MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sju56321]

Thanks-Bandwagon.

[Nites]

I noticed that you said Tuma got a bucket at the end.  Did Dwyer play or was his foot/ankle still bothering him?

[kel_varnsen]

The Gusties finally put it together.

[Nites]

St. Olaf over MAC 61-58

[Willy Wonka]

Dwyer did not start or see any action (I think). Tuma was the definition of a non-factor.

[Nites]

Dwyer did not start or see any action (I think). Tuma was the definition of a non-factor.

Thanks, Willy.  I hope you have gone home to tip one for the Gusties!

[piperinsider]

Nice job Willy. Good prediction.

[piperinsider]

Macalester 58 @ St. Olaf 61
Carleton 66 @ Saint Mary's 43
St. Thomas 74 @ Gustavus 80 (OT)
Bethel 86 @ Concordia 71
Augsburg 54 @ Saint John's 67

Gusties and Bethel clinch.

I believe Carleton and St. Olaf are within a game of clinching barring some tiebreaker.

[Dunkmachine]

Wierd night in MIAC as usual.  GAC upsets UST!! Goodbye #3 ranking!! My bad on predicting UST to win in double digits.

St. Marys, playing tough recenlty, sucks vs an inconsistant Carleton squad.  How the crap did the Ole's get so good??  Isn't Jon Bain still on their team??  Bethel stays hot while Johnnies do just enough to win a boring game against the Auggies. 

What does the board think about Femi Solaja??  Against the best two teams the last two games he drops 23 pts 15 rebs and 16 pts 14 rebs.  Not too shabby.

I am sorry to say this again, but St. Johns will be one and done in the NCAA Tourney.  Mark my words homies!! 

[ustbumkneez]

Great game at Gus Young, which was more than rowdy WW. I suppose the purple and white bring out the GAC backers. Gusties play superb on both ends of the floor, in an impressive victory. If anyone needed an example of how important Dwyer is to USTs success, tonights game would have been it. The offense has a much better pace, is exponentially more smooth, and the ball ends up in the playmakers hands in scoring positions when he is at the point. Wittwer was a force, dictating the tempo with big buckets and some timely boards/swats. Schnettler was just dirty in the first half, with fadeaway and stepback 3s, and was the only reason the Tommies were ahead at the half. Kudos to the Gusties (esp Olson) for limiting his touches and keeping him from getting back into rhythm after halftime. Rough game for Keating, and with him having an off day and Schnettler phased out by GACs D, Ike had trouble working down low through double teams. He didnt help himself by forcing a lot of shots, but the lack of support pressed the issue. GAC was very physical all over the court, which flustered the Tommies.

[ustbumkneez]

Questions for Gustie faithful:
what has happened to Olson? he did a great job on the defensive side keeping Schnettler from taking over after halftime, but is he even an option on the offensive side of the floor?
has Sowden always been able to put the ball on the floor from 16+ and attack the rim? he had 3 buckets from taking Ike off the bounce, and got to the line another time. i knew he had a decent touch for a big man, but i never knew he could get to the tin.
how is this team 13-9 overall? unless DesLauriers and Sivesind played well above their regular showing, i dont get how a team with two legit post presences like Wittwer and Sowden, a deadeye shooter like Olson, and competent perimeter guys like DeL and Sivesind can be middle of the road.

[gacbacker]

UST- In my opinion the Gusties have speed and size issues that hinder them on defense...the guards have been suseptable to dribble-drive penetration by quicker opponents.

As far as the post players go, yes, Wittwer and Sowden are nice players but Wittwer is only 6'5" and is skinny as a rail. Sowden is pretty wide but only 6'4"

The team has also gone stretches this season when their offense has looked pretty ordinary.

Those would be my big reasons why the Gusties' overall record isn't that great this year.

[miacwatchmen]

Wierd night in MIAC as usual.  GAC upsets UST!! Goodbye #3 ranking!! My bad on predicting UST to win in double digits.

St. Marys, playing tough recenlty, sucks vs an inconsistant Carleton squad.  How the crap did the Ole's get so good??  Isn't Jon Bain still on their team??  Bethel stays hot while Johnnies do just enough to win a boring game against the Auggies. 

What does the board think about Femi Solaja??  Against the best two teams the last two games he drops 23 pts 15 rebs and 16 pts 14 rebs.  Not too shabby.

I am sorry to say this again, but St. Johns will be one and done in the NCAA Tourney.  Mark my words homies!! 

Ok we all have read it so you don't need to keep repeating yourself.

[Willy Wonka]

PI and dunk - Don't worry. I won't bother with the I-told-you-so's  8)

bum - I heard a campus-wide decree for a white out ala the Miami Heat was invoked and the faithful responded en masse. It hasn't been like that all year. Hopefully this win fires up the Gustie bandwagon for a strong finish and a tourney run.

As for your questions...Olson seems to have relegated himself to a role player. Shots he was stepping into or creating himself a year ago are now pump fakes or dribble drives, where he often looks to dish. Hard to say it's a bad thing after tonight, but his offense would be helpful in most games.

Sowden was strictly a post as a frosh, but has expanded his game each year. He gets in trouble when he settles for jump shots, but that clearly wasn't an issue tonight. I think the last two weeks may have allowed him to hang on to his all-conference status.

Injuries and inconsistent defensive effort are the reasons for the 13-9 record, along with a stiff nonconference schedule. Stein started the year injured and Kramer's midseason injury made for some mismashed lineups and rotations. The bench seems pretty set after outscoring UST 25-14 tonight. Things seem to have worked themselves nicely, as a number in the program saw this type of performance coming.

Now I've a few questions of the Tommies for you, and anyone else who wants to chime in

People keep saying Schnettler is a great shooter and it isn't worth anyone's effort to dispute that fact. But would I be wrong if I said he brings nothing else to the table? In the last two games, which have gone 95 minutes instead of the normal 80, he has exactly 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 0 blocks. At what point does his playing every minute of every game become counterproductive — or is he simply that dominating of a one-dimensional player? What's up with Keating? He's 7-17 in the last two games with 1 steal and 0 blocks. Scoring comes and goes, but for someone who I've got to imagine prides himself on defense, those are unusual numbers — especially after getting lit up tonight. Is he tiring or injured? How long is Dwyer out? Tuma was brutal and will make them a one-and-done team — possibly in the MIAC semis — if it's season-ending. Lonnie Robinson put an exclamation point next to my previous point that no one outside the top 3 makes a difference with his weak-sauce showing tonight, right? Wittwer took him behind the woodshed and made him cry mercy.

For a team that has spent all season in the Top 10, I'd be nervous if I were a Tommie fan right now — even if I'm the kind who attends games to look pretty and/or send text messages about how they wish they were somewhere else. Dwyer can't make THAT much of a difference...they are simply playing their worst basketball at the wrong time of the season. With many saying they've been overrated all season, that can't be a comforting feeling.

[Gregory Sager]

i thought basketball was crazy until i heard about the lady that pooped in a diaper and drove 1000 miles to beat up some other lady...now thats crazy


list of crazy things

1. driving 1000 miles wearing a diaper and doing what you gotta do in that sucker so you dont have to stop

2. ??

You left out the best part, CMob: The crazy lady is an astronaut.