MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[concordia of the north]

i think the miac needs more labeled rivalries.

subeast referenced the goat.  we could use some more between the other teams.  any suggestions?

Cobbers vs. Johnnies for the Interstate Cup

[sumander]

Closed circuit for Drake and Cmob, I had a bacon cheeseburger at The Nook on Sunday night! Drake, I am not sure where you had them rated But it was fantastic!

Cmob, It was the juiciest burger!

[Drake Palmer]

Closed circuit for Drake and Cmob, I had a bacon cheeseburger at The Nook on Sunday night! Drake, I am not sure where you had them rated But it was fantastic!

Cmob, It was the juiciest burger!

Great minds or stomachs must think & eat alike.  I was just at the Nook this past Friday.  Very tasty burger indeed, although I must admit, Matt's Bar in Mpls still has the best Jucy Lucy (intentional "jucy" typo according to the folks at Matt's).  Now regular burger - the Nook's right up there in the top tier.

I see the golf gods have been smiling upon the Sumander family. Congrats!

[sumander]

I see the golf gods have been smiling upon the Sumander family. Congrats!

Thanks Drake, It was a nerve wracking weekend! Good thing there was lot's of good food and cold Summit to help relax at night!

[d3bballfollower]

cord of the north-  i like the idea of the Interstate Cup...as for other rivalries how bout...

Mac and Hamline battle for the..."Kilt" (Scots and Pipers both have Scottish roots)

UST, SJU and SMU could battle for the..."Catholic Cup" (best overall record of the 4 games against the others)

Gustavus and St. Olaf could battle for the..."Lutheran Lantern"...I guess you could include Cord and Augsburg in this as well...but I would keep it between the Gusties and Oles for closer proximity= better rivalry

Bethel and Carleton could battle for the..."King's Throne"...this one may be a stretch

any other suggestions???

[Drake Palmer]

cord of the north-  i like the idea of the Interstate Cup...as for other rivalries how bout...
Bethel and Carleton could battle for the..."King's Throne"...this one may be a stretch...

Whenever I see the words, "kings" & "throne" used together in a sports setting, I can't help but be reminded of another memorable sports moment...

Crown Royal

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Sumander..long time, no annoy 
Congrats on your all-conference off-spring...I bet that feels good! I assume you will be going to NCAAs in the spring?

Only SIX more days till practices officially start

[piperinsider]

Bethel, Hamline and Macalester are all on Snelling Ave. - something there.

Auggie Tech vs Hamline - inner-city rivals

UST vs MAC - the ZAP cup (zero alcohol policy blows)

Concordia vs St. Mary's 7-hour drive award

[sumander]

Sumander..long time, no annoy 
Congrats on your all-conference off-spring...I bet that feels good! I assume you will be going to NCAAs in the spring?

Already making plans to spend a week of vacation in beautiful Waverly Iowa!  From what I understand that part of Iowa is beautiful in early May.

[abominable_snowman]

I love the creativity of the board. Hopefully these names continue to come up through the season as we reference certain games. 

I'd throw out there the battle for "We're too narcissistic to have a 'real' mascot"

Johnnies vs Tommies vs Auggies vs Gusties vs Oles

when you think about it, it's nice that others didn't follow suit.

Mary's
Carlie's
Betty's
Hammies

[columbianmaffia]

Closed circuit for Drake and Cmob, I had a bacon cheeseburger at The Nook on Sunday night! Drake, I am not sure where you had them rated But it was fantastic!

Cmob, It was the juiciest burger!

you just made me drool in my bowl of tomato soup im dipping my hot ham and cheese sanwich in

[Nites]

Closed circuit for Drake and Cmob, I had a bacon cheeseburger at The Nook on Sunday night! Drake, I am not sure where you had them rated But it was fantastic!

Cmob, It was the juiciest burger!

you just made me drool in my bowl of tomato soup im dipping my hot ham and cheese sanwich in

Cmob,

My apologies for not attending to your cuisine needs by directing you to the appropriate burger establishment while you were in Dallas for Texas-OU weekend.  If you make it back next year, go to Snuffers to sample their burgers, cheddar fries and margaritas.
http://www.snuffers.com/

[BETHEL34]

Bethel might very well take the league title, but it's not going to be a cakewalk for them.  Playing quality Defense & post depth is going to be critical, especially since Peter Rolando won't be around to back up Mike Moberg.  Will Jr. transfer Mike Much be the defensive stopper that Steve Strom & Travis Jones were in past years?

It will definitely not be a cakewalk for them.  They have a lot of experience and talent in the starting lineup, but there are a lot of question marks coming off the bench this year.   Chris Vavra will not be playing for them this year...so they are really just down to Cory at the PG and are thin in that position now as well.  They are also very thin at the 4 Spot...right now you have Jeff Rec and then they really don't have any other true power forwards...The presence of Chuck and Stromy are going to be mightily missed this year.  Timmy and Moberg are going to be amazing and Cory will get the job done at the PG position, but on the defense of side there is a big question mark... 

From what I have seen this Summer and Fall, Mike Munch will not be the defensive stopper that Stromy or Jones was...at this point from what I have seen, I just hope he isn't a catalyst when it comes to the defensive of side.  Now, this is according to open gym and you never know if once the season starts and he has a coach in his ear, how he'll respond.  But, I would go as far to say they he definitely has some habits to break on that side of the ball and right now that is what is going to hurt his playing time...

[d3bballfollower]

I don't know if Bethel's defense will have to be great this year, it will just have to be good enough because there won't be anyone who can outscore them...Bethel should put up 80 a game, and outside of Augsburg and possibly Hamline with Whitmore's uptempo style, I don't think there will be a team who will average more than  65-70 ppg.  Last year they averaged 84 and gave up 76.  The Royals lost about 30 points a game to graduation and the departure of Vavra (BET34 can you elaborate on that situation?).  Madson should and will score over 20 a game, Moberg should do the same.  Plus, the league as a whole is down this year.  Last year, Bethel lost 8 games...to UST(2), SJU, Carleton, GAC, Augsburg and STO(2)...All of these teams, except for Augsburg will be down this year, with UST and possibly Carleton being way down...Olaf, SJU and GAC could be tough games, especially on the road for the Royals, but they shouldn't lose at the shooter-friendly Robertson Center.  In their losses the Royals scored over 80 only twice, and both those games were overtime games, the next closest was the playoff loss to STO when they scored 79 (also and overtime game)...if Bethel scores more than 80 they should and will win. 

My prediction is Bethel going 18-2 in the conference.  I think they will lose the following...

Dec. 3 at GAC-  first true test of the year...on the road...Wittwer will outdual Madson and the Gusties pull the upset 73-68

Feb. 2 at SJU-  after winning 11 in a row the Royals fall after a really tough home win in the rematch with GAC...the pressure gets to Bethel and they will be fatigued from the season...Brink and Lieser dominate and lead the Johnnies to the 77-62 win.

now I know these are bold predictions and really have no basis except for going off of last year and what is expected for this year...my ideas may change, but what does everyone else thing will be the winning record for the MIAC this year???  20-0?  18-2?  Maybe even 16-4 or 15-5?  Could the MIAC be more clustered this year with a tighter playoff race involving more teams?

thoughts?

[concordia of the north]

20-0