MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WUPHF]

WESTMINSTER DEFEATS DIVISION II MARYVILLE 73-71. WHO SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BE GOOD?

Big night for the SLIAC but I will not spoil it all.

I do feel for Hunter Ward and the Webster Gorlocks who were two free throws away from the upset bid over Big Bend rival Washington University.

[hopefan]

Hopefan is REALLY gonna calls it as he sees it this year!!!

Wash U defeats Webster 60-59 -Webster frosh Enrique Tankins took it to the hole LIKE A MAN down one and got fouled with 0.8 seconds left... and missed two fts... Enrique, don't even think about it... you played super all night, and you had the guts to go to the basket... something I've been looking for Webster forwards to do the last couple of years...  All I could think of on the drive home was, "THE POOR KID".. for missing the 2... why was the frosh put in that situation?  Webster gets the ball with 18 seconds, the senior stands with the ball at midcourt til the clock goes to 5 seconds, then forces it on the drive, has to dish it... Tankins explodes to the hole...the rest is unhappy history...WHY NO TIME OUT at 10-12 seconds?

Webster wins if the big 3 play to expectations... Milligan did.... Moore did... Ward didn't, nothing in the 2nd half... nothing... no wonder Bunch is bald...  Good play from the Webster bench..Crenshaw and Wilburn both did as much as possible against the far bigger Wash U inside men.. X-man Dortch hit a big 3 down the stretch... several others, Dunn, Odjo  didn't score, but flowed nicely... there were no let downs.. I'm just snowed by Webster's play... Adam Etter.. SHOULD be a double figure scorer.. gives it up too much.. I WANT to see him shoot the 3... I WANT to see him go to the basket.. he has good body control, he can score on the drive, he gets fouled... I WOULD RATHER SEE SHOTS FROM HIM than some of the shots I'm seeing... why be a 5 point per game man when you could be a 12 point per game man and help win some games.

I'm very emotional right now... TOUGH

Ok to be practical.. Wash U should have won this game double digits...The stats are WAY short on missed shots for Sanders.. I had him for 11 misses.. and dang, Wash U missed a number of tip attempts that likely weren't counted as shots!!  They beat the zone inside numerous times, and offensive rebounded numerous times, but missed countless bunnies... Their 3 point shooting was horrendous.. why they kept it up, who knows.. it kept Webster in the game.. they were 3-19 until Kevin Kucera hit 2 in the last 5 minutes....Highsmith looked very good off the bench, but in reality, that was it.. Wash U basically played 6 guys.

Hey I want to see Wash U go to Salem... but tonight, what a darned shame for Webster.

[hopefan]

WESTMINSTER DEFEATS DIVISION II MARYVILLE 73-71. WHO SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BE GOOD?

Big night for the SLIAC but I will not spoil it all.

I do feel for Hunter Ward and the Webster Gorlocks who were two free throws away from the upset bid over Big Bend rival Washington University.

After reading my writeup, I'm sure you see that the last person I feel sorry for is Hunter Ward...  I have realistic expectations of players... Enrique Tankins, a frosh playing his first college game, far exceeded those expectations.. Hunter Ward fell far below...

Also note the Westmin game at Maryville was, unfortunately an exhibition game... Note.. Iowa Wesleyan did the same last year, beating Maryville in an exhibition.. Chris Fowler was incredible in that game...

[hopefan]

so hopefan goes 6 for 6 in his predictions

Blackburn wins at Wabash 75-66.. they take the lead with 13 minutes left and gradually pull away..balanced scoring with new face Tommy Childs leading the way with 16... surprise to me was big man Malcomb Scott chipping in with 9 points and 7 rebounds in a tight game.. Nothing like that from him in the past...in fact, he wasn't even on the team last year, played very little as a frosh 2 years ago..rebounds and turnovers were level, but Wabash shot bricks from the 3 pt line (3-21), and the foul line (7-23).

Greenville systematizes Knox 130-106... GC pushes Knox into 41 turnovers!.. Kenny Green continues to shoot poorly from 3 but finishes with 25... GC shoots 28% from 3, but well over 60% from 2's, likely lots of layups off steals...

Prin clobbered by D2 Missouri S&T 104-65... never close..best take-away is that two high scorers for Prin were 2 new faces...Micah Paulson with 16, Treyvaughn Goodman with 11... Anumu, Davidson, Ball all fell far short of last year's numbers...Prin clobberd on boards

Mac loses tight to Augustana.... 75-69... Mac was with them the whole game, had the lead with 10 minutes left... Led by Brent Long's 20 points, Tim Frazier 16.. Mac beat on the boards 29-19... 13 offensive rebounds for Augie probably led to second chance hoops... must have been a super effort for Mac...

Central beats Iowa Wesleyan  99-92... IWC can't overcome a big disadvantage on the boards and a poor percentage on a lot of 3's... they do put 5 in double figures, including the Soukup brothers...

Westmin wins 73-71 over Maryville in an exhibition game.... Westmin led by new face Sean O'brien...14 points, 8 boards... Wish Maryville was back in the conference... it would be so good!!  Glaring stat was Maryville shooting 5-22 from 3's..Westmin getting 32 free throws, making 21 was a big positive compared to Maryville 12-17... Westmin down 9 with 6 minutes, score 13 in a row in 3 minutes to take 4 point lead.. up 3 with 6 seconds, fouled, Maryville makes 2... in the ensuing play, it looks (play by play) like Westmin lost the ball... but stole it back, got fouled and made 1 to win by 2.

So.. not counting the exhibition... the Sliac wins 2, comes within nano points of beating 2 nationally ranked D3 teams.... PRETTY DARNED GOOD NIGHT

[hopefan]

ugh.. just noticed MacMurray was missing starting point guard Mike Cameron... a huge loss... makes their effort vs Augie even more impressive.  Cameron out with significant injury..surgery 4 weeks ago... should be back one to two weeks.

[WUPHF]

I feel sorry for Hunter Ward because after four years of playing a big role in this match-up, he will graduate without the win. 

Coach Bunch needs to sit down with Ward and watch the game tape, pointing out the moments in which he was one of the best players on the floor, the leader, the go-to guy with the highlight passes...and the moments in which he was merely a role player.  Not to mention his body language for much of the second half.  At the two minute mark, he looked as though the game had already been lost.

Webster played a tough game...best of luck this weekend.

As for Washington University, they did struggle from three point range but they were were without their best three point shooter in Jake Knupp.  He was not even on the bench.  Maybe he is ill, maybe he had to take the Differential Equations exam tonight.  I am not sure.

This is a deep team, but a healthy Jake Knupp will be a factor in every game he plays this season.

They actually had a lot of open looks from the perimeter tonight, but they were just not falling...the front court struggled as you mentioned.  I have never seen so many tipped balls in my life.

At times the Bears looked as though they were exhausted from the last two weeks of pledge season.  It seemed as though all six turnovers were weak passed getting picked off...  Webster sure kept them running.

[hopefan]

And GREENVILLE leads the D3 nation in scoring at 130 per game... edging out Wartburg, who scored 126 vs Grinnell...

Remember... Greenville at Grinnell, Nov 26, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.... who needs College Football!!!!

[hopefan]

A couple of days ago, I said that enough people graduated from or disappeared from last year's SLIAC teams that it would be impossible to make a poll forecast until we had a hint of what the new faces added... Well, after one night, plus an exhibition last week, we now have seen the new additions in lineups for 8 of 10 teams (Spalding and Fontbonne haven't had a game yet that I know of)... and what a HUGE + the new faces have brought!!!

Webster... one new face... Enrique Tankins...  6'3" and STRONG... Coach Bunch said, "His ability to score and rebound makes him a candidate for immediate playing time."  Coach called that one right... vs Wash U, 22 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and ZERO turnovers... he looks to be perfect for a role as a 3-4 man for the small Gorlocks. 

MacMurray... two new faces... they had to play major positive roles in the wake of graduation and other personnel losses, and with starting point guard Mike Cameron out with injury... and THEY DID... Marshall Corbin and Riley Spencer, both JC transfers from Lincoln Land CC, each started and saw considerable minutes.. Each had 6 points helping Mac to the near upset of Augie...

Blackburn.... the big upset of Wabash was led by new face Tommy Childs... checking on the internet, this young man graduated from HS in 2010, putting him in his mid 20's now, but evidently the desire to play college hoops is really there... he goes for 16 points, 6 boards and 5 steals.  New frosh Hunter Johnson got a handful of minutes (7), but managed to pull down 3 rebounds in that time.  And I mentioned before, 'might as well be called a newcomer' Malcomb Scott shocked the naysayers... going 22 minutes with 7 points, 7 rebounds and NO turnovers.

Westminster... their exhibition shocker over Maryville was led by newcomer Sean O'Brien, a transfer from Central Missouri... the big man goes for 14 points, 8 rebounds, only 1 turnover in 28 minutes

Eureka.. in the exhibition game vs Loyola Chicago (ahhh... who else remembers Jerry Harkness, Johnny Egan, Vic Rouse, Les Hunter.. I was a little boy, even then rooting for the underdog)..  Transfer Kendall Davis leads EC with 16 points against Loyola, and a number of other newcomers saw significant time in Eureka's 2 exhibitions.

Iowa Wesleyan gave Central a tough game... The Soukup brothers, Michael and Steve... transfers from the University of Iowa, and prior to that, Southeastern CC (Iowa) .. go for 14 and 19 points.. playing practically the whole game.. clearly will be a force in the SLIAC...

Greenville... Greenville goes for 130 vs Knox....Newcomers Kieshaun Young-Jones, Marquis Scott, and Kealin McLean all were part of the system rotation and had points for the Greenville scoring machine....

Principia got beat by D2 Missouri S&T, but 3 newcomers, JC transfer Micah Paulson, younger brother Brennan Paulson, and Treyvaughn Goodman combined for 30 of Prin's 65 points... if these guys can mesh with Ross, Ball, Anumu and Davidson (not necessarily an easy task), Prin could be good!!

[hopefan]

Eureka opens their season tonight at Dominican....  the first half performance by Eureka vs Loyola in their exhibition game was really impressive... Dominican lost to Illinois Wesleyan, blown out in first half, played even in 2nd half, likely against IWU bench for significant time... Still Dominican at home vs Eureka.. Dominican has 2 high scorers back from last year, size advantage...  I'd love to see Eureka with a win, but I'm going with Dominican...

Fontbonne at Missouri State is an exhibition tonight... it is listed in the paper as being on the radio...St Louis stations 1430AM or 1280AM

[Gregory Sager]

Eureka opens their season tonight at Dominican....  the first half performance by Eureka vs Loyola in their exhibition game was really impressive... Dominican lost to Illinois Wesleyan, blown out in first half, played even in 2nd half, likely against IWU bench for significant time

Actually, Illinois Wesleyan coach Ron Rose played his starters slightly more in the second half than Dominican coach Mark White played his.

... Still Dominican at home vs Eureka.. Dominican has 2 high scorers back from last year, size advantage...  I'd love to see Eureka with a win, but I'm going with Dominican...

Josh Mayberry and Tim Robertson are decent players, but the Stars are really nothing special. I'll be interested in seeing the outcome of this game because, since I've seen Dominican, it'll give me a read on how good Eureka is.

[hopefan]

Eureka opens their season tonight at Dominican....  the first half performance by Eureka vs Loyola in their exhibition game was really impressive... Dominican lost to Illinois Wesleyan, blown out in first half, played even in 2nd half, likely against IWU bench for significant time

Actually, Illinois Wesleyan coach Ron Rose played his starters slightly more in the second half than Dominican coach Mark White played his.

... Still Dominican at home vs Eureka.. Dominican has 2 high scorers back from last year, size advantage...  I'd love to see Eureka with a win, but I'm going with Dominican...

Josh Mayberry and Tim Robertson are decent players, but the Stars are really nothing special. I'll be interested in seeing the outcome of this game because, since I've seen Dominican, it'll give me a read on how good Eureka is.

awww geesh.. now I'm thinking I should change my pick ... Hate to pick against a SLIAC team and have them win!!!  but a pick is a pick.. I'll take my punishment..

I will be going to the SLIAC-CCIW quadruple header (men and women) at Millikin on Friday... hard to have a clue on predicting those games without having seen Elmhurst and Millikin.. the old question of does a top 4 SLIAC team equate to a bottom 4 CCIW team...

[Gregory Sager]

I will be going to the SLIAC-CCIW quadruple header (men and women) at Millikin on Friday... hard to have a clue on predicting those games without having seen Elmhurst and Millikin.. the old question of does a top 4 SLIAC team equate to a bottom 4 CCIW team...

Elmhurst is still early in its retooling phase and is thus vulnerable this weekend, but the 'jays did manage to take Loras right down to the wire before losing on Tuesday in the home gym of the Duhawks. Loras usually isn't a pushover, especially at home, so the 'jays might be further along than everybody had expected them to be at this point. Keep an eye on EC's starting PG Jake Rhode, a freshman who dropped 29 points on the Duhawks in his collegiate debut; I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on him.

I suspect that Millikin will lose at least one, and possibly even both, of this weekend's games. The Big Blue lost their five best players (and 76% of their scoring) from a year ago from a really ordinary 9-16 team, and in their 24-point loss on Tuesday in their season opener at Aurora their two top scorers were a pair of freshmen who came off of the bench. Millikin seems to be ripe for the picking for the four SLIAC teams (including Principia and Webster) it will face over the next month.

As always, the presence of a System team presents a wild card in a two-day tournament situation.

[hopefan]

WOW.. Eureka plays what appears to be a near perfect game in beating Dominican, 95-81!!!  I'm snowed!!  Shea Feehan, who had gotten off to a slow start in previous games goes for 34 including 6 for 10 from 3's, Hank Thomas and Alex Wiegand both have career nights, Thomas getting 18 points only 1 turnover, Wiegand getting 14 points on 7 for 10 shooting and adding 9 rebounds... and newcomer Kendall Davis continuing to impress with a 20 point performance.... AND add to that substantial quality minutes off the bench from newcomers Brady Sanders and Ryan McElmurry (over 40 minutes between the 2 and only 1 turnover).  Even if Dominican is not too strong as Greg suggests, any D3 nonconference win is a good one for my SLIAC guys, and I love seeing Eureka win , as it means they can absolutely contend in conference.  A Great start for the long basketball weekend!!

In other news... Fontbonne took the court at Missouri State... Don't worry about it, it was an exhibition...

[WUPHF]

Fontbonne did make ESPNU so there is that...

[hopefan]

Half.   Greenville 47-38 over Elmhurst. Could be up much more. Elmhurst 23 turnovers. Greenville just not good shooters. Shawn Smith 15 at half. Rhode Elmhurst 2 at half. Things may change but Elmhurst horrible vs the system pressure defense.