MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Drake Palmer]

Tommies in a yawner over Bethel 89-67.   

In the internal Tommie MVP race, Schnettler had the "ol' anywhere, anytime time stepback 3" move polished up pretty nice as he had 7 treys & 29 pts, Ike with 21pts, a gazillion blocks, a couple of nice dunks, & Keating with a T, & several nice moves in the paint.  Robinson & Dwyer were very solid.

As the Js say-- developing...

[Willy Wonka]

34 - What happened? Was Schnettler that good today or did Bethel insist on following the same defensive game plan it used last time?

[bethelguy]

UST shot 70% in the first half and Schnettler was unguardable.  That is the story line for this game.  That and the refs caused Bethel to lose of course. 

Seriously, UST put on an impressive performance. Bethel did battle back in the 2nd half but a 27 point half time deficit was too much to overcome.  I haven't seen the Tommies play this year prior to that game so I'd be interested to know where this ranks for the Tommies this year.  I would imagine they played one of their better games today (some attributed to poor D by the Royals and some attributed to UST's overall game). 

They came ready to play today and put a hurt on Bethel.  They are not unbeatable but when they play like they played today it might take 100 points to beat them. 

PS - Dwyer is much better than I gave him credit for.  He was more than just adequate on both ends of the floor.  When BU made a run in the 2nd half and cut it to 12 it was when Dwyer was on the bench.  Ike was as well but I think Dwyer was the factor for that stretch of BU's run.

[BETHEL34]

Schnettler was that GOOD!  He was absolutely sick!  He had a couple open threes, that he obviously nailed, coming from nice picks set by Rosefelt up top.  But, he was getting great separation with his step back and coming of picks fading a little and draining threes.  He even was taking it to the rack finishing a couple real tough layups.  He just played a heck of a game, a game I thought he could never have with Strommy staying glued to him.  He probably had 23 points out of his 29 on Strommy.  Strommy wasn't even helping off at all, Schettler was just that good!   

Overall, STU came out on fire, and Bethel couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in the first half.  I said it earlier, you can't half a so so half or a bad half against st. thomas and think you have a chance of winning.  I give credit to the Royals not giving up and making it interesting in the second half by cutting it down to 12 points.  I think that half was huge  for Bethel and their confidence.  They know that they can go into St. thomas and beat them if they put two good halves together.  But, with that being said, if STU puts two halves together like the one they had in the first half today, they will never lose. 

I still like BU's chances of finishing out 5-0 going 14-6 and landing the 3rd seed.

[TommieHoops4Life]

Oles lead 33-27 at half over St. John's

[TommieHoops4Life]

Oles lead 61-53 over SJU 6:30 left

[TommieHoops4Life]

68-60 Oles over SJU 3:05 left

[TommieHoops4Life]

Oles up 69-68 50 secs left, sounds like the Johnnies are trying to storm back

[TommieHoops4Life]

St. John's gets a bucket in the closing seconds to get a 70-69 win over the Oles. Heartbreaker for Koz and St. Olaf.

[sumander]

Word I got from the Johnnies games was they were very fortunate to win this one! Lieser nails a big 3 late and Westman hits a mid range jumper to get the W.

Not pretty, but a win. Another loss might have been tough mentally on them.

Maniac, Do today's events mean both the T's & the J's will be home for the second round of the playoffs?

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Word I got from the Johnnies games was they were very fortunate to win this one! Lieser nails a big 3 late and Westman hits a mid range jumper to get the W.

Not pretty, but a win. Another loss might have been tough mentally on them.

Maniac, Do today's events mean both the T's & the J's will be home for the second round of the playoffs?

Yes, both UST & SJU are assured of finishing no lower than second and will have byes in the Q-final.

I'll echo what was said earlier by B34--- if UST plays 2 halves like the first half today, the only team in this state that might play even with them is Winona St. I cant imagine a d3 team in the country could beat them if they played like that from start to finish.

Was good to see oAs at the game today...curious what his thoughts were on the game.

My early prediction for 06-07: Bethel wins its first-ever MIAC title. Moberg is good and will continue to get better, and Madson & Laugen are incrdedible players. Vavra is a nice addition and Rolando is a nice backup to Moberg.

[sumander]

Word I got from the Johnnies games was they were very fortunate to win this one! Lieser nails a big 3 late and Westman hits a mid range jumper to get the W.

Not pretty, but a win. Another loss might have been tough mentally on them.

Maniac, Do today's events mean both the T's & the J's will be home for the second round of the playoffs?

Yes, both UST & SJU are assured of finishing no lower than second and will have byes in the Q-final.
I'll echo what was said earlier by B34--- if UST plays 2 halves like the first half today, the only team in this state that might play even with them is Winona St. I cant imagine a d3 team in the country could beat them if they played like that from start to finish.

Was good to see oAs at the game today...curious what his thoughts were on the game.

My early prediction for 06-07: Bethel wins its first-ever MIAC title. Moberg is good and will continue to get better, and Madson & Laugen are incrdedible players. Vavra is a nice addition and Rolando is a nice backup to Moberg.

Thanks MM, I knew you would have the answer! Does UST's trip to GAC on Wednesay make you nervous?

[sumander]

Question for everyone/anyone to ponder, How are the final league standings going to look? Specifically, I am interested in who you think will finish #5 & #6 and their records?

[miacwatchmen]

Johnnies bench gets outscored 25-11?!!  What that may be the first time that has happened. Leiser is 1-9.....? And the Johnnies still win. Must show how bad the Oles are. Oles were up 11 with 7:30 to go and winning by 10 with 3 minutes to go!! Overall the numbers look pretty even. Should have been a blow out for the Johnnies but like Sumander said a win is a win!


Tommies prove they are the best team in the MIAC right now. Impressive performance by the big three.

[sumander]

Here is my take on the last two weeks of the conference race and where the final standings will end up.

Team   Record   Proj. Rec               Remaining Games
UST   15-1   19-1      @Aug,@Gac,Cord,SJU
SJU   14-2   17-3      Mac,Aug,Ham,@UST
BET    9-6   14-6      Stolaf,@Cord,Mac,Smu,@Aug
GAC    9-6   13-7      Cord,UST,@Ham,Stolaf,@Car
STOLAF    7-9    9-11      @Bet,Mac,@Car,@Gac
SMU    6-10    8-12      Car,@Aug,@Bet,Cord
MAC    6-9    8-12      @SJU,@Stolaf,@Bet,@Car,@Ham
CAR    6-9    8-12      Ham,@Smu,Stolaf,Mac,Gac
AUG    5-10    7-13      Ust,@SJU,Smu,@Cord,Bet
HAM    5-11    6-14      @Car,Gac,@SJU,Mac
CORD    3-12    4-16      @Gac,Bet,@Ust,Aug

Did not do all of the permutations to see if this is possible. I am already rethinking my STOLAF projected final record.
I would say of the bubble teams that MAC has the toughest schedule remaining and Carleton has the easiest.

Let the sniping begin.