MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

Well considering i'm kidding, but being serious at the same time.... I don't need any help

Why turn down the chance to play the number 1 ranked Div. II team in the nation? I would be pissed if I played for the "J's".  (1) you get to play in a great environment (2) theres always the what if factor (as you may recall two years ago when they won the national championship mary's only lost by 13). 

Plus, there's the money. NCAA rules mandate that whenever a lower-division team plays at an upper-division team, the host has to pay the visitor a guarantee.

[VOJ]

Well considering i'm kidding, but being serious at the same time.... I don't need any help

Why turn down the chance to play the number 1 ranked Div. II team in the nation? I would be pissed if I played for the "J's".  (1) you get to play in a great environment (2) theres always the what if factor (as you may recall two years ago when they won the national championship mary's only lost by 13).  Maybe I'm wrong though, i guess i'd much rather play st. cloud state 

Besides Mary's has to play em', it's the battle of the rock baby!

You kind of answsered your own question...A) the J's already have a natural DII rival in St. Cloud State just up the road B) I don't think a win or a loss to SCSU helps them regionally with regards to being an at-large selection into the NCAA tournament and remember their sterling regional record is what got them in last year C) its a trip the Johnnies hate to make to begin with, I think we have lost 4 of the last 5 in Winona, so why should Jim Smith do that to his team?

[VOJ]

extremetuber - I'll be there, too, assuming I can get a ticket. I don't expect it to be real close.

I'm curious how you got a karma of -4

Raising the ire of those who can give or take away karma...obviously Dread Pirate has upset someone...there are larger negative karmas, one guy is -1000+

[sumander]

Sum,

Keep in mind how last year's NCAA tournament team was built...two years of frustrating 8-17 with talented but learning youngsters...then an MIAC playoff appearance and finally a trip to the dance...time to re-load the pipeline...

VOJ, Not disagreeing with the facts, which you have correct, maybe with the philosophy. Are we to settle for a "playoff caliber team" every 4 years? That is not how a "program" is built IMO. Why couldn't some of the other underclassmen have played some meaningful minutes last year? Then you start this year with some players that have at least a little experience.

Those schools with programs "don't rebuild, they reload". SJU appears to be in a rebuilding mode every 4 years under your scenario. Maybe this is life in the MIAC

[localcoach]

So what's the consensus.  Are we doing pick em' this year then or

Drake - I noticed you said you took in the River Falls-Bemidji State game over the weekend.  How did the RF look?  What about Bemidji State with all of those talented freshmen?  BTW - Did you chat at all with former Hamline Ass't Jeremy Tiers?

One other thing to add - I continue to hear that the Pipers may start as many as 3 freshmen to go along side Thrasher and Kujolic. 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Willy Wonka?

32 was my high school number...but I'm too chubby and slow to play ball in college.

[sumander]

Local, I think I will have the time to take care of the Pick-em contest this year. If SoDakGustie could email me his spreadsheet it would be much appreciated

Sounds like HAM is in pretty much the same boat as the J's and other teams in the league are in.

[abominable_snowman]

if you haven't done so already...get your preseason standings picks in by friday.

[Chica yea false identification]

Well considering i'm kidding, but being serious at the same time.... I don't need any help

Why turn down the chance to play the number 1 ranked Div. II team in the nation? I would be pissed if I played for the "J's".  (1) you get to play in a great environment (2) theres always the what if factor (as you may recall two years ago when they won the national championship mary's only lost by 13).  Maybe I'm wrong though, i guess i'd much rather play st. cloud state 

Besides Mary's has to play em', it's the battle of the rock baby!

You kind of answsered your own question...A) the J's already have a natural DII rival in St. Cloud State just up the road B) I don't think a win or a loss to SCSU helps them regionally with regards to being an at-large selection into the NCAA tournament and remember their sterling regional record is what got them in last year C) its a trip the Johnnies hate to make to begin with, I think we have lost 4 of the last 5 in Winona, so why should Jim Smith do that to his team?

I understand the rivalry with SCSU and I know thats a game I'm sure all of them look forward to, much like SMU's game with Winona State, however I know if I was playing for Johns I would love to play against the Number 1 ranked DII team in the land.  SJU to winona is a 3 1/2 to a 4 hour trip...which really isn't that bad. I don't know maybe I'm wrong...but I think a lot of teams would jump at that opportunity.

[Drake Palmer]

Local – I don't think in the past couple of years you've ever officially played pickem. You've posted your picks on the regular board, but never on the pickem board.  So join us.  I think between SdGusties & Sumander we should have the Pickem covered once the conference season starts later this month.  Sum – you & SDG are in contact with each other right about Pickem & Ynot?  My main concern is the scarcity of posters on the board & whether or not we'll have enough interest to run a board this year.

Re: UWRF & BSU:  I was hoping for a better display from River Falls & I was disappointed in their play on both sides of the ball.  Defensively they didn't seem to be in synch, but I partially attribute that to the RF coaches trying out various defensive combinations. 

Offensively, with the loss of Ryan Thompson, their outside shooting was abysmal.  Also, RF never seemed to try to get the ball to Scott Kelly who at this point is probably their best perimeter shooter or the Elling kid.  They also struggled getting the ball inside to Nate Robertson.  Sr. transfer Willie Wright is a nice player but he's a streaky outside threat at best.  And I noticed his carryover habit from high school of occasionally making the ball do a disappearing act when it gets in his hands, seems to have followed him into college.   

BSU looked good.  FY Pat Cassidy from St. Bernards' was a pleasant surprise, & 6-10 Jimmy Johnson from Andover looked good in his limited minutes.  Alex Smith was tough. Nice looking club.

Bemidji seemed to display better inside-outside scoring balance than Concordia STP & I'll be real interested to see how these two teams match up with each other in the NSIC this season.  Right now, I'd pick BSU in a squeaker over CSTP, or I'm not giving enough credit to the Oles & Johnnies. 

Both of those clubs seemed to have better games against CSTP than UWRF had against Bemidji.  But I guess we'll get a better idea of how this all shakes out in the basketball galaxy when UWRF goes up against MAC, UST & CSTP later this season.

[hoops10101010]

Who will be the powers and sleepers in the MIAC???

No doubt Bethel is stacked. With returning scorers such as Tim Madson and Mike Moberg and blue chipper Eric Hugoson, they are quite possibly at the top of the pack. Another tough squad is going to be St. Johns. Returning one of the top players in the conference in Brady Brink(why didn't he start for them last year?) and a solid scorer in Ryan Leiser. They also picked up a real steal in freshman Chris Swartz who is definitely a D2 talent.

Augsburg and Hamline are two very young teams that will potentially raise some eyebrows in the conference. Augsburg returns Jon Cassens who is a versatile scorer and will be joined by newcomers Aaron Van Der Stoep and Matt Quammen. They also return Femme Solaja, a beast on the interior. Hamline is another squad I think will do some damage. They lost scoring in Derock's transfer to Southwest Minnesota State and the graduation of Sam Weiner but made gains with an under the radar freshman class and a solid transfer in Nick Carroll. They also return Tony Thrasher who is a multi talented scoring threat and will need to be the focal point for this young squad.

[d3bballfollower]

Pre-Season Final MIAC Standings...

1.  Bethel
2.  Augsburg
3.  Gustavus
4.  SJU
5.  UST
6.  St. Olaf
7.  Carleton
8.  Concordia
9.  Mac
10. Hamline
11.  SMU

[larry_u]

someone wanna go voer to the midwest region board and rescue a MIAC er who's hopelessly lost.

Dumbass made his first post ever in the wrong region....

[Greek Tragedy]

Come on larry u, he's new, give him a break.  I would think a "veteran" like you wouldn't open up a whole new thread for this year's MWC pick em, but instead just use the one that's already there from previous years.  Now that's a rookie mistake! lol 

[Drake Palmer]

someone wanna go voer to the midwest region board and rescue a MIAC er who's hopelessly lost.

Dumbass made his first post ever in the wrong region....

Aww, you mean this -

Who will be the powers and sleepers in the MIAC???

No doubt Bethel is stacked. With returning scorers such as Tim Madson and Mike Moberg and blue chipper Eric Hugoson, they are quite possibly at the top of the pack. Another tough squad is going to be St. Johns. Returning one of the top players in the conference in Brady Brink(why didn't he start for them last year?) and a solid scorer in Ryan Leiser. They also picked up a real steal in freshman Chris Swartz who is definitely a D2 talent.

Augsburg and Hamline are two very young teams that will potentially raise some eyebrows in the conference. Augsburg returns Jon Cassens who is a versatile scorer and will be joined by newcomers Aaron Van Der Stoep and Matt Quammen. They also return Femme Solaja, a beast on the interior. Hamline is another squad I think will do some damage. They lost scoring in Derock's transfer to Southwest Minnesota State and the graduation of Sam Weiner but made gains with an under the radar freshman class and a solid transfer in Nick Carroll. They also return Tony Thrasher who is a multi talented scoring threat and will need to be the focal point for this young squad.

A little misguided, but I appreciate their intent.  Mebbe Pat, or one of the HOFers will lead him/her & their post back to their home board.