MBB: Midwest Conference

[Dolph Stanley]

Is the air being let out of the Beloit College balloon.  Anyon who thought the freshman were ready to be difference makers now knows just how far they have to go if they were at the gam tonight.

Congratulations to Lawrence on a HUGE win.  It must be nice to get those every season, I remember when Beloit use to. 

[The Roop]

I thought they would have trouble playing against a physical team. Was this a game that wound up a 20 point margin at the end, or did Beloit have to rally to make it a 20 point margin?

On a more serious note. I spent the last half hour battling HTML code and am proud to announce the "Roopsville" has officially sold out. The blog now features ads. Make it your home page and buy lots of stuff so I can get a check. DO IT NOW.

[diehardfan]

Sorry Roop, but I warned you.

Lawrence! Woo! I seriously thought that Oshkosh was going to be it for the WIAC... just based on having seen the same basic guys play well as frosh and sophs two years ago, and that they were returning everyone. Maybe Oshkosh is everything I thought they could be... if so it's going to be a nice year for Larry U fans!  

[John Gleich]

re: Oshkosh  (and Lawrence's ability to guage where they are compared to the 2nd ranked team in the country)

I was skeptical of Oshkosh's ranking because of some questions I had about their personel.  Those questions really weren't answered with tonight's games (actually, my skepiticism was confirmed and denied based on the performances tonight).  I also heard that TVD was, himself wary of his team's preseason ranking... from what I heard, he thought it was too high.

Be what it may... it sounded like a really good game.  Of course, Oshkosh won't feel good about it at all... and Lawrence will probably feel better than they should... but either way, I think Lawrence and Oshkosh are headed for good seasons.  It's just way too early IMO for a season to be banked (or thrown away) on the outcome of so early a game.

Btw.... in no way is that a knock on you or what you said April.  I actually was planning on saying this anyway on here, and I noted that you had already commented about something similar.   

[diehardfan]

Lol PS... My opinions on teams I haven't seen for over a year is not very strong, for obviously logical reasons... so no offense taken!

I'm sure both will have good seasons, but I think all tonight did was make me more confused than I already was about these two teams.  I think my post was made in the midst of my current tired stupor, and doesn't reflect on the fact that I think the game could possibly say a lot more of Oshkosh, and potential problems, than Lawrence's potential success this season.

Who knows, all I know is that I am sleepy and my brain isn't working very well. My profound apologies in advance for the fact that this post probably makes even less sense than the last one.

[John Gleich]

Hey, reading it as someone who's just as tired and frazzled... it makes perfect sense! 

Now, I don't guaratee that it will tomorrow, but...

[Greek Tragedy]

If any of you MWCers want to read my game review (i.e. ripping on Oshkosh) of the Larry U win, it's posted on the WIAC page. 

Big win for LU and as Titan2000 said, they just outhustled and outplayed Oshkosh.  Congrats on the big win. 

[The Roop]

DHF,

FYI, it's not "Sorry Roop", it's "Sorry ""The Roop"". Don't get it wrong again.

[Greek Tragedy]

Who knows, all I know is that I am sleepy and my brain isn't working very well. My profound apologies in advance for the fact that this post probably makes even less sense than the last one.

And at the time of April's post, it wasn't even midnight out there yet.  Maybe she's used to that East Coast time zone. 

[scottie]

Great win for Lawrence.

Perhaps this can be an early barometer as to what the "Coleman Mafia" thinks about LU (and the MWC).  Looking at the current Top 25 poll, Lawrence is at #37.  If history is a guide, the Vikings impressive win over #2 Oshkosh ought to move them up a spot or two - maybe all the way up to #34.

GO MWC! (Especially the Scots!)

[d3bbfan]

I think the Beloit Frosh werent prepared for how hard a top caliber team really plays. Augie scored 45 points in the 1st half. Beloit did play much better and harder (mainly on defense) and Augie only scored 27 in the 2nd. It was a 12 pnt game for most of the 2nd half. turned into a 20 pnt loss late in the mop up time.  The young guys arent there yet but they showed sings of being very good. Horton had several blocks and should have had a few others but got called for a few questionable fouls.

I think if a loss is ever a good thing this one was. It shows the team how much farther they have to go. I still think they will be very compedative in the league.

[diehardfan]

PS: it still makes sense to me.... or is that because I'm still sleepy? 

Who knows, all I know is that I am sleepy and my brain isn't working very well. My profound apologies in advance for the fact that this post probably makes even less sense than the last one.

And at the time of April's post, it wasn't even midnight out there yet.  Maybe she's used to that East Coast time zone. 

  Goooosh Tom! Give me a break! My brain that want to stay up as late as I did back in college is having an epic struggle with my body that is growing weary from having to leave the house at 7:20 everyone morning after only sleeping five or less hours.  After nearly two months of "hey, three and  half hours is a whole sleep cycle!" my body is starting to win. In the end will be for the best I guess (I'm getting OLD!). I also have a wicked chest cough that's stuffing up my head, and have been working late to earn comp time before Christmas so I can go home for a while. My vacation time for my new job doesn't kick in until almost exactly when the CCIW conference season starts. Hmmmmm.... 

I have to disagree with scottie, I think Lawrence will sneak into the top 25.  However, Oshkosh will take a significant hit, and Lawrence will have to compete with other WIAC teams who will getting more points from the Oshkosh fallout.

Okay, I think I've officially overdosed on the...

Smilies!  8) Smilies!  8)
Does anyone really need more evidence that I am not getting enough sleep? 

[Dolph Stanley]

"It was a 12 pnt game for most of the 2nd half. turned into a 20 pnt loss late in the mop up time.  The young guys arent there yet but they showed sings of being very good. "

It was a 14-18 point game almost the entire second half (check the play by play) with Beloit clawing back to 12 with just over 5 left before Augie put them away.

As with any recruiting class, this one simply can't be judged as the "young guys as a group" as some players are well ahead of others.  After three games, Horton is very interesting as he has a nice skill set and could be a real offensive force.  Dowden runs a solid point and will bring stability while allowing Towns to play the shooting guard.  .  Tubbs is a project.  He rebounds well but averages about a foul every three minutes and is lmited at this point on the offensive end.  Crivello (sorry Roop but 1-2 in his first two games does not demonstrate that he is a shooter) looks solid when it comes to fundamentals and is the kind of kid that every team needs over the course of a season but he is a long way from making much of a difference when a game is on the line.  The injured kid from Parkview clearly would have helped as well.

In short, this is a solid recruiting class but a long way from proving they are capable of being a group that conference championships are built around.  There is a lot of upside and a great deal of time for improvement.  THe real key is for the coach to produce this type of class (1-2 players with starting and potential star ability, 2-3 solid backups - part time starters) every year, not once every three years. 

[gobucs]

The freshman of Beloit saw how great of a team that Augie is.  They are flat out talented.  I think they would beat most MWC teams, and that's including Larry!  Augie goes deep on the bench, and has 3 6'9 guys, they just kept pounding on Beloit, and there were no calls made.  Beloit was rattled from the start with some turnovers, and just never could recover that 12 point margin.  It's a great learning experience for the frosh, and they'll get better because of it.

[scottie]

We'll see about LU's rankings, DHF.  Since you are fast approaching post # 3000, you may know what you're talking about...