MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Oneof the things that strikes me as I look at last night's boxscores was once again how short the Fontbonne Bench is  -  while you have to love their starting 5, they are getting nothing from their bench, and Coach McKinney seems more reluctant to use the bench even in a blow out win..
I don't buy what FC has been selling us about the Fontbonne bench strength -
check last night's stats from the 4 league games
Bench minutes:
Maryville   117
Westminster  102
BC 100
Webster  100
GC  79
Mac  64
Eureka  59
Fontbonne  33


Bench Points

Maryville  41
Westmin  30
Wbster  30
Greenville  28
EC  20
BC 19
Mac  16
Font  6

If Fontbonne gets in Foul trouble, can their bench really be expected to maintain a level of winning play in a tight game???  And the starters all play hard - will they wear out - And hope no one gets hurt.

But still they have the early odds on MVP in the leage in Fogerty and two of the best workhorses in the league in Storandt and Fournier, and the guard play of Branch and McKoy has obviously improved leaps and bounds over last year.


With Fontbonne's blowout win of Eureka, it seems to separate the top three from the rest even more, as I thought Eureka looked good last weekend and might compete with Font  -  they clearly didn't.  Maryville's wins over GC and EC put them in the driver's seat for the 4th spot, but of course they have to travel to both of those places in the 2nd half of the season and couldn't be considered a big favorite in either game.

Maryville played its best basketball since the graduation of fab 4 Bash Elwell, Klein, and Heible (hope I'm not forgetting a 5th) two years ago - in the first half vs GC.  Not dependent on the 3 pointer, we saw Jared McKoy and Jake Buechle driving to the basket with authority and Matt Baker, Casey Holland, and Aaron Steincke dominating around the basket - the running game generated more good shots.  Nick Hentis was HOT when GC's defense collapsed in the middle and went 5 for 5 with 3 3s, and MU exploded for 51 points in the first half  -  MU leading by 24 at half - 2nd half was a total turn around - GC cut 12 points off the lead in the first 4 minutes - mostly with fullcourt man to man pressure that totally disrupted MU's ofense - the lead stayed at 10 to 12 for the next 10 minutes - then Simmons and Henshold got hot from 3, cutting the lead to 3.  Greenville had the ball twice down 3 and had shots go in and out.  For the second straight game, Curt Goodwin stuck the dagger in with a late 3 pointer that turned a one possession game into a two or three possession situation.  Ellis really had it going for a while and couldn't be stopped, and the little guard Cochrane was too quick for MU's guards  -  but the real unsung factor off the bench was Chris Hohm - the kid can jump and really ignited things in the second half with his scrap around the basket.

Good to see the guys we expect to do the scoring do it for Webster versus BC  -  a sign that they are really rounding into best playing form for the rest of conference....

EC SID, I  enjoyed reading your comments....

[pantherpride06]

I'd agree with the comment made regarding not giving up 51 first half points or putting ourselves into a big first half whole.  To be honest, that's kind of our forte.  Over the last five years (Minus the 03-04 season), we always seem to find ourself in a sizeable whole at halftime to battle back from.  It'd be interesting to do some research on what our record is after being down at halftime.  It's definately something we need to work on.  HOWEVER, don't ever count the Panthers out.

Mac Attach I or II or whatever will remember being up 20 with 5 to go at Greenville.....  and then lost 88-85 ish.   Greatest game I've ever seen!

[fcnews]

Sorry guys. I realized I left my cell phone behind at the Mississippi river. Not much to add. I do want to recognize some outstanding performances. Fogerty's 26 points and 8 rebounds. Branch 18 pts. with 4 3's in the first 10 minutes to take big early lead. McCoy 19 pts. 8-10 (3-5). Justin "Rodman" Storandt 18 boards. My MVP of the game was Fournie's double-double and his defense on Darnell ( 6 pts. in 36 minutes - 1 pt. 2nd half). Chad continues to give the opposing teams leading scorers fits.

At some point in time you have to give FU's defense some props.

Don't sell EC short. They play as hard as any team we've faced. They connected on 6 3's in the first half. They will still beat some teams if they can get any interior scoring.

If you haven't seen a EC home game yet, brand new lighting!!! The AD said new bleachers are coming. It's going to be a nice venue.

[Pat Coleman]

Those talking about Wash U recruiting might be enlightened by listening to our interview with Emory coach Jason Zimmerman from earlier in the month.

http://www.d3hoops.com/dailydose/2008/01/03/southern-hospitality-coaches-speak/

He talks about his team's diverse roster and how it ends up that way.

[pantherpride06]

If you are headed to a Greenville game and want to see the game program before the game, I'll try to have them up early.  I got bored sitting in the Louisville Airport this afternoon...

http://www.blackhawkbrigade.com/Greenville.htm

Good Luck on games this weekend.  Greenville needs a bounce-back game on both the men's and women's side of things!

[fcnews]

Hopefan - Not that I am looking past Saturdays game. How do you see next Wednesday nights match up at Maryville?

[hopefan]

Fontbonne Starting 5 superior -  I would think a rather dominant Griff win unless MU plays a complete game at the level they played Greenville in the 1st half  -  I think MU will be fired up to try to compete - Font has to guard against a let down.

[fcnews]

Thanks Hopefan. I don't think you'll ever see a let down when a FU team goes to MU. We've never really played well over the years. Tough shooting gym. I hope our inside game can get us an early lead. FU did very well against EC's press and perimeter pressure. Now I see why they are so good at def. 3 pt%.

Also, I didn't notice any new names in the Mac boxscore.

[sully309]

This Saturday's schedule doesn't look too great. All of the teams that would be heavily favored are playing at home to boot, with the exception of Maryville at LCC. Hopefully one team in particular can through a monkey wrench into the status quo  .

The Red Devils certainly can't play much worse than they did Wednesday. Of course, the same could be said for Westminster.

Have you decided where you're going to be, Hopefan? I'm happy you enjoyed my comments. It took me a few hours to get in the mood to write anything worth reading after that game vs. Font.

FC, thanks for noticing the new lights. They sure make taking pictures much less of a challenge. I think that's why they were installed...to make my life easier. Yeah right. Anyway, the gym and athletic facility in general is a major work in progress still. We've got a long way to go before we're up to speed, but every little bit helps.

[hopefan]

Eureka SID  -  just so they dont's seal up that one little cubby hole in the one corner where the frat guys could yell down at the court from  -  I thought that was truly a great touch!!!!!!

[fcnews]

After reading the morning sports page, I'm even more aggravated the new SLU coach did not honor FU's exhibition game with them this year. I think it would of been a hell of a game.

Got a chance to set and talk with the conference men's referee assignor Ron Zetcher. It was enlightening to know how many new officals he's brought aboard this year. One called the JV game last night with two vets and did a good job. I've said all along the we just need some new blood.

[hopefan]

In agreement with EC SID, it would certainly seem like the four home teams should sweep Saturday's league matchups....

[fcnews]

Tomorrow's game at FU will pit the top two scorers in the conference. Johnson and Fogerty are both about the same size and both play the same position. It also matches the top two rebounders Johnson and Storandt.

Johnson had a good game against Webster 22 pts. on 7-12 shooting. This is a concern to me. Hoggatt played 26 mins. and Robinson 18. I would like to know who was matched up with Johnson. You would think WU's bigs could of handled a 6'3 interior scorer. Has this kid improved that much over last year?

Any help Yjak?

[y_jack_lok]

Sorry, fc, I did not go to the game at Principia, and I don't remember the guy from last year, so I can't help you out.

Long Distance Traveler was at the Principia game last Saturday. Perhaps he can provide some insight.

[fcnews]

Boy the board is quite this year. The only three subjects we have to discuss is A. Scheduling B. Recruiting C. Playing time ?

We haven't heard about any of the before mentioned Mac players returning.

My upset pick of the Day - EC over WC - Although a longshot!!