MBB: Midwest Conference

[scottie]

Scottie Scottie Scottie,

Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of Scots. I'm afraid Monmouth has to run the table now; but they won't.

The Roop, Thanks for the shout-out...I think.  Scottie has been away from his computer, since Saturday morning.  However, even if I had been around, there's obviously not much to write these days.  A rivalry game against (a surging) Knox could give the Scots some extra incentive to get into the win column.  Some tough defense on Maclin and Zick would be nice.

As for the fourth and final playoff spot, things are getting interesting.  Teams 1-3 have clearly separated themselves from the pack (so far).  The #4 team is currently sitting at 3-3 (.500).  It is possible, then, that (now let me finish...) 8-8 could make it into the playoffs in this top-heavy conference, with or without a tie-breaker.  If that's the case, even the Scots could get hot and go 8-2.  Mathematically, they are only 3 games out of the playoff spot so far. 

Livin' on a prayer,

Scottie

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Livin' on a prayer,

Just a fantastic closing line.

[falco1610]

I guess I was a bit liberal saying Carroll easily beat Whitewater, All I was saying is that Carroll deserves to make the tourney with how they have played so far this year.  If Carroll and Larry played in the WIAC, their records might not be as good but they would be in the hunt for winning that confrence as well.

[titan2000]

LU #5

What do you think ?

[titan2000]

Carroll not rated?  This is BS I say. 

Get additional officers at Alex for Wednesday night. 

[hjmphelp]

Conference strength has been an issue here of late and it is a very confounding subject. I alluded to this in a post several weeks ago when I said that i would be much more sure of GC's position in the league if they had beaten a team over .500 this year. So far, they haven't yet although they are in 3rd place with a 5-1 record. Now, having 7 of 10 teams at .500 or below for total games doesn't look so good and suggests that the conference is down this year. There are still 2 very strong teams at the top- both of which should be (and are) receiving national attention. Grinnell's record looks good at 5-1(9-3) but the wins have been against 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th place teams. That looks not-so-good. Then you consider that Grinnell pasted 5th and 6th by about 30 pts each (at Grinnell) and yet beat 8th thru 10th by  a combined 13 points (3 at MC, 3 at St N, and 7 at GC against RC) and it gets even more confusing. Adding even more confusion is that 2 of Grinnell's losses have been to ranked teams (#6 Larry and # 15 Wartburg) and one has been to Carthage which is considered by some to be much better than its record suggests.
Yeah, I know the transient stuff means nothing in terms of Grinnell's record or conference teams' records against non-conference opponents, but when you consider that many of those non-conference losses were to solid (if not ranked) teams, the picture gets murky.
The picture I get is of a conference that is down from the last few years but probably not as far down as has been suggested by some. I can't squabble with the Massey conference ranking though, it seems to be about right and is certainly more statistically accurate than rankings based on Conference performance in past years. Bottom line is that the MWC still has more to do to prove itself nationally.
I do agree with Sager that the MWC is in a position to get two teams in, but I see several scenarios. Larry is a shoe if they continue to win (ie., stay ranked but end up with only one or two conference losses), but manage to lose in the MWC tourney. Carroll is in the same boat assuming they beat Larry and whoever comes next, get ranked and have a 15-1 or better record in conference but lose in the tourney. The "Two team in" theory works best with Larry and Carroll. Teams like Grinnell would have to win the tourney to get a berth no matter what.
So the fun begins with the following scenario: Larry and Carroll split and go 15-1 in conference play, both Larry and Carroll stay ranked (assuming Carroll makes the top 25 soon) and then both lose in the MWC tourney. If this happens, Larry closes with 2 losses and Carroll with 3 (2 losses to ranked or previously ranked teams). Someone gets screwed, IMHO.

[Early]

Larry at 5?  Well they are the only team on the list still undefeated.  So having said that I would say is fine with me.  I have not seen a lot of DIII ball this year (one game in fact) but they are a really good team.  Carroll at 11-1 prol'y should be getting some more attention.

Nice Bon Jovi reference there scottie.....made me proud.

[scottie]

'Twas made with you in mind, Early.

[Maverick]

The Roop, Thanks for the shout-out...I think.  Scottie has been away from his computer, since Saturday morning.  However, even if I had been around, there's obviously not much to write these days.  A rivalry game against (a surging) Knox could give the Scots some extra incentive to get into the win column.  Some tough defense on Maclin and Zick would be nice.

As for the fourth and final playoff spot, things are getting interesting.  Teams 1-3 have clearly separated themselves from the pack (so far).  The #4 team is currently sitting at 3-3 (.500).  It is possible, then, that (now let me finish...) 8-8 could make it into the playoffs in this top-heavy conference, with or without a tie-breaker.  If that's the case, even the Scots could get hot and go 8-2.  Mathematically, they are only 3 games out of the playoff spot so far. 

Livin' on a prayer,

Scottie

scottie - As you said, hopefully the rivalry game with Knox gives Monmouth a little extra incentive to break into the win column for MWC games.  It's unfortunate, but also like you said, there hasn't been alot to write about lately except for all the close losses.  I posted it sometime before, but I'll say it again--this team has the ability to play with anyone in the MWC but just hasn't put all the pieces together and it's unfortunate that it may take the rivalry game to get the Scots to reach their full potential as a team.  They should have had that extra incentive (reaching the MWC playoffs) in mind starting with their first MWC game back in December.  On to your more positive/optimistic paragraph, it would be great if the Scots used tomorrow night's game with the Prairie Fire as a spring board to get hot going into the remainder of the season and somehow were able to grab the 4th playoff spot with an 8-8 record.  They would obviously need alot of help along the way for that to happen, but they are only 3 games out of that final playoff spot so it is still possible!

Great line to finish with--almost better than some of the haikus!

[hjmphelp]

Here are some interesting NCAA DIII stats for you as of 1-9-06:

Team Scoring Offense
#1 Grinnell- 126.8ppg
Scoring Margin
#13-Grinnell: 14.7 pts
Three Point Field Goals Per Game
#2-Grinnell; 21.8 per game (Redlands #1)

Individual Leaders as of 1-9-06
Pts Per Game
#3-John Grotberg; Grinnell 29.7 ppg ( could change after 45,32, and 31 ppg this last  week.)
Three Pt Field Goals Per Game:
#1-Grotberg;Grinnell; 5.0
#4-Mike Schmidt; Grinnell; 4.7
3 Pt Field Goal %
#56-Schmidt; Grinnell; 42%
Assists Per Game
#1-David Arseneault; Grinnell; 9.1
Blocked Shots Per Game:
#6-Paul Nordlund; Grinnell; 3.3
Steals Per Game
#16-Doug Ticus; Grinnell; 3.2

Also, Brian Schmitting from Ripon leads the nation in Shooting % at 73%.

[mwc4life]

Hello all~

I had a take a break from what was one of the worst sports weekends in a while...First Ripon loses two at home (That never happens!!!) and my beloved Bears go down, not because of the offense, but the defense can't put a victory where its mouth is...double damn!!!

Hmmmmm, Schmitting is number 1 in the nation in shooting....He got six shots on Friday's loss (4/6) and 10 shots on Sat. (7/10).  Look, I know I've beaten a dead horse over and over again, but can we please get this guy some more touches....Can we find guards in Gillie's program that can guard and post feed....seems simple doesn't it?  I would have to agree with most who say Ripon doesn't have great team chemistry....I remind all Ripon fans that this team has no Seniors in its starting line-up and only one (Devries) that plays any important minutes.  With a 2-4 start in the conference, Ripon is only one game back of the fourth spot, so to say they are done would be technically wrong...but most of us know, you can NOT lose a two game homestand to Lake Forest and Knox.

[Greek Tragedy]

Why couldn't LU host a game at another venue nearby--they probably have more seats say at Appleton East High School then they do in that rathole Quandt in Stevens Point. 

It's gotta be held on the campus of the host institution, I believe.

[Greek Tragedy]

I guess I was a bit liberal saying Carroll easily beat Whitewater, All I was saying is that Carroll deserves to make the tourney with how they have played so far this year.  If Carroll and Larry played in the WIAC, their records might not be as good but they would be in the hunt for winning that confrence as well.

I don't doubt that all.  Their only loss was by one point to Oshkosh.

Carroll not rated? This is BS I say.

They are ranked in the 2nd edition of the Posters' Poll! 

[systemfan86]

But until another MWC team accomplishes something in the tournament, we just aren't going to get the additional recognition. Is that a Catch-22? Probably. We can't get into the tournament without the recognition, and we can't get the recognition without getting into the tournament.

That's not correct, systemfan86. The MWC will or will not get a second team into the tourney based upon the five primary criteria (QOWI, regional winning percentage, record vs. regionally-ranked teams, regional head-to-head results, and record vs. common regional opponents), not upon "recognition". A league's reputation has nothing to do with the matter. Getting a Pool C bid is all about crunching the numbers nowadays.

In fact, looking around the Midwest Region, I'd say that at the moment the MWC is in fine shape to get a second bid.

Based on a little number crunching, it would appear Carroll is in good shape with the win at Whitewater and even the loss at Oshkosh giving them good 'points' (I didn't know how to factor in McDaniels and Nichols, but I think Carroll has nearly 100 'points' even without them). What kind of 'point' total do you need to have to be considered for Pool C? Grinnell has (I think) around 77 at this point and would likely need to knock off Larry or Carroll [but not his other brother Carroll...sorry I digress] at home and win the majority of their road games to even be part of the conversation.

And before everyone says I'm getting ahead of myself, I know. I'm not thinking Grinnell is a great candidate for Pool C. I'm simply trying to get my brain cells wrapped around this one.

If, however, Larry and Carroll continue their trend and the 3rd or 4th team in the MWC gets hot in the tournament and wins the auto bid, we could have the numbers to see a three bid year for the MWC.

In the words of Jerry Reed: "We got a long way to go, a short time to get there..."

[systemfan86]

One more quick thought...

If this is a numbers game, then the small number of games played by the MWC teams (by league rule) forces the teams to win a vast majority of their games to ever be considered for Pool C. An extra 3-4 games could allow for an extra loss (that might even help put them over the top if they are against teams with good records).

Apparently we're not helping ourselves.