MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

Going into this season's final week.

LX 9-3
OSH 8-4
RF 8-4
EC 7-5
WW 6-6
SP 6-6
PL 4-8
ST 0-12

Wednesday
ST @ RF (last time RF wins 73-67)
OSH @ WW (WW wins 66-60)
LX @ EC (LX wins 71-51)
SP @ PL (SP wins 60-57)

Saturday
WW @ EC (last time EC wins 66-63)
ST @ PL (PL wins 66-62)
RF @ OSH (RF wins 76-75)
SP @ LX (SP wins 69-67)

[Greek Tragedy]

The best I can come up with is a 4-way tie for 1st, all at 9-5.

LX loses to EC and SP
Osh loses to WW and beats RF
RF beats ST and loses to Osh
EC beats LX and WW.

SP loses at PL wins at LX
WW beats OSH and loses to EC
PL beats SP and ST
ST loses to RF and PL

LX 9-5
OSH 9-5
RF 9-5
EC 9-5
SP 7-7
WW 7-7
PL 6-8
ST 0-14

[RedHotFalcon]

Going to be a fun week!!!  Which team will go 2-0? It will be nice to get the conference championship. But, I'm sure they all want to be WIAC tournament champs!!!

[Greek Tragedy]

Going to be a fun week!!!  Which team will go 2-0? It will be nice to get the conference championship. But, I'm sure they all want to be WIAC tournament champs!!!

Unfortunately, that's all that matters since they get the AQ. Yeah, looking back, it sounds better having a conference title, but the WIAC tourney title gets you a shot at the National Championship...

[wcbsas]

John Gleich asks:
Anybody have any idea when the last time was a conference team hit 100 pts in a conference game?

Maybe it has happened more often than it seems... but it feels rare.

Here's something to chew on a for a while. Check these WIAC team records, from the WIAC site stats:

HIGHEST SCORING AVERAGE
1) 97.4 -- Platteville, 1990-91
2) 94.3 -- Whitewater, 1988-89
3) 90.3 -- Oshkosh, 1967-68
4) 89.7 -- Whitewater, 1967-68
5) 89.6 -- Stout, 1968-69
6) 89.5 -- Whitewater, 1987-88
7) 87.5 -- Eau Claire, 1971-72
8) 86.0 -- Stevens Point, 1967-68
9) 85.9 -- Whitewater, 1993-94
10) 85.6 -- Eau Claire, 1970-71

When was the three point play adopted? Mid-1980s?

What makes the #1 spot on here remarkable is that it was a Bo Ryan-coached team. Not exactly the methodical approach he was known for.

This is a good point... it makes me wonder what it was about this team that caused a shift in method.

Perhaps it was additional capabilities by those on the roster?

What's also interesting to me is that it's the most current team on the list.  So we haven't had a team who's average scoring is in the top 10 in the league history fpr about 25 years.  Right now we lead the league with a 77.9 average which is roughly 8 points fewer than the 10th ranked team. 

The league is down and I think one reason is that we aren't getting the same level of player that we've had in the past.  Not that we aren't getting good players, we are, just not as good.   I remember a time when there were legitimate NBA level players in our league.  Now we haven't got a player who could play in the D league and we haven't for some time.   

I definitely think there's something to this. Between Wisconsin being over-recruited by mid-level D-I's and D-II's from other states to kids on AAU teams being told that they're superstars... so to go to a Juco and try to hit the big time instead of landing at a school from day 1 of their freshman year, fewer kids are filtering through to the WIAC.

But, interestingly, the conference has had arguably its most successful run of years, at least in terms of championships, ever (that's actually an interesting discussion... which was best? 80's... with Whitewater winning D-III championships and Point going far in the NAIA? Platteville in the 90's? Point/WW over the last 11 years?)

I guess the question is this: Did they do it with home-grown talent or transfers?

Point's success last year was largely with 4-year players (Pelkofer transferred from Northern Michigan after 1 year). The year before, Hass transferred from Augustana (SD) and Heuer from UWGB. Perhaps you could say that Ty Tillema was a result of a transfer (would he have come to Point if Dan hadn't transferred here?)

If you go back to 2010, Dan Tillema was a transfer from Minnesota-Duluth and Ross Forman was in SP for one year from Loyola (Chi). From 03-04 and 04-05, Kyle Grusczynski transferred from Wisconsin and I transferred from Michigan Tech.


What about Whitewater's players? It seems (merely perception... I don't know for certain) that Pat Miller has done very well for himself in giving kids a second chance, whether they've had previous issues at a different place or just wanted to come closer to home (not intentionally trying to make this a negative, on the contrary, actually).

I too wonder if it has to do with recruiting.  The number of low level D1 schools in the region (extended region - North Dakota, South Dakota) and D2 schools in Iowa and Minnesota have increased.  I think many have turned their eyes towards Wisconsin. 

The number of D2 scholarships to high school players I think has doubled in the past decade.  The number of 4-year Wisconsin WIAC kids has definitely gone down.  Building a cohesive year-over-year program is tougher. 

[badgerwarhawk]

Recently in a conversation with Pat Miller he mentioned that he had been reviewing a list of the top 30 or so prospects in Wisconsin.  Of course the top 5-6 are going D1 but after that he mentioned that nearly all of the rest were "committing" to D2 schools.  Many of those are the type of player that played in our league in the past.  Now, for whatever reason, the lure of a partial scholarship is pulling them away.  Now a few of those players will end up back in our league but a significant majority will stick it out in Cookston, Winona, Duluth, wherever, etc. etc. 

He also mentioned that the prospect of how quickly they will see significant playing time is causing some of them to bypass our league.  Specifically he mentioned a recruit who opted to attend a small private school rather than a WIAC school because they told him he would play right away and it was likely he'd need to wait a year or two before seeing much playing time with us.  Some players simply prefer to play in a losing program if it means seeing the floor from year one rather than a winning one where they'd have to wait.   

Times change  I'd have to assume Pat's experience isn't too different than the rest of the staffs in the league.

[cubs]

News that might interest WIAC fans....

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25485814/reports-illinois-selects-josh-whitman-as-new-athletic-director

[chmarx]

Going to be a fun week!!!  Which team will go 2-0? It will be nice to get the conference championship. But, I'm sure they all want to be WIAC tournament champs!!!

Unfortunately, that's all that matters since they get the AQ. Yeah, looking back, it sounds better having a conference title, but the WIAC tourney title gets you a shot at the National Championship...

Of course, the champion hosts the tournament.  That could hrlp win the tourney. 

Interesting news Cubs.

[wcbsas]

Recently in a conversation with Pat Miller he mentioned that he had been reviewing a list of the top 30 or so prospects in Wisconsin.  Of course the top 5-6 are going D1 but after that he mentioned that nearly all of the rest were "committing" to D2 schools.  Many of those are the type of player that played in our league in the past.  Now, for whatever reason, the lure of a partial scholarship is pulling them away.  Now a few of those players will end up back in our league but a significant majority will stick it out in Cookston, Winona, Duluth, wherever, etc. etc. 

He also mentioned that the prospect of how quickly they will see significant playing time is causing some of them to bypass our league.  Specifically he mentioned a recruit who opted to attend a small private school rather than a WIAC school because they told him he would play right away and it was likely he'd need to wait a year or two before seeing much playing time with us.  Some players simply prefer to play in a losing program if it means seeing the floor from year one rather than a winning one where they'd have to wait.   

Times change  I'd have to assume Pat's experience isn't too different than the rest of the staffs in the league.

Looking at Mark Miller's player ranking for this coming season:

Of the top 30 seniors ranked - 6 of the top 7 are committed to D1 schools with Antetokounmpo from Dominican uncommitted.  The remaining 23 are as follows:
* 10 uncommitted
* 11 committed to D2
* 2 committed to D3 (UWW and UofChicago)

The next 10 have 2 committed to D2 and the rest uncommitted

[Greek Tragedy]

Ouch!

http://espn.go.com/moresports/story/_/id/14792125/wisconsin-high-school-basketball-player-14-pierced-piece-wood-floor

[cubs]

Wow.....  Full slate of games last night, and not a single post on them.  Times have definitely changed around here!!!!

[John Gleich]

RF 81 Stout 79
Point 72 Platte 64
WW 70 Osh 61
EC 64 LaX 57

School	WIAC	Overall
UW-La Crosse	9-4	15-9
UW-River Falls	9-4	15-9
UW-Eau Claire	8-5	15-9
UW-Oshkosh	8-5	15-9
UW-Whitewater	7-6	16-8
UW-Stevens Point	7-6	14-10
UW-Platteville	4-9	10-14
UW-Stout	0-13	4-19

               

Saturday
WW @ EC (last time EC wins 66-63)
ST @ PL (PL wins 66-62)
RF @ OSH (RF wins 76-75)
SP @ LX (SP wins 69-67)

And the stars all aligned last night...

The best I can come up with is a 4-way tie for 1st, all at 9-5.

LX loses to EC and SP
Osh loses to WW and beats RF
RF beats ST and loses to Osh
EC beats LX and WW.

SP loses at PL wins at LX
WW beats OSH and loses to EC
PL beats SP and ST
ST loses to RF and PL

LX 9-5
OSH 9-5
RF 9-5
EC 9-5
SP 7-7
WW 7-7
PL 6-8
ST 0-14

So this is still a possibility.

[Greek Tragedy]

Wow.....  Full slate of games last night, and not a single post on them.  Times have definitely changed around here!!!!

It's obvious all the posters were Superior fans.

Seriously though, it's too bad. The tightest and most exciting conference title race in years and I can hear a pin drop. I've spent more time in the multi-regional boards doing fantasy leagues because I rarely make Pointer games anymore. Plus, other conference boards have fans that post. At least if I go to my alma mater's conference, Ryan Unstoppable talks to me!     

[badgerwarhawk]

Give me a chance cubs. 

Oshkosh: 61
WARHAWKS: 70

Behind a pair of three pointers from Nate Hensel and a single one by Trinson White coupled with a basket by Marquis Turner the WARHAWKS jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the game's first five minutes.  But the Titans followed that with a 10-0 run over the next six minutes and took their only lead of the game 14-11 when the WARHAWKS went 0-5 from the floor and committed 3 turnovers.  A layup from Hensel stopped that run and after the Titans missed three free throws Cole VanSchyndel's basket in the paint regained the lead, 15-14, for the WARHAWKS who built it to a high of eleven 28-17 when Alex LeGault sank a pair of free throws with three and half minutes remaining in the half.  The Titans would get no closer than seven before the half ended with the score 32-25.  The WARHAWKS who shot 46% from the floor had balanced scoring with Hensel leading the way with 8 points followed by Turner with 7, VanSchyndel with 6 and White with 5.  The Titans, who struggled from the free line (3 of 9) were led by Charlie Noone's six points.  The WARHAWKS started the second half poorly missing two of  three shots and committing five turnovers in the first four minutes which allowed the Titans to cut the lead to a single point 34-33.  Haki Stampley's three pointer created some breathing room and over the next ten minutes the WARHAWKS stayed in front by single digits which reached a high of 9 points, 55-46, on a four point play by Drew Bryson.  From that point on the WARHAWKS went 15 of 17 from the free throw line to preserve the win.

WARHAWKS:
VanSchyndel: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
Turner: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Hensel: 10 points
Stampley: 10 points, 1 steal
White: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 steals
Brown: 9 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks
TEAM: 20-25 free throws

Titans:
Alex Olson: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Max Schebel: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block
Charlie Noone: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
TEAM: 36-22 in the paint, 34-17 bench points, 9-19 free throws

The win clinches a spot in the conference tournament which could range from 4th to 6th depending on Saturday's outcomes. 

[Hoops Junkie]

River Falls hung on to a pesky Stout team to have a shot at the conference title though they need a LaCrosse loss and they have to win at Oshkosh for it to happen.  If they end up tied they are co champs but LaCrosse holds the tie breaker.

Not sure what happens if there is a four way tie at 9-5 or even a 3 way because well i am too lazy too look it up.

Where is Hoops and Golf to at least get us talking about something