MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

You guys missed a pretty good game at Kolf last night.

Elmhurst is pretty good, despite some shaky guard play.  DJ Marsh continues to be "the man" and Schrimpf went off for 27. 

I got there with about 16 minutes to go and it was 17-8 Oshkosh.  For the next 10 minutes or so, it didn't look like Elmhurst was going to come out of there with a win.  But, they got through it and made a run, taking the lead right before half.  Matt Miller nailed a three to put the Titans up by 1 at the break though.

DSA picked up three quick fouls in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd frame and he went to the bench with Oshkosh up 56-52.  Elmhurst took advantage and made a run going up by 3, I believe, before DSA came back in.  Elmhurst did a good job of keeping Marsh in check for most of the 2nd half, but then DJ basically "willed" his team to victory by taking over.  He missed a lot of shots, but then picked up his own rebounds and finished them off.

Elmhurst looked a lot better with Ruch in the middle as DSA and Jordan Johnson had no answer for the guy.  Their guard play is sketchy at times, but did make some big baskets.  Strzemp was a horse and did a pretty good job of making Marsh work for his shots.

The last offensive play for Oshkosh was puzzling because Elmhurst chose NOT to defend the player inbounding the ball.  I'm always in the school of thought of not letting that player a "free look" to get the ball in play.  And, when that player is DJ Marsh, Oshkosh's best player, I knew that he was getting the ball back.  I almost said to the guy next to me that he was gonna get it back and take the shot.  I hit it on the nail, as Marsh threw the ball in, stepped onto the court near the 3-pt line and then got the ball back and nailed a baseline jumper for the win.  No idea what the Elmhurst coaching staff was thinking there.

Overall, Oshkosh looks pretty good with DJ Marsh leading the way, "Little Guy" Matty Miller playing agressively and Schrimpf having his coming out party.  Oshkosh is not very deep in the post position and it showed when DSA got into foul trouble.  Jordan Johnson tried to play big, but Ruch is just a horse.  Shut down Marsh and Oshkosh struggles. 

[bankshot]

FredFalcon-
I haven't been to a Falcon game yet this year, but was looking through the box scores - question:  What happenned with Jake Voeltz?  Is he playing?  hurt?  Thanks.

[titansrus]

Hey OldSchool, that actually wasn't the play TVD drew up. It was supposed to be a seal by DSA and get it to Jordan Johnson if available, but, like you said, surprisingly they didn't guard DJ when he came in bounds.

Yeah they'll be in trouble if DSA gets in foul trouble, but there aren't many real good big guys in the league besides Skemp. But their guards are pretty good, especially DJ and Matty and Schrimpf looked good last night. River Falls is in trouble w/o Koonkaew, especially losing to Finlandia. I think Oshkosh should win Saturday and then have a huge game on Wednesday against Whitewater.

[fredfalcon]

bankshot--Voeltz is on the team, but just is not getting minutes. He'll play eventually if he hangs in.

[Greek Tragedy]

Those planning on making the trip down to Whitewater, a couple of things...

Give yourself plenty of time.  Southeastern Wisconsin is supposed to get blitzed.

Whitewater has a playoff football game as well...I'm sure the area will be crowded.

Hopefully I'll make it down there tomorrow.  Feel free to throw something (soft) at me to say hi.

[frodotwo]

I'll be there unless the snow is over my head

[Greek Tragedy]

I'll be there unless the snow is over my head

Be more worried about the ice, rather than the snow, is what I've been told.

[UWRF]

good luck to everyone today.  hopefully the snow holds off for everyone make a long trip.

i am leaving RF shortly to make the trek to Oshkosh.

[Mr_Downtown]

As of 10:30AM, Oshkosh is clear.

Be safe out there everybody! We are just starting the Conference season, don't need to start it on a bad note.

[Greek Tragedy]

WIAC Preview (for entertainment purposes only!)  

River Falls at Oshkosh
The Lowdown:  Last time out, the Titans whipped the Falcons by 23 at Kolf.  But, River Falls is capable of pulling an upset because they only lost by 3 at home.
Player to watch for OSH: Matt Miller-There is no Koonkaew, so Miller may have a free reign to get shots off from beyond the arc.  It will be up to Reese, Hanningan or Fast Willie Wright to shackle the "Little Guy".
Player to watch for RF:  Nate Robertson went off for 21 last year and that was playing against Kerry Gibson.  I think DSA will have his hands full and if he gets into foul trouble again, Nate "The Great" could be in for a bigger day.
The Verdict:  Robertson will get his points, but DJ Marsh has looked unstoppable.  The Koonkaew injury will be too much to overcome and Oshkosh should have an easy double-digit win.

Superior at Platteville
The Lowdown:  One of the big surprises from last year when Superior took the long trip down and knocked off the Pioneers.  The planets realigned and they got revenge by 14 up in Canada.
Player to watch for PL:  Three players average double figures for the Pioneers and none of them is named Charlie Lohoff.  He'll try to shake off the early-season struggles against a Yellow Jackets team giving up 80 points a game (not including Northland's 50 pts)
Player to watch for SUP:  Freshman Jake Smith may get a rude introduction to the WIAC when he goes up against preseason All-American Jeff Skemp.  It could be a long day for Agent Smith if he doesn't keep his feet moving.
The Verdict:  At the end of the day, Platteville has too many weapons with six players capable of scoring in double-figures and plays a lot better defense resulting in a 10+ point win.    

Eau Claire at Stout
The Lowdown:  Throw out Stout's sweep from a year ago.  Both teams are revamped with Stout playing a little "hot potato" basketball, throwing up shots at will.  Eau Claire has nearly as many FGA, but that's skewed because of the Blugolds playing Grinnell.
Player to watch for EC:  With Dan Beyer doing the damage down low, look out for Ryan Shea.  The freshman is scoring nearly 16 a game and should continue that pace today.
Player to watch for ST:  Everyone overlooked John Donald in the WIAC fantasy draft, but he went for 12 pts and 9 boards in the first game before getting hurt.  If he can recover from his injury (no idea what it was), look for him to keep EC's Dan Beyer busy.
The Verdict:  This game should be a shootout with Stout giving up 77 points a game to the likes of Finlandia, Viterbo and Northland (though Puget Sound and Winona State helped the cause).  Eau Claire needs to slow it down to have any chance, but Stout uses home court in a high scoring affair.

Game of the Day
Stevens Point at Whitewater
The Lowdown:  Point swept the regular season series by a total of 5 points, a three pointer at the buzzer to win by 2 and then a missed three pointer at the end of the game by Whitewater to win at Karges.  
Player to watch for SP:  Rortvedt went for 35 last year, but Krull is no longer there to man the post.  The key may be freshman Louis "The Hurt" Hurd or Jerome SWATachek.  They need to keep the likes of Rob Perry and Josh King in check to open up the outside shot.
Player to watch for WW: Whitewater may want to pound the ball down to Rob Perry and Josh King against a small Pointer lineup.  Perry had 14 points and 9 boards in Point (didn't play the return leg) and he always causes problems.
The Verdict:  I think Beamish is the X-Factor here.  He needs to find his shooting touch, but Whitewater has better inside-outside balance.  It'll go down to the last few possessions with Whitewater turning the tables and winning a close one.

[buf]

Since I have a few minutes here.... My conference predictions:

1. Point- returns so much from last season
2. UWW- always near the top
3. UWP- a couple injured players now back
4. UWO- might start off a little slow, but will come around
5. UWL- losing Warner is huge, guards need to come up big (Augie game)
6. UWEC- have played pretty well so far, Shea a surprise
7. Stout- athletic team, needs more consistancy (less TOs)
8. Superior- too young, will be better next year
9. River Falls- losing Koonkaew + losing against Finlandia=not good news


I think the Top 3 will battle for the conference title.

Spots 4-7 are a toss up.

Superior & River Falls will battle for last.

[John Gleich]

I heard a rumor about UWW possibly having streaming video for today's game.  Is this true?

[fredfalcon]

Osh 71-62 winner over RF. Falcons 4/5 from line, Osh 18/21. Falcons outrebound Titans 34-18. 56-52 Osh with about 3:30 left. RF turns it over 16 times.

[Greek Tragedy]

Unable to make the trip down to Whitewater due to weather.  Hope I get a good game report from someone and everyone has safe travels.


Try this site.  According to "game notes" you can watch it here...

[John Gleich]

... Forget video, at this point I'd be satisfied with live stats.

9-8 WW, Hicklin just got his 2nd foul, Point has 4 team fouls early