MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[fredfalcon]

uwrf--who's Mike Sullivan? How do I know he knows anything about WIAC basketball? Explain yourself. I agree that Jake Voeltz is under rated.

You made Ruh sound like a poor player. He's one of the best in the WIAC based on his first half performance Wednesday nite, and he's only a sophomore.

RF has not been 3-0 since before  '87, or ever? How do you know that? There are no records available to check that online. I remember watching the Falcons during 1946-50, four straight championship years, when RF was 3-0 more than once. My point:  reign in your exuberance. RF is better than they have been since Jeff B. became coach, but they could lose to Oshkosh. They shouldn't, but this is the WIAC.

[bballBG]

Went to the Point vs. UWW game last night.  A few observations:


- First half was all Whitewater.  I tried to keep track and Point missed at least 7 bunnies/layups.  It looked like a continuation of the UWRF game.  Davis is a good strong body.  He isn't that quick though.  Antone Byrd is extremely quick and athletic.  Great with the ball in the open court.  He loves the spin move.  He probably effectively used the spin move on drives 5 or so times. 

- Second half Point came out on fire.  They honestly couldn't miss and played strong defense.  Tyler Tillema is a very good player, he can drive and shoot the three.  Jerel, and D. Tillema both also had strong halfs.  I was very surprised however that L. Hurd was on the bench most of the half and had as poor of a game as I have seen in his 4 years.  Giordana is too small.  All they can really count on him for is to shoot the 3.  He seemed like a liability on defense also.  Whitewater's defense was nonexistent in the second half and free throws kept the game somewhat close.

[John Gleich]

Went to the Point vs. UWW game last night.  A few observations:


- First half was all Whitewater.  I tried to keep track and Point missed at least 7 bunnies/layups.  It looked like a continuation of the UWRF game.  Davis is a good strong body.  He isn't that quick though.  Antone Byrd is extremely quick and athletic.  Great with the ball in the open court.  He loves the spin move.  He probably effectively used the spin move on drives 5 or so times. 

- Second half Point came out on fire.  They honestly couldn't miss and played strong defense.  Tyler Tillema is a very good player, he can drive and shoot the three.  Jerel, and D. Tillema both also had strong halfs.  I was very surprised however that L. Hurd was on the bench most of the half and had as poor of a game as I have seen in his 4 years.  Giordana is too small.  All they can really count on him for is to shoot the 3.  He seemed like a liability on defense also.  Whitewater's defense was nonexistent in the second half and free throws kept the game somewhat close.

That was my impression from listening, too (in terms of the tale of two halves).  One thing that seemed to make a difference for Point was the inside play of Hoelzel and Krull.  I know Scott only had 2 at the half and ended with 12.  I also know that Point was getting out rebounded 19-10 in the first half.  The game ended even at 31, so Point clearly picked up the rebounding.

Edmunds ended up with 20 and 10, and I know that he had a bunch of rebounds (5 in the first 8 minutes per the live stats), though that was in the all-Warhawks part of the game.  I've gotta think that the better play by Krull and Hoelzel helped to temper that... which was good to see after Voeltz pretty much cleaned up what little Koonkaew left for him.

Point started the game 1/7 and finished the first half 11/27.  That's 50% for the rest of the half and allowed Point to pull a little closer... they were already down double digits at that point.  It wasn't all roses though even after they started hitting a few shots as Whitewater got whatever they wanted.  But the second half was one of those WOW! shooting halves... 18/28 (64%) but if Point made the layups that they missed in the first half (5 per the box score) then they would have been 16/27 (59%) and leading at the half instead of trailing.  That isn't to say that the layups were uncontested or that they were contested... but a layups should be made, plain and simple.

Point has the bye this Saturday so, at the very least, they'll be a game back of RF when their conference schedule resumes in January.  At worst, they'll be 1.5 games back.  It's definitely a hole to dig themselves out of... but by that time, I think this team will be more cohesive and they'll have figured out how to play together even better.


Anybody have any ideas what's going on in Platteville?  They've lost 4 straight, 3 on buzzer beaters (I think) with one of those in OT, and then losing at Oshkosh in OT as well...

[Greek Tragedy]

Hello D3 boards Ive been reading your posts for years and decided to start my own account cause I feel the stout basketball talk is down this year.

I went to last nights game and It just looked like the classic example of one team hitting there shots and the other just being ice cold.  Stouts matchup zone that they play tends to give up alot of outside shots and the Eagles were on hitting 19 3s a new conference play record.  Stout on the other hand couldnt buy a bucket.  I didnt think ethier team played defense very well.  In the 1st half I saw Hostetter with I bet 5 or 6 3point shots without a man within 3 feet of him.  Its not often where I see him that cold from the outside.  I would like to see Stout get the ball down low more often seeing as how I think they have one of the most athletic big men in the WIAC.  At the same time I feel Thomas needs to do a better job fighting for post postion he settles for 10 foot turn around jumpers to often.
Then there is Mane what can I say the kid can just score the basketball.  I like to consider him the Allen Iverson of the WIAC.  he will get you 20 or 25 on 8 of 23 shooting or in stouts case he will drop 37 on you going 11 of 24  and perfect from the free throw line. The most pure scorer Ive seen in awhile.
Look forward to getting in on all all the WIAC talk. PS If you need another fantasy player Id love to do it.

Welcome to the board, rookie!  Post a remark on the fantasy page so I remember you want to play, otherwise, it may get lost on this board and I'll forget.  Thanks.  Hope to hear a lot from you and the Stout-side of things.

[bgbacker]

I just wanted to offer belated kudos to UW-RF. They took EC completely out of their offense. Fofana had hit 24 of his last 27 shots until this game. TG tried to find a combination that would work, but there wasn't one, at least on this night. It's even more remarkable that the Falcons did it with only a limited contribution from Koonkaew ...and without Guerin.

Fredfalcon ... you've probably seen 2 or 3 more WIAC games than I have, and I agree that RF fans should reign in their enthusiasm (especially the drunken ones that tried to start a fight with the Blugolds after the game). But this Falcon team is certainly playing well right now.

[UWRF]

OK Fred...

First off, I mentioned ONE PLAY about Rau... nothing more than that. The guy is a player, no disrespect.  If you knew what play I was talking about you would have seen the awkwardness of him running the floor.  For most of the night they struggled in transition, on both ends of the floor.

Second, I know that because Rick Bowen told me they never started 3-0 once while he was there.... come on man, have some faith in me!!  I said "if ever" meaning I didnt know past 87. I didn't say "or ever."

Third, why does everyone take what I say so personally? I'm just one man with my own opinions.

Fourth, I am a college student getting nearly nothing in return for all the hours I have invested into this program over the last five years!! Excuse me if I am "exuberant" for the guys I have developed friendships with.

Fifth, Mike Sullivan is the radio voice of the EC Blugolds.  I thought most people in the WIAC knew of Mike, my bad for the assumption.

Sixth, you made my point for me on the Oshkosh game. They shouldn't lose, but it being the WIAC they might.  I am sorry I didnt use the correct termonology. "Trap game" obviously wasnt the right way to describe that. 

[bgbacker]

UWRF - I appreciate your perspective ... and for the record, I agree with you and Senor Falcon ... Ruh is a very good player, but did look tentative at times Wednesday night.

Also, the 3-0 start is tough to research. After some 2 a.m. digging, I do know that the only times since 1963 that they could have done it are the following years:  1975-76 and 1976-77 (7-9 both years); 1982-83 (they were 10-6); and 1985-86,  '86-'87 or '87-'88.

[UWRF]

Well if memory serves me right (from what Bowen has told me over the years) River Falls had some tough seasons before he took over in 1987. So i have a hard time believing it would have been in the late 80s. Again, could be wrong, just trying to go off of incomplete memories.

[stoutguy]

OK Fred...

First off, I mentioned ONE PLAY about Rau... nothing more than that. The guy is a player, no disrespect.  If you knew what play I was talking about you would have seen the awkwardness of him running the floor.  For most of the night they struggled in transition, on both ends of the floor.

Second, I know that because Rick Bowen told me they never started 3-0 once while he was there.... come on man, have some faith in me!!  I said "if ever" meaning I didnt know past 87. I didn't say "or ever."

Third, why does everyone take what I say so personally? I'm just one man with my own opinions.

Fourth, I am a college student getting nearly nothing in return for all the hours I have invested into this program over the last five years!! Excuse me if I am "exuberant" for the guys I have developed friendships with.

Fifth, Mike Sullivan is the radio voice of the EC Blugolds.  I thought most people in the WIAC knew of Mike, my bad for the assumption.

Sixth, you made my point for me on the Oshkosh game. They shouldn't lose, but it being the WIAC they might.  I am sorry I didnt use the correct termonology. "Trap game" obviously wasnt the right way to describe that. 

I think you missed the clever fredfalcon sarcasm on that 5th point.  Fred knows that all radio guys are legends and people hang on their every word. 

And please don't reign in your enthusiasm.  We need more guys like you.

[stcroix]

UWRF you have officially be fredfalcon-ized!

[fredfalcon]

Okay--now I feel guilty! I guess what you have here is the cynicism of old age vs the exuberance of youth. But I too "go nuts" when the Falcons are winning!

And you're right, stoutguy. I hang on every word of radio gurus like you. When RF plays Stout, an afternoon game, maybe you will be free to drink a beer (if I buy)?

[John Gleich]

Superior beat Northwestern last night, 81-65.

After Saturday's conference games, the teams combine to play 32 non conference games between the 11th of Dec and Jan 3rd.  There are just 3 games remaining, two for Finlandia vs. Eau Claire and Oshkosh vs. Silver Lake.

The conference is currently at 29-16 overall against non-con foes (64%) and 21-9 against in-region non-con teams (70%).  That's quite a bit down from last year:

Overall: 63-17  (78.75%)
Vs. In-region:  52-11  (82.5%)

That means the WIAC would collectively need to go 34-1 in their remaining non-con schedule to match the overall record from last year.

NOT

GONNA

HAPPEN


So what are the implications of this?  Well, when teams are trying to work their way into an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, their OWP will not be as high and their OOWP won't be either.

Ultimately though, the overall winning percentage doesn't count for anything other than bragging rights.  It's the in-region winning percentage that really matters (and, by inference, the in-region OWP and OOWP)

Thre are 33 remaining in-region games left, so the WIAC would have to be 32-2 against in-region opponents to match last year's number.  Yikes!

[bgbacker]

Stout guy - I don't know if it was clever Fredfalcon sarcasm or just the fact that he only knows the radio gurus who buy him a beer!

[badgerwarhawk]

Not to take anything away from any team in the conference but I think that as a whole the conference is not as strong as it has been in the past. 

That has opened the door for some of the teams, like River Falls, Stout and Superior, to finish higher than they have in the recent past.  River Falls most recent championship year aside. 

[Greek Tragedy]

The perception that the WIAC is down could be validated by PS's post on winning % in nonconference games.  I think we are taking it a little too far because the usual suspects aren't at the top...Whitewater, Platteville etc.  I also think because Point lost to River Falls, not usually a top tier WIAC program in recent memory, that has made the Pointers look "worse" than had they lost to Whitewater or Platteville in year's past. 

I think the WIAC will be fine at the end of the day, but it may be replaced by a team like River Falls or Superior or maybe even La Crosse or Eau Claire.  Because the league may not be dominated this year by Whitewater and Point, doesn't mean it's weaker.

As for UWRF.  I think he has a right to get excited about River Falls' early season success, especially beating the #1 team in the nation and defending champs.  He admited that saying Oshkokosh was a "trap game" was the wrong terminology, so all is forgiven! lol

If the weather cooperates, I plan on heading to Stevens Point tomorrow and possibly stopping by the Oshkosh vs. River Falls game.  I've never seen a "trap game" live before!