MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Denny McKinney]

Final Wash U 74 SU 49.

[WUPHF]

I don't think this one will be close...I'm opting for the doubleheader at Webster...

Definitely the right call regardless of the result in Louisville.  The MacMurray win over Rust College was exciting, at least from the parts I was able to watch.  And, Webster is in the driver's seat against Luther tonight.

[y_jack_lok]

Wash U up 50-21 over Spalding @ half. Hopefan made a great call.

Final Wash U 74 SU 49.

Looks like Coach Edwards called off the Bears in the second half.

And, Webster is in the driver's seat against Luther tonight.

Great first half shooting was the big difference in Webster's win over Luther.

[hopefan]

Rust-Mac.... fun game to watch, neither team deserved to lose.... up and down the court... Deavis Johnson, perhaps his best game as a highlander... to the hole, unstoppable!!!  and Brent Long.. cool, calm, collected..can't run, can't jump much, but knows POSITION, and has a soft touch with the ball... 51 points, 25 rebounds between the two of them...  Mac comes back from double digit deficit for win....and don't forget about Mike Cameron.. pushing the ball up the court and inside the paint all night, only 2 turnovers, 8 assists... a huge role in the win....Big question for Rust, Curtis Stuckey, shooter deluxe, good player, on bench at crunch time..why?

Rust trip was worse than I said... got in at 6AM from Texas on Thanksgiving morning, distributed to local teammates homes for Thanksgiving, on the bus at 9AM Friday for 6PM tipoff... Thank you Rust for a great game..

If Rust was just a little closer to St. Louis, their basketball program would be a great addition to the SLIAC... I think they would quickly become this fan's favorite....

[hopefan]

I had some negative thoughts about things I heard and personally observed regarding both the Luther fans and the coaching staff during the Webster game... I'll hold off and observe further today.. I don't think the action on the court is going to be any prettier for Luther vs MacMurray...and I give Luther players credit for going hard the whole game and hitting from the perimeter vs Webster's zone...

[hopefan]

YES, props to Webster... pregame conversations had me prepared for the worst, but the Gorlocks impressed me with typical Bunch-led aggressive defense and better than expected offense.  Webster started both its new JC transfers, and both responded with solid games.  Point guard Xaivier Dortch (that's Dortch, Webster public address announcer, not Doytch), had 18 points and only 1 turnover, though he showed no propensity to penetrate and find open perimeter shooters (1 assist)...Forward Davian Joseph had a quiet but solid game... 6 points, no bad shots, no turnovers, 8 rebounds... a stat line I'm thrilled with if sufficient scoring is coming from elsewhere.... Bench depth is a big plus with vets Etter and Ojoe getting solid minutes, and forwards Crenshaw and Evans flowed in nicely too in a mix of 6'3" guys with nothing resembling a middle man...I think Webster is going to have to scrap for everything they get this year, but will be a contender for a 3-4 slot in the conference tourney.....

[hopefan]

and finally, other SLIAC results...

Spalding crushed by Wash U.... but until proven differently, I'll bet they are a top 2 or 3 SLIAC team

Greenville down by 29 to Central....I'm really getting worried about Greenville... with Greene and Ehresman out, they appear to be short staffed to keep up the pace that the system demands... and no one but Tim Daniel is shooting with any consistency form the 3 point line... still, the level of effectiveness may well escalate vs SLIAC competition.... one positive I notice, hooray for Jamal Daniels... he hasn't gotten a lot of playing time until recently, but his one on one skills playing in the low post in GC's quick shot offense has been a surprising success and plus alternative to GC's poor 3 point shooting....I love seeing guys who have stuck with it take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself....

[WUPHF]

D3hoops.com is showing a 112-102 final score for Fontbonne over Concordia Chicago.  Woah!  Does Concordia run The System?

[Denny McKinney]

No system ran in this game.

[WUPHF]

I figured, but I missed out on all the System talk with Greenville...

How was the game?

Looks like a couple of good games at Webster though both SLIAC teams fell.  I am eagerly awaiting the full report.

[Denny McKinney]

Waiting patiently for Hopefan's weekend wrap up.

[y_jack_lok]

Waiting patiently for Hopefan's weekend wrap up.

While you're waiting here's a little teaser -- but if hopefan sees it differently, just go with what he says. 

After losing to Webster on Friday night Luther beats Mac by 2. Three things come to mind that were the difference: 1) Webster shot lights out in the first half against Luther and had a 23 point halftime lead; 2) Luther seemed more comfortable against Mac's man-to-man than against Webster's zone; 3) Mac's two big mean (Deavis Johnson and Bret Long) both fouled out with more than five minutes left. Might have been a different ending if one or both had been able to finish the game.

Rust vs Webster. Webster didn't have the shooting touch it had Friday night and Rust was pretty good at dealing with Webster's zone and got plenty of offensive rebounds and put backs. Bright spot of the game for Webster was transfer forward Davian Joseph going 8 for 8 from the floor and some good moves to the hoop by a number of players. Downside, transfer guard Xavier Dortch got hurt in the first half -- looked like an ankle injury. Might not have change the outcome, but certainly didn't help. Not sure how serious it is so hope he's back soon.

All four teams ended the classic with one win and one loss.

[Denny McKinney]

Thanks Yjak. You did real well, Sir.

[hopefan]

AHHH yes... the real fun starts now.... Conference games start this week.. Prin at Eureka on Tuesday, a HUGE opener for the league on Wednesday with my two favored teams meeting.. Mac at Iowa Wesleyan, Webster at Greenville, Westmin at Spalding, and Blackburn at Fontbonne.

So here are thoughts and questions....

Living near St. Louis, and not having any particular horse in this race, I'd love to get back to the days of Webster and Fontbonne being leading playoff position contenders... that way I'd be able to cut my trips to the faroff SLIAC locations of Louisville, Mount Pleasant, Eureka Il, Jacksonville, Fulton.. not having to worry about dodging snow and ice on desolate highways, as well as deer, State Troopers, wayward farm implements, or the lure of well placed casinos...
BUT, this year, it doesn't look like it will happen, possibly for EITHER Fontbonne or Webster... though hopefan still has HOPE....

Webster shot very well against Luther, as Yjack mentioned... but I just don't think that will happen as often as Saturday's lackluster Gorlock performance of 1 for 13 from 3's... I did however, see some things in Saturday's game that could turn it for the Gorlocks... CJ Moore really attempted to take over when Webster was making a comeback effort... I just feel he could assume the role of 'co-go to guy'... not from 3 point land, but as some one who can either go to the basket, or pull up for a 15 footer and make it....Of course the enigma of Hunter Ward exists, blessed with natural talent beyond the norm, seemingly frittering it away spending most of his time on the 3 point line.. BUT, despite a horrendous performance from 3's on Saturday, Ward did incorporate a number of moves to the hoop, an lo and behold, goes 7 for 11 from 2's, 4 for 4 from the line....       that style can bring Ward back to All Conference status, and Webster to a top 4... but will he be WILLING to go that route?   another question.. how serious is X-man Dortch's foot injury.. at first, it looked like nothing more than a tape job change, but as he never returned to action, it is obviously something more significant... the X can provide another source of scoring that Juniors Etter and Ojoe have not been able to show...  And with these whatifs, the major problem is a complete lack of a man in the middle, with no size, no scoring threat....
Still Webster's depth everywhere else, and that usually stingy zone defense makes them a contender.

If I were to split the conference into two groups, contenders and not contenders.. I'd have 6 contenders (Mac, IWC, Prin Webster, Greenville, and Spalding) and 3 noncontenders (Westmin, Blackburn, and Eureka)... that would leave Fontbonne on the cusp of falling into either group... First of all, I have NO clue as to how the win over Concordia played out.... The Fontbonne team I saw didn't play with much up and down the court speed or guard quickness.. which in a guard oriented conference is a real liability...Their scoring is coming from 4 and 5 slots, but NOT all conference forward Jarid Greenlee, whose performance to me  says he must be hurt... And I honestly have a rough time understanding the guard rotation, but I don't see practices... all I know is that things (more good than bad this year) happen with Gentry in the lineup, but he's getting 15 minutes per game...and Cody Ettinger, who took over the Morthland game, hardly gets warm before he's back out... just what I'm seeing, and I haven't seen much... kudos to Ben Kissing for his efforts, hell need to maintain it on a nightly basis if Fontbonne is to hit .500 in conference... and can the two big boys in the middle (REAL big boys), keep up the pace and play defense?  They both can score if they get the ball...

Wow - didn't realize I'd get on the bandwagon like this... probably already p*ssed some people off..

so of the far reaches...
Westmin... what has happened?  I see no one capable of being a scorer, no matter how hard Coach Mitchell gets them playing...

Blackburn... I love the new coach's passion, but... I'm not seeing the performance level I expected.. 35 turnovers against Knox? Chris Davis is playing, but either he's not 100% yet or a new style from the coach is hampering him, because the numbers are nowhere near what I expected... This team has the athleticism and player mix to compete in the SLIAC, but to date, there is no sign of it coming together..

Eureka.... the game i saw, a  loss vs a very good Monmouth team, I was snowed by the intensity... but past that, very undersized, very inexperienced, very undermanned past 7 man rotation... I don't know if they can keep up for 40 minutes....

Spalding.. didn't get to see them... they've always had good talent, better talent than other SLIAC teams... but this year, I'm not so sure... Big Nick Trisko had a fantastic first game, but has failed to be a game changer since, and All conference Brandon Goeing is not scoring nearly as much as last season.... Will be interesting to see them, and to see the talent level of all the new faces.... NOTE, Spalding has played some very good teams, and for all I know, they still may be the best team in the SLIAC...

Iowa Wesleyan... I'm not going to repeat the positives I saw in their win over Maryville... but did anyone else note Chris Fowlers numbers in IWC win over Knox on Saturday??  WOW  17 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds... to go with Shooting guard Brock Butler's 27 points... nice one-two punch from two 5'10" guys... some nice help from the bench too...these guys will contend for the top spot if they stay healthy, but unfortunately are not yet eligible for the Conference tourney.. If they hadn't had several players from last year not return, guys that would have been starters, I think IWC would have been a runaway favorite...

Mac... playing with great intensity... showing at times they may have the 2 best 4-5 men in the conference in Brent Long and Deavis Johnson... they were dominant in the win over Rust, but when they got in foul trouble vs Luther, the guards couldn't take over the scoring.. and Luther exposed defensive lapses that I didn't think existed, Luther didn't have outstanding quickness, yet again and again were able to beat Mac up the floor or on penetration drives.. a disappointing performance... how will they stop Fowler...  Older fans, when I say Brent Long, think of Darin Hoggat of Webster, not quick or a jumper, just knows how to get position, and has  wonderful touch from 15 feet in....

Greenville... I was snowed with the system, but if Ken Greene and Brian Ehresmann can't return, I'm doubtful... I just don't think the Geenville bench is deep enough to keep up the pace... what I can't foresee, is how SLIAC teams, many also hurting depth wise, will react to the pace... Greenville has been beaten by some very good teams.... shooting has been inconsistent, and in some cases, woeful...

Principia is one of those short bench teams... five of the best starters in the conference, but after that, little depth...  and they were grossly impacted by the absence of point Larry Patterson in their last game... Where?  Will he play in conference opener... they scored only 53 points without him.... he's probably the one guy they least can afford to be without....

Wish we had more posters... would love to know whether MIA's Greene, Ehresman, Patterson, Dortch, and PWI's (playing with injuries) Davis and Greenlee are going to go strong in conference openers...

hopefan decision to make... Mount Pleasant or Greenville on Wednesday?

[WUPHF]

Their scoring is coming from 4 and 5 slots, but NOT all conference forward Jared Greenlee, whose performance to me  says he must be hurt... And I honestly have a rough time understanding the guard rotation, but I don't see practices...

The Fontbonne presser for the Concordia game mentioned that Jared Greenlee left after just a few minutes of play with an injury: http://www.fontbonnegriffins.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/20151128s2ednf

As far as Wednesday is concerned, while the Farmers Almanac is predicting a dry winter, in my opinion, you should take your Mount Pleasant and Jacksonville road trips now while the risk of snow and ice is still very low.