MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sumander]

Anxiously waiting for a report from someone who attended last nights Tommies game, LBOW, Drake, TH4L? It would appear that a miserable night from the field did the Toms in! Schnettler was 5-17 beyond the arc. A couple of those misses were late in the game. Even so 5-15 from deep is unlike him. UST managed to outrebound LAX even without Ike.

My sense, simply from looking at the box score is, with a healthy Ike this is probably an 8 point win for the Tommies!

If they shoot the ball better and have Ike it's a double digit win for the Tommies!

[UST_LBOW]

Oh man, what a terrible game.  Pretty physical game, not a lot of calls went UST's way, but that's not why they lost. (23 free throws to UST's 8)

They were clearly lacking an inside presence.  They didn't have many points in the paint.  It was a lot of dribbling on the outside and passing out to the 3 point line.  Everyone in the gym knew that either Keating or Schnettler was going to shoot every possession, so UW-L pretty much just defended those two. This forced them into taking some tough shots.  Dwyer didn't start this game for UST, but I thought it was his best game of the year so far.  He at least tried to make some things happen out there. 

UW-L pretty much went into Werner every possession, I think he could have had 30 if he wanted to, #10 hit some big 3's as well. 

Overall, a bump in the road for UST and not a great Xmas present but better now than during the conference season.





Ike's outfit for the game was redonkulous.  He had on a tan suit with a black t-shirt rocking some black Jordan's and a pimped out fro.  Imagine the character "Wise" from the Lebrons and that is what he looked like!

[columbianmaffia]

Ike's outfit for the game was redonkulous.  He had on a tan suit with a black t-shirt rocking some black Jordan's and a pimped out fro.  Imagine the character "Wise" from the Lebrons and that is what he looked like!

i think ike should have either gone with the dumb and dumber neon orange tux or else he should have gone with bunny slippers and tie tree branches to himself and wrap xmas lights around him and pretend to be a xmas tree and throw snow balls at people

im hung over ~~~~

[shocker]

Keating needs to step up? This just gives him the chance to show who the REAL MVP is, right Shocker?

Don't bait me like that, magical Candy Man. You're lucky I'm in generous Christmas spirits and will let that one slide this time.

He got his 19 and 12, and his teammates let him down. It's lonely at the top.

I'll just have to hold my breath and hope he lives up to his all-universe talent after the start of the new year.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[Drake Palmer]

Bah Holidays - they have a way of interfering with basketball games!   

It was a tough night to celebrate Coach Fritz' 700th game with a post game party.  I'd pretty much agree with Bow's assessment of the game.  It was a tough, gritty, lunch pail type of game.  I wouldn't say the officiating was poor but it was as if the refs were instructed to call a WIAC style of game - & they did.  A lot of bumping, grinding -- no harm, no foul.  One of the refs (Steve "Stoney" Schneider - a good ref/good guy) is a longtime St. Paul official & I believe he's a former classmate of UST assistant coach - Johnny Tauer.

I still contend that if UST hope to make a "serious run" they need to develop consistent pg play.  UST is still trying to sort out this position with Dwyer & Tuma.  The Tommies need to get this worked out by the time they enter the heart of conference play after the first of the year.  They can't afford to have Schnettler be the primary ballhandler, get worked by the opposing teams' D (7 TOs last night) & still expect him to go off for 18+ points (6-23) a night.  He can do that against the MACs of the world, but it's a lot tougher when you go up against a strong defensive team like UWL.

Ike was certainly missed, & Sum, I think they might have pulled this game out if he would have played.  IMO, another reason why the Tommies didn't have an inside presence last night – guards were either denied the entry pass by strong LAX defense, or the wings did a poor job of looking for & feeding the post.  There were very few touches by either of the replacement posts – FY David Baker or Al McCoy.  At minimum, if the wings got the ball inside, the biggs could post up & then kick it back out so Schnettler or Keating could get an easier look. 

Finally, I'm not going to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" & give Wonka a little opening, but I was disappointed that Keating wasn't more of an inside presence last night to offset the loss of Rosefelt.  Most of his made shots last night came on contested jumpers & treys (7-18), with maybe only 1 or 2 of his shot attempts coming from a post up or the paint.  But then again who knows, beside Schnettler, the Tommies don't really have another effective outside shooter.

All things considered, UST will be fine provided they -- get Ike back, get consistent guard play & better ball movement.

[Drake Palmer]

Speaking of holiday fashion, yes, Ike was styling with his "summerish" linen suit on the first major snow dusting of the season.  And, correct me if I'm wrong, but Ike was wearing the retro Dada shoes.  Nice touch

[sumander]

Drake,

I see another one of the officials was Blaine Joeger the Staples-Motley product. The J's had him in their games at CAR and GAC a couple of weeks ago. Word was, much the same, no blood no foul!

[Drake Palmer]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

[TommieHoops4Life]

If the Tommies have a healthy Ike, they beat Lax by 10-15 at least. Asking a pair of freshmen, and I don't care how good they are or how much potential they have, to guard Joe Werner simply won't work. I would have made the drive up on my night off to watch the Ike/Werner matchup, but such is life.

Schnettler is a great shooter and Keating is a great all-around player, but if UST doesn't have a healthy, dominant post player like Ike for the conference season, UST might not even make the MIAC playoffs this year. Rosefelt can be that dominant of a force inside. The kid hates to lose, and hates not to play even more, and when he's out there, it rubs off on everyone else. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery from mono, because they'll need him when the MIAC season gets in full gear.

If it takes him a long time to recover, and even longer to get back into basketball shape, the winter might have just gotten a little more interesting for the Tommies.

[Willy Wonka]

Schnettler is a great shooter and Keating is a great all-around player, but if UST doesn't have a healthy, dominant post player like Ike for the conference season, UST might not even make the MIAC playoffs this year.

Are Keating and Schnettler "great" players (don't answer that, Shocker)? Seems I'm not the only one who remains skeptical. That said, you can't take away one player from a team some expect(ed) to go undefeated in the MIAC and simply drop them out of the playoff picture. This is almost as ludicrous as many posters' belief in Hamline's ability to challenge for the MIAC title this winter.

I go extreme with some (most?) of my opinions, but I never contradict myself once a stance is taken  8)

Case in point: last night's Vikes/Pack game. Wonka began tailgating around 2 p.m. and didn't get home until roughly 5:30 a.m. with a full day of work ahead. His favorite team amassed three first downs and 104 total yards. He was heckled all game for his Moss jersey and outrageous actions in the front row. Still, I say the game was sweet and no one has believed me yet. Clearly, logic is not a strength in Wonka's repotoire (sp?) of moves...but you all should know that by now

[cobbernation]

I have one christmas wish!

For my Cobbers to get a win either on Jan. 6 or 9th.

[miacwatchmen]

First off:  Happy Holidays to all !!

Second: If Ike doesn't return for 5 weeks will he still win the conference MVP? And If he doesn't win who will win it? Schnettler? or maybe a the miacmaniac could lead the Craig Schafer for MVP bandwagon!!  I'll go with Keating as my pick for MVP....sign me up!

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

First off:  Happy Holidays to all !!

Second: If Ike doesn't return for 5 weeks will he still win the conference MVP? And If he doesn't win who will win it? Schnettler? or maybe a the miacmaniac could lead the Craig Schafer for MVP bandwagon!!  I'll go with Keating as my pick for MVP....sign me up!

hell would freeze over before I'd lead that move MW...at least insult me with a player with some degree of talent, OK?  Im sure there are several bench players around the league more worthy 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, even Wonka   

[Drake Palmer]

RIP... the Godfatha of Soul
James Brown 5-3-33 12-25-06

[UST_LBOW]

Ike has been cleared to play on Jan 3rd............