MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Well, certainly Fontbonne's shocking win over MacMurray should spice things up..
I decided last second to see Spalding at Webster and that was a tight game, but wow, wish I could have seen the surprise at Fontbonne....Fontbonne gets an unbelievable 16 rebounds from Tyler Garner and 19 points off the bench from Andrew Chism and a strong performance off the bench from Eric Jenkins as Nolan Zoellner was in foul trouble.  Disappointing from Mac... their best players are not living up to my preseason hype....

Other notes... Greenville really struggled to beat Blackburn... I would have thought it would have been an easier win.  Eureka recovers from the Spalding trip to beat Westminster soundly, all 5 starters get double figures.  Spalding has a fine comeback to tie the game with Webster under a minute, but after Webster goes ahead, a three pointer to tie is an airball and Webster wins by 5.... strong play off the bench by Hollis Edwards, Roman Robinson, and Lawrence Williams helped Webster get the win.

Note.. happened to run into a Spalding player in the hallway before second half..the player had a good first half and I quickly congratulated him on it....  his response.."thank you sir"...
VERY CLASSY, Jametrius Brasheer...

Also noted... Stan Beal has returned to the Principia squad.. good player, I think he'll help Prin find a win....

Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday this week... 3 league games for most teams rather than 2...  and in this conference, just about any matchup is a tossup.   

[y_jack_lok]

Well, certainly Fontbonne's shocking win over MacMurray should spice things up..

In the conference this year, nothing is shocking, only surprising.

[hopefan]

Tuesday's games:

Webster at Eureka.... huge game   if Webster wins, they've really established themselves as the early season team to beat... if Eureka wins, then it's a true horserace for everyone... would love to see this one, but it's just too far away on a Tuesday night..

Greenville at Westmin....  Greenville's close win over Blackburn was disappointing, as I've seen BC look pretty bad a couple times now.  Greenville has to finish ahead of Webster or Eureka, or Westmin, or Mac in order to make the playoffs....  They've already lost at Eureka and Mac close both games...  This has the potential to be a good game, but Westmin is tough at home...

Prin at Mac...  Mac should be ready to bounce back big after being beat at Fontbonne...

Font at Spalding...  All of a sudden, this is a HUGE game for the Griffs... after beating Mac, they should have great confidence that they can beat anyone in the conference... a win at Spalding, and Fontbonne is right in the early season race... and Having seen Spalding, Fontbonne can play with them... though stopping Jametrius Brasheer will be a challenge. 

What would be fun.... let's squeeze those standings.. a Eureka win, a Greenville win, a Fontbonne win keeps things nice and cozy...

[hopefan]

A couple more notes ....  Fontbonne won with no legit big men... Ron Rust did not play... injury or semester casualty or ?    Fontbonne tallest now are 6'4" kids who've always played the perimeter...  Yet Clayton Whitlock, Mac's big frosh who had been coming on strong, did nothing scoring-wise against them.  Athleticism can conquer size at this level unless the ball continuously finds the big guy around the hoop....and the big guy can catch it and make a 5 foot shot....

Kid to watch..  Spalding's Frosh Robert Pittman....  this guy is HUGE by Sliac standards, meaning not only tall, but strong.. and he has some touch... if he learns to get a little more involved and active around the basket, watch out...

Surprising player MUCH better than I thought he would be... Stefon Whittingham....  maybe best leaper in conference, and far better shooter than I thought....

It pays not to quit award... Dan Lisch... after being ridiculously undervalued for two years, he's now the leader of the Griffs....  the stat line in this case rarely shows the level of contribution.  Joe James is the runnerup here too... after seeing limited minutes early, he's turned into a key offensive threat for Westmin... and what about Joe Prophet!!!!!  He goes for 26 with NO turnovers vs Eureka!!!

I haven't seen Eureka yet and I know I'll like that starting 5, but look for them to have more trouble on the road if the bench can't contribute.... it's tough to take those 3-4 hour bus rides, then sit and watch the ladies' game, and then come out and play your best....you lose your legs, and you lose a lot of premium mental prep in those situations ........ I really think the teams with an 8 or 9 man rotation have an advantage....

disappointments so far... ok, no names... but there are at least three majors out there who aren't coming close to expectations..... you should know who you are..... so play better

[hopefan]

Besides 10 -15 Bigtime D3 fans from other conferences who are really interested in SLIAC happenings as a part of the D3 midwest scene, who reads these pages....   We are tracking at 325 views per day in this room over the last 20 days... if I'm responsible for 10 or 15 of them, who are the other 310 per day... Why doesn't anyone else post their opinions?  Even Yjack is pulling a disappearing act, even though he's a faithful fan of Webster hoops.  The ladies SLIAC room has been put to the grave because no one is contributing since the BC coach left... don't let that happen to this room... I can only continue on so long with ZERO feedback before I bag it.....  Some people out there must enjoy watching SLIAC hoops, or be inquisitive enough about the games and the players, to be able to write SOMETHING??!!  I REALLY enjoy watching these guys play... doesn't anyone else?

[augie77]

As a CCIW fan in exile (Lansing, Michigan area) i have little to contribute to the CCIW discussion--and even less regarding SLIAC--but your posts do serve as a window into SLIAC Conference happenings that I wouldn't otherwise have access to.  I expect there are quite a number of other fans like myself.  Please continue to provide your insights!

[hopefan]

Thanks Augie77..... if only just 1 SLIAC fan would say the same, either here or at a game...!!!!!!

[RFMichigan]

hopefan -

I guess I'm hooked into hoops and I like your rundowns of the games.
It does give a little of a gauge (most years) with which to measure some NAC teams if they play against some SLIAC tams. (In the last two years CUC has played Eureka, Blackburn, and Westminister.)

[y_jack_lok]

Even Yjack is pulling a disappearing act, even though he's a faithful fan of Webster hoops.  The ladies SLIAC room has been put to the grave because no one is contributing since the BC coach left... don't let that happen to this room...

I'm not as good a game analyst as you, so I look for other things to comment on/respond to, but so far haven't found much. Most teams are pretty young this year compared to past years, so we are having to get to know players we haven't seen much of. I think there will be more to discuss as the season goes on and lots of anticipation about the next couple of years.

As for the women, it's totally dead over there and like you, I don't want to write to myself.

[WUPHF]

Besides 10-15 Bigtime D3 fans from other conferences who are really interested in SLIAC happenings as a part of the D3 midwest scene, who reads these pages...We are tracking at 325 views per day in this room over the last 20 days...if I'm responsible for 10 or 15 of them, who are the other 310 per day...Why doesn't anyone else post their opinions? 

As someone who has posted a lot to another forum with little interaction and someone who has watched you do the same, I think you are going to have to find a way to accept that there are very few SLIAC fans with the desire to post opinions here.  If the out of conference readership is not enough, then you may continue to be disappointed.  Otherwise, if you can find a way to keep writing, people will continue to read.

[hopefan]

Greenville player KJ Hilliard out several games with scratched eyeball     BIG loss

[y_jack_lok]

Webster 99, Eureka 83. Can't wait to see the box score. Was it steals and fast break points, hot outside shooting, strong inside play for a change, or some combination, that got Webster 99 points?

[y_jack_lok]

Box score available already: http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/men/2011-12/boxscores/20120110_ejdp.xml

Hot shooting by both teams. By minutes played the starters for both teams carried the load and put up the points, although Webster got a little more from its bench in both categories than Eureka.

[MacHighlander]

Long-time D3 fan here, particularly of the SLIAC and MacMurray. Son played for the Highlanders and was part of the team that shared the conference title with Fontbonne in 2006-2007. Was on this board quite a bit during that time, but faded away after his playing days came to an end. After reading Hopefan's plea for more posters, thought I would jump back in. Just wanted to establish my credentials and yes, I'm a Mac fan.

Scores from last night:

Greenville 103  Westminster 96 (2 OTs, defense optional)
Webster 99  Eureka 83 (where is Webster's scoring coming from all of the sudden?)
MacMurray 88  Principia 72 (Not as close as the final score would indicate)
Spalding 64  Fontbonne 61 (hmmm...)

Mac led by 25 with less than 5 minutes to play. Burton scores 21 to lead the way. 13 different players score for Mac, who shoots 53% from the field but only 13-26 from the FT line. Coach Creal better have his kids working on shots from the charity stripe. In closer games against tougher teams, missing this many free throws will be lethal.

Mac at Webster Thursday night, then Spalding in Jacksonville on Saturday.

[hopefan]

MacHighlander!!!!!... we had our moments back then, but we both love our D3hoops... it will be a pleasure to have you back as a poster... I'm hoping you still get to games... Coach Creole is A+ in my books...