MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Incidentally.. congrats to Yjack.. whose Randolph Macon team stunned the ODAC and won the Auto Bid for the conference...  I'm thinking I won't see Yjack at Wash U on Saturday... certain he'll be watching his favorite team on the internet...

[sac]

This was one of the more interesting scores of the season I think

Transylvania 62 Spalding 61
http://www.transysports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=1739

[WUPHF]

This was one of the more interesting scores of the season I think

Transylvania 62 Spalding 61
http://www.transysports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=1739

What do you think it says about Spalding?  It was so early in the season and on the road as Transy was coming off a big road trip.

[y_jack_lok]

Incidentally.. congrats to Yjack.. whose Randolph Macon team stunned the ODAC and won the Auto Bid for the conference...  I'm thinking I won't see Yjack at Wash U on Saturday... certain he'll be watching his favorite team on the internet...

Actually, I don't think they "stunned" the ODAC. While the knowledgable ODAC fans all anticipated a Virginia Wesleyan vs Hampden-Sydney championship game, they were quite realistic that Randolph-Macon, Guilford, or Randolph could win the tournament. Stunning would have been if one of those five didn't win it.

As for Saturday, the Randolph-Macon game is at 2pm central, so I might make it to Wash U at 7 if I'm feeling like going.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Incidentally.. congrats to Yjack.. whose Randolph Macon team stunned the ODAC and won the Auto Bid for the conference...  I'm thinking I won't see Yjack at Wash U on Saturday... certain he'll be watching his favorite team on the internet...

Actually, I don't think they "stunned" the ODAC. While the knowledgable ODAC fans all anticipated a Virginia Wesleyan vs Hampden-Sydney championship game, they were quite realistic that Randolph-Macon, Guilford, or Randolph could win the tournament. Stunning would have been if one of those five didn't win it.

As for Saturday, the Randolph-Macon game is at 2pm central, so I might make it to Wash U at 7 if I'm feeling like going.

Better triple check that.  Pat says ALL tourney games are 7pm local time (by NCAA rule).  (Perhaps there are exceptions for NJ games that had to be moved to neutral sites?)

[hopefan]

Incidentally.. congrats to Yjack.. whose Randolph Macon team stunned the ODAC and won the Auto Bid for the conference...  I'm thinking I won't see Yjack at Wash U on Saturday... certain he'll be watching his favorite team on the internet...

Actually, I don't think they "stunned" the ODAC. While the knowledgable ODAC fans all anticipated a Virginia Wesleyan vs Hampden-Sydney championship game, they were quite realistic that Randolph-Macon, Guilford, or Randolph could win the tournament. Stunning would have been if one of those five didn't win it.

As for Saturday, the Randolph-Macon game is at 2pm central, so I might make it to Wash U at 7 if I'm feeling like going.

Better triple check that.  Pat says ALL tourney games are 7pm local time (by NCAA rule).  (Perhaps there are exceptions for NJ games that had to be moved to neutral sites?)

That's evidently the case.. going to the Stevens site, the headline is "Ducks to host Randolph Macon at Lehman Saturday at 2 PM"

[sac]

This was one of the more interesting scores of the season I think

Transylvania 62 Spalding 61
http://www.transysports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=1739

What do you think it says about Spalding?  It was so early in the season and on the road as Transy was coming off a big road trip.

I think it says Spalding can play with the big boys.  I had Transy as one of my favorites to have a great season and though it didn't turn out that way I still think they're very representative of a good D3 program.  The SLIAC just hasn't had a lot of good results vs good D3 programs.

[Denny McKinney]

They did lose the Transy game by 1 and Thomas More 99-97 (25-3). Two tough in-region games. Plus a road win @ Anderson. Played another tourney team tough Dickinson in a non-region game on the road by 6.

Spalding 20-7 19-3 In-Region, Conf Champs 15-1 and Conf. Tourney Champ.

South Region must of forgot about them. So did the NCAA. Which either has them as #15 or #16 seed. Not a frequent HCAC opponent in Terre Haute. Not Centre in a KY Battle. Not any of a dozen spots.

No. SLIAC Champ gets @ Wash U and with a win they get to go to IWU.

It might as well happen sooner or later. Why not Wash U.? Coach Grey will have them ready. STL SLIAC fans need to show UP!

[hopefan]

one very interesting thing about the box score of Spalding vs Transy... Jametrius Brasher went 8 fo 8 from the field... the perimeter players on the other hand shot less than 20%... as I was saying in my previous writeup, Spalding needs to have a decent shooting night to spread the scoring... otherwise Wash U can simply collapse on Brasher.... I have seen Spalding shoot well in several games this year.. they can do it..

[hopefan]

had another negative thought towards Spalding's chances as I was driving in today... Teams playing against Mark Edwards motion offense for the first time generally have a very difficult time defending it...  UAA teams who get used to  it may not give up a lot of layups, but when those screens and backdoors hit you for the first time, it's tough... spalding has not seen a precision offense like this in the SLIAC.... hopefully lots of film has reached Louisville so they know what to expect.....

[WUPHF]

SLIAC Champ gets @ Wash U and with a win they get to go to IWU.

Ironically, Illinois Wesleyan has to get past Transy in Bloomington-Normal for this to happen.  I imagine that an all Kentucky second round would be the talk of the first round.

I am 100 percent sure that no one is sleeping on Spalding.  If there ever was an era in which it was appropriate to describe the SLIAC AQ as a speed bump, this is not it and Coach Edwards knows that.  In fact, he only has to go back two years to the very close win over Westminster.

I have to think that the new approach to the first and second rounds favors the favored, as no team has to think about both a Friday and Saturday game.  The early rounds are truly one game at a time.

[DMJSports]

Here is an interesting look at how individuals impact a team's performance.  The following analysis is not based on individual stats, but compares team performance with individual players in and out of the lineup.  This is an objective analysis using actual data from every game played by St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams this season.  Based on this comprehensive analysis, the following players are making the most positive impact on their respective team:

Blackburn: MATT CHANDLER only averages 4.4ppg but his presence improves Blackburn's scoring rate by 4.7ppg and reduces opponent scoring rate by 6.6ppg - a net gain of 11.2ppg.   JON LOWRY (8.4ppg) and DIARRA CROPPER (6.3ppg) also make a strong positive impact.

Eureka: MARK LESSEN does a nice job of not only improving Eureka's scoring rate by 10.8ppg but also reducing opponent scoring rate by 8.4ppg - a net gain of 19.2ppg.   NIKO RIVERA (16.9ppg), CHUCK MISURACA (13.4ppg), DUSTIN FRITSCH (11.8ppg) and RIAN NAILOR (6.7ppg) also make a strong positive impact.

Fontbonne: ANDREW CHISM only plays about 15 minutes a game and averages only 6.5ppg but his presence improves Fontbonne's scoring rate by 12.4ppg and allows opponent scoring rate to increase by 4.2ppg - a net gain of 8.3ppg.   GREG GENTRY (7.4ppg) also makes a strong positive impact.

Greenville: ALEX MUMPHARD court presence improves Greenville's scoring rate by 3.7ppg but also reduces opponent scoring rate by 0.2ppg - a net gain of 4.0ppg.

MacMurray: CLAYTON WHITLOCK does a nice job of not only improving MacMurray's scoring rate by 6.9ppg but also reducing opponent scoring rate by 9.6ppg - a net gain of 16.5ppg.   LUKE BISHOP (16.0ppg) and CODY BEST (6.5ppg) also make a strong positive impact.

Principia: STANLEY BEAL court presence reduces Principia's scoring rate by 2.4ppg but also reduces opponent scoring rate by 10.0ppg - a net gain of 7.6ppg.   DAMON WILGUS (4.9ppg) also makes a positive impact.

Spalding: DOMINIQUE SANGESTER does a nice job of not only improving Spalding's scoring rate by 5.8ppg but also reducing opponent scoring rate by 1.3ppg - a net gain of 7.1ppg. 

Webster: CODY BRADFISCH does a nice job of not only improving Webster's scoring rate by 8.1ppg but also reducing opponent scoring rate by 5.9ppg - a net gain of 14.0ppg.   ROMAN ROBINSON (8.0ppg) also makes a strong positive impact.

Westminster (Mo.): JOE PROPHET speeds up the game and therefore improves Westminster (Mo.)'s scoring rate by 13.2ppg but also allows opponent scoring rate to increase by 2.7ppg - a net gain of 10.5ppg.   SKYLAR TOLSON (8.7ppg) and TAYLOR ALLEN (6.0ppg) also make a strong positive impact.


On the lighter side, focusing on secondary goals (team stats other than the primary objective - outscoring opponents).  Following are players making the most positive impact in these areas:

Team scoring: having JOE PROPHET on the floor correlates to Westminster (Mo.) increasing its scoring rate by 13.2 ppg compared to when PROPHET is on the bench.  ANDREW CHISM-Fontbonne (12.4) also makes a strong positive impact.

Opponent scoring: having NIKO RIVERA on the floor correlates to Eureka decreasing opposition scoring rate by 13.3 ppg compared to when RIVERA is on the bench.

Team field goal percentage: having MARK LESSEN on the floor correlates to Eureka increasing its field goal percentage rate by 6.5 percentage points compared to when LESSEN is on the bench.

Opponent field goal percentage: having MARK LESSEN on the floor correlates to Eureka decreasing opposition field goal percentage rate by 7.4 percentage points compared to when LESSEN is on the bench.  DUSTIN FRITSCH-Eureka (7.3) also makes a strong positive impact.

Team made field goals: having LUKE BISHOP on the floor correlates to MacMurray increasing its made field goals rate by 5.4 per game compared to when BISHOP is on the bench.

Opponent made field goals: having NIKO RIVERA on the floor correlates to Eureka decreasing opposition made field goals rate by 4.6 per game compared to when RIVERA is on the bench.

Team offensive rebounds: having LUKE BISHOP on the floor correlates to MacMurray increasing its offensive rebounds rate by 3.8 per game compared to when BISHOP is on the bench.  TAYLOR ALLEN-Westminster (Mo.) (3.6) also makes a strong positive impact.

Opponent offensive rebounds: having STANLEY BEAL on the floor correlates to Principia decreasing opposition offensive rebounds rate by 3.6 per game compared to when BEAL is on the bench.  CHUCK MISURACA-Eureka (3.5) also makes a strong positive impact.

Team turnovers: having VERDIS LEE on the floor correlates to Westminster (Mo.) decreasing its turnovers rate by 4.3 per game compared to when LEE is on the bench.

Opponent turnovers: having HOLLIS EDWARDS on the floor correlates to Webster increasing opposition turnovers rate by 3.0 per game compared to when EDWARDS is on the bench.

Team steals: having CLAYTON WHITLOCK on the floor correlates to MacMurray increasing its steals rate by 3.3 per game compared to when WHITLOCK is on the bench.

Team assists: having CLAYTON WHITLOCK on the floor correlates to MacMurray increasing its assists rate by 5.1 per game compared to when WHITLOCK is on the bench.

Team defensive rebounds: having MARK LESSEN on the floor correlates to Eureka increasing its defensive rebounds rate by 3.9 per game compared to when LESSEN is on the bench.

[hopefan]

Impressed to see a positive remark about SLIAC rep Spalding's chances vs Wash U in the D3Hoops Tournament Summary

"What do we make of this game? Spalding at Washington University-St. Louis might not be the blowout we would expect from a SLIAC team in the first round."

Of course I'd point out that not all SLIAC first rounders could pass for 'blowouts'

[Denny McKinney]

Good Luck Coach and the whole Spalding Squad. Soak it all in. You earned it. Very small amount of HS players ever play in a NCAA Tourney game. When you hit the lockers tonite you got to "Flip the Switch" and get in the Moment. Nothing else matters except your effort right now. If you give the game a 110% of what you got right then, you'll walk off the floor PROUD.

Spalding has prepared for this moment for four years. You have to give Coach Gray and his staff props. You did it right. And my Props to that Senior Class. You did a great job of introducing Your university to the SLIAC. Mr. McAfee your team would not be here without YOU.

Two points: Under classman you are not guaranteed to ever be here, Again. And Second, This a Very Experienced team. They have a 100+ games under their belts. They won't raddle.

Spalding in the Upset.

[hopefan]

Spalding did themselves and the SLIAC proud.... in the game virtually the whole way... without Dewhon McAfee...

One of these years.......