MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[cubs]

Oshkosh 81
Stout 61      FINAL

Oshkosh once again gets a pretty balanced effort from it starting rotation. 
-DSA leads the way with 20 points and 5 rebounds. 
-Schrimpf adds 16 points (he was perfect from the field going 5-5 and 4-4 from deep) and 5 assists.
-Miller cooled off in the second half, but still finished with 14 points. 
-Jordan Johnson has a "quiet" double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while also dishing out 3 assists. 
-Marsh was pretty quiet on the day, but was still able to contribute 8 points and 8 boards. 

Ryan Johnsen came off the bench and hit a couple of three point shots, but other thatn that, it was UWO's starting five doing all the damage again.

Stout puts two guys in double figures in Enerson-Mathews, who had 19 points, and Donald who had 15 points and 7 rebounds.  Webb struggled throughout the day shooting 2-10 from the field while only playing 20 minutes.

I'll be curious to see where UWO is in the poll next week.  Depending on the number of ranked teams that lost, I am going to say they break into the poll somewhere between #12 and #16.

[fredfalcon]

Ordinarily, when a team shoots 53% and the opponent shoots 37%, the better shooting team wins. But not at Pville, where the home team ekes out a 67-66 win. Falcons led by 12 once in second half, and by ten late in the game, but could not hold on.Four guys in double figures for RF:  Davis, Wright, Reese w/12, Kelly w/11.

Shaw off the bench w/25 led the way for P.

[BDshotblocker]

Went to the Osh/Stout game today (great to see Old School and Stoutguy again along with many others)

Stout came out early with some good half-court defense and ran out to an early lead.  After that Oshkosh exposed Stout's weaknesses and methodically broke them down.

DSA is a VERY mobile bigman.  Good mid-range jumper and a sound ball-handler.  Not near the defensive presence that Gibson was but twice the offensive player.

The other Oshkosh players work very well together and play very good team ball, I was impressed with how well they played and TVD deserves alot of credit.

On Stout's side, Jerrel Enerson-Mathews had 19pts and worked hard to get his shots.  He also ran the point position for the first time to try and get a sluggish offense moving.

Stout has an "open gym" feel offensively, 1on1 with poor shot selection, and low intensity on defense.  I do believe there is good talent on this team but it's up to them if and when they decide to get it together and play as a team.

[Brian Carroll]

3 pt shooting was the difference as LC beat EC 64-49 in front of a decent crowd of 750 at Mitchell Hall. While LC had a better 3 pt. pct. than it did on 2's, the Blugolds were 0-10 from long range. This was a badly needed win for LC, and solid defense played a part in holding down the 'golds' scoring. Still, I got the impression that EC was flat, and will be a tougher nut to crack at Zorn. If you haven't heard of Tony Mane, you soon will. LC's freshman guard may already be the best player on the team, and will make some noise in the WIAC.

[Greek Tragedy]

Oshkosh 81, Stout 61

Oshkosh was too much for Stout today with an easy 20-pt win.  Stout did come out well to start but Oshkosh's starting 5 took over and it was all over by half time with Little Guy Miller hitting a three at the buzzer to put them up by 17.  Oshkosh's starting 5 may be the best in the conference, so the key would be to get DSA or Marsh into foul trouble.  Marsh is the best on the team and if DSA gets into trouble, there isn't much on the bench to hold the fort.  The Titans look real good.

Stout, as mentioned above, looks like a pick up team at the local Y.  They hardly play any "team oriented" offense and no one really looks like they want to play defense.  There are a lot of individuals on that team.  Jacob and I were discussing that and I believe that is the coach's job to tell the players what HE wants and if they don't do what he wants the team to do, then yank that player, even if he is your best player.  I think Heisler can be a good post presence but the likes of Webb, Mason and J. E-M prevents Heisler's shot attempts.  Granted, today, J. E-M tried to carry the Blue Devils on his back and did well, shooting 8-17 and also dishing out 4 assists.  But, Webb basically got benched for his poor shot selection and Mason coughed the ball up 6 times.  23 shots made and only 7 assists while Oshkosh had 19 assists off of 27 shots made.

Cameo appearance by the Augustana basketball team on their way up to St. Norb's tonight.

La Crosse 64, Eau Claire 49

Whitewater 92, Superior 85
(no boxscore)

Platteville 67, River Falls 66

Stevens Point 75, Lawrence 56

[UWRF]

Just got back from A LONG DAY in Platteville.  Left at 7:30 this morning and just got back.  Had problems with the connection to the station, 9+ hrs in the car (due to snow) and two losses were not my kind of day.  The mens game was a heartbreaker.  Bad officiating down the stretch put RF in a little bit of a funk (i am not saying it lost RF the game).  And Shaw had a huge day but the reason UWP won the game was the shooting by Curt Hanson in the last two minutes (0-6 from 3 to start but 3-3 in the final mins). 

I was going to mention something about Stout's lack of team ball after Wednesday's game but I forgot to do so.  They defiantly lack either chemistry or trust.  Webb doesn't help the cause by jacking up 16 shots a game, most of which in the RF game were BAD shots, he just started hitting a few in the end and he ended with a very quiet 22.  If you throw enough s*** at the wall some of its going to stick. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Point won a pretty hard fought game tonight against Lawrence.  LU came out strong and took an early lead but then Point put the smack down and went off.  All of a sudden it was a 23-8 lead.  Point looked like they took control of the game, leading by as many 22, but the Vikings wouldn't go away and made a nice little run to end the half.

Lawrence cut the halftime deficit to 12 when Ross Rorvedt's baseline shot hit the side of the backboard.  John Dekker got the rebound and side armed it from the opposite baseline and hit the improbable 3-pt shot as time expired.  Pretty amazing shot and you had to be there.  I swear, the ball was still going up when it went in (definitely not one of those long lob shots you see)!  Point came out strong in the 2nd half and went up by 18 right away only to see Lawrence chip away at the seemingly insurmountable lead.  Their effort reminded me of last year's game when Point had a huge lead in the 2nd half.  Lawrence, in that game, actually had a chance to win it at the end but the layup went off the rim and Point escaped.  With the Vikings cutting into Point's lead to 12, things got a little tense.

Point's play of the game came then, when the shot clock was running down and 6'9" Jerome SWATachek stepped out and nailed a three pointer.  With that, Point scored some more and pushed the lead back up to 20 and it was game, set and match from there.

Point was led by Hicklin's 16 (though only 1-8 from 3-pt. land) and Wotacheck had another very good game going for 11 pts and 8 rebs.  With him and Beamish (13 and 7)playing well we do have the makings of a solid inside game.

Despite "blowing out" Lawrence, they do have a very good team.  Point shot 55% from the field, but we really did have to work for our shots.  Our outside shooting was off (6 of 20) but we worked the ball around well. Lawrence is going to be tough to beat in the MWC.  They have some good players in Hurley (16 pts and 10 rebs), Krueger and even Dekker, though the latter didn't have a very good game at all thanks to some solid defense.

On a side note, on the post game radio show, I think Semling said that Pete Rortvedt is going under the knife to fix the nagging knee that has hampered him since the 2nd game of the season.  He'll miss the three road games this week for sure, but I don't think I heard how long after that.  Hopefully, at worst, we'll have him back at the start of the new year when we jump back into conference play.

[Greek Tragedy]

Hey BDshotblocker...

HERE is Grinnell's boxscore.  Something to look forward to! lol 

[stoutguy]

Just got back from A LONG DAY in Platteville.  Left at 7:30 this morning and just got back.  Had problems with the connection to the station, 9+ hrs in the car (due to snow) and two losses were not my kind of day.  The mens game was a heartbreaker.  Bad officiating down the stretch put RF in a little bit of a funk (i am not saying it lost RF the game).  And Shaw had a huge day but the reason UWP won the game was the shooting by Curt Hanson in the last two minutes (0-6 from 3 to start but 3-3 in the final mins). 

I was going to mention something about Stout's lack of team ball after Wednesday's game but I forgot to do so.  They defiantly lack either chemistry or trust.  Webb doesn't help the cause by jacking up 16 shots a game, most of which in the RF game were BAD shots, he just started hitting a few in the end and he ended with a very quiet 22.  If you throw enough s*** at the wall some of its going to stick. 

Look forward to meeting you sometime, UWRF.  I can relate to everything in this post and I couldn't agree more about your reference to Stout's problems.  They continued (or got worse) yesterday at Oshkosh.  I have not seen your RF team but from what I hear, you guys are going to be just fine.  I hope to talk to Jeff on our show Sat. morning. 

[stoutguy]

One more thing regarding Stout's problems: Here is my take on what Stout should do.  Rip up the wood court and pour blacktop. 

[Mr_Downtown]

I bet Superior/Stout games are going to be fun this year.

FYI Oshkosh has proven this year that if you want to run and gun this year, you better think twice about it. Last year's team you could, just because it was just such a methodical offense, and by running you forced them to operate at a faster pace, which was something that they didn't want to do with only two or three shooters on the floor at a given time.

This year's team, everyone on the floor can shoot the ball. So, if you want to be like Stout, and play street ball, that's fine. Just remember that Matt Miller is deadly from 3. Oh, and this freshman kid, Greg Schrimpf, can play, oh...and Oshkosh still has DJ Marsh, and if you don't pay attention, Jordan Johnson and DSA will kill you inside.

The team that is going to give Oshkosh fits this year, will be Platteville, but the way they have been playing (losing to EC in OT, barely beating RF by a point), doesn't suggest that they should be worried as of right now.

I know we are only 3 conference games in, but don't expect Oshkosh to fizzle. They are too balanced on offense to go on a slump.

And, one last thing. DSA should be player of the week. 17/25 FG, 8/9FT,  42 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists and only 3 Turnover's.

Not bad. 

[BDshotblocker]

I bet Superior/Stout games are going to be fun this year.

.....

I know we are only 3 conference games in, but don't expect Oshkosh to fizzle. They are too balanced on offense to go on a slump.

Superior/Stout games could be the battle for 9th and if Stout doesn't get it together, they will lose.  Stout should change it's starters to only guys the will play team ball, let some of the other guys sit, watch, and learn WIAC basketball.

Downtown,
Your Oshkosh team reminds me of the team I was on my Junior year.  All 5 guys on the floor are different scoring threats, 3-ball, penatration, and inside play.  Each guy brings something to the table and understands his role, it's really fun to watch.

[Greek Tragedy]

Hamline has been one of the big surprises of the MIAC thus far. They are 3-1 in league play with wins over Bethel (picked to win the conference) St. Olaf and St. Mary's and an 8 point loss at St. Thomas. EC's win over Hamline may be better than you think.

Admittedly, I don't know much about Hamline.  I just knew they were picked last in the MIAC.  Bethel is really confusing me.  They lost earlier this week and then won on the road at Carleton.  Interesting.

[Greek Tragedy]

Wed 12/5/07
UW-Eau Claire 77, UW-Platteville 69 (Overtime)     
UW-Oshkosh 80, UW-Whitewater 74   
UW-River Falls 79, UW-Stout 72   
UW-Stevens Point 76, UW-La Crosse 61     
St. Scholastica (MN) 83, UW-Superior 77     
             
Sat 12/8/07
UW-La Crosse 64, UW-Eau Claire 49     
UW-Oshkosh 81, UW-Stout 61     
UW-Platteville 67, UW-River Falls 66   
UW-Stevens Point 75, Lawrence 56     
UW-Whitewater 92, UW-Superior 85

Old School Week 4 Rankings

1.  Oshkosh (7-0) LW-2:  Best starting 5?
2.  Stevens Point (5-1) LW-4:  SWATachek gives Point an inside game.
3.  Whitewater (5-1) LW-1:  McKay and Goodwin bounce back from poor Oshkosh game.
4.  Platteville (5-2) LW-3:  10 points in 47 seconds to pull out win.
5.  La Crosse (5-2) LW-6:  Freshman Tony Mane only Eagle averaging double figures.
6.  Eau Claire (5-3) LW-5:  Hard to stop Beyer.
7.  River Falls (3-5) LW-9:  Maybe the Falcons aren't dead in the water after losing Koonkaew.
8.  Superior (1-5) LW-8:  Puts up a fight in Whitewater.
9.  Stout (3-5) LW-7:  Anyone for a pickup game?

[Stout survivor]

One more thing regarding Stout's problems: Here is my take on what Stout should do.  Rip up the wood court and pour blacktop. 

WOW .... short but well said.

I was thinking they looked more like SUP the past couple years where they had talent but somehow beating them was not that hard... it is one pass and shot, if we are lucky.  I will still watch every game online that I can and hope that they win.  What I know about the coaching staff is that  they will do all they can over winter break to fix all the problems, it is a great time with no classes and students to distract them to work on bball.  Stoutguy also had a good point (on the radio) about oshy and how TVD recruit players that will fit his system and play team ball and after the game my brother pointed out that the good teams don't "rebuild" but reload.  In the end coaches coach but players have to make plays and in basketball one guy can throw off a whole team...

Moving on, RF and Sup just needs to learn how to win games and Platt and WW are tough places to get a lesson.
Oshy is playing very good ball and have multiple threats in all phases of the game.