MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Willy Wonka]

Hey AO, isn't the SJU football team still playing? Can't you go get yelled at by those guys for awhile?

For what it's worth, Arizona State beat Arizona twice last season. Arizona went dancing, ASU stayed home. Moral of the story being the teams taking the court in November often bear little resemblance to the teams playing in February.

I can only hope this is the case for the Gusties or we could be seeing another 14-13 year, like when the last time BL beat the Gusties under similar circumstances (Year After Espo).

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

When perennial MIAC contender Gustavus loses to an average UMAC squad every other year, anyone with half a brain stops saying ignorant things about how they should just walk in to the gym and win with superior talent.  They don't have superior talent, they lost. 

when do those of you with LESS than half a brain stop saying ignorant things?

[Drake Palmer]

Oles put a scare in 8th ranked Buena Vista before losing 65-60 on the Beaver's home court.

Out in Cali, Tommies beat Pomona-Pitzer 82-65. Joe Scott with 18 pts, BJ Viau 14 pts, Nicolai with 12 (all in 2nd half)

The Birds get thumped 90 something to 50 something.

[Willy Wonka]

Anyone have any idea if Waldvogel made the trip out west with the Tommies? 15 guys saw action in the easy win, but he isn't listed. Has Peter Leslie earned the third-string PG duties while WV played football?

WV is listed more prominently in the season preview, but the lost time on the hardwood could cost him early in his collegiate career — though Leslie destroyed my Spartans at state and is far from a bad player himself. Then again, WV could have declined the trip so soon after football ended, like I did as a niave freshman.

Any insight, Moses?

And could Koz's complete determination to always rely on freshmen finally be paying off? The win over BL was one thing, but to play BV on the road so tough is truly impressive. Kudos where kudos are due.

[Gregory Sager]

i wasn't arguing history or tradition.  neither of those things wins games.

No, but they do win recruits ... which is what this argument is supposedly all about.

[WXYZ]

Any guess on the order of the MIAC schools in terms of putting together the best financial aid packages for student athletes? Is the playing field even?

[Generic Dude 75]

Walvogel did not make the trip to Cali. I actually saw him walking around campus the day after the team left.  I did a little asking around and it seems that the three football basketball players are going to wait until after this trip to join the team. My question for the board is: who do you think will eventually have the most impact this season. My vote is for Brady Larson. I've heard nothing but good this about the way he plays and physically he seems like he'd be the most ready to handle the grind of playing two collegiate sports back to back like this.

[Drake Palmer]

Walvogel did not make the trip to Cali. I actually saw him walking around campus the day after the team left.  I did a little asking around and it seems that the three football basketball players are going to wait until after this trip to join the team. My question for the board is: who do you think will eventually have the most impact this season. My vote is for Brady Larson, it's Ervin. I've heard nothing but good this about the way he plays and physically he seems like he'd be the most ready to handle the grind of playing two collegiate sports back to back like this.

If he plays, I'd agree with you - Ervin.

The season is still very early but could the Oles & Pipers be this season's surprise MIAC teams??  Just as St Olaf came up 5 points short last night against 8th ranked Buena Vista in IA, Hamline fell short 78-73 in their upset bid against 18th ranked Elmhurst College in Chicago. 

After being down 40-30 at the half, Hamline came storming out the gates to take a 4 point lead with 7 minutes in the game.  Elmhurst fought back to take a 7 point lead, Pipers tie it behind the play of Tony Thrasher, Carl Hipp & crew, only to have a couple of crucial, closing minutes baskets made by pre-season AA Brent Ruch & senior All CCIW running mate Ryan Burks.

Good effort Pipes.  League play could be very interesting.

Earlier in the day St. Mary's wins the consolation game at the North Central tournament, also in Chicago & beat MacMurray College 84-70 behind a career best 41 points by soph Will Wright.

Johnnies are getting hammered by St. Cloud State midway through the 2nd half, & are losing by 25/ 26 points with 6- 7 minutes left in the game. Edit: they lost 85-59.

Bethel is up 39 -27 at the half against NAIA school Grandview out of Des Moines.

Texas Tech getting drilled by Oklahoma.

[Willy Wonka]

A few random thoughts as I gear up for my first old man game of the year tomorrow night...

• Bethany Lutheran just beat UW-Stout 84-83 with a bomb at the buzzer. I'm guessing those guys would like another shot against the Oles, given the way they've played — and shot — the last two games.

• GAC could show a LOT of improvement through the new year and still be staring at an un-Gustie-like 2-6 start. I'm guessing they'll only be favored against St. Mary's and Augsburg...and maybe not by not much in either contest, given the trip to Winona and the improvement at Auggie Tech.

• Four of Gustavus' next seven games are against highly regarded teams: #8 Buena Vista, #9 Winona State, #31 Puget Sound and #34 Whitworth. At least they won their intrasquad scrimmage today, I guess

• Oklahoma is good. The Gophers are not.

[Drake Palmer]

UST wins the 2nd game of their two game road trip to CALI as they knock off Occidental 61-47.  Aside from the two teams top scorers  - Joe Scott for the Tommies & Henry Meier for Oxy, neither team shot particularly well.  Both teams shot less than 36% from the floor. I'm also guessing from the halftime score 26-14, Oxy tried to take the air out of the ball.
UST-OXY Boxscore

Bethel wins their tournament & beat Grandview - 75-64.  Game Story

[Howlinwolf]

Attended the Oxy-St. Thomas match-up. Oxy runs  a more deliberate offense but the low score was primarily the result of tenacious defense. The Tommies were in control the whole game but they couldn't quite entirely shake the Tigers in the second half. Oxy sports a very young team; seven seniors graduated and two veteran players decided not to return (pre-med, overseas study). This wasn't the top 25 Oxy squad of the past five years. Therefore it's difficult to assess the quality of this win, especially this early in the season, for a top 5 team,

[columbianmaffia]

oklahoma...my second favorite college football team behind my gophers saved my sports weekend

the BCS is weird this year...i hope it turns out to be disaster so they maybe realize a playoff would be super neato

are a lot of MIAC teams playin in thanksgiving weekend tourneys?

gobble gobble gobble

[AO]

has anybody seen Macalester in scrimmages or anything this year?  My guys from Northwestern might be a little better in person than on paper, and I was thinking of attending Mac's first game in the new gym.   

also, found this impressive bit in the Hamline-Elmhurst Box.
TURNOVR by Strzemp, Robert                      11:25
                                                11:21              STEAL by Dan Andersen
                                                11:01  50-49  H 1  GOOD! DUNK by Carl Hipp [PNT]
                                                11:01              ASSIST by Brandon Hayes
TURNOVR by Bainter, Dustin                      10:41
                                                10:38              STEAL by Dan Andersen
                                                10:33  50-52  V 2  GOOD! 3 PTR by Dan Andersen
TURNOVR by Bainter, Dustin                      10:09
                                                10:08              STEAL by Dan Andersen
                                                10:01              TURNOVR by Dan Andersen
TURNOVR by Boyd, Zack                           09:49
                                                09:48              STEAL by Nick Carroll
                                                09:45  50-54  V 4  GOOD! DUNK by Carl Hipp [FB/PNT]
                                                09:45              ASSIST by Levi Wenrich


also, also, look for North Central (not the illinois version) to give Bethel a good game in a few weeks...maybe

[Gregory Sager]

Just as St Olaf came up 5 points short last night against 8th ranked Buena Vista in IA, Hamline fell short 78-73 in their upset bid against 18th ranked Elmhurst College in Chicago Elmhurst.

After being down 40-30 at the half, Hamline came storming out the gates to take a 4 point lead with 7 minutes in the game.  Elmhurst fought back to take a 7 point lead, Pipers tie it behind the play of Tony Thrasher, Carl Hipp & crew, only to have a couple of crucial, closing minutes baskets made by pre-season AA Brent Ruch & senior All CCIW running mate Ryan Burks.

Good effort Pipes.  League play could be very interesting.

That's a solid loss for Hamline, and it sounds as though the Pipers played very well against a ranked team that has a gold-plated front line in Ruch, Burks, and Rob Strzemp. However, the Bluejays have an all-freshman starting backcourt ... and the three guards that the 'jays bring off of the bench, two of whom are former starters, don't start for a reason. If the two baby 'jays have a steady growth curve in their games -- and if they don't, Elmhurst won't be a ranked team anymore once January rolls around -- Elmhurst will be a much better team after New Year's Day than it is right now. Nevertheless, that shouldn't take anything away from the strong effort put up by the Pipers on Saturday night.

Earlier in the day St. Mary's wins the consolation game at the North Central tournament, also in Chicago far west suburban DuPage County & beat MacMurray College 84-70 behind a career best 41 points by soph Will Wright.

Great to see Will Wright have such a tremendous game, as he's a Chicagolander whose old high school stomping grounds are only a 45-minute drive from the North Central (IL) campus in Naperville.

[sumander]

Didn't make it to the J's game against SCSU this weekend, just a quick spin through the box score I game up with the following observations:

SJU starts 2 frosh & 3 sophs, starters aver 28+ minutes. 4 upper classmen see the court for a total of 19 min.

SCSU take advantage of the young line up with 11 steals.

J's have 15 assists to 15 TO's, SCSU 18 A 6 TO.

Not too surprising the SCSU bench outscores the J's 33-3.

J's get out rebounded 46-27.

I think Mose was planning on attending being it was the formal dedication of the Jim and Adrienne Smith Court. Be interested in hearing his observations.

Sounds like the J's may be only slightly more advanced than WW Gusties!