MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[onearmedscot]

So Miller's eye injury was minor?  Looks like he logged significant minutes.  Also looks like Citterman is not ready for the big time.

Congrats to Ham on breaking the 11 year hex.

oAs

[sumander]

Well, the Johnnies got the W but is was far from pretty. Like I stated earlier the Cobbs are a mere shell of the team they were. Miller and Citterman were a combine 7-32 from the field. I think it proves the point that you can't just plug people into that offense and have them be effective. It looked like they were afraid to shoot the ball. Of course 27% shooting from the field in the first half will do that.

On to the positive. Henrichs was an absolute animal in the first half on the boards. 9 defense of rebounds! 13 total boards to go along with 10 points. Looked like the bus ride had an effect on SJU in the first half, 10 TO 4A. The second half was better with 9 of each. They were 1-5 beyond the arc in the first half and 5-7 in the second half.

All in all a much needed road win for SJU to open the second half of the season.

[sumander]

So Miller's eye injury was minor?  Looks like he logged significant minutes

Miller played with goggles on. He put them up when he shot free throws. He worked his tail off, but couldn't hit the broadside of the barn! You are correct, Citterman is not ready!

[miacwatchmen]

oAs, MAC made me one loss closer to a sweet t-shirt 

What happened to them??

[columbianmaffia]

CAR punches UST in the face today 75-44...CAR set the tone early dominating down low putting UST's front line in foul trouble...forky ended with 24pts 15reb and the freshy johnson dropped a career high 25pts and they combined for all but 6 of the teams first half 41 pts...UST's big men have problems matching up with johnson, drake and forkrud....CAR has 8 in a row now...1 game out of first in 2nd place all alone with a rematch against HAM on wed night who beat them early in the year

[ustbumkneez]

Wow, Carleton impressed me this afternoon. Push their winning streak in conference to 8, and dismantle the Tommies 75-44. UST led for the first 10 mins of the game, but the Knights put together an exceptional run to close out the half behind Forkrud and Johnson (24 & 25 for the game). They scored 20 combined points to push Carleton ahead 41-27 at the break. USTs frontcourt was abused by those two. Ike got in some foul trouble, but I dont think that really mattered much, as Johnson and Forkrud would have scored on ANYONE today. Outside shooting didnt bail out the Tommies; they went 3-19 from deep. UST manages 17 points in the ENTIRE second half, and puts up their lowest offensive total of the year. Schnettler and Keating were the only Tommies in double figures, but did so on (not surprisingly) poor shooting performances. As a team, they shot 33 percent while allowing Carleton to shoot 50. Cant say enough about the way the Knights played, it was very impressive. Not too worried about the Tommies, always seem to lay an egg against Carleton once a year-look for UST to come out blazing next week, much like after the Auggie loss.

[ustbumkneez]

Some more thoughts from the game:
Behind Sweeney, I dont think theres a better point guard in the league than Phillips. *Hes just incredibly efficient and consistent. Each time Ive seen him, he gets better and better. Rarely makes mistakes, and controls the game well for Carleton.
*I know this loss has to sting a little bit more for Fritz, as Zach Johnson had all but 'committed' to UST last spring before deciding on Carleton for playing time concerns. The fact that he dominated the game, much like Forkrud has for the last 3 years against UST-including today, no doubt made it even tougher to swallow.

[gacbacker]

Nice win for Hamline today...too bad Kyle Foster might be the most annoying person I've ever had to watch play basketball. What a moron. After the game you would have thought the Pipers had just beaten Duke. See you in March Kyle.

[piperinsider]

Gacbacker-

I wasn't there, but something like a 11-year losing streak is equilvent to beating Duke. That is the biggest victory for the Piper program in the past decade, hands down.

In the all-conference talk, scratch DeRock, insert Foster.

[gacbacker]

I know P.I., not taking anything away from the Pipers...they deserved the W today. I was especially impressed with their improved defense. They didn't give Olson a single open look from the perimeter and they wisely sagged off Hollerich. TeBrake was bothered enough to be ineffective most of the game and Wittwer was held to one shot attempt.

Foster just irked me for many reasons.

One time he yelled at one of his teammates (head band #3)for not passing him the ball. His coach took him out and he continued to whine about not getting the ball for about 30 seconds.

Early in the game he scored over Sowden and jogged back down the court, turned to his bench and loudly said "All-day, All-day"

He also flailed about the court serveral times after missing shots looking for a foul. Rolled around like a gymnast.

Then the clincher was the post-game celebration. Act like you've been there before, that's all i ask.

[Willy Wonka]

I'm glad the Carlies stunned the Tommies to take the glare off the Gusties terrible showing today. I was up watching my sister play in St. Cloud. In scanning the Hamline program during the girls game (who charges $2 for that??), the closest I saw the Pipers come to GAC in the last five years was 13 points. The average margin must have been around 30.

What came to mind upon hearing the bad news?

Ned Schneebly's quote from School of Rock: You can blame it all on bad luck, but in the end maybe we just weren't that good.

I can't believe the guy we were all ripping on early in the season is a better all conference candidate than Keating...

[localcoach]

I stayed home yesterday to watch Duke lose its first game of the season and apparently I missed some great MIAC games.

My first thoughts last night when looking at the scoreboard were:

1) I'm not surprised Carleton beat St. Thomas, but to do so by 30+ points.  Wow!
2) Hamline beat Gustavus too.  This really shakes things up in the standings.

The Tommies shot 33% from the field and held Rosefelt and Sweeney to a combined 12 points.  Zach Johnson again played like he was an upperclassmen and not a freshman.  Mr. Forkrud has sure stepped up his game lately and the Knights also continue to get production from their point guard Mr. Phillips.

The Pipers hold Mr. Olson to 2 points and Mr. TeBrake finished shooting 6 of 19.  Did anyone go to this game?  I also see that Hamline must have directed the ball inside, as Sowden fouled out and Mr. Foster had yet another huge game for the Pipers. 

[funbballer]

Obviously, this isn't the same Gusties team people are used to seeing the past few years. They don't appear to have the desire to consistently play hard defense or possess the mental toughness needed to win big or tight games.

This bunch is making Hanson look like an "average coach" meaning he isn't getting them to perform like the winning teams from the past. The team doesn't play with any passion nor do they look like they enjoy playing the game. Like the coach...a pretty boring bunch!

Perhaps too much success from past teams = (1) these guys think they can go through the motions and win, and (2) the seniors show little or no leadership: TeBrake only plays when things are going well (his shot is dropping); Hollerich doesn't appear to be the defensive player he was last year; Whippler doesn't play much and he appears to be the only one with the strong body that can play physical. Playing him more would free things up for Sowden as Stein is non-existent from a production standpoint. Knowingly, Whippler isn't going to score much, but Stein doesn't either.

Hamline, SJU, BU, CAR are playing better. They've got enthusiasm and are out to prove something. They WANT to win and are battling like crazy. While UST has had a couple of bumps in the road, they're still on top and are on a mission to dethrone GAC and be known as the best team in the league. They encountered a team (CAR) yesterday that is really on top of things right now. Question is, can CAR maintain this level of play....they certainly don't want to peak too early. UST will be there at the end and I believe will win the conference and the playoffs....and everybody else will stay home and watch. However, they can't get the dismal performances like they did yesterday from Ike and Shimek and hope to win.

The team to watch, IMHO, may be SJU. They lost a close one to GAC last week, otherwise they're sitting at 8-3 and tied for second place. If they can get Shafer to play consistent ball in the post, get Ohme back scoring like he's capable (last two games are better), get Leiser to score more and have Heinrich (sp?) step it up each game....they'll be in the thick of things. We'll see if they've got the wherewithal to step it up and turn the corner.

OK, that's it for now.....I'm ready for Willie and the rest to beat me up over this....but it's a boring Sunday, so let's agree to disagree and have some fun!!

[miacwatchmen]

The team to watch, IMHO, may be SJU. They lost a close one to GAC last week, otherwise they're sitting at 8-3 and tied for second place. If they can get Shafer to play consistent ball in the post, get Ohme back scoring like he's capable (last two games are better), get Leiser to score more and have Heinrich (sp?) step it up each game....they'll be in the thick of things. We'll see if they've got the wherewithal to step it up and turn the corner.

I think you are right funbballer. The Johnnies have been playing better basketball than they did just after christmas. I think CAR will be tough down the stretch and we all remember what UST did after they lost to AUG, wins of 41, 10, 39, and 36. I think they will bounce back and just crush MAC on Wed. 

As for the Johnnies, Schafer has been playing very well lately he is averaging a team leading 12.5 pts and 7.5 rebounds. Ohme has apparently woke up from his slummber and is hopefully back on track. Henrichs is averaging 11.5 pts and 8.2 rebounds. He has played like an animal hopefully he realizes that time is slowly ticking away for him and he picks it up even more. As for Leiser, I think he is a perect fit for this team.  He is averaging 10.5 pts per game but this team doesn't need him to score 20 a game to win. They do just fine when he is in the 9-15 point range. In my opinion Westman is the guy that is the key for the Johnnies. If he picks it up and gets up near the 14 or 15 points per game range the Johnnies will be a tough team to beat. I think they are looking at the third spot still CAR is very tough and UST won't lose more than once the rest of the way.

[Drake Palmer]

Looks like a former Gustie bought Drake Palmer's $5.95 CD tutorial "How to Write a 5 Paragraph Post"

I've not had the chance to visit the board much this past week, but to paraphrase the words of former T-Wolf Stephon Marbury – "OAS, you gotta beef with me?" If so, hit me up with a PM or email me.  This is the 2nd time you've made the same dig.  Otherwise, since CMob joked with me about this earlier in the season, on any longer post of mine I've usually typed a disclaimer at the top of each post - Long Post.  I believe one of the unspoken Internet message board maxims still applies- – "if you don't like the poster or the post – move the mouse podner"    

However, since OAS has seemingly appointed & anointed himself the board's Sound Bite King & Scold, I'll try to be brief & from this point forward, infrequent.

After yesterday all I can say is WOW & WOW- WOW.  Local's right, Carleton beating the Tommies is not that big of a surprise but the margin of victory is certainly a shock.  BumKneez you said Rosefelt was in foul trouble, but I only see him listed with 3 fouls, & Keating & Shimek with 4 fouls apiece.  I understand Big Fork going off, but UST couldn't contain Zach Johnson?!?  Who was attempting to guard him?

WOW--WOW –GAC & HAM.  I'm not a real big fan of Foster's style of play either, but I get the sense he & the rest of the Pipes were just a shade more physical than their counterparts from Gustavus.  Am I right, wrong?  I draw this conclusion by looking at the free throw attempts HAM – 32 FTA (14 attempts by Foster), GAC – 18 FTA.  Also, HAM had 11 steals & forced the Gusties into 21 turnovers, plus the Gusties only shot 40% from the field. The Pipers had 20 turnovers themselves, but that's their game on both offense & defense – high risk/high reward.  It also helps their cause when they have one of their occasional, better shooting performances & shot 47.7% from the field. 

In other news of the day Bethel beat MAC. 87-75 & have definitely put themselves in the hunt for a potential playoff spot.  This of itself might not be that noteworthy, but the following little tidbit might be:

BETHEL34 - I hear your team is receiving a nice, little, 6-10, gift wrapped D-1 transfer package?  If this rumor is true, will the Royals be able to use this "gift" when spring semester begins the first of February, or will they have to wait until next season?

Sorry, tried to bring the post in under the OAS mandated 5 paragraphs or less, but shrug - couldn't do it.