WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Korn Lover]

Blazerguy- I empathize with you! After the game the Cobbers had at St. Thomas, anything is possible with this squad. Unfortunately, they seem to pull off the miracle non-call at a crucial time. I'm glad they have to play Tammy in the first round.

Cobbers cruise in a game that looks closer than it was and take third place. Bring ont he Kitties!

Wierd ending to the season, makes the tourney a real toss-up!

[Willy Wonka]

Here's the real question for the Bennie fans...is that apparent missed call worse than this example?

In the GAC/STO game Wednesday night, an extremely short, dark-haired female ref prepared for the jump ball. As the players move to their spots, she turned and told a GAC player to take something out of her hair (said player was at the captains meeting, where nothing was said). The ref immediately turned and tossed up the jump ball, with the other four Gusties watching and waiting for their teammate to be deemed street legal - Monahan didn't jump and no GAC player moved to retrieve the tip. It honestly looked like it was a practical joke pulled on the whole GAC team.

When Haller argued that it was a correctable mistake at the first dead ball (while the rest of the crowd either yelled or sat in stunned disbelief), the ref agreed with her. And simply let play continue as if nothing was wrong.

As an aside, you know the refs were brutal when a whole section groans when they see a certain ref walk in...and then everyone agrees afterward that she (tall, blond, short hair) was the best of the 3-man crew.

Obviously, this isn't a place where a league rep will see the mounting ref issues...but SOMETHING needs to be done. This crossed over into redic years ago and is only getting worse. I'm embarrassed watching some of these refs in action, but there never seems to be any improvement and/or guidance from those making the hires.

[blazerball]

UST played a perfect game today and executed surprisingly well on the offensive end.  Everything went right for UST and they deserved the victory.  They needed things to roll, bounce, skip, and drop their way and the stars aligned perfectly for them to pull off the upset.  CSB was in foul trouble all game long and that seemed to disrupt their rotation.  The non-call at the end of the game was appalling as Goehner was standing dead still at the foul line on the screen and was knocked to the floor out by the three point line by the UST defenders trying to get to Noreen.  Goehner was literally knocked from the foul line into Noreen who was two feet behind the arch.  Of course, if the foul had been called (and it should have), Goehner would have had to make two free throws...definitely not a gimmee as my Blazers have struggled a little from the stripe this year.  But, it's over and done with and the Tommies broke an 11 game losing streak to CSB...sadly...

But, THANKS to Carleton for making the CSB the undisputed and outright MIAC Champions!  We will gladly take the #1 seed and the title of conference  champs!  A tremendous team effort for the Blazers as they win the conference title with no player averaging in double figures on the season...great team basketball and tremendous coaching...let's get ready for a home game Thursday!!!

[gacbacker]

Yuck, yuck, yuck....so disappointed today that I probably shouldn't even post.

The Gusties had one player show up today and that was Vadnais...who was taken out of the game with under three minutes to go on a screen by Lincoln...while I'm not sure Lincoln should have been called for a foul on the play I know for a fact that Vadnais should not have been called for a foul on the play like she was.

The Gusties did not deserve the victory, but Carleton and Terrible Tammy certainly got a good amount of help from the officials. The Knights shot 35 free throws to the Gusties' 19.

Closed circuit to Tammy: You can't call a time-out when there is a loose ball on the floor or when a player from each team has dual possesion...and second try to wear an outfit from some place other than Ragstock come playoff time.

The best example of Tammy's sideline sharades and classless manners today was when midway through the first half she gave a loud mocking clap toward the officials when the Gusties' Erin Boese was called for a foul...I looked up to the scoreboard thinking that the Knights must have been called for more fouls than the Gusties...wrong....the Gusties had been called for 8 fouls and the Knights 3!!!!

The sad thing with Tammy is that I think she is one of the top two coaches in the conference, but her actions on the sidelines are simply gross...and her players are catching on to her whining.

Hopefully the Gusties' can rebound by Thursday and come out with a little more energy than they did today.

[Pat Coleman]

If the officiating in this league is so bad, should the league work on its feeder system or pay more to keep quality officials from moving up the ladder?

[blazerguy]

If the officiating in this league is so bad, should the league work on its feeder system or pay more to keep quality officials from moving up the ladder?

They need to get rid of the bad officials. My guess is nothing will be said or done to the two yahoo's from yesterdays Blazer/St.Thomas game. If there were suspensions and or reprimands of some kind we could get rid of the bad ones and replace them with new referees. If this is going on behind the scene, they should make it public, so the fans at least would know they were trying.

[Collegeville Magic]

I can't say I disagree with anything said in the last two pages.  I've come to the conclusion that MIAC refs may be beyond help.  There only consistency to be found from game to game is that the less talented team tends to get more calls and be given more leeway to make mistakes.

Aside to any refs reading this: calling touch fouls while other players are being mauled doesn't amount to "keeping the game under control".

I just hope that it doesn't take a major injury to a player to have the officiating examined, and Jamie Goehner is lucky she didn't come off the floor with a concussion on the last play.  The three baboons in stripes sprinted toward their locker room faster than I've seen in a long time, and appeared (to those close to the court who could hear) to be asking each other whether a cross check through a screen is worth a whistle.

That said, UST suits up the best fore-checking line in MIAC basketball.  They punish forwards who dare cross the blue line with the puck, "chip" with their off-hands when on offense, and plow through offensive lines like Warren Sapp in his prime.  Wait, sorry for getting my sports metaphors crossed, I guess I'm still weirded out by the game yesterday...

Either way, bring on the playoffs!  This year's tournament is really a toss-up, and I don't think there's a single team in the top 6 who couldn't realistically come away with this thing.  I'm glad that CSB has home court advantage, and I'm looking forward to the chase for an NCAA bid!

[scorekeeper]

I hate when people complain about officials deciding a game, but this time I have to agree with the other Blazer fans.  In fact, we could actually show everyone on the board what happened if the parent of one of the CSB players who caught it on tape (via his video phone) would load it to You Tube and attach a link here.  After watching the video after the game, I think the coaches should send the tape into the head of the MIAC officials not to protest, but just to show them that the officials did in fact decide the game by not making a call.  Jamie Goehner was pushed over by not only one, but two UST players, one of whom came charging from the baseline to the free throw line on a dead sprint like she was a blitzing linebacker looking to take out the blocking back to sack Darby Noreen. 

That said, UST played a great game and deserved the victory.  Now the Blazers can get ready for the biggest joke in sports, the conference tournament; an opportunity for one team to play well for one week and render an entire season of 22 games meaningless.  When you play every team in your conference twice and win your title by playing 3 months of consistent basketball, it's great to know you can just as well play .500 ball and have a chance to make the NCAA tournament.  Good luck to all of the teams who failed to win the games they played in the regular season and now have a third chance to get it right.

[LA RAMS]

Yet another WEIRD day in the MIAC as the regular season grinds to a halt.  Would have been cool to make it down to either Northfield  or up to St. Joe to witness the carnage but getting off work shortly before 3 P.M. yesterday had me settling for one of the in-town games (Olaf and Kate's)

UST may be winning ugly and all but they're arguably the hottest team coming down the stretch.  They found a way to win against all odds at CSB yesterday though that no-call toward the end when Goehner was crashed into by two UST players must still have red-clad Blazer fans seething ( ).  I haven't seen the boxscore yet but I am curious as to who/whom led the Tommies yesterday.

Meanwhile, down in Northfield, the Knights avenged an earlier embarrassment against the Gusties and spoiled GAC's hopes of sharing the regular conference crown.  I'm not yet sure what to make of this game although my knee-jerk reaction has me wondering if the Gusties were in something of a letdown mode and if so, why?  This is not the time of the year for GAC to think that it can just show up and win.  I honestly did not expect a lot out of the Knights this year after losing Megan Vig but I'm very concerned about GAC right now heading into the MIAC playoffs.  If they can't win the conference tourney with this team (and oh, by the way, the road runs through CSB again this year) they may never do it.  

Granted, UST grinded out a gritty road win against an old rival yesterday but the team I think to keep your eye on is St. Kate's.  The Kitties liabilities are defense and rebounding (though I have seen some improvement in the former) but they do know how to put points on the board and if their guns are firing on all cylinders (Petrich, Berglund, Hakanson) - look out.  They should have beaten Concordia up in Moorhead and at home and they really should have beaten Carleton at home.  Even one of the players from St. Kate's told me that it's hard to beat a team three times during a season and that they feel supremely confident they can get the job done up in M-head.  Should be a couple of good ones Tuesday night.    

[Pat Coleman]

If the officiating in this league is so bad, should the league work on its feeder system or pay more to keep quality officials from moving up the ladder?

They need to get rid of the bad officials. My guess is nothing will be said or done to the two yahoo's from yesterdays Blazer/St.Thomas game. If there were suspensions and or reprimands of some kind we could get rid of the bad ones and replace them with new referees. If this is going on behind the scene, they should make it public, so the fans at least would know they were trying.

Well, from what it sounds like, getting rid of the bad officials would leave the league with nobody to work games.

I'm not sure the league office is beholden to the fans to explain their evaluation system for game officials. I don't know of any league that does that.

[blazerguy]

If the officiating in this league is so bad, should the league work on its feeder system or pay more to keep quality officials from moving up the ladder?

They need to get rid of the bad officials. My guess is nothing will be said or done to the two yahoo's from yesterdays Blazer/St.Thomas game. If there were suspensions and or reprimands of some kind we could get rid of the bad ones and replace them with new referees. If this is going on behind the scene, they should make it public, so the fans at least would know they were trying.

Well, from what it sounds like, getting rid of the bad officials would leave the league with nobody to work games.

I'm not sure the league office is beholden to the fans to explain their evaluation system for game officials. I don't know of any league that does that.

Pat, If you follow WCHA hockey you would know that they will reprimand or suspend officals for poor performance, the NFL does the same, the NCAA D1 basketball has admitted when officials made mistakes and D1 football does the same. All levels have problems with the human element of officials but some hold the officials accountable and some (MIAC) don't seem to. The jump ball fiasco Willy spoke of is another example of officials not being held accountable. If they were, the ref would have corrected the obvious mistake. Another example in yesterdays game , late in the game Darby was retreving a loose ball and was literally tackled from behind by  a St Thomas player. The ref called traveling on Darby as she laid on the floor with an ankle injury. Go figure. The St. Thomas players were actually laughing at the call they were so surprised. I love MIAC womens basketball, the players, fans and coaches deserve better from the league.

[Pat Coleman]

Fair enough but all of those are also professional or Division I leagues. That's not really in the real of what we're dealing with here.

How do you know they're not accountable unless you work in the league office? They're just not accountable to you.

[blazerguy]

Fair enough but all of those are also professional or Division I leagues. That's not really in the real of what we're dealing with here.

How do you know they're not accountable unless you work in the league office? They're just not accountable to you.

I don't know if they are held accountable, I only surmise that they aren't because of the non response from league officers on any officiating questions and the continued low level of referees. I understand D3 is not professional or D1, that doesn't mean we should accept less and give up. As I said before, the players, fans and coaches deserve better than we are getting. I will guarantee you this, if they were accountable to me, I would raise the level a notch or 4 or 5!!

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

I'm predicting the double upset today.  Concordia is not that great on D, and they had the long trip this weekend, and I think it showed against SMU.  With 17 minutes left in the game, they had to pull out all the stops to keep from blowing the game.  Sorry Korn, the game was as close as it looked.  Maybe not for the first 23 minutes, but the last 17, Concordia did not look good.  In a game that will be up and down the whole way with little defense played, I'm giving the edge to CSC.  They are going to be more fresh.

In the other game, UST is hot and confident after a big win over CSB.  Carleton is tough at home, and they have proven they are much better with Lincoln than without her.  I give the edge to UST though, it doesn't seem like any one has slowed them down since their losses to SMU and STO.  We shall see though.  Best of luck to all teams, and safe travels.  Here's hoping for an exciting conference tournament.

[Willy Wonka]

Assuming CSB and GAC reach the finals — and that's a fairly big assumption given their recent performances — what are the chances the loser of that game gets an at-large berth? Anyone want to take a stab at it? Pat, what do your charts say?