he says so publicly or not. Fritz has been around for 31 years, and he is one of only three MIAC coaches to taste the Final Four (the Tommies made it there in 1994) in the 29 years that the D3 tournament has been in existence. He knows the landscape. He knows that you can't just bank on winning the MIAC conference tournament championship. A Pool C berth is a necessary backup plan, and to do that you have to establish your credentials in the five primary criteria for the D3 selection committee. All five of those criteria are predicated upon regional play, and games against top-caliber competition become particularly important among those regional games.

The gist of this discussion is that you pooh-poohed the importance of the UW-Stout game for the Tommies. I said that it has an importance that you failed to acknowledge. I never said that it was of an importance on par with a MIAC game. Quite the opposite.

Mig - I think you may be misconstruing what Gregory had to say. Everyone seems in agreement that St. Thomas will do well in the MIAC, thereby earning a spot in the enlarged tournament field (58 or 59, depending on who you ask ) regardless of whether they nab the AQ. Perhaps I am putting false words in Gregory's mouth, but I think he was implying that - especially in the smaller field of the past - such an in-region loss to a team competing for the same spot may have been a killer for an at-large berth - love to play'em, learn to win'em.

That's pretty close to what I was driving at, Brett. More precisely, what I was saying is that Fritz can't take that Pool C spot for granted if he needs it -- even with Pool C having been expanded to 18 teams this year. And how terrible would it be for Tommies fans if one of the teams with which they were vying for a Pool C slot on Selection Monday was UW-Stout? Well, terrible for the Tommies fans who didn't spend all season hitting on chicks in the stands, at least.  

I don't think you will find anyone - outside of the BU coaching staff - arguing that preseason patsies are the better way to go. Regardless, I can't wait to see his response to you chumps questioning his authority

I've tried that "I am the great and all-powerful Oz!" speech before. It works for me about as well as it worked for Professor Marvel in the movie.  

Man, this has been a long post. Funballer is going to have a stroke when he sees this. 

[Gregory Sager]

[As you may recall Greg, in a previous post of mine I stated that there will be 58 teams in the Mens' Tourney.  I would like to point out that I did obtain my information  directly from the D3Hoops FAQ section.  I'm assuming there must be a more recent update than the one I referenced?  The 2005-2006 NCAA D3 hoops manual?

I still have not seen hide nor hair of that '06 manual, Drake. I base my statement that this year's field will have 59 teams upon the word of your homeboy, a Mr. P. Coleman. Check out "Notables" from November 11 (the story entitled "One bye for '06 women"), third paragraph, first sentence. Pat's also made reference to the 59 number somewhere on Posting Up at least once, but I'm not going to hunt for it; I gave myself a headache just trying to go back through this room to find my previous conversation with Russian Mig from two weeks ago. 

Gregory - Since I know you will be here sooner or later...rumor has it a small gaggle of Gusties will be making the trip to Kenosha on the 30th. Have any restaurant recommendations for us...err...them?

Keeping in mind that Kenosha is not exactly the haute cuisine capital of the midwest, the place that I'd recommend is the Boat House Pub, which is right on the lakefront about five minutes' drive south of the Carthage campus. Great burgers. It comes with a big recommendation: The person who introduced me to the place is none other than Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, a man who has a reputation for finding great eateries,

http://www.foodspot.com/boathouse

Alas, as usual when I go up to watch a Carthage game, I'll probably eat my postgame meal following the GAC @ Carthage contest at the Wendy's right next to the Kenosha train station. 

[Pipes]

Hey OAS - Which guy in that picture are we supposed to love?

Hey Mig - You going to the game tomorrow?

Looks like St. Thomas field a lineup similar to that of the Scots with 3 big guys, so the Scots will likely have a little more trouble on the inside than they did against the Royals.  The Tommies also have the advantage shooting the ball with Schnettler and Sweeney, but see the first catch phrase:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Berman

[onearmedscot]

To save people useless clicks..."That's why they play the game."

Pipes, the untalented, no game lazy fool in the pic...that should narrow it down for ya.

And the award for "Longest  reply to several quoted comments"  goes to...Gregory Sager!

oAs

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

My B... Just was addressing some Q's that have been put out there for response. You don't have to read it if you don't want. Would you rather have me spread them out over 2 or 3 pages next time??

I say negative 2 Karma for FB!!

B34 - Don't let the bast*rds get you down.  In my book I think you post with refreshing candor & insight, without the proverbial blinders on.

Agreed....I've enjoyed your posts 34 and find them candid, honest & unbiased...not your fault of some readers can only handle bullet ponits 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

What happened to Kootsikas?

oAs

broke hand, football, out 4-6 weeks...see (several) earlier posts...are you giving LoCo a run for HIS oney?