MBB: Midwest Conference

[jeffdc]

RE: GC-IC game, I would agree - quite a surprise. I went expecting to see the top-ranked MWC team slaughter GC - but instead GC controlled and then dominated them...until the last 5 minutes. Impressive improvement by GC in the last 3 games!

[The Roop]

Carroll 52 Beloit 49. Bucs missed a 3 in the final seconds.

[Put up a #]

Not exactly a blistering MWC debut for Mr. Carlson of Knox. 26 minutes, 6 points, 4 assists. But, he could be a difference maker against Monmouth as he gets more prep time with the team.

Nice effort by the young Grinnell team against IC this past weekend. But guys, you're not going to hit 50% from the arc that often, and forcing 17 turnovers won't get it done. Close out the traps and make things happen on the defensive end. There are a lot of wins left on the schedule!

[larry_u]

This week's pickem games are up...games start tomorrow night.

Standings/results will be updated as soon as as I get time to think...work is kicking my ass today...

[schwanman]

The Knox report (newspaper's take):

The bright spot for Knox was the play of Carlson, who arrived at Knox via Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Platteville. In only his second game with the Prairie Fire, Carlson scored a team-best 18 points and, tied for the team lead with six rebounds and played 39 of the game's 40 minutes.

The Knox report (my take):
Carlson looked good. He's quick and get into the lane for a short jumper or a dish down low. With Goedeke on the receiving end next year, that should be a tough combo. Wetherbee made his first shot three seconds into the game, then went 2-of-16 the rest of the way. He'll do much better if he can be Knox's fourth or fifth option next season.

The Monmouth report:
Cogdill and Ott stole the show in the first half, combining for 30 of the Scots' 34 points. What I like about them both is that they can finish with both hands and they seem to have full arsenal of moves to free themselves. In the second half, Cox and Gruber made nice contributions offensively, and Gruber's defense was one reason why Wetherbee didn't get untracked. All in all, a solid win for the Scots, who need to come back from their Lawrence/Carroll trip this weekend with at least one W.

[Maverick]

schwanman - Long time, no see!

[hickory_cornhusker]

Carroll beat Grinnell 102-76. Kind of surprised with how early Grinnell called off The System. They were about midway through the second half. They were down by 24 at that point but I still thought it was early. They are good team when they were hitting their shots as they were in the first half. They held a five point lead midway through. They were doing a good job of hitting shots and creating turnovers. Unfortunately for them Carroll calmed down and Grinnell's shooting percentage started to drop. One thing Grinnell needs to work on if they want to be competitive is free throw shooting. They were 2 for 9 from the line tonight.

[theg]

Ripon over IC by 19 or so...something like 89-70.  Wasn't close after the first 10 minutes or so of the game.
Stretched the lead to 27 at one point.

[System Error]

Watching the GC-STN game right now. With about 6 min remaining in the 1st game, Grinnell is down about 14 points, but the story of the game is that Chalupa (the nations leading 3 point shooter from last season) is being left at half court in an effort to get him the majority of three point shots. At this point (IN THE FIRST HALF) he is 5 of about 16 or 17 from three.

On the other side of the ball, STN is playing great defense and finishing on the other end with no trouble. I have the feeling this game i going to turn in to an absolue blowout at the start of the second half.

[System Error]

Final in De Pere: STN 108- GC 73

Wow, what a rough game for the Pioneers today. I would have to say that was embarrassing to watch after seeing Grinnell play the last four years or so. STN was in control the entire game and just took off in the second half, like I thought might happen. Scary moment early in the first as Wipperfurth went down with an apparent knee injury. He did not return but I hope that is alright. He is a good player. It was good to see the everyone able to play for St. Norbert. Everyone was able to contribute. I would also like to mention STN had 101 pts with over 10 min remaining in the game. The brought in their subs instead of running up the score.

Grinnell is a young team, I understand that. I also understand Grinnell gives up layups, but it doesn't seem like they are trying on defense at all. They have a lot of talent, but without chemistry and a desire to work hard, this will continue to be a long season. After a share of the MWC title last year, as someone who at times is a fan of the system, I feel badly for the Pioneers. Second day in a row the Pioneers went away from the system halfway through the second half.

[frodotwo]

No offense to the "System" but I hope never to watch GC play again. I watched the podcast vs STN and thought that it was a travesty to the game to be down 25-30 points and have one of your players near the half court stripe hoping your other 4 defenders could give up a quick hoop so you could "basket hang" with the intent to get a 3 point shot.    Why anyone outside of the Midwest Conf would want to schedule a game against them is beyond me

[The Roop]

You make it sound like Grinnells only intention is to run up the score. Seems to me that the WIAC has a hard time finding non-conference football games for the same reason.

[System Error]

No offense to the "System" but I hope never to watch GC play again.

No offense to your comment you just posted, yet, you make it seem as if the Grinnell team has never been successful. Yes, we all know that some things Arseneault tries to do are out of the ordinary, yet, his team won 2 of the last 4 midwest conference championships. After Steve Wood's class graduate in 2004, the following year they were 5-18. The next four years after that with Arseneault, Grotberg and Long, were more successful. This team is young and needs experiences thats all. With that being said, I too watched the game today and like I posted earlier, Grinnell looked awful. However, just because they were bad today, doesn't mean at times they aren't a joy to watch.

[augiefan]

Perhaps no one noticed but Beloit beat Illinois College today 75-72. Victories are few and far between for the Bucs, but their sophomore class is doing pretty well on a team with no seniors and no depth. Could bode well for the future if some talented kids can actually be convinced to come to Beloit next year to give them some depth and height.

[theg]

Great to see the biggest win for Brian Vraney in his short time at Beloit.
Does anyone have an update on Wipperfurth getting injured?  Very, very nice player for SNC.
Surprised to see that Monmouth gave Carroll such a close game.
Lake Forest seems to be coming into form, could be another team to battle for the 4th spot (making a huge early assumption that SNC, RC and IC will be in).
I was at the Ripon/Knox game on Saturday.  Total mismatch.  Knox is really going to struggle terribly all year.

Two big games at IC this coming weekend.