MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[badgerwarhawk]

I'll answer the question before it's asked...

I won't make the big Stevens Point at Whitewater showdown next weekend.  I'm going to the Bennett court dedication tomorrow and then coming back up to Point in a fortnight to see the season-ending showdown with Platteville.

Considering the Whitewater game is on Valentine's Day of all Saturdays, that puts me out of the running of making it down there.  This is the first Valentine's Day since I've been married, so Carrie thinks there's "extra meaning" to that...I guess I'm still trying to understand this marriage thing! lol :-)  

Well, at least I'm not bowling or playing online Jeopardy! Or maybe for Valentine's Day I WILL be doing that...not sure.  What I am sure is that I won't be there    I guess I can't complain, I get two out of three weekends of basketball...

Pllleeeaassee, give me a break.  It's every bit a lousy excuse as bowling or taking online Jeopardy to get a shot at TV.  And Valentine's Day is "special" because it's the first since your marriage.  Are you kidding me?  Wow, you get out a whole three weekends for basketball. We'd hardly even know you were married with that much freedom.   

Seriously we shall miss your presence. 

The WARHAWKS scored first and never trailed in the game.  Stout tied the game once, 16-16, with 11 minutes remaining in the first half before a layup by Kori Vernon put the WARHAWKS ahead but Stout kept to gap to 2-8 points before the half ended with WHITEWATER ahead 30-25.  The WARHAWKS first built the lead to double figures at the 17 minute mark though Stout kept hanging around and the lead varied between 7-12 points until 2:39 when a three pointer from Kevin Koski put the WARHAWKS up by 12 points and that's how it finished 66-54.

Four WARHAWKS, led by Vernon's 16 points, scored in double figures.  Myles McKay finished with 14 points, Dustin Mitchell 12 points and Matt Goodwin 10 points.  Goodwin and Chris Vines each grabbed 6 rebounds to lead WHITEWATER who were out rebounded 39-29 by the Blue Devil.  Vernon led the team with 4 assists.

Eric Hostetter led Stout with 13 points.  Mahion thomas scored 12, Enerson-Matthews 11 points and Drew Kramer added 10 points.  Thomas pulled down 8 rebounds and Hostetter added 7. 

It was a funny game.  WHITEWATER got ahead and maintained a lead but Stout always kept hanging around.  You kept waiting and expecting that they'd make a run but never really did.  Eddie was unhappy with the officiating.  WHITEWATER was 17-24 from the free throw line, Stout 7-11. 

Long time WIAC official Norm Gabrovic officiated his last game in Kachael gym as he will be retiring when the season concludes.   

[Greek Tragedy]

Complements of Titan Q over in the CCIW page.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/illinois/2009/02/seeding-the-ihsa-state-tournam.html


It has been noted by many experts and media members that perhaps this has been the year of the "stock-raiser" or low Division I/small college "sleeper." We hinted at that with our articles on the holiday tournaments, and it seems like almost every game that we cover, we come away with another player that we feel has earned either small college scholarship offers or at least low DI interest. We believe that Illinois offers one of the most competitive and deepest crop of small college prospects every season, and it is with no wonder that we find the Great Lakes Valley Conference and CCIW among the top conferences in Division II and III. We see Augustana, North Central, Millikin, Carthage, and Illinois Wesleyan everywhere. Nobody works harder at any level than Lewis University's Scott Trost and Harley Piercy. There are too many other small schools to possibly list here, but NAIA power Robert Morris is everywhere, and nobody has picked up the intensity of their recruiting efforts more than local NAIA St. Francis University in Joliet and Division 3 Lake Forest College with the dynamic duo of head coach Chris Conger and assistant coach Ken Davis, who is a class guy with an unbelievable grasp of recruiting reality. Nobody has seen more of an individual recruit's games this season than University of Chicago head coach Mike Mc Grath has with 6'7 recruit Luke Scarlata from Morton. The effort very well could pay off for the Maroons. There is not a bigger class act in all of basketball than Mc Grath. Division 2 Hillsdale College has a great staff with Illinois connections, and Coach John Tharp is on the verge of turning them into a power. Finally, schools in Wisconsin like Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Lawrence University have done a great job recruiting Illinois. There may not be a better program in D3 than Stevens Point, and Joel De Pagter is one of the top up-and-coming coaches in small college basketball at Lawrence. ... Finally, some players that have caught the eye of many of the schools mentioned above, as well as some low DI schools, include (in no particular order) 6'7 Brandon Kunz and 5'10 Connor Mooney at Lake Zurich, 6'2 Kedrick Williams at Normal Community, 6'6 Kevin Reed at Prospect, Scarlata, 6'5 Raul Guzman, and 6'2 Joe Belcaster at Morton, 6'4 Tony Rizzo at Conant, 6'5 Derek Raridon at Neuqua Valley, 5'10 Marc Little at Bartlett, and 6'4 Andrew Galow at Oswego. This list is hardly all-inclusive!

[cubs]

I would have to believe that the low attendance feeds the lack of better players looking to enroll at UWO. They really need to have coaching change there also. At one time the d3 polls had Oshkosh as a pre-season # 1 pick. That was one of the most unrealistic selections I have ever seen.

So which is it?  Your argument that the low attendance numbers keep the "better players" from enrolling, or the last couple TVD bashers that with the players that they have, they should be competing for a WIAC title on a regular basis. 

Shouldn't it be one or the other?  You can't really have it both ways can you?

BTW-If UWO needs a new coach, using badgerwarhawk's numbers, just about everyone in the WIAC should be looking for a new coach then......

[buckets]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/statecolleges/39293682.html

Right in the middle of the TVD debates right here on this board, the JS gives us insight into the inner-workings of the Titan squad. TVD is molding and shaping troubled youths, not working on defensive slides!

My favorite part of the article is when TVD says, "I think he is pretty proud that he's not in jail. I tell him that: 'I don't know how you're not in prison somewhere. You've got to be really proud of yourself.' ARE YOU KIDDING ME, TED? DID YOU JUST SAY THAT TO THE BIGGEST NEWSPAPER IN THE STATE?

[palum]

We have got 2 good races going on this year SP, P-ville & WW for the top and RF Sup & LaX for 6th place and the last spot in the WIAC Tourney.  I'm assuming a tie breaker is going to be used at some point does anyone know WIAC's tiebreaker criteria?  Will SP, P-ville & WW make the NCAA if they all make the semifinals of the WIAC tourney? I see they are SP is #1, P-ville is #3 and WW is #5 in the first NCAA poll it would be a shame if one had to stay home.  Not sure of NCAA rules on D-III travel etc but if things stayed as they are a Puget Sound-Whitworth game could avoid a WI, MN or IA team from a plane ride in the 1st round and 3 WIAC teams could get in but one needs a PHD in Bracketology to figure out NCAA D-3 Tourney.

[mab]

buckets,

You should have read past the first few sentences.  It is a good story about D. J Marsh's difficult upbringing, and the help he has gotten from Ted Van Dellen and Ryan Kroeger, among others.  It was nice to read.  Thanks for the link.

[badgerwarhawk]

We have got 2 good races going on this year SP, P-ville & WW for the top and RF Sup & LaX for 6th place and the last spot in the WIAC Tourney.  I'm assuming a tie breaker is going to be used at some point does anyone know WIAC's tiebreaker criteria?  Will SP, P-ville & WW make the NCAA if they all make the semifinals of the WIAC tourney? I see they are SP is #1, P-ville is #3 and WW is #5 in the first NCAA poll it would be a shame if one had to stay home.  Not sure of NCAA rules on D-III travel etc but if things stayed as they are a Puget Sound-Whitworth game could avoid a WI, MN or IA team from a plane ride in the 1st round and 3 WIAC teams could get in but one needs a PHD in Bracketology to figure out NCAA D-3 Tourney.

From the WIAC website.....

Teams will be seeded 1 through 6 based on the final regular season conference standings.  If necessary, the following tie-breaker criteria will be applied to determine entry into the tournament or to seed teams with identical records:

1. Head-to-head competition between tied teams.

2. Cumulative Won/Loss record vs. teams placed higher in the conference standings.

3. Record vs. teams in conference standings in descending order (i.e., #1 seed, #2 seed).

4. Team with the best road record in conference games.

5. Coin toss conducted by the WIAC commissioner.

[Note:  If two teams remain tied after a third or other teams are eliminated, the tiebreaker reverts to criteria No. 1.  For example, if four teams are tied with 4-2, 3-3, 3-3, 2-4 head -to-head records, the 4-2 receives highest seed and the 2-4 team the lowest seed in the grouping.  Since two teams remain tied at 3-3, we revert back to criteria #1 (head-to-head) between those two teams and then (if necessary) utilize the remaining criteria in order.]


If the tournament were held today:

Bye - #1 Stevens Point
Bye - #2 Platteville

#6 River Falls at #3 WHITEWATER
#5 Oshkosh at #4 Eau Claire

Round 2:  Lowest remaining seed faces Stevens Point (H)
Round 2:  Highest remaining seed faces Platteville (H)

Note: Superior and LaCrosse have played one more game than River Falls

[frodotwo]

Nice article on Marsh.

It's tough being merely a good coach like TVD. Not everyone can be a Ken Anderson/Dick Bennett/Dave Vander Meulen/Bo Ryan or Jack Bennett. There have been 17 coaches in WIAC history with over 15 years as a head coach at the same team, TVD is 4th in winning pct, must be doing something right.

[Mr. Downtown]

I also liked the article about Marsh.

I will admit to this about TVD, he has had a hard time finding all of the pieces to the puzzle, and make a complete team in the past couple of years. To me, I always feel like the Head Coach is the face of the program and should find more then three players to carry a team/program. That's my biggest complaint, and in turn, has been Oshkosh's biggest downfall in the last five years.

But he is always willing to take a chance on players. Of course MJS did a great job telling Marsh's story, but unless you are from the Jefferson County area, not many knew about Kerry Gibson's story. Here is a 7-foot center who has a chance to go out and earn a scholarship playing basketball somewhere in the country, and then makes a mistake by getting caught for underage drinking. Jefferson hired coach Kyle Koski (father of Kevin, who plays for UW-Whitewater) who installed a zero-tolerance policy. If anyone got caught violating the WIAA rules, they would be kicked off the team.

Gibson was by far and away the face of that program and school. It seemed like he didn't have any options and everyone started to stay away from him. Except Van Dellan, and he took a chance. All he got in return was one of the most dominating defensive players, perhaps in this decade, for the program and shot blocker that the WIAC might not see for quite some time. Of course we all know that Gibson would make a mistake about how one country's beer isn't all that great, and get ridiculed for it. But when he was in Oshkosh, you never heard one bad thing about him.

TVD is a good coach, its just that this story line of Oshkosh having the talent to succeed and not doing so is getting quite old. By succeed, I mean by winning the WIAC, or the conference tourney. This program should have been in the NCAA tourney a couple of times in the past five years, but didn't get the job done.

Here's hoping that Oshkosh can find a way to the second round in the tourney. Who knows, maybe they will shock someone if they get caught looking ahead.

[John Gleich]

Round 2:  Lowest remaining seed faces Stevens Point (H)
Round 2:  Highest remaining seed faces Platteville (H)

With all the change in the WIAC tourney, I think this piece has gotten overlooked ... if by no one else than particularly by me.  This means if 6 upsets 3 (like has happened in of the 10 tournaments thusfar), #6 will play at the #1 seed, not the #2 seed, if #4 beats #5.  #4 would then go to #2 instead of #1. 

I think that makes preparing for opponents a little bit different... instead of just preparing for one of the two teams you KNOW you'll play (for ex, #1 would play either #4 or #5), they could play one of three different teams (#6, #5, or #4).  It isn't a huge difference... but it is a difference.

Of course, another difference is that the top two seeds won't have to prepare for that Tuesday game... and thus they'll have an extra two days to prepare for that second round.

[Greek Tragedy]

I was wondering if that was the case, about seeding.  I guess it is.  Interesting...

I'm sure TVD is a good coach.  There are only a handful of coaches in the nation that have a successful track record year in and year out.  I mean, look over in the MIAA.  If you aren't Hope's coach or Calvin's coach, who are you?  If you don't coach at Amherst or Williams, who are you?  There are special programs with special coaches.  I don't think TVD has anything to be ashamed of.

It was a great article on Marsh. 

[palum]

Thanks BW for explaining the WIAC tourney.  Hoperfully I will make it back from work in Minnesota Wed to see the P-ville WW game I know P-ville will have a following we have a alumni event b-4 the game to sample some of Randy's brew I hope Kachel is rockin like it was at P-ville a few weeks ago.

[UWBadgers]

Thanks BW for explaining the WIAC tourney.  Hoperfully I will make it back from work in Minnesota Wed to see the P-ville WW game I know P-ville will have a following we have a alumni event b-4 the game to sample some of Randy's brew I hope Kachel is rockin like it was at P-ville a few weeks ago.

I don't know exectly what you meant by Wednesday, but tournament games are on different nights this year. They are on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday compared to Monday, Wednesday Saturday in years past.

[frodotwo]

Thanks BW for explaining the WIAC tourney.  Hoperfully I will make it back from work in Minnesota Wed to see the P-ville WW game I know P-ville will have a following we have a alumni event b-4 the game to sample some of Randy's brew I hope Kachel is rockin like it was at P-ville a few weeks ago.

I don't know exectly what you meant by Wednesday, but tournament games are on different nights this year. They are on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday compared to Monday, Wednesday Saturday in years past.

I think he meant the 2/11 Wednesday game pitting Platteville at Whitewater. Make or break week for the Warhawks as they face the Pioneers on Wednesday and the Pointers on Saturday both at home. Win both and it could be a 3-way tie for the title if P-ville can win at the Quandt (2-8 in the last ten visits)

[palum]

Thats what I mean't this Wednesday's game at WW.  I hope it's as exciting as the game in P-ville was minus the T's I wonder how much TV coverage it will get in Madtown given the Badgers are playing Iowa.