MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Mr. Downtown]

Speaking of Point...  UWSP has always gotten to at least the 2nd round of the playoffs in their 6 NCAA tournament berths, with 5 Sweet 16s, 4 Elite 8's and 2 National Championships.

I'm sorry, PS, but that still doesn't convince me that Point can knock off one of the hottest teams in the country.

I honestly think that is the best 1st round game of the tournament. It should be a great one.

[John Gleich]

Should be a really great game.  IMO, it depends how Point comes out... they've had some games where they've come out really flat and had to battle back, and some where they've come out and pounded it from the start.

[Greek Tragedy]

LCfan,

I'm glad you've come in and gave your opinion, whether the WIAC faithful agree with you or not.  It's nice to get a new face in here and get a perspective outside the WIAC box.

It's good to get some new competition in there after grinding through 19 games of the WIAC regular season and conference schedule.  The Pointers might run into the other IIAC rep in Buena Vista if both win on Friday night over in St. Paul in the St. Thomas regional.

Good luck to everyone, but a little more luck to Point and Whitewater.  We can only guess what the outcome will be based on what we think Whitewater can do or can't do...I think nearly all of us haven't seen Loras or Buena Vista play, so it's all through Purple and White, and Purple and Gold glasses!

See you guys on Friday (I haven't gotten my tix yet!)

If you want to meet up and say hi, if you're at the game, feel free to do so.  I look like the guy in the picture!  I'm a Point fan, but won't be traveling the 5 1/2+ hours to St. Thomas, so I'll be down in Whitewater this weekend if I can get my tickets! lol

I have Whitewater going pretty far in the tourney.  I think they are good enough, quick enough, rebound enough and can play well enough to go deep into the tourney.

[Greek Tragedy]

I haven't said much about Point with a little of my focus looking towards the Whitewater regional. 

I'm really worried about Point this tourney because I'm not sure what Pete Rortvedt's health is looking like.  Chicago seems to be a pretty good team winning the UAA.  Yet, they have had some questionable losses (not sure how good Loras really is, I'll find out this weekend) along with an overtime win over MSOE (uh?), among others.

Reading stuff regarding Chicago makes me feel a little more confident since they really don't have a dominating post presence and seems like Point can use their depth at scoring to pull out a win on a neutral court on Friday and hopefully take care of the hosts (if they win) on Saturday.  By reading the MIAC boards, it doesn't sound like the Tommie faithful are too confident about their own team.  We'll see what the weekend has in store.

edited: 

[Just Bill]

By reading the MIAC boards, it doesn't sound like the Tommie faithful aren't too confident about their own team. 

Holy double negative Batman!  So, if it doesn't sound like the Tommie faithful aren't too confident, then that must mean they are confident?  Sister Agnes, my fourth grade teacher, would rap your knuckles raw for that kind of sentence structure! 

[Greek Tragedy]

I was never not bad at learnin English. 

[Mr. Downtown]

Old School, you have to take into consideration that Loras beat Chicago on December 8th, when the Maroons began the season 3-4.

Honestly, I would not be surprised to see this game go into double overtime. That's how great of a game I think it will be.

[chmarx]

Sounds like a good matchup.

[wcbsas]

I've probably missed it ... and I know playoffs are ongoing for UWSP and UWW but ... who are the pre-season favorites for next year?

UW-Platt returns their top 10 players.  UW-Superior played a lot of underclassmen.  UW-Oshkosh with Dan Tillema joining their rotation looks to be solid.

UWW and UWSP of course will be solid but the WIAC looks to be extremely solid next year!

[frodotwo]

It's official, No Pete Rortvedt for the playoffs. As the article says, time for others to step up.

[http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/SPJ02/803060585/1678

[John Gleich]

I've probably missed it ... and I know playoffs are ongoing for UWSP and UWW but ... who are the pre-season favorites for next year?

UW-Platt returns their top 10 players.  UW-Superior played a lot of underclassmen.  UW-Oshkosh with Dan Tillema joining their rotation looks to be solid.

UWW and UWSP of course will be solid but the WIAC looks to be extremely solid next year!

I agree.  Does anyone know Rob Perry's status for next year?  It's contingent on an NCAA decision, I know, but if he played more than 1/4 (?) of WW's games, then he wouldn't be eligible for a medical waiver (<---I think that's the handy dandy name the NCAA is calling a medical redshirt now).  If he's back, that's huge for Whitewater... they'd only lose Josh King.  Without Perry, they're still really good, though... The core of players who had brought this team forward the second half of the year will still all be around, baring anyone deciding not to play, etc.  Whitewater will have 8 seniors (4 or 5 who have had an impact to my understanding, but I'm don't really follow WW, so I wouldn't know the other minor contributors), and 2 juniors.

Point returns everybody but Hicklin, and hopefully Rortvedt will be healthy all year next year.  The big guys for Point will be one year older, stronger, smarter, meaning that the resurgance we've seen in Scotty Hoelzl should continue as he becomes an upperclassman.  Point will have 5 seniors and 4 juniors.

Platteville graduates just one, who wasn't a contributor this year.  They'll have 5 seniors and 8 juniors.  They should be real tough again, and the thing I like so much about Platteville is their balanced inside/outside attack.  I think that this is the real key to success in the NCAA tournament, and I actually think that Platte may have had the best chances at going deep in the tournament due to their balance.  Unfortunately, we won't know for this year... perhaps we will for next year though.

Superior's guys won't be upperclassmen... I think they've got the potential for some upsets, but the year after next (and possibly the year after that) will be when Sup shines, I think.

EC, Stout, RF, I don't see that they will battle for the championship.  They may have a factor, though, possibly knocking off some of the top teams ala EC over Platte this year.  LaX might become a factor... it depends what Coach Koelbl is able to place around Tony Mane to compliment his game and to take advantage of defenses that will focus on him in the future.  Oshkosh is an unknown.  Their lack of depth really showed this year IMO, especially late, as their 5 main guys weren't able to sustain through the end of the year.  They'll lose Jordan Johnson and Ryan Johnsen, but they will still have DSA, Marsh, Miller, and Schrimpf.  We didn't see too much of ther other Oshkosh players this year, so who knows what they've got waiting in the wings...

Should be another great year for the WIAC.  Those who have said that the WIAC has been down will need to rethink that position, as this will be a veteran-laden league again next year.

[buf]

The only player EC loses (that played significant minutes) is PG Zac Ryan.

[John Gleich]

What about Beyer?  He's listed as a Senior.

[John Gleich]

WIAC ALL CONFERENCE RELEASED

Goodwin won POY, Miller COY

All conf team:

Goodwin
Skemp
Beyer
Hicklin
Rortvedt
Hanson
Beamish
Jake Smith
Marsh
McKay

HM
Matt Miller
Vernon
Seckar-Anderson
Mane
Jordan Johnson
Webb
Hill
Fehrenbach
Manor

Hicklin won the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete award, and there's also a sportsmanship team for the first time.

[OshDude]

WIAC ALL CONFERENCE RELEASED

Goodwin won POY, Miller COY

All conf team:

Goodwin
Skemp
Beyer
Hicklin
Rortvedt
Hanson
Beamish
Jake Smith
Marsh
McKay

HM
Matt Miller
Vernon
Seckar-Anderson
Mane
Jordan Johnson
Webb
Hill
Fehrenbach
Manor

Hicklin won the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete award, and there's also a sportsmanship team for the first time.

I am surprised to see so many Pointers on the first team. Glad the voters looked beyond just numbers. Like always, there are a few guys I thought were more deserving as first-teamers. But I like the idea of rewarding the better teams.