MBB: Midwest Conference

[OBC]

Jeffdc, you're right, what a terrific game from a fan's standpoint. And what a great day for all the Grinnell fans and alumni who were on hand to cheer on the Pioneers. GC always turns out a great crowd in Lake Forest and yesterday was no exception. There was also a good representation of former Grinnell players on hand, and I had an opportunity to speak with several to get their analysis, since I was not able to be there myself.

Looking at the stats and running score I was surprised by the turnover differential being so low (17::13). I thought it would have to be higher for GC to be successful. But there were 3 significant stats evident, in my opinion.

1. Rebounds - Grinnell got 17 defensive rebounds to LFC's 19 offensive rebounds. That was a major coup for Grinnell. If this had been slightly more skewed towards the Foresters the game may have swung the other way. Great job on the boards for the Pioneers.
2. 3 point shooting - Both teams shot well, percentagewise, BUT, Lake Forest didn't really put up the number of 3's I thought they would. Most of the attempts came in the second half when they cut an 18 point deficit to about 3. I really expected LFC to use this weapon more, because they do shoot well. Plus, Grinnell shot 50% from the arc in the first half.
3. Free Throws - Again, I thought Lake Forest was better this year, but they shot 56.7% for the game. 17-30. This was a terrible blow to their chances. Remember, in Grinnell's only loss this season, against Carroll, they shot 60% from the line and lost by 3. A championship team MUST do better.

Finally, one comment relayed by a former Grinnell player was that in the second half Lake Forest threw a new defensive wrinkle at the Pios. They attempted to trap the point guard over half court. It completely backfired and the Grinnell point guards broke the traps at will and led to several easy shots and baskets that allowed GC to blow the game open to a big lead. By the time coach Conger was able to react, the game was out of hand.

Kudos to the Grinnell team, the point guards, the system and the coaches. Oh, and by the way Brian McManamy is CLUTCH.

[jeffdc]

Kudos to the Grinnell team, the point guards, the system and the coaches. Oh, and by the way Brian McManamy is CLUTCH.

I'll second that!

[augie_superfan]

1. Rebounds - Grinnell got 17 defensive rebounds to LFC's 19 offensive rebounds. That was a major coup for Grinnell. If this had been slightly more skewed towards the Foresters the game may have swung the other way. Great job on the boards for the Pioneers.

Can you explain why it's a great job rebounding when the opponent rebounds more of their own misses than the defensive team can get.  Maybe it's a system thing but that doesn't seem to be a good thing.

[scottie]

Grinnell, 25 fouls.  Lake Forest, 21 fouls.  Accurate or extremely bogus?

[OBC]

Re: rebounds

Like so much in basketball, this is a relative stat. When the team with the worst rebound margin (Grinnell @ -7.5) goes up against the team with the best rebound margin (Lake Forest @ +7.7) and fights them to a virtual standstill, that is a good job relative to their respective abilities.

Grinnell is also last in the conference in rebound defense, while LFC is near the top in rebound offense. So, getting beat on the boards at the opponents offensive end by a narrower margin than might be expected is one of the small things upon which victory or defeat can hinge.

I think.

[augie_superfan]

Re: rebounds

Like so much in basketball, this is a relative stat. When the team with the worst rebound margin (Grinnell @ -7.5) goes up against the team with the best rebound margin (Lake Forest @ +7.7) and fights them to a virtual standstill, that is a good job relative to their respective abilities.

Grinnell is also last in the conference in rebound defense, while LFC is near the top in rebound offense. So, getting beat on the boards at the opponents offensive end by a narrower margin than might be expected is one of the small things upon which victory or defeat can hinge.

I think.

If you are going to compare the team's rebounding margins then you need to look at the total rebounds for each team in the game, not just the ones that happened when Lake Forest shot the ball.  Grinnell was outrebounded 42-34 in the game, basically right at each team's season average so I don't see how this can look like a positive.

[monsoon]

FWIW:  I was really impressed by the atmosphere at Lake Forest on Saturday afternoon.  Great game, and a lot of fun to watch it in that environment.

[scottie]

I like how everyone is dodging my question about the equity in fouls called.  Another indication that there are many more Grinnell fans on this board compared to the little/no LFC fans.   

[jeffdc]

I like how everyone is dodging my question about the equity in fouls called.  Another indication that there are many more Grinnell fans on this board compared to the little/no LFC fans.   

It was hard to tell from the primitive video feed that LFC provided. I certainly saw fouls missed on both sides, but it didn't seem like GC was getting any favors from the refs.

[monsoon]

I like how everyone is dodging my question about the equity in fouls called. 

I was at the game as a neutral observer (who cheered for Lake Forest because that's the section I was sitting in), I don't remember feeling at any point that there was a problem with how the game was called.  Was there a call here and there that was questionable?  Sure; that happens in every game, and went both ways.  Frankly, I don't remember much about the officiating at all, and that, to me, is a sign that it was probably a pretty well-called game.

[OBC]

Lake Forest was behind late in the game. Typical to pick up extra fouls in that circumstance. Grinnell, with a big lead, did not have to be as aggressive.

[jeffdc]

blowout in Grinnell tonight. GC's win was never in doubt. I was a bit puzzled as to the KC coach's approach. It was obvious that what he was doing wasn't working in the first 5 minutes. But he made no adjustments that I could see. Weatherby showed his 3 chops late in the game and might have made some difference if he had opened it up earlier. Doubly puzzling because the 1st meeting of KC/GC this year was a much tighter, more competitive game. Odd.

Jesse Ney nailed the top scoring slot with 30 pts. Congrats!

[systemfan86]

Still lurking out here and enjoying Grinnell's year from a distance...

Looking at the Player's of the Week and the conference stats, it would appear that GC has a chance to win the regular season title and not place a player on the first team All-MWC.

Numbers wise, Clark from LFC would seem to be in the lead for POY: leading league in rebounding and top 10 in scoring and assists. 10 double-doubles in 17 games.

Wurtz and Koth are 1 and 2 in scoring in conference games, so they certainly merit consideration. I understand Lentsch will be considered, but I could see a backlash against him because of the record scoring game. Who else passes the eye test? Seibert of LU is top 6 in scoring and assists. 

[OBC]

Ask me next Monday.

[jeffdc]

Ask me next Monday.

Yep, a tough away weekend for GC against RC and SNC....