MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

Thanks. That's what I was initially thinking.

[Pat Coleman]

And they'll still be in the WIAC for hockey, IIRC.

[badgerwarhawk]

Unbelievable...............Whitewater survives Eau Claire upset bid due to a horrible decision with 3 second left in the game and EC up by one. After Jack Martinek scores a layup, the Blugolds allow the ball to be rolled into the front court where Quardell Young picks it up and slashes to the basket for a layup.
Unbelievable that you would not pressure the ball at the 3/4 court area and make WW dribble or pass into the front court. But to let them roll the ball 55 feet is UNBELIEVABLE.   

I'd have to agree that in hindsight this was a bad decision.  Though it's worth mentioning that he went the length of the court in less than 4 seconds to score the winning basket in the national championship game last season.  However I think if I were coaching I would have defended the inbounds and forced him to pick up the ball well before the half court line so I can understand where you're coming from.  Road wins aren't easy so I'm just glad we were able to escape with the W.   

[John Gleich]

Unbelievable...............Whitewater survives Eau Claire upset bid due to a horrible decision with 3 second left in the game and EC up by one. After Jack Martinek scores a layup, the Blugolds allow the ball to be rolled into the front court where Quardell Young picks it up and slashes to the basket for a layup.
Unbelievable that you would not pressure the ball at the 3/4 court area and make WW dribble or pass into the front court. But to let them roll the ball 55 feet is UNBELIEVABLE.   

I'd have to agree that in hindsight this was a bad decision.  Though it's worth mentioning that he went the length of the court in less than 4 seconds to score the winning basket in the national championship game last season.  However I think if I were coaching I would have defended the inbounds and forced him to pick up the ball well before the half court line so I can understand where you're coming from.  Road wins aren't easy so I'm just glad we were able to escape with the W.   

He did the same darn thing against Point to tie the game in WW.... Actually got fouled and could have completed the upset in regulation as opposed to OT.

That last minute and a half won't be on any ft shooting demonstration videos...

[frodotwo]

Unbelievable...............Whitewater survives Eau Claire upset bid due to a horrible decision with 3 second left in the game and EC up by one. After Jack Martinek scores a layup, the Blugolds allow the ball to be rolled into the front court where Quardell Young picks it up and slashes to the basket for a layup.
Unbelievable that you would not pressure the ball at the 3/4 court area and make WW dribble or pass into the front court. But to let them roll the ball 55 feet is UNBELIEVABLE.   

I'd have to agree that in hindsight this was a bad decision.  Though it's worth mentioning that he went the length of the court in less than 4 seconds to score the winning basket in the national championship game last season.  However I think if I were coaching I would have defended the inbounds and forced him to pick up the ball well before the half court line so I can understand where you're coming from.  Road wins aren't easy so I'm just glad we were able to escape with the W.   

I remember watching that play and thought it was pretty amazing that he got that far that fast. I seem to recall that he did nearly the same in WW against Point last year at the end of the first half. I was stunned that Point had a foul to give at that point and didn't use it, resulting in a QY drive to the hoop for two.

I see alot of games where teams are allowed to roll the ball up the floor and save several seconds. Why teams don't apply at least token pressure is beyond me. I can understand not wanting to get out of your defensive set, but even a feint at pressure usually causes players to pick up the ball.

[Hoops_n_Golf]

I think this is a pretty obvious statement, but Saturday's games may just prove where everyone stands in that 3-8 range. At least to this point, Whitewater and Point are the darlings of the league, but then the mess of Platteville, River, Oshkosh, LaCrosse, and Superior is so tough to muddle through. Stout clearly has the least depth and talent, but I still am banking for them to pick up a couple of wins - starting with tomorrow's games.

[Greek Tragedy]

As Hoops_n_golf said, some important games tonight.

Whitewater 6-0
They are 6-0, barely, as the Warhawks escaped The Land of Zorn by just one, thanks to a last second layup by Young. Whitewater has been tested twice in the conference now, the 1st by winning in River Falls 67-63. The Warhawks have studs that can take over a game or, in the last one, win a game in Young and Evans. Great support comes in Egan, Odegaard,  who hit eight 3s recently,  and Moananu. Their bench is short, but Bryson provides good minutes and Patten  can put up some good numbers in limited minutes.

Stevens Point 6-0
The Dawgs have benefited from a favorable schedule by playing 4 of 6 in the friendly confines. All their conference wins have been by double-figures,  but they get their first big road test today at River Falls.  As mentioned above, Whitewater had their problems there. Like the Warhawks,  Point has a solid starting five. Any one of them could lead the team in scoring. And just like the aforementioned Warhawks,  Point's bench is also short, if not shorter. Sean McGann is really the only player to come off the bench and produce.  Gjertson is the only other player of note to log double-digit minutes.

River Falls 4-2
The Falcons started off great with a 3-0 record, 2 of those wins coming on the road. I only question them after their brain fart at Oshkosh, just not sure how much energy they used in their loss to Whitewater.  Some on this board didn't consider that Oshkosh loss an upset, but I beg to differ. If you want to contend, you have to win those games. To the Falcons credit, they did bounce back with a very nice win at Platteville. They host Point tonight, so a good result (even a close loss) may convince me they are a pretty good team. Though Erickson and Christensen are the stars on this team, the Falcons go 10 deep on a consistent basis, with nine of them averaging double-digit minutes.

Platteville 4-3
I'm disappointed in the Pioneers ao far. At just 4-3, they have lost to Point and Whitewater on the road. But, they were absolutely blown out in those losses. Their non-conference home loss to Carthage was really bad and they have to hold serve at home against conference opponents and they didn't do that against River Falls. I really thought with the likes of Boston Johnson,  Stocki and Manning,  the Pioneers would take the next step, but it hasn't happened. I mean, are Point and Whitewater that much better?  They still have a chance to salvage the season as they still yet to host Whitewater,  Stevens Point and La Crosse. 

Oshkosh 3-3
The Titans have turned some heads so far this year. They had a close loss at Platteville and have won games at Superior and Stout along with a big win at home vs River Falls. Sure, they have losses at Whitewater and at home to Point,  but who doesn't? I'm not sure how they are getting it done because outside of Alex Olson, there seems to be a handful of average players.  Mueller and Bolger are the others that seem to put up some numbers while Jansen and Schebel (off the bench) have helped out too. I have a feeling the Titans are going to pull a few more upsets this year,  even if some posters wouldn't call them that.

La Crosse 2-4
After losing potential starters Skogman and Collom in the off-season,  the Eagles weren't sure what to expect. But, Skylar Cameron and Cale Zuiker have provided some offense to keep La Crosse in some games. The conference has not been kind to the Eagles as consistency has been a problem for them. One night the Big Two can go off and then the next game one of the two will disappear.  The emergence of Jared Staege and, to a lesser extent,  Trent Schmidt,  has taken some of the scoring burden off of Cameron and Zuiker.  But like those two, consistency is a problem. The Eagles may have problems scoring all year.

Eau Claire 2-4
Despite losing Adam Hjelter for the year, the Blugolds have won two of their last three conference games. The two wins were on the road and the loss was a 1-point heart breaker to Whitewater.  Maybe they arebover the initial shock of losing Hjelter,  but this team is playing better of late. Tyson Kalien has had no problems adjusting to WIAC life as he has lead the Blugolds on most nights. Lewis Mau isn't scoring as much as I would like him to (yeah, he's on my fantasy team), but he is contributing in other ways. Jack Martinek has also come on strong in the last few games. Look for the revitalized Blugolds to keep moving up.

Superior 1-6
I think the Yellowjackets were hoping to have a better showing in their last year of WIAC play. They are having problems scoring and haven't been able to stop anyone from scoring on them. I find the former a little surprising considering they have more than capable players like Lindblom, Schradle,  Ketz and Brooks. Things aren't going to get any easier as they play 5 of their next 7 on the road. 

Stout 0-6
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the Blue Devils lose both Kujak brothers to season ending injuries. Despite being winless, 2 of their last 3 losses have been by single-digits, including an overtime loss to Oshkosh.  They welcome the Yellowjackets today, so there is hope that they can post their first win. Ragland will again be asked to do the heavy lofting while Ahsenmacher and Patterson need to produce as well. Stout also have to learn how to play defense.

[AppletonRocks]

Titans outshoot the Bluegolds 78-66 in Eau Claire.  Hottttttttt in the first half from 3.

[fredfalcon]

In a well played, well officiated game, SP beat RF 58-51. RF led 30-27 at the half, and maintained a small lead until approximately half way thru the second half. Point's senior leadership and discipline was apparent throughout the game, especially in  the last three minutes when they capitalized on RF's mistakes to build a 7-8 point lead.

Senior Jordan Lutz had 18 first half, 24 total, the only player in double figures for Point. Sophomore Erickson and freshman Rockett had 12, 10 respectively.

[fredfalcon]

To highlight the good officiating by Bauschelt, Nelson, Nickleby, Coach Semling had no visible complaints. One RF  player said he thought it was very well officiated. Only 27 fouls were called in a fiercely competitive game, several in the last 3 minutes.

[Greek Tragedy]

3 close games and a blowout as all four home teams play gracious hosts and let the visitors leave with a win.

Stevens Point wins 58-51 over River Falls as they overcome a 30-27 halftime deficit. It was 44-43 Point at the 7:45 mark and no one scored until Lutz's 3-pointer with 4:15 to go. Jordan Lutz was the man for the Pointers as he hit 6 3s on his way to 24 points. Joe Ritchay had 12 points and 6 rebounds, while Pelkofer chipped in with 8 pts,  8 rebs and 3 dimes. Erickson led River Falls with 12 and Eli Rockett added 10 off the bench. 9 players played double-digit minutes for the Falcons. In contrast,  all 5 starters for Point played 28 or more minutes with just two coming off the bench.

Quardell Young staked his claim, again, for conference player of the year honors with another great performance.  He shot 12-12 from the floor for 28 points to lead the Warhawks to a 71-64 come from behind victory over La Crosse.  Down 10-4 with 6 minutes gone, La Crosse went on a nice run to build a 9 - point cushion with 3:15 to go in the half. La Crosse took a 34-30 lead into halftime.  The 2nd half belonged to Young (18 points) and Evans (17). The Eagles built the lead to 7 right after the break,  but the Warhawks took the lead for good at 43-41 and got it up to 11 at 57-46 with 7:45 to play. The Eagles battled back and cut it to 1 with 2:37 to go, but Whitewater weathered the storm to come away with the victory. Evans finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.  La Crosse was led by Cameron's 19. Ryan Kruser came off the bench with 11 while Staege and Zuiker each had 10 points.

Stout fought to the bitter end but fell at home to Superior, 72-65. Both teams were up by as many 5 points in the first half that included 7 ties. Superior went into the locker room up 34-32. There were 5 more ties after the break with the last coming at 55 apiece with 6:23 to go. After Stout took a brief lead, Superior took over for good at 61-60. Stout wouldn't get any closer than 3 the rest of the way.  Zach Schradle had a monster game with 23 and 15 rebounds. Lindblom,  Burch and Ketz also chipped in with double-figures with 13, 11 and 10. For Stout,  Jalen Patterson had a career high with 17 points (of course he would, after I just traded him) and D'Marcco Patrick had 11. Ragland had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Oshkosh had a surprisingly easy time (at least to me) in Eau Claire building a 12-point advantage at halftime and winning by the same margin. The visitors were down 7-4 and then put the game away with a 22-5 run to make it 26-12. The lead was up to 19 at 40-21 before they went into the break up 12. Oshkosh cruised from there with the Blugolds getting no closer than 9. The bench was fantastic for the Titans as Sean Dwyer went for 19, including 5 3s.  Max Schebel added 16 off the bench while Alex Olson led the winners with 20 pts,  5 rebs,  4 assists and 2 steals. Jack Martinek continued to fill the scoring void left by Hjelter with 16 points off the bench. Kohner had 12, Mau added 11 and 6 rebounds and Kalien was held to just 10.

[badgerwarhawk]

WARHAWKS: 71
LaCrosse: 64

The Greek summarized the game well so I'll just add some stats.

Quardell Young: 12 of 12 from the floor, 4 of 5 from the free throw line, 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals.
KJ Evans: 7 or 7 from the line, 19 points, 13 rebounds
WARHAWKS: 44-18 points in the paint, 53% to 39% from the floor.

LaCrosse:
Skylar Cameron: 19 points
Ryan Kruser: 11 points
Jared Staege: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Cale Zuiker: 10 points, 7 rebounds
Eagles: 8 to 2 from beyond the arc, 11 steals

[badgerwarhawk]

Some numbers:

Scoring Offense: #1 WW: 80.3  -  #6 SP: 67.4
Field Goal %: #1 SP: .494  -  #2 WW: .488
Three Point %:  #1 WW: .445  -  #3 SP: .386
Rebounds: #1 WW: 37.5  -  #9 SP: 26.8
Offensive Rebounds: #1 WW: 12.33  -  #9 SP: 7.42
Assists: #5 WW: 12.08  -  #6 SP: 11.58
Turnovers: #1 SP: 8.1  -  T3 WW:11.1

Scoring Defense: T1 SP: 59.1  -  #5 WW: 64.7
Field Goal Defense: #2 WW: .425  -  #7 SP: .462
Three Point Defense: #2 WW: .319  -  #9 SP: .385
Rebounding Defense: #1 SP: 28.7  -  #4 WW: 33.4
Steals: #2 SP: 7.42  -  #3 WW: 7.25
Defensive Rebounds: #2 WW: 25.17  -  #9 SP: 19.42

[AppletonRocks]

Titans by 11 vs LaCrosse is my prediction.  65-54. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Stout (0-7) at River Falls (4-3)
I don't see Stout having the fire power to keep up with the Falcons,  especially on the road. River Falls played both Point and Whitewater tough at home, so this could be a cakewalk for the hosts. On the other hand, could they play down to their opponents? Stout finished off a 2 game home stand by losing both by close margins. Is that a dim light at the end of the tunnel? Jalen Patterson scored a career high over the weekend, so could this be a start of things to come to help oit Ahsenmacher and Ragland?  River Falls by double digits.

Eau Claire (2-5) at Platteville (4-3)
After a promising post-break start, which included two road wins and a near-shock result over Whitewater,  the Blugolds stumbled at home vs Oshkosh. Not sure what happened ther. Don't get me wrong, Oshkosh is an improving team, but I thought the hosts would pull that one out. Instead they got smoked. Maybe the Whitewater game just took too much out of them. With Hjelter gone, it's nice to see Martinek producing off the bench to help out Mau and Kalien. It's a logjam at 4-3 with Platteville obviously in the mix. I still think they have the talent and leadership to come out of that grouping despite their home loss to River Falls. The schedule favors them with Point and Whitewater yet to visit while both of those teams won at River Falls. Boston Johnson,  Stocki and Manning shouldn't have too many problems with Eau Claire.

La Crosse  (2-5) at Oshkosh (4-3)
The Eagles have lost 3 of 4 including a home loss to Eau Claire and losses to Point and Whitewater. A trip to Oshkosh beckons with Cameron and Zuiker really needing to produce at the same time. In most games, if either has an off-night, they lose. The production of Trent Schmidt and Jared Staege are also keys, but the former two are the engines that keep the team running, it seems. The Titans have won 4 of 5 with their only loss at home to Point. It could be argued that Oshkosh is the only team outside Whitewater and Point that doesn't have a "bad" loss. They've lost to Whitewater,  Stevens Point and at Platteville.  The schedule is tough with teips to Whitewater,  Stevens Point and River Falls to come. They should win tonight.

Stevens Point (7-0) at Whitewater (7-0)
The Pointers come in with their first close conference win of the year with a win at River Falls. They again showed any one of the starting five can lead the team in scoring with Lutz going for 24. Ryf and Richard had quiet nights but McGann came in with 7 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. Whitewater is 7-0, but cracks could be showing with two more close wins on the road, including a Houdini escape from Eau Claire.  Contrasting teams as Whitewater has two game changers in Young and Evans while the Pointers rely on the whole team. Depth might be an issue as Whitewater has it and Point doesn't.  Quickness and speed might be an issue if Point is forced to foul. I think the keys will be Whitewater's supporting cast producing and Point minimizing the rebound advantage.  Point's efficiency will be a key too because they probably won't get too many second chances.  Point has actually had Whitewater's number lately but the Warhawks should pull this one out.