MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[John Gleich]

As many did, I also had Brad penciled in as a starter...not to take anything away from the other two players (Bauer, Hicklin and Krull were obvious choices).

I think most did... from purely an experience standpoint, Brad had a season under his belt, while the guys playing in that spot now do not.

[John Gleich]

Hmm... where'd everybody go?!  Some big games tonight...

Oshkosh-La Crosse:  If LaX wants to stay in the mix, they need to get this win at home.  If Oshkosh wants to keep pace with Stout, they need a W.  Something's gotta give.  Also, if LaX loses this one, it puts them two back in the loss column... which will make it pretty hard for them to host a Conf tourney game.  Last time:  Oshkosh 67 LaX 65

Stout at RF:  Speaking of Stout... they've gotta go TO RF, who just got done beating Oshkosh, and who beat the biermeisters on their home floor.  River Falls really has nothing to lose (and not a whole lot to gain, except for personal pride and *perhaps* a better seed... though they're going to be travelling in the conference tourney regardless.  Last time:  RF 66 Stout 57

Point at EC:  EC hasn't beaten Point since the 2000-2001 season... and this streak has allowed Point to pull the all-time series to 72-78, in favor of EC.  This is the only series that Point trails in of the WIAC schools.  Point needs a W to stay tied in the loss column with the 3 other teams at 3 losses.  EC needs a win to get out of that last conf tourney spot.  Point has lost 3 of 4 and looks to turn it around.  Last time:  Point 90 EC 66

Platte at WW:  Same as above, WW needs the W to make their name WWW... I mean, to keep in step with the other teams.  Platte is coming off two losses, WW off one, so somebody's gonna turn it around.  Last time WW 72- Platte 61

If they can get by River Falls tonight, Stout really controls their own destiny.  After this game tonight, they have 3 straight at home before going to La Crosse to finish the regular season.  Two of those home games are against Oshkosh (who they beat at Oshy) and Point (who they lost to in double OT).  If they take care of these two games, then they only need a little help with Whitewater... and WW has to travel to Point and Oshkosh.

[Greek Tragedy]

I think most did... from purely an experience standpoint, Brad had a season under his belt, while the guys playing in that spot now do not.

Again, not to take anything away from Rortvedt (though I think he'd start and it's only the small foward position that is in question), Bouche or Grusczynski, but I was thinking more in lines of a talent standpoint.

I'd have:

PG:  Hicklin
SG:  Rortvedt
PF:  Krull
SF:  Kalsow
SG/SF  : Bauer

[Greek Tragedy]

PS beat me to the punch, I was about to comment on the commotion here on the WIAC board, oh wait, those were birds chirping! lol 

Anyway, I look at the WIAC race in two ways, who the heck is gonna win and who has the best shot at Pool C bids and all that because I'm not only a Pointer fan, I'm also a WIAC fan!

Believe me, first and foremost, I want Point to win and win the conference and freak everyone out and go to the Final Four and put all those North Park fans to rest so they can't say, "We're the only ones to Three Peat!"  But hey, I'm a realist and until Point learns to play solid defense and finds a big man in the middle, I don't see the latter part of that happening!

Point seems to play well in the WIAC, though losing at home to Platteville was a surprise (but not the loss in Oshkosh), so winning the big games I'm confident in!

I digress...

Stout and La Crosse have the best chance to get Pool C bids if they run the table and then, say, lose in the final of the conference tourney.  Stout only has THREE in-region losses, so aside from the Point game, I rooting for them.  I've always said that five of those losses puts the team in the proverbial bubble come tourney time.  La Crosse has FOUR in-region losses, but Stout and La Crosse still need to play each other.

Oshkosh and Whitewater are both already on the bubble and I don't see them running the table (especially since they play each other) and then losing their SIXTH in-region game and then getting a bid.  Those in-region out of conference losses really hurt those two teams, as does those four wins by each team that don't mean anything (i.e, out-of-region/non DIII opponents).

I guess that's another way to look at a different race!

As for tonight, I don't see Stout overlooking River Falls (if, that's indeed what they did) again.  Those games of Stout/River Falls/Eau Claire are hardly road trips since they don't have to travel far, so it shouldn't be too crazy at Karges tonight.  Stevens Point is scaring me a little.  They looked horrible at Edgewood and got beat pretty bad in Oshkosh, plus lost at home to Platteville, all in recent games.  I think tonight's game in EC will be a lot closer than the blowout at Quandt, possibly single digits.  Though it's hard to see Oshkosh lose two in a row, La Crosse only lost by two in Oshkosh.  This is going to be a battle.  My question is, what happened to Oshkosh in River Falls?  Wow!  Whitewater has lost three of four conference games, but they handled Platteville the first time around, so no problems this time.

[BDB]

Who knows what will happen at Karges Center tonight.

I will say that when RF played Stout here that the BlueDevils were the most lethargic of teams, on the floor and on the bench. It was just weird.

I don't expect the Falcons to see that type of team tonight.

[BDB]

Old School, You are right about Stout going to either RF or EC not being much of a road game. It's like driving home from work or school.

The Devils take vans to those games, forgetting about a bus.
Which is probably good since they keep having bus troubles.

[Mr. Downtown]

Just for those that are interested...

You can listen to tonight's La Crosse/Oshkosh matchup at www.uwosh.edu/wrst...

I will be doing the second half play by play.

[BDB]

Just for those that are interested...

You can listen to tonight's La Crosse/Oshkosh matchup at www.uwosh.edu/wrst...

I will be doing the second half play by play.

Tag team radio, Downtown 

[titan2000]

SERVER IS FULL. 

[titan2000]

Downtown:

Good job on the broadcast tonight.

WTF was Doedens shooting the 3 for at the end with Janke and Capelle on the team?

I hate to be hating on TVD again, but don't they have any fundamental training--you said yourself that Janke had a double screen and would have been a potential shooter. 

Maybe they aren't that good--or they are classic undrachievers.  Makes me sick.

[fredfalcon]

The Falcons were no match for the Bluedevils tonite, losing 63-49. No RF starter scored in  double figures. The BD's out rebounded the Falcons on the offensive board 18-2. Farmer w/16, J. Nonemacher w/15 led Stout. Rick Bowen was evidently so disgusted w/the Falcon starters that he pulled  four of them when RF got 20 down, about ten minutes or more before the end. Mostly, they never saw the floor again even tho the reserves got the margin down to ten near the end.

If Stout had shot better than 39%, it would have been a blowout.

[laxeagles1]

WTF was Doedens shooting the 3 for at the end with Janke and Capelle on the team?

I hate to be hating on TVD again, but don't they have any fundamental training--you said yourself that Janke had a double screen and would have been a potential shooter. 

Maybe they aren't that good--or they are classic undrachievers.  Makes me sick.

1) La Crosse was a better team tonight.  Oshkosh had one play in the first half, it seemed to be a semi fast break 4-1......of which the ballhandler(i think it was jahnke) took an ill advised shot where there were better oppurtunities on the floor.........this happened all game.........Seeing Oshkosh for the first time it was obvious that they lack a strong team concept

2)Werner outplayed Gibson........Sure there were times La Crosse gave up 3-4 shots a possession but very few of those could be attributed to Werner getting dominated in the box by Gibson(also i have never seen a player with no one around him from 12 feet not take a shot with the frequency of Gibson, especially when there is 5-7 seconds on the shot clock)

3)Luke Homan was the unsung hero for La Crosse.  He really swung the momentum of the game in the middle of the 2nd half....it was nice to see some confidence for him...

4)La Crosse simply outhustled Oshkosh and Ask and Fehrenbach hit clutch shots when they needed too

5) I have never seen Mitchell Hall that alive towards the end of the game in my four years here.........it was amazing........

6) La Crosse is a formidable contender with great players and *gulp* a great coach

[Brian Carroll]

     Great game and a good crowd at Mitchell Hall tonight. Close all the way, but the EAGLES make the shots at the end and upset Oshkosh. Marcus Conigliaro knocks down several big 3's, and Joe Werner holds his own against the Titan jumbos. Luke Homan provides a spark off the bench in the biggest Eagle win of the season. So far. It is now a 5 team race in the wild and wacky WIAC. Great job,  Coach K and team. Kudos to chmarx for his prescient pick 'em prowess.

[John Gleich]

Per the UWSP website:

Point 79, EC 76


UW-Stevens Point used a red-hot second half shooting performance to erase a halftime deficit and pull away from UW-Eau Claire for a 79-76 victory on Wednesday in Eau Claire.

     The Pointers trailed 31-24 at halftime, but shot 72.7 percent (16-for-22) during a 55-point second half outburst to earn the road victory.

[John Gleich]

These are the standings... (I don't have the seedings... don't have the time to look it all up)

1. Stout                  9-3
2. Point                  8-3
2. WW                   8-3
4. LaX                    8-4
4. Oshy                  8-4
6. Platteville          4-7
7. RF                     4-8
8. EC                     3-9
9. Sup                   0-11

Stout, like I said earlier today, has the leg up on the conference championship... 3 of their last 4 are at home... BUT, they play Oshkosh, and Point in 2 of the next 3 and finish the season at La Crosse.

Oshkosh can help their case if they can knock off Stout on Saturday...  They aren't in terrible position if they can do that, because their last 3 are at home, including a game against WW.  They'd need some help against Point.

Help should be relatively easy to find... Point hosts La Crosse on Saturday and WW on Wednesday, and then they follow that with trips to Stout and Platteville (where the Pointers haven't won in their last two seasons).

Whitewater now sits a scant 1/2 game behind just Stout, but they have arguably the toughest schedule of the top 5... they play 4 of their last 5 games on the road, including games at Point and Oshkosh.

La Crosse is in a bind... another loss and they're effectively out of the running for the conf title.  They travel to Point (who they lost to by 15 at Mitchell earlier this year) and have to go to River Falls (who they barely beat by 2 points 2 weeks ago) before finishing the regular season by hosting none other than the conference leaders, Stout.