MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[VOJ]

SJU 69 HAM 67

AUG 85  Concordia 72

Bethel 78  SMU 61

St. Olaf 69 Gustavus 68

[Dawg-Dude]

Dawg's win the I94 battle royale 85-72. If they don't over look SMU, the game at Arden Hills could be the "win and in" game.

[MiacLostProphet]

It was a good game at Hutton today.  Both teams played well in stretches.  Brink in foul trouble helped the pipes stay in the game.  It was good to see Hamline be competitive until the end of the game.  Good game on both sides.

[VOJ]

It was a good game at Hutton today.  Both teams played well in stretches.  Brink in foul trouble helped the pipes stay in the game.  It was good to see Hamline be competitive until the end of the game.  Good game on both sides.

Prophet...wish you would have come over and introduced yourself...I too thought it was a great competitive game...Brink was attracting fouls at a record pace...not normally his game...Hipp was a stud inside...Isetts played very well for J's

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Dawg's win the I94 battle royale 85-72. If they don't over look SMU, the game at Arden Hills could be the "win and in" game.

Actually, the winner of the BU/Aug game MIGHT get in the playoffs ....IF they get help in the form of a loss or two by one of SJU/Olaf/Cord...otherwise, they could be tangling for 7th place

[Drake Palmer]

Man, it was a quiet Saturday afternoon & evening on the board yesterday.  Maybe some posters are in a state of shock or denial, or had other social things going on.  I think I belong to both categories.  8)

Nice, strong win for the Auggies 85-72, at home in a must win game against a solid Cobber club.  Both teams shot the ball extremely well -- Cobbers 54.3% overall & 57% from the 3-pt line, & AUG shot 51.9% overall, & 47.4% from beyond the arc.  One of the keys to the game though is when the Dawgs made their treys.  They were a ridiculous 8-15 from the 3-pt line in the 1st half, & 1-4 in the 2nd half.  Cobbs only put up 7 treys & converted on 4 of them.  It was apparent the Cobbs strategy was to beat the smaller Dawgs in the interior which they did a good job of doing, but they just weren't able to generate enough good looks from the outside, & stop a hot shooting club. Both clubs are still very much in the playoff picture, although the slight edge goes to the Cobbs.
****************
Down in Northfield, mad props to the Oles.  I'll admit, I had the shovel out & had starting digging a final resting place for their season about a week ago.  But they've come back with two improbable wins & ridiculous 2nd-half comebacks in their last 2 games.  If I'm a Gusties fan, I'd be sick.

Yesterday the Oles overcame a 16 point 1st half deficit & closed to within 10 points at the half.  Then in the 2nd they kept pecking away at the Gusties like a mini-goose until they finally got a lead, Gusties took it back, & then the lead see-sawed back & forth the remainder of the game. Sounds like the last 4 minutes of the game was crazy. 

Stats that will make you scratch your head:

Gusties:    46.2% FGA, 46.7% 3-pt FGA (7-15)
Oles:    39.0% FGA, 7.1% 3-pt FGA (1-14) (How??)

Big difference seemed to be at the FT line & fouls:

Gusties are 12-15 from the charity stripe - 80%, & are called for 23 fouls.

Oles are 21-25 from the FT line - 84%, & are only called for 11 fouls?  You would think they would have been called for 11 fouls in the first half alone if they were down by 16 points?  It will be interesting to hear from the Gustie supporters.   

Still, as far as the Oles are concerned, a win is a win & they're still very much in the hunt at 10-9.  With another win against Carleton on Wednesday night they could slide in & grab the 6th & final spot at 11-9.  Or, we could have some kind of crazy tiebreaker formula process that could kick into place if we end up with any teams tied at 10-10 or 11-9.  If someone wants to dive in & do the various TB scenarios, they're more than welcome, but I'll wait until after Wednesday night's games. 

Final random note

Reading the Carleton game summaries can be a treat as sometimes they might wolf a bit, or come up with a comment that you might find on a D3 hoops message board.  Unfortunately, they've been rather subdued this season or I've missed any fun comments.  However, yesterday they had a gem of a comment that will certainly sway this poster's post-season player & team acknowledgments.  Check it out:

Jeremy Sutherland (So./Eagan, Minn./St. Bernard's) brought the crowd to its collective feet with a reverse dunk over Keeley with 4:39 left. He finished the contest with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal.

The writer not only described the dunk, they called out the person who got dunked on!!  My man! 
(Sorry 'bout that Colin, foul him next time & stop that stuff, or turn your back walkaway before he does it)

For the rest of the article click here.

[Willy Wonka]

Drake - This guy assumed it would be an easy win over Olaf and didn't make the trip. Without bothering to doublecheck this statement, I don't think GAC had lost to the Oles in around 10 years...and now its lost 2 of 3

I *did* listen to the final 30ish seconds on the radio and it was disappointing. Witter made 1 of 2 FT with 10ish seconds left, Oles missed a FT/shot (forget) and then Wittwer canned a 3 at the buzzer. If he makes both throws, that shot sends it to OT.

I spent the afternoon watching Bethel play for the first time this year and got pretty much what I expected. With starting "post" Nick Carr injured, SMU tried to guard Moberg with guys ranging from 6-2 and 220 pounds to 6-4 and 170 pounds. The invitation for a pounding was more obvious than meeting Heidi Fleiss in a dark alley...but Bethel insisted on gunning from the outside.

Moses held Madson in check whenever he played, but Madson went off whenever Sweeney or Knights guarded him. However, he pulled up for 2-3 contested — and badly missed — 3s early in the second half that would have found him a seat next to Hanson. 23 points on 19 shots is nothing to write home about. Has it reached the go-for-points stage at Bethel or is that how they've played all year?...

Mike Much and The Silver Surfer won the game for the Royals. Much was money from 15ish feet and Reck nailed three 3s in a five-possession span in the second half to break the game open. Reck's first 3 came when Holland hurt his hip on O and couldn't play defense and his second was what I've got to imagine would an ill-advised pullup in any other offense.

SMU stayed close early by pushing the ball, after makes or misses, and Bethel seemed to have no interest in running back or stopping the ball.

If you can't tell, I *hate* watching Bethel play. To each his own, I guess, but it's akin to switching D'Antoni with Pop in the League.

As for SMU...if you start on senior night, you get the green light from anywhere, apparently. Eric Lear took the first 3-4 shots for SMU and made a number of ridiculous drives to the hoop in the second half that ended with him on his back and the ball flying every which way by through the rim.

However, he did get a sweet framed jersey for his four years of service (Sidenote: Cormier was in the building for the girls game, but left before the guys started). At GAC, four-year letterwinners get a cool, small picture. Do other schools do something like this, too?

How's much fun will it be to close a 2-win season by playing AT Concordia?

[PTPer35]

         =

[bleednavyblue_GoBU]

Does anybody else want a 5-way tie for 3rd at 11-9!! (actually I don't...but it would be exciting!  This is how it could happen:

Carleton   11-9 - (loss at StOlaf; loss at GAC)
SJU           11-9 - (loss vs. UST)
Concordia 11-9 - (loss vs. UST; win vs. Mary's)
Bethel       11-9 - (win @ MAC; win vs. Aug)
StOlaf       11-9 - (win vs. Carleton)

That could honestly actually happen!  The only one that I would call an upset is St Olaf over Carleton...and if St. Olaf pulls off a win over their cross-town rivals then they deserve to be in this "Ultimate Tie" 

Who is going to figure out that tie breaker scenario...Not it! 

It is good to be a Royal! 

As a bethel backer I am cheering for the Knights to drop Olaf to 10-10!  Then we don't have to worry about any of this.  Win and in...I love this time of year! 

[Drake Palmer]

Bleed -  you forgot another possibilty, Augsburg.  They could do the following.

Augsburg 11-9: (win @ SMU, win @ Bethel)    

I'll do my league standings predictions for the final week of the regular season later tonight or tomorrow.

[piperinsider]

Craziness I tell you. It's going to be a fun week (unless you're a SMU, HAM or MAC fan). Even then, it will be fun to cheer on the second-half team Auggie.

I think it was Drake that said, wouldn't it be sweet to see AUG go 7-3 in the second half and get in the playoffs? Well, they are 6-2 so far.

[VOJ]

Sizing up Wednesday night:

STO-Car...Game of the night...gotta give the Oles credit for keeping their season alive as they are in playoff mode right now...I hope the students turn out and give it the right atmosphere...

Con-UST...Great matchup of two playoff caliber teams, but do the Cobbers get back on the winning track...does Linz dominate and carry his team to a win or is the overall Tommie team too much to handle...

SMU-Auggy...Can the Cards defend Solaja better than they did Moberg?  Schedule has this one listed for Winona, but didn't someone say senior day was Saturday?  Can Will Wright carry the Cards offensively?  The Wright/Cassens matchup could be the best individual matchup of scorers of the night...

MAC-Bethel...A long season for the Scots, can they turn it on and deal a crushing blow to the Royals?  Will Abe look to light it up and set up his buddy Conboy?  Bethel seems to be focused with their eye on the prize...

GAC-Ham...Ham gave the Johnnies a real battle on Saturday, the Gusties will try to bounce back from the type of loss that creates tailspins...

J's get to sit back and watch and hope for some help...

[Drake Palmer]

Possible triple play, definite double play coming...

Not unlike the league playoff race, the MIAC pickems has been a hotly contested race this year, with 3-5 posters still within striking distance of earning the winner's laurel & Pickem Cup.  Since I've already provided several free "picks of the week" this season, I've decided to close up the soothsayer & apothecary shop for the week.   

However I will make this projection: the top 3 spots in the final standings will be individually held by 3 different schools.  Carleton is going to earn a win or two this week.  I'm just not sure if it's going to be in Northfield or St. Peter.  In the bottom half of the 6 playoff bound teams; I would not be at all surprised to see a 3-way tie for 4th place with teams at 11-9. 

Lets' just hope the craziness stops with teams tied at 11-9 & not 10-10.  Can you imagine how crazy it might be if the Oles win lost *on Wednesday to finish 10-10, & both the Dawgs & Royals lose on Wednesday night? On Saturday, the winner of the Augsburg – Bethel game would be tied with the Oles at 10-10.  Then one 10-10 team would advance to the playoffs, & due to a tiebreaker, the other 10-10 team's season would be finished.

That scenario would look like this:

1.   UST
2.   GAC
3.   CARL

Tied 4th:
4.   CORD 11-9
5.   SJU     11-9

Tie 6th place
6.   Team X 10-10

7.   TEAM XX 10-10 out due to a tiebreaker.

I think the above scenario is less likely to happen & feel the league will end up with a 3-way for 4th at 11-9.

*Edit courtesy of VOJ's reminder

[Drake Palmer]

Force out at 3rd, turn at 2nd base...

With the league race going down to the last week of the season, & the final league standings still very much up in the air, I also see this as a make or break week for the league MVP.  I did some research & in the past 10 years here's what I've found:

*The league MVP has been awarded to a player on the first place team seven times.

* Every 3-4 years or so, the award has gone to a player on a team that had a top 4 finish.

* No player has every won the award if his team finished lower than 4th.

*Only one year was there a co-MVP awarded.


Year  Player                              School            Team Standing

1998     Devean George             Augsburg   1st
1999     Devean George            Augsburg   1st

2000 Co-MVP
             Troy Bigalke                 St. John's  3rd
             Jeoffrey Reed              Augsburg  2nd

2001   Troy Bigalke                  St. Johns'     1st
2002   Mark Buri                      St. Thomas  1st

2003    Andy Gilbert                Bethel   4th
2004    Ben Van Thorre          Macalester   2nd

2005    Doug Espenson         Gustavus 1st
2006    Isaac Rosefelt            St. Thomas   1st (tie)

2007    Isaac Rosefelt           St. Thomas   1st

So how does this historical information reflect on this year's' MVP race?  Well, IMO, unless Joe Scott for St. Thomas goes on an absolute tear this week, I don't see how he or anyone else from St. Thomas could get the league MVP nod.  From a team perspective, the Tommies' strength this year has been their balanced scoring & collective team effort, so it's difficult to single out one individual from that team.  So that leaves us with the following short list of MVP candidates.  If the season ended today here is my rank order of most deserving candidates:

1) Zach Johnson: Carleton – Has consistently lead his injury plagued team all season.

2) Trevor Wittwer: Gustavus – A talented enigma. 

3) Luke Linz: Concordia – This could be the feel-good story of the year

4) Brady Brink: St. Johns – If the season ended in December he would have been the runaway winner

Dark Horses

Tim Madsen: Bethel – The team's fall from grace, might be too much to overcome.

Femi Solaja: Augsburg – Team has to end up in at least a tie for 4th place.

The biggest factor is going to be where these players' respective teams end up in the standings – 4th place or higher.  If the final standings are as twisted & tied we think they might be, it gives a chance for a player such as Madsen or Solaja to slip into the mix.  If the Cobbs manage to end up in a tie for 4th, I would leapfrog Linz over Wittwer because he's had less talent to work with, & he's consistently been the leader of this very young Cobber team.

Thoughts from others?

[VOJ]

Lets' just hope the craziness stops with teams tied at 11-9 & not 10-10.  Can you imagine how crazy it might be if the Oles win on Wednesday to finish 10-10, & both the Dawgs & Royals lose on Wednesday night? On Saturday, the winner of the Augsburg – Bethel game would be tied with the Oles at 10-10.  Then one 10-10 team would advance to the playoffs, & due to a tiebreaker, the other 10-10 team's season would be finished.

That scenario would look like this:

1.   UST
2.   GAC
3.   CARL

Tied 4th:
4.   CORD 11-9
5.   SJU     11-9

Tie 6th place
6.   Team X 10-10

7.   TEAM XX 10-10 out due to a tiebreaker.

I think the above scenario is less likely to happen & feel the league will end up with a 3-way for 4th at 11-9.

Drake...can't happen Oles would have to lose to go 10-10...but they are playing at home where I think they are darn near unbeatable after watching the last two come from behind wins...

As for the MVP race...I would give it to Brady Brink, but as many if not all of you know, I am partial the J's , so if I were to make another person the MVP it would be...wait here's my coin....ok its heads...that means Luke Linz...tails would have been Wittwer...

Truth be told there is not one guy who has really established himself as the "marquee" head and shoulders player of the year...Each guy has had great games and ones where they have not played well...tough call for the coaches...