MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

chmarx · February 07, 2008, 04:15:06 AM

The weather here was fine. I was surprised to hear that the game was cancelled.

But no problem, at least for this La Crosse fan, with the cancellation. Safety of the teams is the first priority.

cubs · February 07, 2008, 09:08:22 AM

Quote from: buf on February 06, 2008, 10:04:39 PM
From looking at the boxscore, EC got some nice contributions from some bench players that rarely get PT.

Wouldn't it be more like just one player..... Amadou Fofana (14 points in 14 minutes)? The rest of the bench combined for 6 points (2-5 from the field, 2-4 from the FT line,) 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 37 minutes.

However, that is still more productive than UWO's bench (2 points and 2 rebounds in 22 minutes) even without Fofana's numbers.

cubs · February 07, 2008, 09:15:18 AM

Quote from: OshDude on February 06, 2008, 11:01:01 PM
For the first time all year, someone made Matty look like a SG playing PG. Shea made Miller skitish in the second half, which led to more turnovers than usual.

Three turnovers in 43 minutes doesn't seem too bad to me.....

Quote from: OshDude on February 06, 2008, 11:01:01 PMFofana and the rest of the bench were really impressive

Did the bench do some things that just don't show up in the box score? The only reson I ask, is outside of Fofana, the numbers the EC bench put up aren't that much different that UWO's bench numbers, and we all know UWO's bench isn't too strong.

cubs · February 07, 2008, 09:19:50 AM

Quote from: Old School.... (Tom Doebler) on February 06, 2008, 05:19:22 PM
So, who is "other" on the poll? Just curious.

Matt Miller? He wouldn't be my choice, but I could see how someone would possibly vote for him, especially if you are using the Conference Only statistics.

cubs · February 07, 2008, 09:33:40 AM

Quote from: titansrus on February 07, 2008, 12:52:55 AM
I think the Titans have a legitimate shot to go undefeated the rest of the year and maybe make a run at a Pool B bid if they can't get the auto bid. Should be a heck of a finish.

You mean Pool C?

Anyway, not too long ago there were some talk on here that UWO could possibly be 6-4 following the back-to-back games with Point and Platteville and that they are under-achieving once again. (Note: They still haven't lost their 4th WIAC game yet.)

Now all of a sudden they have won three out of four games and expectations are starting to rise once again. I swear it's like a revolving door around here......

badgerwarhawk · February 07, 2008, 09:50:37 AM

The WARHAWKS started slow. Luther outplayed them for the first 12 minutes or so and we trailed 16-9. But a three pointer from Cory Brezovar ignited a 23-4 run and the half ended with the WARHAWKS up 32-24. Luther closed the gap to 4 points with the first two baskets of the second half and stayed close until Myles McKay drained consecutive three-pointers to put the WARHAWKS comfortably ahead 53-40. The lead twice grew to 18 points after that until the game finished with WHITEWATER on top 68-53.

McKay led all scorers with 18 points. Goodwin was the only other WARHAWK in double figures with 16 points. McKay also led the WARHAWKS with 8 rebounds. Kevin Koski had a nice line with 8 points, 5 assists (vs. 1 to) and 4 steals. Luther's leading scorer left the game with an injury and none of their players reached double figures.

For perhaps the first time this season an opponent made more free throws than the WARHAWKS attempted (12 to 10). Initially we had some problems adjusting the the Iowa officials and racked up quite a few touch fouls. On the other side Luther never put us in a bonus as the Norse were called for 4 fouls in the first half and 5 in the second. Fortunately they were only 12 of 20 from the line and we shot 54% from the floor to their 39%.

Due to weather conditions the team stayed in Decorah last night and will return to campus today.

Mr. Downtown · February 07, 2008, 10:51:29 AM

"BIG 4" Numbers

WIAC

Regional Record Record vs Winning Teams (against D-III teams)
1. Platteville 14-3 5-2
2. Whitewater 15-3 3-3
3. Stevens Point 13-4 6-4
4. Oshkosh 12-5 7-5

phoenix_rising · February 07, 2008, 10:59:03 AM

If the Supers could rebound--or tried--they'd be dangerous. River Falls must have had a school-record-breaking shooting half (first) and certainly outrebounded Superior, although are you outrebounding if the other team isn't there to challenge?

Dwight Hill, struggling all night from inside and outside, hits a three at the first buzzer to tie the game and send it into overtime. It looked like Superior might snap out of the doldrums and squeak out a victory. Buchanan is using his bench so sparingly, I'm not sure the eight or so he plays aren't exhausted by the third quarter. Jake Smith attempted OT heroics with a three at the end and couldn't quite zero in.

While I'm disappointed at still another loss, I keep reminding myself that these guys are, largely, very young. A lot of the mistakes they make are the mistakes of very young players. I can't wait until they get to the chapter on rebounding, though; they really need to figure that out. Where other teams are regularly getting second and third attempts when they need them, Superior isn't. We seem to be content to shoot and settle into defense somewhere down the court.

Ah, well. We can look forward to Stevens Point. Gulp. It would appear to be a Superior vs Stevens Point weekend: basketball and hockey.

Mr. Downtown · February 07, 2008, 11:24:03 AM

I'm trying to think out of the box here, and seeing that there are 59 teams in the tourney, and only 17 Pool C teams, I'm wondering how many teams the committee would like to take out of the West? Or better yet, how many do they want to take out of the Midwest?

So I'm comparing the two, throwing the teams into a pile to set up a debate who would really go into the NCAA Tourney.

Now, I wanted to see how many teams went into the National Tournament last year between the two regions, but I can't find a bracket anywhere (Ncaasports.com, D3hoops.com, nothing!).

Oh well, so this post will change a bit when we find out. This I know:
West Region - 5 Automatic Bids
Midwest Region - 5-6 Automatic Bids (All depends on the UAA season)

If there were no Conference Tournaments, and the Automatic Bids went to the tiebreakers, your Automatics would be:

West

[/u]
MIAC: St. Thomas
IIAC: Buena Vista
SCIAC: Occidental
NWC: Puget Sound
WIAC: UW-Platteville

Midwest

CCIW: Augustana
MWC: Lawrence
HCAC: Defiance
NATHC: Aurora
SLIAC: Webster
UAA: None

So as of right now, 5 team's in the West, 5 team's in the Midwest. That's 10 of the 59 team's in.

Now for the fun part. Piling up the team's that deserve a look of a Pool C bid. I just piled them up and in () what conference they are from and their regional record.

This is my take on the West Regional Rankings:
1. St. Thomas (MIAC) 15-2 *
2. UW-Platteville (WIAC) 14-3*
3. UW-Whitewater (WIAC) 15-3
4. Puget Sound (NWC) 12-2*
5. Occidental (SCIAC) 12-1*
6. Cal Luthern (SCIAC) 14-3
7. Stevens Point (WIAC) 13-4
8. Whitworth (NWC) 13-3

*Conference Leaders

So my rankings for the teams up for Pool C bids in the West:
1. UW-Whitewater
2. Cal Luthern
3. UW-Stevens Point
4. Whitworth
5. UW-Oshkosh 12-5
6. Gustavus Adolphus 14-4
7. Loras 12-3

Midwest numbers are next.

Mr. Downtown · February 07, 2008, 11:32:54 AM

My Midwest Regional Rankings (more like a shot in the dark, really)

1. Augustana (CCIW) 14-4*
2. Washington U. (UAA) 11-3
3. Lawrence (MWC) 12-2*
4. Chicago (UAA) 12-5
5. Wheaton (CCIW) 11-5
6. Elmhurst (CCIW) 13-5
7. Aurora (NATHC) 14-4*
8. Carroll (MWC) 11-5

* notes Conference Leaders

So the teams up for a Pool C bid for the Midwest:
1. Washington U.
2. Chicago
3. Wheaton
4. Elmhurst
5. Carroll
6. Grinnell 10-5
7. Fontbonne 11-3

Pioneer Hoops Fan · February 07, 2008, 11:48:34 AM

I voted for one of the "other" on the poll. I think I would've voted Jeff, but I just have been very impressed with the play of Charlie Lohoff lately. Do I think that he'll win POY? No, not really, but here are his conference only numbers to just ponder. His rank in conference is in parentheses.

12.8 ppg (15)...15/game since break
4.8 rpg (12)
3.4 apg (3)
56% fg (7)
54% 3fg (1)
84% ft (9)
1.82 3mpg (11)
1.85 a/to (2)
32.09 min/g (13)

Again, not spectacular numbers or really POY numbers, but most certainly All-Conference and team MVP numbers.

Mr. Downtown · February 07, 2008, 12:02:29 PM

My Analysis

Looking at the two regions, I would make the case that when looking at the Midwest region, that the Selection Committe should not look past taking 3 Pool C bid teams in the tourney. Perhaps if that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debate #1
Wheaton/Elmhurst : Currently, Wheaton has the tiebreaker over Elmhurst for the 4th spot and final spot in the CCIW conference tourney. Hence why, Elmhurst is behind Wheaton in my regional rankings, and why Elmhurst is not a NCAA Tourney team right now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That doesn't mean that if I were on the selection committee I would take all 3 teams. Instead, I would only take two, both UAA schools: Washington U. and Chicago with Wheaton being on the bubble.

For the West, I would consider the 7 teams that I put together for consideration.

However, I would highly doubt that the NCAA selection committee would take 12 teams out of the West Region alone.

As far as I'm concerned, Whitewater and Cal Luthern are two that I would pick.

Stevens Point would be a third, with beating #1 in my Midwest Region.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debate #2
Whitworth vs Oshkosh
This is where the conference RPI could favor a WIAC school. Whitworth, despite having an impressive 13-3 regional record, hasn't played top tier competition. They do have 1 big win (on the road @ Puget Sound), and because of location, it's hard for them to play some of the top tier schools in the country. I know that might sound like an excuse, but when you are from Spokane, Washington, you are going to have problems finding other D-III schools.

Oshkosh has the big wins (Elmhurst, Whitewater, 2 - Stevens Point), and they also have losses ( 2-Platteville, Augustana). How weird as it may sound, if the Titans don't win the conference tourney and get an automatic bid, then I would have to think Oshkosh becomes Pioneer fans, with the Titans one up against Whitewater and Point. Hurting Oshkosh a bit is Elmhurst's performance so far, and they could use another boost.

But anyway you slice it, you are comparing a 3 loss team to a 5 loss team. Whitworth is 5-2 against Winning Teams, Oshkosh is 7-5.

As of right now, despite with a recent loss, Whitworth is 9-1 in its last 10 games, Oshkosh is 6-4.
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At the very max, I would have to think that the Committee would take 10 teams out of the West, and with how other counterparts have fared, you could make a case that they would.

For me, right now, I would because I think Oshkosh is a better team than Wheaton and Elmhurst.

So Whitworth and Oshkosh are both in.

The Spoilers: Again either Wheaton or Elmhurst, Gustavus Adolphus, Loras, and Carroll.

Then again, this is D-III and upsets are bound to happen. If the favorites don't win, then teams like Whitworth and Oshkosh will be in trouble.

sumander · February 07, 2008, 12:46:31 PM

Mr. Downtown, Great stuff +k.

Greek Tragedy · February 07, 2008, 04:03:55 PM

Quote from: pabegg on February 04, 2008, 08:18:05 PM

Reg Conf Rank Prior School Natl Status Reg Overall

NE 13 01 01 Mass-Dartmouth 001 A w C 19-0 19-0
NE 16 02 02 Amherst 002 A w C 18-1 18-2
NE 16 03 04 Middlebury 009 C 2 14-3 15-4
NE 90 04 06 Brandeis 020 C 5 13-4 14-4
NE 16 05 03 Trinity (Conn.) 021 C 5 13-4 15-5
NE 16 06 05 Bowdoin 025 C 7 16-4 16-4
NE 17 07 10 Worcester Polytech 032 A w C 14-4 15-5
NE 13 08 12 Rhode Island College 041 C second 15-4 15-4
NE 16 09 09 Connecticut College 047 C second 14-4 15-4
NE 12 10 07 Emerson 048 A second 14-3 15-3
NE 16 11 15 Bates 054 C second 12-4 13-5
NE 16 12 08 Williams 059 C third 14-5 15-5
NE 14 13 13 Salem State 066 A other 13-5 13-5

EA 23 01 01 Plattsburgh State 003 A w C 14-0 17-2
EA 90 02 02 Rochester 004 A w C 15-2 16-2
EA 21 03 04 Stevens 038 C 17 17-3 17-3
EA 21 04 03 Nazareth 039 A second 13-5 13-5
EA 23 05 07 Oswego State 045 C second 12-4 14-4
EA 23 06 06 Brockport State 049 C second 11-4 13-6
EA 24 07 08 Vassar 051 A second 14-2 14-3
EA 24 08 05 St. Lawrence 056 C third 10-4 11-7

AT 32 01 01 Richard Stockton 030 A w C 14-3 14-4
AT 32 02 02 William Paterson 033 C 12 16-3 16-3
AT 33 03 05 SUNY-Old Westbury 065 A other 12-5 12-7
AT 33 04 03 SUNY-Farmingdale 080 12-4 13-5
AT 33 05 06 St. Joseph's (L.I.) 094 14-3 15-3
AT 32 06 04 New Jersey City 112 10-6 13-7
AT 31 07 07 York (N.Y.) 120 A other 13-6 15-7
AT 31 08 10 Brooklyn 127 14-5 17-5

MA 45 01 01 Ursinus 005 A w C 14-1 17-2
MA 45 02 04 Gettysburg 007 C 1 13-2 15-3
MA 43 03 03 DeSales 008 A w C 14-1 17-2
MA 42 04 02 Widener 010 A w C 13-2 16-3
MA 42 05 05 Albright 024 C 6 13-3 13-4
MA 41 06 09 York (Pa.) 050 A second 14-5 14-6
MA 42 07 07 Messiah 052 C second 11-5 13-6
MA 42 08 06 Elizabethtown 053 C second 11-4 14-4
MA 46 09 14 Moravian 077 B 3 14-5 15-5
MA 44 10 08 Immaculata 078 A other 124 13-5
MA 41 11 10 Hood 089 116 13-7

SO 54 01 03 Centre 013 A w C 14-1 18-1
SO 51 02 01 Mary Hardin-Baylor 014 A w C 13-2 15-3
SO 52 03 05 Maryville (Tenn.) 017 B 1 12-2 18-2
SO 53 04 02 Virginia Wesleyan 022 A w C 14-3 15-4
SO 53 05 04 Roanoke 027 C 8 12-4 14-4
SO 53 06 07 Guilford 029 C 10 13-4 14-4
SO 54 07 06 Millsaps 035 C 14 12-2 17-3
SO 54 08 08 DePauw 037 C 16 14-3 16-4
SO 53 09 11 Washington and Lee 044 C second 103 12-5
SO 53 10 10 Randolph-Macon 063 C third 9-4 14-4
SO 51 11 12 Texas-Dallas 070 124 13-5

GL 64 01 03 Capital 012 A w C 15-3 16-3
GL 62 02 01 Hope 016 A w C 10-2 15-3
GL 64 03 02 Heidelberg 036 C 15 13-3 15-4
GL 63 04 06 Wooster 042 A second 9-2 16-3
GL 90 05 05 Carnegie Mellon 043 C second 10-4 13-5
GL 63 06 04 Ohio Wesleyan 060 C third 11-4 12-6
GL 64 07 09 Wilmington 068 12-5 12-7
GL 62 08 10 Albion 069 8-3 12-5
GL 61 09 07 Penn State-Behrend 079 A other 14-3 15-4

MW 74 01 02 Lawrence 011 A w C 12-2 14-2
MW 90 02 01 Washington U. 015 C 3 11-3 14-4
MW 71 03 03 Augustana 019 A w C 14-4 15-4
MW 90 04 06 Chicago 058 C third 11-6 12-6
MW 71 05 04 Wheaton (Ill.) 061 C third 11-5 14-5
MW 71 06 08 Illinois Wesleyan 064 C third 10-6 11-8
MW 71 07 07 Elmhurst 071 13-5 14-5
MW 74 08 13 Carroll 082 10-5 11-5
MW 73 09 10 Aurora 084 B 5 14-4 16-4
MW 76 10 14 Webster 090 115 13-5
MW 72 11 09 Defiance 092 A other 126 14-6

WE 84 01 02 Occidental 006 A w C 11-1 16-2
WE 82 02 04 St. Thomas 018 A w C 14-2 16-3
WE 81 03 01 Buena Vista 023 A w C 12-2 16-4
WE 86 04 05 UW-Stevens Point 026 A w C 13-4 15-4
WE 86 05 06 UW-Platteville 028 C 9 14-3 15-4
WE 86 06 08 UW-Whitewater 031 C 11 14-3 16-3
WE 81 07 09 Loras 034 C 13 12-3 15-5
WE 84 08 10 Cal Lutheran 040 C second 13-3 15-3
WE 83 09 03 Puget Sound 046 A second 11-2 15-3
WE 86 10 07 UW-Oshkosh 055 C third 11-5 14-6
WE 82 11 13 Gustavus Adolphus 057 C third 12-4 14-4

Reg Region
Conf Conference number
Rank Regional ranking
Prior Prior regional ranking
School
Natl National ranking based on regional results
Status
B + number: Pool B ranking (top 4 in tournament)
C + number: Pool C ranking of 17 teams in tournament
C second: second tier Pool C (spots 18-27)
C third: third tier Pool C (spots 28-37)
A w C: Pool A, in likely Pool C range
A second: Pool A, in second tier Pool C
A third: Pool A, in third tier Pool C
blank: lower level Pool C

One week out from the real rankings. Again, I've ranked three more teams per region than will be in the actual rankings, just to indicate the teams that are close.

Not many big changes this week, except for Puget Sound dropping like a rock. WashU doesn't take much of a hit due to the quality of their losses. At this point, five conferences with multiple Pool C bids - the usual suspects except for the SCAC which places Centre, Millsaps, and DePauw in the mix.

Greek Tragedy · February 07, 2008, 04:19:31 PM

The above post is from the Pool C board. It gives you a better idea of how things turn out.

Not to insult anyone's intelligence, but there isn't a set number of teams that need to be picked from any one region. In fact, if one region is real weak, it may not get any Pool C teams selected.

Here is a quick rundown of how Pool C works, if anyone doesn't know.

As listed, there are EIGHT regions. The top team in each region gets to sit at the coveted Oval Table, with the rest of the teams standing "in line" to sit down next.

The committee looks at those EIGHT teams ONLY and compares those teams with each other. One team is picked and then the next team takes a seat. Say for example, Platteville, is the top West Region Pool C candidate. Platteville goes up against the other seven region's top candidates. Platteville gets picked as a Pool C team. Next, Whitewater takes a seat at the Oval Table. Now, Whitewater's credentials go up against those same seven teams that were left at the table. Pretend that Whitewater then gets picked as a Pool C team...they stand up and leave for Pool C glory and then Loras takes a seat at the Oval Table.

As you can see, if one region is stronger than another, they could get multiple teams in as Pool C before another region even gets one. At least, that's how I've come to understand the selection of Pool C teams!

So, take a look at the Northeast Region: It's very strong with Middlebury (9), Brandeis (20), Trinity (21) and Bowdoin (25) all ranked very high. Of course, Middlebury, Trinity and Bowdoin are all in the NESCAC and they only play each conference foe once!

A conference like the UAA has an advantage because their top teams are in different regions, so they don't have to wait for one of their teams to get picked in order to get another shot. Brandeis is in the NE, Rochester is in the East, Washington U. and Chicago is in the Midwest.

Hope this helps.