MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[ballinbanker]

Was someone at the game? 

Back from the Oshkosh/Larry U game, and also from seeing Wedding Crashers!  I almost missed the budget movie because the game went into overtime! 

Anyway, here are my views.  First off, I was a WIAC fan tonight and came away disappointed.  As a Pointer fan, if this is what the odds on favorite is going to look like, we can all rest easy because Oshkosh was hardly impressive.  With that said, I'm sure they'll improve and show they are a lot better than what they were tonight.

I won't get into any of the scoring or boxscore type stuff too much since you guys can read that yourself...

As many of you regulars know, I've been a big Kerry Gibson critic.  There were several things that I took out of this game regarding him.  At times, he can be a force inside.  I'm not sure why they didn't feed him the ball more.  In the second half, I noticed Larry U doubled him everytime he got the ball, so the guards need to step up and score when that happens (a lot of standing around by the rest of the Oshkosh team).  As you see, it didn't, as Jahnke was basically invisible.  Defensively, Gibson was basically unstoppable, swatting balls left and right (6 blocks).  Offensively, 27 points looks great (13 of 14 from the FT line is impressive for a big guy), but he has to finish better.  The boxscore said he was 7-13, but those misses were bunnies and he needs to finish those close range misses.  He just simply missed them.  A guy that close and that tall, it just seems amazing how he misses them. 

As a team, Oshkosh needs to rebound better.  I was surprised to see the rebounding that close.  It just seemed like LU was always there.  At the beginning of the 2nd half, LU had 3 or 4 offensive rebounds off of 3-pt shots in one sequence.  A 7'1" guy has to get more than 7 rebounds.  Oshkosh as a team had a huge size advantage.

If Capelle wants to be a leader, this doesn't mean you have to take all the big shots.  At the end of regulation, when he got the ball in his hands, he launched (in your face) 3-pointers on three or four consecutive possessions (making one), basically not even looking to pass.  He's gotta be more patient, IMO.

Jahnke has to get more involved.  Larry U basically wanted it more and showed they weren't afraid of Oshkosh.  The Titans came out flat and slow.  A lot of their passes from the key to the corners were lazy and were easily stolen.  Oshkosh had a real hard problem with the full court press on inbounds passes, at least once resulting in a 5-second violation. 

Kerry Gibson was a force, but he needs help.  Defensively, when he was beat, the help-side defense was always late.  Their 3-2 zone (I think) was slow on getting out to the wings, and they were beaten to a lot of loose balls and rebounds.  Offensively, if teams start to double Gibson, Jahnke and Capelle, among others, need to hit their shots.  Freshman Matt Miller looked real good.

I guess that's enough ripping on Oshkosh.  I was real disappointed in their performance tonight against an inferior Lawrence team.  But, like I said, they wanted it a lot more and deserved the win.  I do want to give Lawrence credit.  They played great defense, hustled and showed more spark.  Braier is a stud.  It's amazing how many rebounds the guy gets being only 6/4".  Along with Braier, MacGillis was the difference.  Oshkosh basically trailed the whole game and were lucky to get it into overtime. 

I agree Old School and the truth to that game was Larry U is a much better coached team! IMO Tharp is much better than TVD

[uww4ever]

It's good to rip on Oshkosh though. 

Go UWW!!!!!!!!!

[mab]

I guess it has just become part of the current sports fan culture to assume any team that loses a game must have played bad.  Oshkosh played a good game and lost to a very good Lawrence team.  I feel the difference was Lawrence was a little better prepared having already played a game.  LU can win any DIII game they play, especially on their home court.  They looked at least as good as they have the last two years, and are definitely a top 20 team.  Braier is a legit DIII POY candidate, and MacGillis isn't far behind.  Every one of their players really understands how to perform every aspect of the game.  If there is another Bo Ryan in WI DIII it is John Tharp.  The WIAC has a lot of good coaches, but there aren't any better than Tharp.  On the other hand, UWO's #2 ranking is probably too high at this point.  Both teams should be somewhere around 10.  Gibson was a dominant force on both ends.  He did have trouble finishing in the first half, but in the second have LU had no defense but to foul, and that didn't help.  When Braier got the hot hand in the second half, TVD put Gibson on him, and Braier did almost nothing the rest of the way.  Braier did get a couple big hoops, late, that where evidence of his all-american game.  The reason Jahnke scored so few points is because MacGillis is as good a defender as there is in the country.  He will have an easier time scoring in every game the rest of the season.  To Jahnke's credit he didn't force anything, and did a lot of the little things to help his team.  Overall, everyone on UWO looked improved over last year.  Miller was the only newcomer who played, and he is going to be a real factor.  If I had my choice, I would rather see UWO win their last game of the season than their first, if you know what I mean.

[Greek Tragedy]

Oshkosh played a good game and lost to a very good Lawrence team...

Braier is a legit DIII POY candidate, and MacGillis isn't far behind. 

On the other hand, UWO's #2 ranking is probably too high at this point.  Both teams should be somewhere around 10. 

Miller was the only newcomer who played, and he is going to be a real factor...

My opinions.  Oshkosh did not have a good game.  They were lazy on their passes, slow on defense and stagnant on offense.  The only bright spot was "Andy" (front page) Gibson.

Braier is an all-american candidate.  Is he a POTY candidate?  Ummm.  Not sure about that.  MacGillis not being too far behind?  He didn't even make all-conference honorable mention last year.

I think the reason Oshkosh was so high is because they returned basically everyone, and that's the reason Larry U was so low, because they lost several senior starters.

Miller looked real good.

I have no doubt Oshkosh will bounce back.

[cubs]

Their 3-2 zone (I think) was slow on getting out to the wings, and they were beaten to a lot of loose balls and rebounds. 

WOW!!!!  Hasn't UWO typically been a Man-to-Man defensive team in the past, or did I miss something??  I guess I'm a bit surprised even with them having a 7-footer being able to sit in the middle.

[Greek Tragedy]

WOW!!!!  Hasn't UWO typically been a Man-to-Man defensive team in the past, or did I miss something??  I guess I'm a bit surprised even with them having a 7-footer being able to sit in the middle.

I'm pretty sure it was a 3-2 zone, or a 1-2-2 zone with Gibson on the left wing.  I think they went to that because Lawrence was a bit faster (or Oshkosh more lazy and slow).  Lawrence hit two or three shots from the left wing because Gibson was slow getting out to the wing.  That hurt.  But, it did slow down Lawrence a little bit. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Nice slate of WIAC games this weekend, to go along with the new look WIAC page!  Check it out!

EC at the WLC Classic
LC at Lakeland
RF at Concordia Irvine (CA)
SP at Ripon
WW at Anderson (IN)
PL at Dubuque


EC at the WLC Classic
LC at Ripon
Finlandia at OSH
RF at Westmont (CA)
SP at Lakeland
PL vs Loras (IA)

And before the conference schedule kicks into gear:

Sun:  Northland at ST
Mon: WW at Carroll

A nice little informal quad among Point, La Crosse, Lakeland and Ripon.  Reminds me of those NCHA "travel partner" days.

It will be interesting as these four played each other last year as well.  Lakeland looks improved from results, while LC may be a sleeper in the WIAC this year.  Ripon is down a little after losing conference POTY Tommy Becker. 

Lakeland nearly pulled off the upset of Point in Sheboygan last year and could do the same thing.  Ripon got smoked by the Pointers in Quandt and look for some revenge.  Point/Ripon should be real close, but hoping my dawgs pull out the roadie on Friday.  I think La Crosse will have an easier time with the Fish in She-Vegas and likewise on Saturday as the WIAC go for a four game sweep.  Lakeland has a new gym and I'm looking forward to seeing that on Saturday.  If Point's youngters can come away with confidence in Ripon (a win or a close loss), they should top the fish.  La Crosse shouldn't have too much trouble in Ripon, but their big men in Schmitting and Bo Johnson are solid.

[frankiet]

Old School...

I noticed that as well. It makes sense especially if you can pound out those non-conference games together. Eau Claire and LaCrosse did that as well last weekend with Buena Vista and Coe College. Plus they are playing West Region teams and saving the cost of transportation.

[frodotwo]

Pointers beat Ripon 99-89. No the 89 is not a misprint. The last time SP gave up that many was in 2001 in a 95-89 loss at Stout, 138 games ago. Point built a 28 point lead in the second half of a game marred by fouls. Both teams in superbonus with nine minutes tp play in second half. Jon Krull went for 26, hitting 3's and inside shots nearly at will. Ripon hung in with unbelievable shots from Bo Johnson (28) and David McMullen (27). I think the young Pointers will suprise some teams in the WIAC this year. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Point played very good basketball for 30 minutes.  They dominated Ripon in the first half, going in with a 21 point lead, 46-25.  They kept that big lead around the midteens to low 20s for half of the second period.  But, I think the key was when Hicklin and Krull got into foul trouble.  They both sat and Ripon took advantage of the young, inexperienced players on the floor.  I felt so far that Point needs two of Krull, Bauer and Hicklin on the floor.  Without them, it showed.  I knew Bo Johnson and David McMullen were the keys to Ripon and they didn't disappoint.  Johnson looked like Tucker Cain in the 2003 NCAA championship game, launching 3s from all over the place.  McMullen used his quickness to either score easy baskets or get to the free-throws.  I'm surprised that big-man-in-the-middle Brian Schmitting didn't make more of an impact, considering Point's front line isn't that tall. 

It was a sloppy game at times, as frodotwo pointed out.  Turnovers hurt a lot too for both teams.  Some just plain dumb plays and stupid calls by the refs as well!   

I think a good game overall and learning experience for the youngsters on the road.  Another test tomorrow at Lakeland.  Lakeland lost to La Crosse tonight too. 

See in the cornfields tomorrow, anyone?

[badgerwarhawk]

WARHAWKS[/color] shoot well (61% for the game,  7 of 9 three-pointers) and get double figure scoring from Jeremy Manchester (26 points), Andy Freund (14 points), Mike Toellner (14 points) and Rob Perry (12 points) to take out Anderson (Ind) 87-76 on the road.  Manchester was 5 of 5 from beyond the arch.

[Mr. Downtown]

For anyone interested...

I will be broadcasting tonight's Finlandia vs Oshkosh game at 7pm at www.uwosh.edu/wrst.

Last year, Jahnke had a big game. Hopefully tonight will be the game that not only him, but the whole team gets back on track.

[laxeagles1]

Don't know what Lax is doing tonight but for all the hating I did on coach Koelbl I can see after a few games this year he has it right and LaCrosse is going to be a tough team..........

I never questioned his recruiting as much as I questioned his coaching but after 4 straight non-conference wins(the impressive part isn't the margin of victory its the few points the opponents have put up)..........He is obviously a much better coach than I thought he was and with alot of potential could make some noise this year in the WIAC(obviously some of you knew better than me, I just get frustrated sometimes and it's difficult when you would label yourself a 'diehard' over the past 4 years and the WIAC tourney eludes you for 3 straight years........

[keith45]

Any feedback on the UD-Plattville game?? Stat wise, looks like UD attacked the basket a lot, and shot a ton of free throws..Thomas didn't shoot well (he never does versus plattville), but still had 27

[badgerwarhawk]

Don't know what Lax is doing tonight but for all the hating I did on coach Koelbl I can see after a few games this year he has it right and LaCrosse is going to be a tough team..........

I never questioned his recruiting as much as I questioned his coaching but after 4 straight non-conference wins(the impressive part isn't the margin of victory its the few points the opponents have put up)..........He is obviously a much better coach than I thought he was and with alot of potential could make some noise this year in the WIAC(obviously some of you knew better than me, I just get frustrated sometimes and it's difficult when you would label yourself a 'diehard' over the past 4 years and the WIAC tourney eludes you for 3 straight years........

Actually eagle you said, emphatically, that he was not a "competent" WIAC level coach as I recall it.