MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WUPHF]

Just another great year in the SLIAC, happy to be a fan. I know there has been talk on this board before about how competitive the SLIAC is in the NCAA tourney every year, but can Greenville or Westminster be competitive. They seem to have terrific athletes and decent size that would translate well in other conferences. I may be totally off base, but what do you all think?

It is always possible...

I like this Westminster team a lot.  I would like them better in the postseason if they had the 13 points per game on 40% three point shooting and 4 rebounds per game Nick Carlos was providing a season ago.

I know it was 7 years ago, but I look to the Westminster vs. Washington University game for inspiration.  The Blue Jays were within three points with just two minutes to go against a 24-2 team playing at home: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/sports/mbkb/2009-10/files/ncaa2.htm

[hopefan]

Good Grief... if you are a SLIAC fan, try to see a game TOMORROW, Saturday..... HUGE games for the standings shuffle

Greenville at Eureka....   Greenville won at Greenville on Kenny Greene's ESPN Sportscenter mid court buzzer beater, 145-142.  The rematch likely won't live up to that...Greenville played very well beating Iowa Wesleyan, shooting poorly from 3's, but forcing 25 turnovers.  Their game really seems up... Eureka on the other hand, is coming off two poor performances, and would miss Shea Feehan big time if he's still out...  Can Thomas, Sanders, McElmurry take care of the ball and generate 70 points of layups for Kendall Davis and Alex Wiegand?....

Westmin at Iowa Wesleyan.... MUST win for Westmin if they are to stay tied with Greenville in first (actually 1 game behind Greenville due to tiebreaker).   Huge game for Iowa Wesleyan too, as they hope to make the USCAA year end tourney... this time last year, they went down the drain the last two weeks, losing their shot for that tourney....  They played well at Greenville, layup after layup, but turned the ball over about 10 times too many.

Blackburn at Webster.... despite the lure of the two other contender games, I'll opt for the near home game and choose this one.  More of a must win for Blackburn than Webster, one almost wonders if Webster wouldn't rather finish 4th in the conference and face Greenville in the first round, rather than 3rd and opening (likely) with Westmin.  Keep in mind the Gorlocks have handled Greenville and the system twice this season.  BC needs 2 wins in 3 games to feel good about a tourney spot, this would be BIG.

Prin at Mac... MUST win for Prin, every game the last two weeks has been... no looking past Mac, who has been playing much better... this should be a good one...

Spalding at Fontbonne.... Both will be playing hard to get one more win... why do I think Fontbonne will be playing harder?

[hopefan]

The lack of reaction to what I write here just continues to disappoint... maybe I'll do the ladies next year...

[hopefan]

Hopefan's preliminary "eligible for 1st team all conference"

Spalding    Nick Trisko... hard to keep him off list despite poor team performance, 20ppg, 13 rpg

Mac.... Brent Long  .... same comment as Trisko... 18.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg

Fontbonne...  no one

Principia...  Micah Paulson ....  17.4 ppg, 4.5 apg....  but turnover rate hurts.....  Adaku Anumu, no, inconsistent

Blackburn....  Jake Maestranzi ... 12.5 ppg,  4.3apg, 3.0 a/t/ratio

Eureka...  Shea Feehan ... 26 ppg, 6 rpg... as a 5'10" guard       Kendall Davis, his behavior keeps him off my list

Webster....  Evan Milligan...  14 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2 bs/g     Hunter Ward will likely have missed too many games

Westminster...  Romo Tabb .... 15 ppg, 6 rpg

Westminster... Sean O'Brien  ....  16 ppg, 6 rpg

Greenville...  Kenny Greene... 19 ppg... system 3 pt shooter   Shane Smith, his behavior keeps him off my list

Greenville...  Elmo Smith...   18 ppg... gets the quiet points around the basket

Iowa Wesleyan... Steven Soukup ... 28 ppg   5 rpg... MOP

Iowa Wesleyan... Michael Soukup ... 11 ppg   7 rpg...6.5 apg

Iowa Wesleyan.... Brock Butler... 17 ppg... the third twin?


Wow... up to 13 candidates for 5 spots...plus 3 others who aren't considered due to injury or behavior....

[Smitty Oom]

Hopefan's preliminary "eligible for 1st team all conference"

Spalding    Nick Trisko... hard to keep him off list despite poor team performance, 20ppg, 13 rpg

Mac.... Brent Long  .... same comment as Trisko... 18.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg

Fontbonne...  no one

Principia...  Micah Paulson ....  17.4 ppg, 4.5 apg....  but turnover rate hurts.....  Adaku Anumu, no, inconsistent

Blackburn....  Jake Maestranzi ... 12.5 ppg,  4.3apg, 3.0 a/t/ratio

Eureka...  Shea Feehan ... 26 ppg, 6 rpg... as a 5'10" guard       Kendall Davis, his behavior keeps him off my list

Webster....  Evan Milligan...  14 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2 bs/g     Hunter Ward will likely have missed too many games

Westminster...  Romo Tabb .... 15 ppg, 6 rpg

Westminster... Sean O'Brien  ....  16 ppg, 6 rpg

Greenville...  Kenny Greene... 19 ppg... system 3 pt shooter   Shane Smith, his behavior keeps him off my list

Greenville...  Elmo Smith...   18 ppg... gets the quiet points around the basket

Iowa Wesleyan... Steven Soukup ... 28 ppg   5 rpg... MOP

Iowa Wesleyan... Michael Soukup ... 11 ppg   7 rpg...6.5 apg

Iowa Wesleyan.... Brock Butler... 17 ppg... the third twin?


Wow... up to 13 candidates for 5 spots...plus 3 others who aren't considered due to injury or behavior....

'

Shea Feehan wins MVP? He has some guady numbers. Did he redshirt at the college he attended right out of HS?

[Greek Tragedy]

Shea didn't play midweek, any word if he's playing today?

[iwumichigander]

Just another great year in the SLIAC, happy to be a fan. I know there has been talk on this board before about how competitive the SLIAC is in the NCAA tourney every year, but can Greenville or Westminster be competitive. They seem to have terrific athletes and decent size that would translate well in other conferences. I may be totally off base, but what do you all think?

in my mind, no chance... still will be behind the Wash U/Augie level... Good teams likely will slice the system to ribbons, just as has happened to Grinnell in the past.  And Westmin has matured a year after last year's appearance, but the SLIAC kids are just not at the level necessary....man for man comparison would not hold up... If D3 had 'playin' games like D1 had, I'd feel confident that the best of the SLIAC could have a chance... but when we constantly face top regional seeds,no...

Agree with hopefan.  YOY, the top two teams could compete in the CCIW, for example, but would generally be middle of the pack teams.  Since D3 usually shapes the brackets with geography driven first two rounds, the SLIAC usually draws the Central Region which translates to the CCIW, WIAC or UAA WashU or Chicago as a first round opponent.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Shea didn't play midweek, any word if he's playing today?

Yeah, he played.  20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals.  He missed 9 three pointers and they lost.  Crazy, crazy game, though. 295 combined points.

[hopefan]

Shea didn't play midweek, any word if he's playing today?

Yeah, he played.  20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals.  He missed 9 three pointers and they lost.  Crazy, crazy game, though. 295 combined points.

Eureka up 8 with a minute left, Greenville comes back to win!!!!

[hopefan]

Some great games in the SLIAC yesterday, living up to the billing I gave it.

Greenville pulls within one win of clinching 1st place and the host role for the SLIAC Conference role... beating Eureka in their 2nd thriller of the year, 149-146.  That win, coupled with Westminster's loss to Iowa Wesleyan, puts Greenville up 1 game on Westmin, but Greenville also holds the tiebreaker if the two finish tied.  Greenville lit it up in the 1st half shooting 60% from 3's, then fell behind by 8 in the 2nd half, then staged a furious rally in the last minute to win it, forcing 3 turnovers and scoring each time to win it.  Huge SLIAC crowd at Eureka, almost 1000, I'll bet the place was going nuts when Eureka took the lead in the 2nd half.  Good to see Shea Feehan was able to play, but the loss eliminates Eureka from the Conference Tourney.. Still if Eureka can recruit a little size for next year to go along with all that is returning, watch out!!!

Westmin goes down to Iowa Wesleyan 79-61 in a game they were out of most of the 2nd half.... they'll likely now settle for 2nd in the conference tourney and travel to Greenville.  Most impressive is that Iowa Wesleyan won it without Mike Soukup, whom I remember getting hurt (wincing in pain) right at the end of their game with Greenville on Wednesday. CJ Singletary leads them with 20, he had an outstanding game vs Greenville too.... Iowa Wes will finish a clear 3rd in the conference standings, a shame that they are not yet eligible to the tourney.

Blackburn STUNS Webster at Webster...  and total credit to Blackburn, they WON it, it wasn't like Webster gave it away... two unsung frosh contributed huge to the win... Jordan Clay with an UGLY looking perimeter shot sticks two of them at critical times, and Hunter Johnson blocks and Evan Milligan shot right at the basket that would have made it a 1 point game in the last minute.  Blackburn movement and passing was masterful in getting shots around the basket against the zone... Jake Maestranzi plays super every time I see him...And congrats to coach Steve Kollar who would win 2 Coach's awards in conference if they were handed out... Best Dressed, and  Most Active (well, he might be tied with Mac's Todd Creal for that one).  As for Webster, I don't know... all those seniors, I expected more this year...

The game of the day may have been Prin at Mac... Prin uses 6 players, all 5 starters hit double figures led by frosh Trevaugh Goodman with 28 points, Prin wins in OT 90-89.  Mac had a big lead in the first half, Prin came back, and the 2nd half was incredibly close the whole way, lead change after lead change.. Mac misses a free throw that would have put them up by 1 with 20 seconds in regulation, Prin missed the potential game winner. In OT, Prin got up by 4, Mac hit a 3 to get within 1, but time ran out.  Brent Long has a huge game for Mac, 37 and 11, and Tim Frazier goes for 28.  Looks like Prin won this one at the foul line despite going only 22 for 35, Mac goes 10 for 16 at home.  Another must win for Prin and they come through, but the BC win over Webster may have been the kiss of death for them given the remaining schedule.

Fontbonne takes the lead with 7 and a half minutes left, and while it stays close the rest of the way, they never give it up, beating Spalding, 77-71.  Jack Lake leads the Griffs with 20 points... I don't see the bottom of the standings teams often, wish I has seen Fontbonne a little more.. Lake averages 15 a game in conference, but I can't tell you his game....Good win for the Griffs, Spalding may have to start from the ground up next year...

So for the other 2 spots in the conference tourney, Webster, Blackburn and Prin are tied with 7 losses... Everything now is going aganist Prin, who has the 2 leaders left on the sched, at Greenville and home vs Westmin.  In addition, they lost twice to Webster, which will kill them in many tiebreakers.  Blackburn has at Spalding and home to Greenville left.  Webster has MacMurray and Fontbonne both at home.  Prin has to finish ahead of BC or Webster to make the tourney.. it will be very difficult. Things COULD wrap up if BC and Webster win Wednesday and Prin loses at Greenville, a very possible scenario all the way around.

[Greek Tragedy]

The lack of reaction to what I write here just continues to disappoint... maybe I'll do the ladies next year...

I can only react if it's fantasy basketball related! I feel the same way most of the time in the WIAC board.

[ecreddevils]

Hopefan's preliminary "eligible for 1st team all conference"

Spalding    Nick Trisko... hard to keep him off list despite poor team performance, 20ppg, 13 rpg

Mac.... Brent Long  .... same comment as Trisko... 18.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg

Fontbonne...  no one

Principia...  Micah Paulson ....  17.4 ppg, 4.5 apg....  but turnover rate hurts.....  Adaku Anumu, no, inconsistent

Blackburn....  Jake Maestranzi ... 12.5 ppg,  4.3apg, 3.0 a/t/ratio

Eureka...  Shea Feehan ... 26 ppg, 6 rpg... as a 5'10" guard       Kendall Davis, his behavior keeps him off my list

Webster....  Evan Milligan...  14 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2 bs/g     Hunter Ward will likely have missed too many games

Westminster...  Romo Tabb .... 15 ppg, 6 rpg

Westminster... Sean O'Brien  ....  16 ppg, 6 rpg

Greenville...  Kenny Greene... 19 ppg... system 3 pt shooter   Shane Smith, his behavior keeps him off my list

Greenville...  Elmo Smith...   18 ppg... gets the quiet points around the basket

Iowa Wesleyan... Steven Soukup ... 28 ppg   5 rpg... MOP

Iowa Wesleyan... Michael Soukup ... 11 ppg   7 rpg...6.5 apg

Iowa Wesleyan.... Brock Butler... 17 ppg... the third twin?


Wow... up to 13 candidates for 5 spots...plus 3 others who aren't considered due to injury or behavior....

It's a good list and it's your list, but I'll step up and defend Kendall Davis here.  I don't know what you saw, but I've watched enough of KD to know that it wasn't the norm.  He is a hard competitor, yes, but pretty quiet on the court and generally respectful.  His numbers should put him into consideration, no question.  23.6 ppg good for 10th in the nation (30.0 per 40 min.), 1st in nation in total field goals made, 8th in total points, top 100 in fg and ft%, 42.5% 3pt. pct., 5.9 reb., 2.2 ast.

As for the GC/EC game, it was what you thought it was--wild free for all in front of a nearly packed and very noisy house.  GC goes off for 60% from 3 in the first half, EC pulls back ahead on an absolutely otherworldy shooting performance by Hank Thomas (9-11 from 3), and then GC pressure and some costly bad turnovers in the last minute lead to heartbreak.  The loss is tough as an EC fan first, but as a system lover (don't care what the "purists" say) and basketball junkie, I don't think there was a better college gym anywhere to be in  yesterday.  Entertaining to the extreme. 

[ecreddevils]

Hopefan's preliminary "eligible for 1st team all conference"

Spalding    Nick Trisko... hard to keep him off list despite poor team performance, 20ppg, 13 rpg

Mac.... Brent Long  .... same comment as Trisko... 18.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg

Fontbonne...  no one

Principia...  Micah Paulson ....  17.4 ppg, 4.5 apg....  but turnover rate hurts.....  Adaku Anumu, no, inconsistent

Blackburn....  Jake Maestranzi ... 12.5 ppg,  4.3apg, 3.0 a/t/ratio

Eureka...  Shea Feehan ... 26 ppg, 6 rpg... as a 5'10" guard       Kendall Davis, his behavior keeps him off my list

Webster....  Evan Milligan...  14 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2 bs/g     Hunter Ward will likely have missed too many games

Westminster...  Romo Tabb .... 15 ppg, 6 rpg

Westminster... Sean O'Brien  ....  16 ppg, 6 rpg

Greenville...  Kenny Greene... 19 ppg... system 3 pt shooter   Shane Smith, his behavior keeps him off my list

Greenville...  Elmo Smith...   18 ppg... gets the quiet points around the basket

Iowa Wesleyan... Steven Soukup ... 28 ppg   5 rpg... MOP

Iowa Wesleyan... Michael Soukup ... 11 ppg   7 rpg...6.5 apg

Iowa Wesleyan.... Brock Butler... 17 ppg... the third twin?


Wow... up to 13 candidates for 5 spots...plus 3 others who aren't considered due to injury or behavior....

'

Shea Feehan wins MVP? He has some guady numbers. Did he redshirt at the college he attended right out of HS?

Yes at Lewis U.:  http://www.lewisflyers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4483

[hopefan]

ECRed, Maybe I just caught Kendall Davis at his worst, as I respect your judgement..... perhaps an opportunity for him to learn from...

[hopefan]

Looking for a score of another NCAA/USCAA team, I happened on to the USCAA site... the USCAA is a group of colleges that play lower level hoops, with their Division 1 containing schools that will at times include D3 schools, and their Division 2 made up of mostly regional campus type schools of a state system, (ie numerous Pennsylvania schools)... anyway, the SLIAC's Iowa Wesleyan continues to be a USCAA member until they gain full NCAA eligibility... and the USCAA site shows Iowa Wesleyan to be ranked number 10 in their D1 power ratings... the USCAA National Tourney invites 8 schools.. makes the final two games of the season critical for Iowa Wesleyan, hosting Fontbonne and going to Eureka... good luck to IWU in their quest for that bid...