WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Nites]

Correction - Game was in Northfield.

[gacbacker]

Gusties fall to Augsburg 57-54 in what was a disastrous second half for the Gusties. Too many things went wrong to even begin to list them at this time. Gustavus led 44-30 with 15 minutes to go in the game and was outscored 27-10 the rest of the way.

Looks like Bethel slipped past Hamline 84-81.

And St. Ben's wins but no Ariel Tauer in the line-up. Illness or injury Blazer fans?

[gacbacker]

Awfully quiet in here....Not even a post from L.A. Rams after the Gustie debacle on Saturday?

[Nites]

Awfully quiet in here....Not even a post from L.A. Rams after the Gustie debacle on Saturday?

Bennies take on Carleton tonight in Northfield.  The winner will gain a leg up on the conference title race as these teams are likely the two favorites right now.

What's up with Tauer?  Is she sick or injured? 

On Saturday, the Knights were without one starter (Biewen) and one backup (Eckhoff).  In addition, Oken-Berg was suffering from the flu and her minutes were limited.  I don't know if the team will be back at full strength tonight. 

[LA RAMS]

Awfully quiet in here....Not even a post from L.A. Rams after the Gustie debacle on Saturday?

Actually, had to leave the game at about the 5:00 minute mark or so to get home to catch the UCLA - USC game.  Bad enough we had to give that game to those clowns from South Central but seeing how the Gusties came out after I left was even more depressing.  I expect tonight's game at Bethel will be another tough test.

[Nites]

At the half, Bennies 28, Knights 26.

[Willy Wonka]

At the half, Bennies 28, Knights 26.

Is there a way they can both lose?

[buf]

Knights win 64-61.  Blocked a potential game tying 3.

[Nites]

At the half, Bennies 28, Knights 26.

Is there a way they can both lose?

Sorry, afraid not.

[Nites]

Final:  GAC 83, BET 77

[gacbacker]

Gusties pick up their 14th straight win over Bethel as they build a 22-point lead and then hang on for the win. Vadnais goes off for 29 and Molly Mathiowitz comes off the bench for 16 points and 8 boards - great performance by the freshman.

This sets up a match-up in St. Peter on Wednesday between two 2-1 teams with the Blazers coming to town.

The Blazer posters continue to be suspiciously absent - as is Ariel Tauer from Durbin's line-up for the second straight game. C'mon Blazerball, Collegeville Magic, spill it already.

[Willy Wonka]

The Blazer posters continue to be suspiciously absent - as is Ariel Tauer from Durbin's line-up for the second straight game. C'mon Blazerball, Collegeville Magic, spill it already.

Love it! When is CM gonna come out of the woodworks to call for Durbin's head like he does to Jimmy Gags after every SJU football loss?

gacbacker - What's up with the funky lineup last game? Mickey trying some new things or were people sick/injured? And why do we always suck in the second half?

[gacbacker]

Willy - No injuries or illnesses, I think the move to put Nelson in the starting line-up had to do with her ability to guard the opposing team's point guard and therefore keeping Radtke out of early foul trouble. The move really didn't change much as Nelson logged 19 minutes and Schultz came off the bench for 28 or something like that.

As for the second half peformance, specifically defensively, the assistant coach is toying with a zone defense, that to my ametuer eyes looks god awful. Bethel got a wide open, and when I say wide open think Pacific Ocean wide open, three pointer every single possession against the zone. And for some reason instead of mixing the zone in for a possession or two like most teams do these days just to give a different look, the Gusties decided to stick with it for 4-5 minute chunks at a time. It may pay some dividends if they can play it a little better, but right now it makes me cringe. It worked against Macalester, but just because something works against Macalester doesn't mean it's going to work against the rest of the league.

The thing that made no sense last night was that the Gusties played strictly man to man in the first half and by doing so held Bethel to 24 points and forced 17 turnovers. They play a lot of zone in the second half and give up 53 points and force only 9 turnovers. Not to mention the fact that the Gusties' rebounding issues are magnified when they play the zone. It just makes no sense to me to play the zone for extended minutes. I sure hope they bag it for at least one game, because if there is any team in the conference that can burn a zone defense it's St. Ben's with their ability to move the ball and find open shooters like Schmidt, O'Neil, Falvey, etc.

[Willy Wonka]

Are you trying to tell me the Bennies won't miss Pat's All-American guard if we go zone tonight? I don't think I can believe that...

CC to GB - Any bets on how quickly the CSB posters come out of hiding if they win tonight?

[Nites]

Are you trying to tell me the Bennies won't miss Pat's All-American guard if we go zone tonight? I don't think I can believe that...

CC to GB - Any bets on how quickly the CSB posters come out of hiding if they win tonight?

Carlton had some success playing a tight man to man.  Players were moving their feet well to cut off the drives of Schmidt (she's impressive) and Falvey. They also did a great job of closing out on the three point shooters.   Surprisingly, the Bennies found some success pounding the ball into Frank, their FY post who I think goes about 6"4".  She wasn't shy about putting it up, although she forced a couple of shots.  She'll be a good player in this league.

GAC had such great pressure D last year.  That's what they need to play against the Bennies.  If they go with a zone, I think they'll get scorched.