MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[iwumichigander]

When does Iowa Wesleyan become eligible for the tournament?

I could see them catching fire these last 5 games and catching the top 4. That would be a great story.

This is Iowa Wesleyan's 2nd season in D3 and the SLIAC, I believe. I'm not the authority on this, but I think there is a four year provisional period. So if they became provisional at the start of the 2013 academic year then they would be eligible for conference tournament play in all sports starting with the 2017 academic year. Anyone who knows differently, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Here is a link to an article on Iowa Wesleyan published by D3Sports
http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2011/10/iowa-wesleyan-applies-to-d3
There is a provisional year for the institution to explore qualification for Div III and a four year transitional period so a total of five years.  Not eligible for NCAA post season play until end of four year transitional period.  I believe games in first two years do not count but games against do count as D3 in years three and four i.e. Count in opponents post season calculation in SOS, OWP and OOWP in basketball, for example - even though IW itself is not post season eligible

The five years 1+4 allow, for example, Iowa Wesleyan to honor NAIA athletics scholarships rather than dumping them which would not be fair to the recipients.  It also allows them to add or delete sports to fully qualify.  In the case of IW, it had to find a new conference for football since SLIAC does not have football.

[hopefan]

Great to hear from the oldies but goodies, bunchtime and the redhead.... wish we could read your words more often....   maybe next year!!!!

[JWJ]

Remember Spalding was already in the NCAA membership process when they joined the SLIAC.  IWC started the NCAA process at same time it joined the SLIAC.  That's why Spalding was eligible for tournaments sooner in its SLIAC life than IWC will be.

[hopefan]

Remember Spalding was already in the NCAA membership process when they joined the SLIAC.  IWC started the NCAA process at same time it joined the SLIAC.  That's why Spalding was eligible for tournaments sooner in its SLIAC life than IWC will be.

Thanks JWJ... we rarely hear from you, but when we do, it's good stuff... that would clear up my confusion regarding Spalding's eligibility vs their number of years playing full SLIAC schedules....

[hopefan]

So tonight is the huge game between Fontbonne and Webster in the race for a Conference tourney spot.  What are the repercussions of the outcome for each team?

Each team currently has 5 losses, and they are tied for 3rd... Neither Eureka nor Greenville, one game back with 6 losses, nor Spalding, one game ahead with 4 losses, play tonight....

So the winner of tonight's game will be alone in 3rd with 5 losses, and the loser will be in a 3 way tie for 4th with 6 losses.

To me, it is more critical for Fontbonne to win this game, because they still have to play MacMurray...  a loss to Webster would just about necessitate a win over Mac to guarantee Fontbonne a spot in the tourney
Webster however is in a similar situation because they still have to play Spalding... a loss to Fontbonne, and they almost have to beat Spalding...

However, while the above scenario is looking for two teams to finish with 6 losses, it's quite likely that No ONE will finish with 6 losses, and there could be a logjam at 7 losses..
There could easily be a 4 way tie at 7 losses  (lots of luck new commish)
For a 4 way tie to occur...
Font beats Webster, but loses at IWC and to Mac
Webster loses to Font and to Greenville, but beats Eureka and Spalding
Greenville loses to Mac

Bang... a four way tie

And there are other similar permutations....

Quite honestly, I like Eureka's chances... they should beat Westmin and BC, and they have IWC at home, a game they should win...  that leaves only the Webster game as a monster difference maker... but hey, one game at a time....

[WU FAN]

Given that I haven't generated much conversation with my prior two posts... I'll throw this one out.... Massey ratings, which are always fun to study, predict Fontbonne 68 Webster 65.....

Also.. Massey ratings out of 416 D3 schools

Spalding  215         Final last year : 156
MacMurray   223     Final last year : 178     
Webster    249         Final last year : 135
Greenville 264            Final last year : 275
Fontbonne  267       Final last year : 347
Eureka   281              Final last year : 395   
Iowa Wesleyan  322      Final last year : 410
Westminster   392       Final last year : 267
Principia    399            Final last year : 394 
Blackburn    402          Final last year : 411

The SLIAC is rated 40 out of 47 D3 conferences;       final last year   44 out of 47

improved big :  Fontbonne, Eureka, Iowa Wesleyan
Stayed level  :  Greenville, Principia, Blackburn
Gone downhill  :  Spalding, MacMurray, Webster, Eureka

Hopefan you forgot to mention Westminster in here.  Instead of downhill I think fallen off the planet would be more precise.  Feel very bad for Coach Mitchell.

As for Smith it sounds like he'll be a go but you never know.  Evidently it's the first time he's ever had a sprained ankle and it's caused him some trouble getting over it.

Overall this has been a miserable year for SLIAC basketball.  I've now seen nearly every team play in person and am not impressed with anyone.  There are a few nice players out there but there are zero good teams.  Heck I'm not sure you could make an All-Star team from the SLIAC that could compete for a title in any of the reputable conferences.

[hopefan]

Thanks WU for finding that error... as usual I get to writing without checking... the going downhill group had Eureka in it in error... should be Westminster....  I have corrected in my original post....

I'm in agreement with your analysis of the level of play in the conference....Last year, Webster showed vs IWU that our top team could compete at a high level, and Spalding was every bit as good as Webster too....Mac and Westminster were also god enough to be competitive with mid level D3 teams.... This year, even Mac with D. Johnson, I just don't see it.... very confusing to me that Massey's math shows the SLIAC is improving slightly, although it could be because several other conferences have gotten worse...

I still say it would be a wonderful idea for the NCAA's D3 to have some sort of a play-in round for the weakest 8 or 12 or 16 teams so that a SLIAC winner could look forward to facing the winner of a lesser conference...
In the last 10 years, SLIAC teams have been matched with:
2014 :  CCIW (IWU)
2013 :  UAA  (Wash U)
2012 :  MIAA (Hope)  (Hope entered 25-1)
2011 :  CCIW  (Augie)
2010 :   UAA   (Wash U)
2009 :  CCIW  (Wheaton)
2008 :   ASC   (Mary Hardin Baylor)  (MHB entered 25-3)
2007 :   UAA   (Wash U)
2006 :   ASC   (Mississippi College)   (MC entered 28-1)
2005 :   HCAC  (Hanover)   (Hanover entered at 24-5)

In 9 of 10 years, the SLIAC played on their opponent's home court...  the one year they didn't have to do that, they lost in the last minute to Mary Hardin Baylor at Milsaps..
so 6 of 10 years playing UAA or CCIW teams, 3 of the other 4 years playing an obvious very high seed in Hope or the 2 ASC teams... and in 2005, the set up had bottom play no 5 (Hanover)...

In recent years SLIAC teams have gained praise for their tournament performance, but still in the end, come away winless... it would be SO exciting to go into a Tourney game NOT being a 20 point underdog....

[SliacChamp]

Good win for Webster on the road in a pretty hostile environment tonight at Fontbonne.
The Gorloks played with high energy and we're all over the court.

Hunter Ward looked AWFULLY good tonight.... Finally.

Bench play tonight was what they needed. Even Leonard smith came off the bench in crunch time to give them a lift defensively.

[hopefan]

Live by the 3 pointer, die by the 3 pointer, and Fontbonne certainly dies by it tonight... Dorhauer , Welch, Johnson go 4 for 18... why did Fontbonne desert the inside game?  Yes Greenlee was having a tough night, but Rucker, Greenlee, Kissing all were getting looks... Fontbonne has a great comeback from double digits down to 2 down, NOT keyed by 3 pointers, 8 minutes left, then shoot almost nothing BUT 3 pointers, scoring 5 points in last 6 minutes....Fontbonne misses 7 3 pointers in a row in that stretch till Dorhauer makes one when the game is over.... Why no Bakis... he couldn't miss at Greenville, he sticks a 3 in first half, never sees the floor, or hardly sees it the rest of the game...

The return of Ahmad Smith for Webster made a HUGE difference on offense... took the weight off Ward's shoulders and maybe helped him play a little easier... the two played like we've expected them to all year... and as SLIACchamp said.. great job by the bench...particularly Joseph Henry who had 9 points and never missed a shot all night... and Taylor Walton with a couple of nice hoops, seeing more time than usual as Aaron Griffin seemed to be bothered by a shoulder or chest injury...

very loud crowd... should have/ could have been more, but those that were there were vociferous... best atmosphere at Fontbonne I've seen since the Fogerty/Storandt days...  Why not EVERY home game, and why not MORE....

As I said before, This one hurts Fontbonne in the standings, because they have Mac left to play... one thing I didn't mention was that if they finish tied with Eureka at 7 losses, they'll have a tiebreak advantage as they swept Eureka.... Webster now has a sweep of Fontbonne if Webster/Font finish tied.  The eureka/Webster game becomes critical, as Eureka could have a sweep over Webster if they win the 2nd matchup....

[hopefan]

And speaking of Mac, they have a lot more trouble with Westmin than expected....hard to understand how any defense could limit Clayton Whitlock to 3 shots and Devis Johnson to 4.... though between the two of them they went 20 for 24 from the free throw line... hooray that Guthrie had 24 points, but is Mac's game plan vs anybody planned to get Guthrie more shots than Whitlock, Johnson and Sutton combined?  I DOUBT IT... Well again, the fouls on attempted shots make for misleading field goal attempts by the big guys...

GOOD... no... GREAT... to see Deavis Johnson in the lineup... unknown to most people except those that were down at Spalding last Saturday, Johnson collapsed on the floor just after the Mac-Spalding game ended.... VERY SCAREY... medical people kept him down for 10-15 minutes, then he was helped to the locker room... ended up being a matter of dehydration/sugar imbalance... but when someone goes down like that, the worst is feared initially... Thank goodness not serious, and maybe Deavis will learn from this to prepare his body a little better in pregame....

[WU FAN]

This seems like an odd week in SLIAC play.  Only 3 games last night and tonight.  Interesting score from Mac vs. Westmin with Mac getting the win by 8.  Wouldn't that have set up some fun scenarios down the stretch.  We're still at the point in the year where a slip by Mac and things get really fun which is what many of you like to see.

A couple comments on tonight's WU vs. FU game.  Hunter Ward seems like he's FINALLY starting to play like he did at the end of last year.  Slashing to the hoop occasionally which frees up his outside shooting.  Also Ahmad Smith comes back from somewhere in the range of 3 weeks off and has a stellar performance with 20 points in 31 minutes.  I really like seeing some of the young guys getting involved for the Gorloks.  Keep your eyes on Joseph Henry in the coming years.  Very nice player that may very well step in and be a leader for Webster in the coming years.  You heard it here first.

Final thoughts on the night are about Fontbonne's crowd.  I like the fact that there was a nice level of support.  Way more than you see at most SLIAC games.  The energy is fun for everyone involved.  That being said there was an edge to the crowd that I rarely see at other schools and am not a fan of.  It got to the point that Fontbonne's AD had to do some escorting out.  Not good.  Showing support for your school and the teams is great but having so much "enthusiasm" that you embarrass yourself and your school is something entirely different.  It will be interesting in the coming years to see which way this goes with their fans.  I hope for everyone involved they go the way of fun loving support and not down the path of ruining the experience for others around them.

[y_jack_lok]

It was good to have Ahmad Smith back. I sat next to and chatted briefly with his father. Very nice gentleman.

As for Hunter Ward slashing to the hoop, some of his best slashing is done on the defensive end where he gets up higher than just about everyone else to grab rebounds.

[hopefan]

I hate to say it but.... read the opening line of my write-up last night....win by the 3, lose by the 3... when you read the stats from last night, Ward's style seemed to change little from previous games... 13 shots attempted, 9 of them were three point shots.. the only difference is he made a bunch of them for the first time in forever...same strategy in another game might yield 2 for 10 and we're all yammering again....  BUT he picked a great night to get hot...

[BunchTime]

Good write-ups from those who were at the Webster-Fontbonne game.  I too was there.  Agree with Hope regarding Ward...he really is at his best when he's slashing to the rim.  Obviously, not an issue last night as he was feeling it from deep.  I still would like to see him take his man one-on-one more often.  On most nights, he is one of the best athletes on the floor.  When Ahmad and Hunter play like they did last night, Webster is an awfully tough team to beat.

Griffin is bothered by a shoulder injury, so who knows what his status will be going forward.  I really thought the reserve bigs for Webster had a great night - Walton, Zehner, Henry, and Leonard Smith.  Really provided positive minutes and did some good things.

A couple final notes regarding Webster...after seeing Webster play a handful of times this year, the number 1 thing for this team to be successful is playing with energy/passion.  Seems cliché and oversimplified, but when the Gorloks play with energy, they really are a different team.  They are much more active in the zone, contesting shots, getting up and down in transition, fighting for boards, very engaged bench, etc.  I saw that from them last night.  I have also seen the Webster team come out flat and play almost disinterested, which will get them beat on any given night if they do that.  I think playing in front of a crowd like Fontbonne greatly benefits a team like Webster.  The energy was ramped up a notch.

WU Fan, just curious...what did the Fontbonne student section do that was over the lines, as you alluded to in your post?  I thought the crowd was great, typical taunting you see at games, loud and boisterous, and some of the usual chants.  Of course, I was in the corner behind the bench and didn't see everything that may have occurred.

[hopefan]

Student removed positioned himself directly behind the Webster coaches and was loudly rooting for Fontbonne and against Webster... AD moved him back to the rest of the guys behind the scorer's table at least once, but when he went again behind the coaches (within touching distance) the AD removed him... I really didn't hear or see anything offensive or totally over the line, but he did go against what the AD wanted.... I really didn't ever see the coaches formally complain, but I may have missed it....

Bad news regarding Griff... they must have some inside game to face the rest of the schedule, and Henry, Zehner are hardly inside guys... the thought of facing the rest of the schedule with Walton and Smith manning the middle is a little overwhelming... let's hope Griffin can tough it out....