MBB: Midwest Conference

[jeffdc]

Good luck to GC this weekend! Ripon and St. Norbert back to back - could be a little challenging. But I think the team is peaking right now and am expecting a couple of incredible games.

[OBC]

Good Luck indeed to the Pioneers of Grinnell College.

There are so many stories, so many possibilities this weekend and there should be some wonderful basketball to be seen. The Northern schools are making a big swing through the South, with the Southern schools looking to break the North's current hold on playoff spots (OK, IC technically ahead of Carroll on tiebreakers).

Either Grinnell game should be a treat. Friday night against #2 Ripon, or Saturday against top dog St Norbert. St Norbert should not be tested on Friday against Monmouth (sorry Scottie, Maverick, et al) and can come into Darby gym in good shape. They will need it. The Pioneers will leave nothing in the tanks either Friday or Saturday.

Lawrence and Carroll are in similar situations, clinging to a playoff spot. Should be a rough road for the Vikings and they could easliy drop 2; to Lake Forest and Illinois College. Still, they showed something in their last game against Carroll, and they should be happy with a split, as both opponents this weekend are breathing down their necks.

Carroll gets Knox tonight in a game which should pose them no problems, but I've said all season that Knox has better talent than their record might indicate and they should not be taken lightly by a team with playoff aspirations.

Lake Forest, a team I like a lot from talent to coaching to execution, has a real opportunity. The Foresters get both of the team ahead of them in playoff spots on their home court. The Foresters have already beaten Carroll in Waukesha, and lost by only 2 in Appleton. I expect Lake Forest to hold home court twice.

IC is in nearly the same boat as LFC. At home against 2 strong opponents in games that could go either way. Which Beloit team is traveling to Jacksonville? The one that beat St. Norbert and Carroll or the one that goes through long cold stretches? Also, it's a pretty good haul from Lake Forest to Jacksonville, and Lawrence will have played a very intense grind of a game against Lake Forest Friday night. Will the Vikings have enough in the tank to topple the Blue Boys? I don't think so.

Enjoy the games everyone. Regardless of the outcomes it should be a great weekend (for the fans).   

[OBC]

Final from Darby gym Grinnell 110, Ripon 87

[OBC]

I wanted to get that score out there for all you MWC and Grinnell fans. Now...the rest of the story.

Grinnell put a beat down on Ripon tonight in a game that the officiating crew tried mightily to give to the RedHawks. Ripon jumped out to a quick lead as Grinnell had several open looks at 3s and missed them all. But the home team came racing back and the lead changed hands several times until the mid 20s when the home team grabbed a lead they would not relinquish.

Red hot 3 point shooting in the last 16 minutes or so of the first half sure helped.

This was a balanced team effort that was a pleasure to watch.

Matt Chalupa missed his first 4 shots and it looked like a long night was ahead for the home team. But he sure found the (looong) range and hit some deep shots that had coach Gillespie shaking his head.  Lentsch played a nice controlled game, hitting a few 3s and taking it to the rack as well when Ripon finally switched to man defense. Dominique Bellamy continues to get better and more in control of his skills every week. What a well rounded game he played tonight; rebounding, making steals, driving to the basket. Pat Maher looked good again, controlling the ball and pace of play. Scoot Kaitz was solid.

I have to make special note of the job the big guys did on the boards and defending in close. McManamy and McDonald played with fire and determination as did Kale Knisley and Jack Adams.

Ripon's zone was not effective as Grinnell's shooters extended well beyond the arc, and there were enough passes inside to keep them honest (nice finishes by Knisley).

In the end, Coach A pulled the press with about 6 minutes to go and a few minutes later coach Gillespie sat Wurtz and his son. The last 2 minutes were played to a standstill between Ripon's bench and what might be called Grinnell's fourth line.

A nice win. Less then 24 hours to savor it and once more into the breach against the class of the league this year, St Norbert. Good luck again, Pioneers.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I wanted to get that score out there for all you MWC and Grinnell fans. Now...the rest of the story.

Grinnell put a beat down on Ripon tonight in a game that the officiating crew tried mightily to give to the RedHawks. Ripon jumped out to a quick lead as Grinnell had several open looks at 3s and missed them all. But the home team came racing back and the lead changed hands several times until the mid 20s when the home team grabbed a lead they would not relinquish.

Red hot 3 point shooting in the last 16 minutes or so of the first half sure helped.

This was a balanced team effort that was a pleasure to watch.

Matt Chalupa missed his first 4 shots and it looked like a long night was ahead for the home team. But he sure found the (looong) range and hit some deep shots that had coach Gillespie shaking his head.  Lentsch played a nice controlled game, hitting a few 3s and taking it to the rack as well when Ripon finally switched to man defense. Dominique Bellamy continues to get better and more in control of his skills every week. What a well rounded game he played tonight; rebounding, making steals, driving to the basket. Pat Maher looked good again, controlling the ball and pace of play. Scoot Kaitz was solid.

I have to make special note of the job the big guys did on the boards and defending in close. McManamy and McDonald played with fire and determination as did Kale Knisley and Jack Adams.

Ripon's zone was not effective as Grinnell's shooters extended well beyond the arc, and there were enough passes inside to keep them honest (nice finishes by Knisley).

In the end, Coach A pulled the press with about 6 minutes to go and a few minutes later coach Gillespie sat Wurtz and his son. The last 2 minutes were played to a standstill between Ripon's bench and what might be called Grinnell's fourth line.

A nice win. Less then 24 hours to savor it and once more into the breach against the class of the league this year, St Norbert. Good luck again, Pioneers.

If bball doesn't work out, he's always got a backup gig at Taco Bell!

[jeffdc]

I second OBC (as always!), but will add that this was one of the best performances by a GC team that I've seen in the past 2-3 years. Very solid team play, disciplined...and the 3s were going in, too. Let's hope this spirit infuses today's game with SNC as well!

[OBC]

Can anyone else remember the conference being so tightly packed in the middle this late in the season? So many contenders, and 3 spots in legitimate question. Wow.

[OBC]

Does anyone know why today's game between Grinnell and St Norbert was switched from 3:00 to 4:00 PM? It's an odd time for Grinnell.

[pgkevin]

Kudos to Lawrence for playing some stellar defense in the first half against Lake Forest last night.  Watched bits and pieces of the first half and while Lake Forest did miss some open looks, LU just really seemed locked in on the defensive end of the floor.

For those who didn't see the halftime score it was LU 27, LF 12

Ended up being 49-45 final.

Seems like the two centers, Clark and Borreson seem to cancel each other out.  From looking through previous box scores both have had a very good season shooting the ball.  Both struggled tremendously in this game.

Big games now for both of these two teams today as alluded to by OBC

[jeffdc]

Does anyone know why today's game between Grinnell and St Norbert was switched from 3:00 to 4:00 PM? It's an odd time for Grinnell.

Dunno. The teams are here (as of 10 am) - just saw the buses arrive.

[pgkevin]

Does anyone know why today's game between Grinnell and St Norbert was switched from 3:00 to 4:00 PM? It's an odd time for Grinnell.

Dunno. The teams are here (as of 10 am) - just saw the buses arrive.

Perhaps they felt a 5 hour shootaround would not be enough time to prepare?

[OBC]

Probably just a courtesy to our guests from St Norbert who prefer the 4 PM time slot. Grinnell is a very accommodating place, as you know. I'm sure the Knights would do the same for us.

[The Roop]

13 free throw attempts for Beloit, 34 for IC. I bet the Bucs are glad to get out of Jacksonville.

[augiefan]

Of course there's no such thing as home cooking officiating wise in the game of BB. The Bucs missed their chance to be in the playoff picture with some unfortrunate  home losses early in the conference season. Still Beloit has come along way back towards being a respectable program.

[The Roop]

Yup, nothing comes back to bite like close home losses.