MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

Where is hopefan? Just called him and he's alive, but laid up in bed trying to recover from pneumonia, which he's been on antibiotics for since last weekend, and a broken rib caused by all the coughing due to the pneumonia.

Hang in there good buddy. AND STAY HOME FROM WORK!!!

[fcnews]

Wow, didn't know that. He won't stay home, he's the kind who plays with pain. Get Well Hope. To much basketball left to play.

[pantherpride06]

No kidding.  Get better hopefan.  We need your insight! 

[sully309]

Eureka zoomed past Principia Saturday, 85-66. It was a typical gutsy effort from Prin that I've come to expect everytime since we've joined the conference. It appeared Eureka had solved the Panthers up 13 at halftime, but whatever was said in the Prin locker room worked as they quickly got within 2.

EC pulled away from a 6 point margin with 9 minutes to go with a 12-0 run that put the game out of reach. Statistically, Principia shot better than their season averages, especially in sinking 12 three pointers. Zimmerman is a nice player for only being a sophomore. Prin is a young team overall, so hopefully this group wil stick together and improve over the years.  They will somehow need to get bigger or work extra hard boxing out because rebounding has been their biggest problem, and Eureka (not the greatest rebounding team) got them 42-31 on the boards.

Kameron Bell continued to have the hot hand for the Red Devils, going for 18 points and 12 rebounds.  He got Eureka off to a great start, but unfortunately there was no killer instinct yet again for this team. This has already come back to bite EC in the behind in games this season and it will again if the Red Devils cannot bury teams early when they have the chance.

That's 2 in a row for Eureka, but we're far from being dug out of that early 0-3 hole. Depending on how the Maryville/Webster game turns out on Wednesday, Eureka's next game at Webster Saturday could be urgent for both teams.

[sully309]

Sorry to hear about Hopefan's DL stint. Luckily, I managed to talk with him last week and come out unharmed, but then I'm about 50 years younger than him, so you'd expect that  .  But I respect my elders, and pray he has a quick recovery.

Thanks for the props, Panther. It makes my job rewarding when people notice things like that. Really, we have a dedicated group of SIDs in the conference, but everyone has different set ups and responsibilities that go with their jobs. Most of us take orders from the AD, which doesn't always mean that getting stats loaded onto the web quickly after a game is top priority.

[juniormint]

Good posts Eureka. 

Get well Hope. 

This week has some very interesting matchups.  Could see the standings get tossed around a little bit.  Good luck to Greenville and LC tonight. 

[JAdaPrince]

Webster joins barefoot campaign ... head coach Chris Bunch and Jordan Olufson will be coaching barefoot during Saturday's game as part of a NBCA campaign with Samaritan's Feet. The Webster athletic department will be collecting shoes at the door ...

[hopefan]

Hopefan is here.... Wasn't sure on Friday night, with the scare of my life  -  a broken rib in the heart area out of nowhere can lead to thoughts of far worse - relieved to find that's what it was  -  impossible to cough with the pain, making having pneumonia additionally discomforting.  Drugged up pretty good the last couple days

I did play with pain, going over to Maryville for the Fontbonne game despite hurting with every deep breath- it was evident when Aaron Steinke didn't appear that Maryville would be hurting for inside strength - little used Josh Lawly started, and he is simply not at the level of Fogerty, Sorandt.  Maryville has 3 or 4 big frosh with size, but they need a lot of seasoning.  In reality, the guards also made a difference - Branch and McCoy badly outplayed Saxton, Winters, JMcCoy - 

I did not hear anything regarding Steinke, but FC's connections are pretty good, so I assume he has the story right - Bizzarre if falling out between him and Rogers -as Coach has stuck by him over four years and he's been playing well as of late.  A senior leader being held out of a game or staying away,  hurts only one group  -  THE TEAM.

Haven't checked the Wednesday schedule yet, but someone will be playing in St Louis and Hopefan will be there!!!!

EC  50 years?

Thanks for the kind words guys.....

[fcnews]

Hopefan I know what you mean about those scares. Take care of yourself.

My connections on the Steinke situation came from the couple of minutes I could actually get the Saintcast. Former player Casey Hollins was doing the game. He said Steinke would of made a difference but Coach Rogers told him he either had to decide to play basketball or not........ (then I lost signal, Again).

[pantherpride06]

Final from Lincoln, Ill.

Lincoln Christian 81, Greenville 75

Not many details.

[fcnews]

Wow!!! Coach Barber must of rested some players.

[hopefan]

Just for argument sake - no info yet up at 11:15AM on the Greenville - LCC game last night -  not on SLIAC.ORG, D3Hoops, or the Greenville site..... and not in this morning's StL post dispatch.

[hopefan]

interesting games tomorrow night - I ertainly expect Westmin to continue undefeated at Prin tonight

Maryville at Webster - with the huge win over Fontbonne, Webster has quickly 're entered ' the race.  Maryville's diappointing performance vs the Griffs has lowered expectations for them.  This game doesn't ride on the status of Maryville's Aaron Steincke, but it's obviously an important factor.  With Steincke, Maryville should be a favorite... without him, it becomes a tossup, pitting two teams whose strengths lie in the backcourt and the 3 man position -  new guys could win or lose this game -Nick Jones for Webster with his explosiveness to the hole, Jason Simmons for Maryville with the strength around the basket.

Blackburn at Greenville - Gville must have let their guard down at LCC  -  they can't afford to do that vs Blackburn -  everyone says BC is improved, they could be due for a win...

Mac at Fontbonne - Mac, show me  -  they need to beat a good team, but I don't think it will happen tomorrow - Fontbonne looked like their old selves at Maryville.

All in all - I'd go with 3 home wins......

[juniormint]

I think one of the road teams will get a win Wednesday.  I would think with Greenville's loss they'd look to bounce back but if they play like they did against LC Blackburn could get a big one. 

WC will have to play smart to beat Prin.  It is never easy to beat a SLIAC team in conference, especially if you let your guard down.  They need to make sure they don't look past the Panthers. 

[fcnews]

Hopefan - What was your impression of FU's freshmen Nolan Zeollner saturday.

Also, I was told this was FU's best TEAM performance of the year. With four players averaging in upper double figures it creates tough match up problems in the SLIAC. Any of the four can go off for big numbers on any night.

But, can this bunch stay focused to play this way. T. Lovette has a made a vow to the team and coaching staff to not miss another practice. Terrance is an important part of this teams chances.

Does anyone know why Randle and Fuller did not play for Mac against BC. They used one sub. (basically).

Could Greenville of changed this game to a JV game?

Panther - Heard on the radio that KFANS 590 will be broadcasting the GC @ SIU-E game next week. You'll probably catch your GC bunch on their website audio.

My favorite Stat of the Day: New NCAA stat rankings out. FU's Chris Forrest is 5th in the nation in Fg% (67%). This is amazing from an off guard.