MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Fontbonne travels to Division I Eastern Illinois tomorrow for a 7:00 pm game.

Massey has given the Panthers a  to 100% chance at a 99-48 win.

Final score: 101-49

Fontbonne led 8-7 early and shot 42% from the field in the first half.

Not to disparage your first half comment WUH, but 42% of a small number = a small number... the fact that they had 16 turnovers and ZERO free throws limited that 42% to generate only 26 points and they were already down 28 at half...

[Gregory Sager]

Blackburn managed to hang around for most of the game at Elmhurst last night before fading at the end. I watched the game, and my thought is that anybody who follows the SLIAC who uses comparative scores to gauge the Beavers based upon the fact that Westminster and Greenville took it to Elmhurst last month while the Bluejays downed Blackburn is making a mistake by doing so. The 'jays are playing a lot of freshmen, and, like a lot of teams that are freshmen-dependent but have raw talent in that freshman class, they're a better team in December than they were in November.

I thought that Blackburn was pretty decent. I was certainly impressed by Tommy Childs; for a guy who's pushing retirement age, he definitely still has game.

[hopefan]

Other results from the SLIAC last night were a mixed bag..

I was disappointed that Blackburn lost to Elmhurst... this would have been a huge feather in my SLIAC hat, as it would have been a great win if one of our 2 'up and comer' teams (How I view Blackburn and Principia) could have knocked off a CCIW team other than Millikin.  BC didn't give this one away, all the stat lines are relatively even... BC cut it to 6 with a minute and a half, but were playing from behind by 8 to 14 for most of the 2nd half... Disappointing performance from Chris Davis with only 7 points and most of his Field goal attempts from 3 point range.. he's the kind of player who should be flying to the basket...his game is wasted if he doesn't.   

Nice win for Iowa Wesleyan over Cornell... note Cornell had beaten Westminster at Nebraska Wesleyan earlier in the season, then got thumped by Blackburn... One number on the stat sheet tells what led to Iowa Wesleyan's win... they forced 23 Cornell turnovers, while only committing 6 themselves...Cornell shot better % wise from the field, but those turnovers gave Iowa Wes more attempts, and they had a super night at the foul line, 21 for 26.

Spalding had the opportunity to play my old favorite team Hope.. got beaten badly as I expected.... a shame as Spalding is down this year... would have loved to have seen any of the past year Spalding teams have the opportunity to play at Hope and shown a more competitive representation of the SLIAC.  I would note that Spalding may be matched pretty evenly with their opponent tonight, Olivet, who was predicted to finish at the bottom of the MIAA standings, though they won last night vs Johnson and Wales.

Off to Greenville this afternoon to see the system play Buena Vista... expecting a good game.....

[WUPHF]

42% of a small number = a small number... the fact that they had 16 turnovers and ZERO free throws limited that 42% to generate only 26 points and they were already down 28 at half...

Believe me, I thought about this...

I am not calling it like I see it this season.

I was trying to be generous to Fontbonne as they played a team that was able to beat Mizzou on the road and force 15 turnovers on the Tigers.

[y_jack_lok]

Fontbonne travels to Division I Eastern Illinois tomorrow for a 7:00 pm game.

Massey has given the Panthers a 100% chance at a 99-48 win.

Final score: 101-49

Fontbonne led 8-7 early and shot 42% from the field in the first half.

Massey just about hit it on the nose.

[Gregory Sager]

Yeah, it's especially eerie when Massey does that for a blowout, because blowouts are more subject to whim (when do coaches decide to send in the end of the bench; how hard does the winning team play in the second half; how much does the winning team work to get everybody on the team to score; etc.) than usual. There's hardly any difference at all between a 30-point win and a 40-point win aside from such peripherals. So when Massey nails a double-'em-up massacre almost down to the exact score and margin, it's even more impressive than usual.

[hopefan]

Greenville looked pretty good for 30 minutes, but then let a 25 point lead with 11 minutes left disintegrate to 5 with a little more than 2 minutes let...thank goodness at that point Michael Hohm took over, made a basket and a number of foul shots to ice the game.. GC wins 115-108... the threesome of Hohm, Shane Smith and Stevante Young lead the way again... some of the other guys have got to hit some shots, and stop forcing bad ones... In reality, Buena Vista should shoulder the loss, going a miserable 24 for 47 from the line, including 10-23 in the 2nd half, and missing probably a dozen layups... though I give Greenville's constant pressure credit for that... tired legs make for missed free throws and layups, and despite using two full units, BV looked absolutely pooped later in the game....

Elsewhere, Spalding loses by 3 to Olivet... just not a lot to say for Spalding losing to a team like that... they get to the line only 10 times, making 7... Trisko not dominant like I would hope, 7 for 16 from the field.   Spalding has enough talent to still threaten most SLIAC teams, but is the "umph" gone from this team?

Eureka loses to NAIA St. Francis, 105-90... Eureka outrebounded, but not by a lot.. St. Francis shoots 55% for the game, close to 70% from 2's, so they must have been able to get to the basket...Feehan goes for 25, Davis 16... I can only think St. Francis must be pretty good.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Re Greenville, I watched the game online so perhaps my observations are a bit off by virtue of not being in the gym, which is always a better vantage point. Seems to me that during the final 10 minutes -- and especially the final 7+ -- Greenville took its foot off the gas a bit both offensively and defensively. Not as many three point attempts and more effort to drive to the basket (and hopefully get fouled?). Not as intense pressure defense (trying to avoid fouling?). Perhaps this is the way you run The System with a 25 point lead? It seemed a definite contrast to the way they played at Webster late in the game when they were trailing and therefore could not afford to let up.

Is that the way you saw it, or did my eyes and brain deceive me?

[hopefan]

^^^ Re Greenville, I watched the game online so perhaps my observations are a bit off by virtue of not being in the gym, which is always a better vantage point. Seems to me that during the final 10 minutes -- and especially the final 7+ -- Greenville took its foot off the gas a bit both offensively and defensively. Not as many three point attempts and more effort to drive to the basket (and hopefully get fouled?). Not as intense pressure defense (trying to avoid fouling?). Perhaps this is the way you run The System with a 25 point lead? It seemed a definite contrast to the way they played at Webster late in the game when they were trailing and therefore could not afford to let up.

Is that the way you saw it, or did my eyes and brain deceive me?

Well, some of what you said... the foul situation does make some of the individuals have to lay back a little on defense.. for instance last night Shane Smith, Deandre Brown, and Kenny Green all playing the last minutes with 4... but the main reason for any defensive let up was likely Greenville's own exhaustion... their third unit only saw the floor 2 or 3 times, only once in the second half, I think the guys playing had to pick their spots for intensity....Only in the last two minutes was there any semblance of holding the ball with the lead... and if there was a hint of passing up the 3 point shot in the last 10 minutes, it was likely because Greene and Brown were shooting so poorly they felt the best option was to go to the hoop or give the ball up...both those guys have been good shooters in the past, but seem to have lost confidence.  The real leaders on that team are Stevante Young, who is brimming with confidence, and Michael Hohm, who seems to make all the right decisions at critical times.  Shane Smith is a blessed athlete, but just goes so hard that, well, emotions take over rather than thinking... All in all it's an extremely interesting mix of talent.

[hopefan]

OK... I've gotten in trouble this season for one particular post, but I've got to gripe (legitimately) about something else... SLIAC. org picks a player of the week each week... there's a picture, a writeup on what the kids did to earn the honor... I've got to think it's a pretty big deal for whoever wins it, though they might be shy to admit it.. the award usually comes out on Monday or Tuesday, and would take into account the games of the prior Monday through Sunday.  I personally like to look at that activity period, pick my winner, and see if SLIAC.org picks the same way... sometimes yes, sometimes no...
                 Yesterday, SLIAC.org picked Jake Maestranzi, Blackburn's outstanding point guard as their player of the week... the problem is, Blackburn DID NOT PLAY last week... their only scheduled game was postpone due to the weather conditions... the writeup on Maestranzi told about his game vs Fontbonne which occurred in the PRIOR time period.  So, I contacted the SLIAC SID and received the response that coach's nominations establish the pool of players to be considered, and that NO nominations came in... that is SAD... while there weren't a large number of games Dec 12-18, there were a handful... and there were several outstanding performances during that time period that merited nominations (I won't get specific with player's names so as to lighten my 'in trouble' factor).. I accept no excuses, it's a part of the coachs' job, and they let these guys down not getting the nominations in properly.  I also put a small part of the blame on the SLIAC office, for letting it go, recognizing a performance out of the designated time period rather than making a call to coaches and chasing down a nomination, or even just using common sense and make an educated decision without a nomination...  Sorry to my readers, I just care.....

[augie77]

+K

[Gregory Sager]

OK... I've gotten in trouble this season for one particular post, but I've got to gripe (legitimately) about something else... SLIAC. org picks a player of the week each week... there's a picture, a writeup on what the kids did to earn the honor... I've got to think it's a pretty big deal for whoever wins it, though they might be shy to admit it.. the award usually comes out on Monday or Tuesday, and would take into account the games of the prior Monday through Sunday.  I personally like to look at that activity period, pick my winner, and see if SLIAC.org picks the same way... sometimes yes, sometimes no...
                 Yesterday, SLIAC.org picked Jake Maestranzi, Blackburn's outstanding point guard as their player of the week... the problem is, Blackburn DID NOT PLAY last week... their only scheduled game was postpone due to the weather conditions... the writeup on Maestranzi told about his game vs Fontbonne which occurred in the PRIOR time period.  So, I contacted the SLIAC SID and received the response that coach's nominations establish the pool of players to be considered, and that NO nominations came in... that is SAD... while there weren't a large number of games Dec 12-18, there were a handful... and there were several outstanding performances during that time period that merited nominations (I won't get specific with player's names so as to lighten my 'in trouble' factor).. I accept no excuses, it's a part of the coachs' job, and they let these guys down not getting the nominations in properly.  I also put a small part of the blame on the SLIAC office, for letting it go, recognizing a performance out of the designated time period rather than making a call to coaches and chasing down a nomination, or even just using common sense and make an educated decision without a nomination...  Sorry to my readers, I just care.....

Well said. Perhaps the SLIAC should turn over the nominating responsibility from the coaches to the SIDs. The SIDs handle POW nominations for their respective schools in the CCIW; of course, there's no rule that says that the coach can't lean on the SID with his own suggestion, but since the POW is a promotional tool as well as an award it makes sense that the SID should handle it.

[WUPHF]

I am ready to start the This Week in SLIAC Basketball podcast whenever you are...

I have the equipment...

A featured segment could be the Hopefan Player of the Week.

And, we could make like $0.35-0.40 a week!

Interview a player periodically.

Do a version of Car Talk Stump the Chump with Greg Sager.

[hopefan]

I am ready to start the This Week in SLIAC Basketball podcast whenever you are...

I have the equipment...

A featured segment could be the Hopefan Player of the Week.

And, we could make like $0.35-0.40 a week!

Interview a player periodically.

Do a version of Car Talk Stump the Chump with Greg Sager.

I think it should be a call in show where I could be like Kevin Slaton and insult all the callers, bash the coaches and their decisions, the players for their level of play, the fans for not showing up...   (for you non St Louis people, Kevin Slaton is a St Louis shock jock sports afficianado whose primary popularity comes from his MAL-treatment of anyone who disagrees with him.  Many hate him, many love him...but MANY listen to him.)

[WUPHF]

I love that idea...love it, but would we get callers other than Denny, YJAK, and possibly Mr. and Mrs. Ward?