MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tomt4525]

1st time in WIAC history that 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in the same year.






Chirp, chirp, chirp...

UWSP is a completely different team then the one who played Whitman earlier in the season in Vegas.  I looked at the box score the other day and the rotation was different, O'Heron hadn't started playing like an All-Conference player yet and their defense was still a little bit of a work in progress at that point.  I worry some that Point has always seemed to not play well at Platteville, hopefully the familiarity and a much better crowd than Whitman will help out.

I believe the Pointer Hoops Radio show is tonight, will be interesting to hear what Semling has to say along with any tidbits on recruiting that is mentioned.

Not to mention just the confidence factor as well. When UWSP played Whitman in Vegas that was their 3rd ranked opponent in a row, and they had lost the previous 2 vs Augustana and Wartburg. I doubt many guys truly believed they could actually win that game. I am willing to bet that now most of those guys truly believe they have a solid shot at knocking them off if they play well. 22 turnovers again isn't going to do it, but like TomT said, it is a much different team right now.

Great point and something I didn't even think about.  Coming off a losing streak I'm sure their confidence level wasn't where it needed to be.  Now, the confidence should be as high as it's ever been for this team.  Still need to play sound and limit mistakes, if they can do that...they will have their chances to pull out a win.

[sac]

1st time in WIAC history that 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in the same year.






Chirp, chirp, chirp...

I think we'd all kind of assumed that it had happened before.

[Greek Tragedy]

1st time in WIAC history that 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in the same year.






Chirp, chirp, chirp...

I think we'd all kind of assumed that it had happened before.

I never really gave it a thought, but now that I have, I don't think I would've assumed that. For the last 15+ years, it's really only been Stevens Point and Whitewater. Teams not named them haven't faired well in the NCAAs in general. La Crosse, River Falls, Stout, Oshkosh, have all been knocked out in the 1st weekend. Eau Claire made it to the Finals in 2000 and Oshkosh made the Elite 8 in 2003.

So off the top of my head, I don't remember TWO teams making a deep run in the same tournament, let alone 3. A few years ago Point and Whitewater made the Sweet 16 with a much anticipated rematch in the Elite 8, but Emory ruined those plans on the Pointers' home court.

[BBJones]

I watched the games at Wittenberg online and was highly impressed by Oshkosh.  I also saw the Stevens Point vs. Oshkosh at Stevens Point when Oshkosh did not shoot as well as they did this weekend.  Both teams play aggressive defenses that seem to give them the advantage most nights.   

I guess I assumed that the WIAC would get at least 2 teams through to the Sweet 16--after all, they had opponents from lesser conferences  like the MIAC and the CCIW--it was the unknown of the Ohio conferences that gave me some pause that 3 was possible.

Anything goes from here on out--too bad Point and Platteville aren't in different pods; that horse is already under a heat lamp at Sonic. 

[Just the stats]

1st time in WIAC history that 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in the same year.






Chirp, chirp, chirp...

I think we'd all kind of assumed that it had happened before.

The WIAC teams were almost entirely placed in the same region years ago. Platteville and Whitewater met five straight years in the early rounds. Had they been in opposite brackets, they would have had a good chance of both advancing far.

[Pat Coleman]

1st time in WIAC history that 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in the same year.






Chirp, chirp, chirp...

I think we'd all kind of assumed that it had happened before.

The WIAC teams were almost entirely placed in the same region years ago. Platteville and Whitewater met five straight years in the early rounds. Had they been in opposite brackets, they would have had a good chance of both advancing far.

Before the pools system, there were many years in which all of the teams in a region were placed in the same bracket.

[Greek Tragedy]

There are EIGHT fantasy leagues for the tournament this year (actually nine, since we are currently drafting for the Sweet 16 League). 

This is how highly regarded Stevens Point is: Of all the leagues, NO PLAYERS were taken from Stevens Point. Only the TEAM was taken in the last of four rounds in the TEAM Fantasy League. That's where you select the team, not players, and use all of the stats for the team. These leagues include Early Bird leagues (drafted right after last year's tournament for THIS YEAR's tournament) and Future's Leagues (where we draft at the end of December for this year's tournament). We also have a tournament draft, a Pick 12 league and a One and Done League AFTER the tournament field and match ups are released. No Stevens Point players were drafted even after the field was announced! Ouch!

[Smitty Oom]

There are EIGHT fantasy leagues for the tournament this year (actually nine, since we are currently drafting for the Sweet 16 League). 

This is how highly regarded Stevens Point is: Of all the leagues, NO PLAYERS were taken from Stevens Point. Only the TEAM was taken in the last of four rounds in the TEAM Fantasy League. That's where you select the team, not players, and use all of the stats for the team. These leagues include Early Bird leagues (drafted right after last year's tournament for THIS YEAR's tournament) and Future's Leagues (where we draft at the end of December for this year's tournament). We also have a tournament draft, a Pick 12 league and a One and Done League AFTER the tournament field and match ups are released. No Stevens Point players were drafted even after the field was announced! Ouch!

Definitely would have been good picks, but when no Pointer players average more than 17 fantasy points (didn't look, just went off memory of looking at it previously) and they are in a 50/50 first round game it is hard to pick them!

I have a feeling Coach Semling would appreciate the fact that no players were picked but the TEAM was picked!

[Greek Tragedy]

http://d3hoops.com/notables/2018/03/nabc-all-star-voting?t=1520442412562

UW-Eau Claire star senior and Stevens Point native, George Diekelman, is on the voting roster for this year's All-Star game played prior to the NCAA Final in Salem. I encourage everyone to vote for him. It would be a great experience for him to go out to Salem!

[badgerwarhawk]

Already did a couple of days ago.

[stag44]

I was in Walla Walla last weekend and saw Whitman play both games. While they are extremely explosive on offense and aggressive on defense, I personally think they are a very beatable team. My takeaways from the games:

- Howell is masterful going right and Bridgeland is really good at setting him up with his right hand to get into the key and create. Towards the end of each half, they essentially run him off screen rolls or isos and he is not really looking to pass, particularly if the game is good or if he is matched up against the other teams star player. He practices the crazy floaters and tough shots and wants to take them. Its hard, but if you can force him into jump shots and find a way to double him selectively, it will cause some issues.

- Butler is the heart and soul of the team - he is unselfish, a defensive animal and makes big plays. I would almost take the approach of forcing him to score instead of distribute. When he is defending, he has quick hands and feet, but can sometimes get lazy looking for a steal. He's a ballhawk and has a nose for the ball, so the guards will be dribbling around him need to be weary

- They are a VERY good offensive rebounding team - this is a byproduct of their pressing nature so they dont mind sending 5 guys to the offensive glass to pick up misses. Also because of the pressure they put on you with dribble drive the help side rotations screw you up and people unmatched to box out. They get alot of easy ones because of this

- #5, #10 are dead eye 3pt shooters with the ultimate green light. This is why they are on the court. #0 does not shoot 3s and quite frankly doesnt really shoot at all outside the key for layups. #23 is capable shooter, but loves to drive. Their 5 men (#12, #32, #34) are focused on offensive rebounding and running rim to rim and protecting the rim when the guards get broken down.

- My personal view on how to beat Whitman is to play at your tempo to break the press, but then be aggressive to score in the half court. Ball fakes hurt them as do slip screens. They give up alot of open shots if you are patient, strong with the ball and play with an aggressive mentality to score. The screener is often open agains them. On defense, the key is to know your personnel, all 5 defenders rebound, and make Howell go left / double him opportunistically.

Good luck to both teams - should be a great game! 

[Gregory Sager]

- Butler is the heart and soul of the team - he is unselfish, a defensive animal and makes big plays. I would almost take the approach of forcing him to score instead of distribute.

Austin Butler is also a horrifically bad free-throw shooter (46-106, .434), which plays into the whole "force him to score rather than distribute" thing.

- #5, #10 are dead eye 3pt shooters with the ultimate green light.

That's Trevor Osborne (75-179, .419 in the trey department) and Jack Stewart (50-123, .407), respectively.

This is why they are on the court. #0 does not shoot 3s and quite frankly doesnt really shoot at all outside the key for layups.

Yep. Butler has attempted only one trey all season, which is pretty astonishing for a 6'1 wing.

#23 is capable shooter, but loves to drive.

That's 2016-17 third-team All-American Tim Howell. He shot 21-57 for .368 from long range this season.

Their 5 men (#12, #32, #34) are focused on offensive rebounding and running rim to rim and protecting the rim when the guards get broken down.

Robert Colton, Ben Beatie, and Cedric Jacobs-Jones, respectively. Beatie starts, but I think that Jacobs-Jones is the best player of the three, even though he's built more like a linebacker than a basketball center (6'2, 235). Beatie is easy to spot with his sinister-looking black protective mask

[Greek Tragedy]

Great posts, guys! +1

[John Gleich]

I commend to you the game preview from Whitman for tomorrow night's game:

http://athletics.whitman.edu/news/2018/3/7/mens-basketball-so-we-meet-again.aspx

It is well-written, well-researched, clearly done by someone who understands the game of basketball.


That's not to take away anything from UWSP's notes:

http://athletics.uwsp.edu/news/2018/3/8/mens-basketball-pointers-take-on-top-seed-whitman-in-ncaa-third-round-friday-in-platteville.aspx



The game tomorrow reminds me a lot of the UWSP @ University of Puget Sound match-up back in 2003-04, UPS ironically (or perhaps not?) coached by Eric Bridgeland.

In that game, UWSP was #10 defensively (59.6 ppg) and UPS was #3 offensively (103.3 ppg) in the country. Defense won out, as Point won that game 100-79. But, perhaps what's lost there is that UWSP was #4 in field goal percentage, at 50.9%.

This year, SP is #4 defensively (62.8 ppg) and Whitman is #4 offensively (99.0 ppg). Point is 7th in three-point percentage (40.8%).


Interestingly, in general, it isn't the defense that has let Stevens Point down. In the eight losses, Point has scored:

45
54
58
66
64
53
47
54

When UWSP has scored 70+, they're 16-0. If they score 60-69, they're 3-2 (though they've won their last 3 after starting 0-2). If they score less than 60, they're 1-6 (though they won their most recent, after starting 0-6).

[Greek Tragedy]

Well, good luck to all the WIAC teams tonight.