MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[funbballer]

Ummm...where are the SJU posters? Olaf absolutely destroyed the Js tonight 74-59. The Oles shot an amazing 81% in the second half and 66% total. How is that even possible? Have some pride, fellas.

A closer look at the box score seems to show Koz was extra sneaky tonight. He apparently used that obscure rule that says a bad team with a bad coach while playing at home against a favored opponent gets to start a sixth player (or else Ludwig is drunk right now ).

I seriously doubt Koz was even in the bldg.   

Johnnies inconsistencies continue.....now  they go to CAR on Sat.; doesn't look good for them.

[Willy Wonka]

Did Keating hurt himself again tonight? He only played 11 minutes when Ike and Schnettler both logged almost as many as usual. Or is that just precautionary?

[sumander]

Johnnies inconsistencies continue.....now  they go to CAR on Sat.; doesn't look good for them. 

Did not have a chance tolisten to the game(Thank God) and haven't scanned the box score yet. Sounds like the Oles shot lights out and the Johnnies inconsistent shooting plagued them again. More to follow.

[Ole]

Finally an Olaf poster.

Koz was actually there tonight and despite his best efforts, the Oles won.

Everyone shot the lights out in the second half. Olaf was 17-21 in the second half (81%) and half of those were crazy acrobatic layups by Bergstrom and Banick off the break. Basically all Bergstrom does is shoot a mid-range jumper... I'm pretty sure I even saw him shout out "ALL TIME OFFENSE!" and not go back on D once...    He did have 25 but three TOs and no boards.

SJU looked rough. Henrichs was a complete non-factor. At one point he checked in (late in the 1st) and I had wondered if he had even played yet. Westman looked good at times but tried to do too much too often.

Oles up 66-41 with about 6 min to go, SJU quickly cut it to 14 but the Oles held on.

"Big 10" was there officiating. Tugging at the pants and slicking back the hair more often than blowing the whistle.

[localcoach]

sumander - I had planned to make the trip to Northfield with a friend but at the last minute had to take care of something else.  He ended up going on his own and told me after the game that the Oles did a great job defensively on Henrichs (3-12 FG) and Ohme, who only shot a total of 4 times.  He also said that the Oles could have won by a lot more if they made their free-throws.  I checked out the box score and St. Olaf went 13-22 from the line.  The last thing he mentioned was the shot selection by the Oles, which was excellent (67% for the game)

In scanning the oxer box scores, here's some food for thought.

Carleton continues to roll.  Jake Phillips hits 7-3's against Hamline.  Did they not get the scouting report or   and Zach Johnson has another big game.  It sounds like the Knights got up early and the Pipers never gained any momentum or control throughout.  Did anyone go to this game?  

Mr. Keating and Mr. Shimek for UST both played under 20 minutes and neither appears to have been in foul trouble.  Who know the story here?  A grand total of 9 players actually totaled more then 10 minutes for the Tommies.  That's something new.  Rosefelt continues his torrid pace with 13 points and 15 rebounds (in 28 minutes nonetheless) and Schnettler hits another 5 shots from long range.  How can teams continue to leave this guy open?

Gustavus also finishes their game shooting over 60% against Concordia.  Mr. Olson with 21 points to lead the way.

Saint Mary's remains in the playoff hunt with a win over Augsburg.  The Cardinals finish 10 of 18 from behind the arc.  Nice shooting!  

Anyone care to make those playoff predictions again?  Can Carleton, who is only 1 game behind UST, win the MIAC?  Where will their current streak end?  Against St. John's on Saturday?

Don't you just love this time of year.  

[sumander]

On the other hand, Citterman was the man in high school, but like any other college underclassmen, he's going to have his moments - both positive & negative. 

Drake, Article from today's Fargo Forum seems to validate your thinking on Citterman. He apparently does have the scorer's mentality.

http://in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=115561&section=Sports

As far as the Johnnies go......the box score shows a pretty even game(besides the shooting pct) Rebounds were even at 33, Assists even at 11, TO's SJU had 14 STO had 13.

Oles were 28-42 (5-8 3pt) from the field for the game. SJU was 23-67(5-20). Last night the Johnnies were 8-31 from the field in the first half. I will have to do some research but that seems pretty consistent with what they have done in their other road games. They shot 42% the second half.

Johnnies have 5 games left at home including UST and GAC, 3 road games. My prediction of a 12 -8 finish may be optimistic unless they develop some consistency.

[columbianmaffia]

i was at the CAR HAM game last night...just like against UST, CAR came out and punched HAM in the face early hard and often on their way to their 9th straight win...last night was gangsters paradise as the hamiline student section was all thugged out...it looked pretty riduculous but i like their student sections enthusiasm...i will make a few spaces for this comment so everyone can see it


kyle foster = not good at basketball


i dont know what some of you see in this kid but he is just not good...all he does is spaz out and hope he gets a foul in his favor when realistically 75% of his post moves are offensive fouls...if anyone on this team is all conference it is DEROCK that kid is legit...and please no one say but 14pts and 7 reb isnt that bad foster had solid numbers because 4 pts came from the free throw line and 8 against a zone defense...he had 7 turnovers and had his shot blocked about 4 times not to mention he fouled out....but enough talk about a player that doesnt matter

CAR is rolling...last night they showed if someone wants to run n gun they are more than capeable of playing that style of game...everyone on this team is playing good basketball right now...phillips had a tough time in the TO collum with 5 last night but more than made up for it with his 23pts 6ast 6reb performance...johnson did whatever he wanted last night against HAM droppin 20 pts on 8 of 11 shooting...melson came off the bench for 20 min and put in 11pts and kootsikas came in for 10 min and gave them 5 ast and the CAR bench had 0 TOs...time to go find the abominal snow man

[Drake Palmer]

Thanks for the link Sumander! 


Ahem... SEMI-LONG POSTs warning

Local - I was at the Hamline - Carleton game last night. The Knights are playing with a lot of confidence right now & it shows in their results.  Other than the shooting percentages for both teams, all other statistical categories are fairly close to the first time these teams met this season.  I don't have the time to post the similarities, but if someone's interested, they should toggle back & forth between the box scores from the 1st & 2nd CARL/HAM games.  For example, Local, you were questioning Hamline's scouting report on Jake Phillips.  In the first game Phillips scores 18 points/5 assists/6 TOs & in the 2nd game he scores 23 points/6 assists/5 TOs.  His first game must have been a fluke hunh? 

Last night CARL started out hot – 50% from the field in the first half, & in the words of Emeril Lagasse, they kicked it up another notch to 61.5% in the 2nd half. For the game they shot a smoldering 55.4%.

On the other hand, Hamline shot 28% in the 1st half & upped it to 55% in the 2nd half for an overall 41% FG.  The Pipes are much improved from past years, but they're still a very streaky shooting team.  But to their credit, Hamline never quit & kept coming after Carleton.  Three different times in the 2nd half, the Pipes were able to get the lead down to 9 points, but then somebody from Carleton would put their foot back down on the throttle.

[columbianmaffia]

Drake

i think my post was longer than yours 

[nkwest]

Mr. Keating and Mr. Shimek for UST both played under 20 minutes and neither appears to have been in foul trouble.  Who know the story here?  A grand total of 9 players actually totaled more then 10 minutes for the Tommies.  That's something new.

Fritz rested the starters quite a bit in the first half.  Shimek picked up his third foul just over three minutes into the second half and Keating picked up his third almost immediately after.  They both sat and didn't return; they didn't need to.  Sweeney also sat for good after picking up his third foul less than seven minutes into the second half.  The UST bench had 41 points and helped push the lead to 30 with more than nine minutes to play.  It was a JV game from that point on.

[Drake Palmer]

Semi-Long Post part 2 & done

For the regular season standings & the MIAC tourney, the Carleton Knights look extremely dangerous & feature very balanced, consistent scoring. "What time is it? Knightime!"  

If they hadn't already, the Knights' recent play should serve as a distinct warning & wake up call for the league's traditional powers – the Tommies & Gusties.  They're playing solid Defense, & have got 4 guys that can hurt you offensively, both inside & from the perimeter.    

In terms of the rest of the playoff spots, I think it could be a very exciting race for the remaining 3 playoff spots. Realistically, there appears to be 5 teams vying for those berths -

Conference Records

SJU - 7-5
SMU - 6-6
HAM – 6-6
BET – 5-6
STO – 5-6

In spite of their loss to Carleton last night, I was impressed with Hamline's competitiveness, athleticism & "never say die" attitude.  However, their streaky shooting could be their downfall.  

The Johnnies must be maddeningly frustrating to their fans.  I'm not saying they will, but after looking at their remaining schedule, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they finished up 2-6 in their last 8 games & finish the conference season at 9-11.  

SMU seems to keep picking their way through the MIAC minefield; Bethel seems to be the talented mystery team that few posters have seen, & the Oles - "whodathunk?!?

_______________________________________________________________

CMOB - I know you gotta beef (& not a tripple burger   ) wit Foster, that probably goes back to Eastview/ Rosemount days or earlier, but you gotta admit his game has picked up from high school.  I think his game has improved 40-50% from last season.

Yes, his on-court histrionics - ("that's Bullsh!t" & subsequent T last night) can be annoying & can hurt his team, but he's been giving the Pipers a consistent inside presence, pretty much all year.

[columbianmaffia]

Drake-
he has improved more than you can imagin...but he is so damn annoying and cheep that i cant help but talkin some trash...now you got me all fired up again...i need to go eat a tripple burger or perhaps a porterhouse (huh funballer )

[columbianmaffia]

one more thing

Drake its not only KNIGHTIME but CAR seems to be giving teams KNIGHTMARES right now

[Drake Palmer]

Hmm Cmob- I think you just gave me an idea for my monthly art gallery which is scheduled to change next week - smirk 

[funbballer]

Drake-
he has improved more than you can imagin...but he is so damn annoying and cheep that i cant help but talkin some trash...now you got me all fired up again...i need to go eat a tripple burger or perhaps a porterhouse (huh funballer )

Cmob....ya gotta go the route of the Porterhouse, big guy! Toss in a baked potato with all the fixins', a little salad, a glass of wine, a nice lady friend.........many reasons to smile, my man!!!!