MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ I looked in on the Webster/Lyon game when it was tied at 65 with three minutes to go. Decided to watch to the end. Both teams played well for those three minutes. After going up 67-65 and stopping Lyon on several possesions Webster got a couple of good chances to score, just couldn't get shots to fall. Lyon made a free throw then got a steal and a hoop to take the lead. The final 30 seconds were tense. Lyon held on. Tough loss for the Gorloks.

[GU1999]

I think that despite some wild style differences between them, the top 4 are really close.  Fun to have a true 4-team race to the finish line.

Games to Look forward to:

Webster @ GU (Wed, Feb 5)
Webster @ Spalding (Wed, Feb 12)
Spalding @ Lyon (Th, Feb 20)
Greenvile @ Lyon (Sat, Feb 22)

A few thoughts on the remaining matchups of contenders:

- Everyone has 2 left
- Lyon gets both at home
- Webster has both on the road and midweek, although the drive to GU is really easy. 
- Lyon with a style whiplash in late February.  A rock fight and a track meet with only one day in between.
- Focusing on the games against contenders is not a statement that these four are a lock to win the matchups against the mid and lower tiers of the league.   

[GU1999]

Fun SLIAC/GU Basketball tidbit for the day:

GU's Vince Rodriguez is leading NCAA all levels in s/g at 4.22, while playing 19+ minutes per. 

Fun GU tidbit for the day:

GU's Nicholas Morrow ('17) is going to the superbowl.  The 7 year NFL vet will be wearing #43 and, if things are the same as in the divisional and championship round, will primarily play special teams for the Eagles. 

[hopefan]

GU1999 this is where hopefan standings tell the story...
No change from midweek games
Spalding at +1, Lyon and Greenville at 0, Webster at -1.
If all 4 contenders win over non contenders the rest of the way, and win vs contenders at home, that is exactly how the final standings will finish

[hopefan]

If Webster wins at Spalding, and all else goes as it should, there would be a 4 way tie for 1st place!!!

Only Spalding has done the "unexpected".... Winning at Webster... Webster at Spalding is truly the "big game".

I'm amazed none of the non contenders have yet to beat a contender.....  some of my old favorite teams must really be hurting....

[GU1999]

Just for fun, I looked up the tiebreaker rules...  a 4-way tie with all the top 4 teams having equal records against the other 4 teams, makes for a very fun tiebreaker.  Likely would come down to something called Quality of Wins Index (against conference opponents) (("QOW")).  If you squint at it you can see HOPEFAN ratings buried in there.  If there is a tie after QOW it comes down to discipline (Ts, ejections, etc.)

Total QOW Points/Total Conference Contests
Win on the road – 4 points
Tie on the road - 3.5 points
Win at home – 3 points
Tie at home - 2.5 points
Loss on the road – 2 points
Loss at home – 1 point

[GU1999]

Todays Games and projections:

Westmin @ Lyon
Lyon by 18

Eureka at Prin
Prin by 2

Gu at Blackburn
GU by 6

Fontbonne at Spalding
Spalding by 7

Webster @ MUW
WEBSTER BY 10

[GU1999]

Only picked 3 of 5 winners. 

Big surprise is that Webster takes another -1 in the HOPEFAN pts. 

Spalding +1
GU/LYON 0
Webster -2

[hopefan]

Killer loss for Webster, the first and only contender to lose to a non contender.... Makes a first place finish highly unlikely for the Gorlocks.....

[hopefan]

Wednesday night Webster at Greenville... Webster's last gasp at being a factor in the race for first... an absolute must....
for Greenville, a win means they hold serve... win at home vs contender..

Look at the schedule.... great final week scheduling as Greenville and Spalding both take the long weekend trip to Lyon and MUW.... will be fun to follow

of personal interest to me.. the other end of the spectrum... tomorrow Blackburn at Westminster.... I'm sure so important to those programs....

[GU1999]

Wednesday night Webster at Greenville... Webster's last gasp at being a factor in the race for first... an absolute must....
for Greenville, a win means they hold serve... win at home vs contender..

Look at the schedule.... great final week scheduling as Greenville and Spalding both take the long weekend trip to Lyon and MUW.... will be fun to follow

of personal interest to me.. the other end of the spectrum... tomorrow Blackburn at Westminster.... I'm sure so important to those programs....

The Webster @ GU game is a February midweek at home and they are usually very well attended.  With the team on a bit of a run, and the opponent being Webster, the crowd will be hyped.  Full band, mascot cheer and dance team treatment for this one I would guess.  It will be a battle.  Both teams know what is on the line.   

Blackburn and Westminster both play really hard.  I have no doubt that game will be very entertaining.  Give me Westmin in that one.

[GU1999]

Wednesday Games

Webster at GU
GU by 3

Blackburn at Westmin
Westmin by 2

Thursday Games

MUW at Fontbonne
MUW by 5

Spalding at Eureka
Spalding by 10

Lyon at Prin
Lyon by 24

[GU1999]

Greenville 119
Webster 115

GU +14 turnover margin
GU 34 offensive boards
Took 115 shots.
But only slashed 41.7/28/56.3

PG Vincent Rodriguez had a monster night
27 pts/6 steals/5 assists/5rebs in 19 mins

F Kiarie Patrick
19pts/12 rebs on 9 /14 from the floor

Webster was led by F Sebastian Reed
35 pts (15/17 from the floor and 5/5 from the line)/ 11 rebs / 6 assists / 3 steals

[GU1999]

2/2/25 NCAA NPI ratings (SLIAC edition):

173 - Spalding
206 - Greenville
238 - Lyon
251 - Webster
299 - MUW
353 - Eureka
355 - Fontbonne
383 - Blackburn
388 - Prin
401 - Westminster

As it stands, of all the conferences in the country, only one league has their highest rated team below the SLIACs highest rated team.  That is Region IX's UMAC, with North Central (MN) checking in at 196.  A few SLIAC teams crossover with the UMAC for football.

[hopefan]

I split internet time pretty evenly between Westminster-Blackburn and Webster-Greenville last night...

HUGE difference in "watchability"