MBB: Midwest Conference

[mwc4life]

Great win for LU and the MWC.  Alex is definately one of the hardest places to win.

I love scottie's comment...maybe LU will move up to #33?!?!

NO RESPECT!

As far as the Augie/Beliot game, I'm pretty sure Augie lost a couple really good players from last years team (I think they were Bauman and another athletic guard).  I'm not saying they can't be better, but Ripon beat them @ Augie last year (Becker played 15 min. max that game) so losing to them by 20 at home isn't that great.  Who knows though its early, everyones trying to find their identity as a team.  Don't go crazy gobucs, Augie probably wouldn't beat this years LU team at home....maybe at all for that matter.

[Greek Tragedy]

Great win for LU and the MWC.  Alex is definately one of the hardest places to win.

I love scottie's comment...maybe LU will move up to #33?!?!

NO RESPECT!

In all honesty, I think it has more to do with the team LU puts out on the floor (and conference foes), rather than the crowd, at least last night.  As one poster said, the students were on break, which I didn't know at the time.  The Oshkosh crowd was more vocal than the home crowd until about 5 minutes to go in the game and in overtime, that's when the LU crowd "showed up".  They weren't very loud at all until the end. 

LU has had some solid teams recently, but the fact that the MWC isn't a real strong conference top to bottom makes it hard for the voters to put LU in the top 25 when all they have to beat is maybe two real quality conference opponents (in the nation's eyes) every year. 

I think part of the reason LU was ranked so low this year is because they lost several senior starters (3?) and only returned Braier and MacGillis.  Add that to the perceived weak MWC, they probably won't get too much love.  I remember when Grinnell started out the year real hot, got some votes, jumped into the top 25 and then took a nose dive.  And don't give me this "no respect" crap.  After taking Point to the wire in the Elite 8 the previous year and returning basically everyone, LU was ranked #7 in last year's preseason poll. 

My feelings are that, along with LU, Ripon (though without Becker) and Carroll are both solid programs in the MWC. 

I definitely feel LU will be fine and they'll get their respect you guys think they aren't getting.  The earned and deserved last night's win.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Assuming LU doesn't lose a game before the next poll, I'll predict they will not only enter the top 25, they'll enter at about the mid-teens.

[scottie]

Mr. Ypsi:  You too may be heading toward 3000 posts, but in this case I think you're off your rocker...     That would be about a 20-place jump in the polls.  I'll say Pcole let's them inch up to 32...maybe 31 if he's in a giving mood.    

[diehardfan]

Ack! After all this time, chuck is catching up to me! 

Lol... chuck, do you remember back in the day when we were racing to something (500? 1000?) and I started to blow you away? Guess the whole not posting on the CCIW Chat really got me out of the running 

My post was obviously based on Larry not losing before the next poll, incidentally, in case that wasn't obvious. 

[mwc4life]

I wouldn't be surprised if LU was in the top 25 next poll (baring no losses) because of their recent history and the fact that they probably realize LU should have been a top 25 team in the preseason.  Look the MWC is a good good conference...and it keeps getting better overall.  The problem is we don't get any recognition because we play in the toughest region in America.  If the mwc is in the East or West coast, one of the teams would probably have made a run to the final four which, in this case with the voters, would give the conference more respect.  And say what you want to say about us, but LU is a school app. around 2,000 students competing with state schools that run around 10,000 students...its quite an advantage don't you think?

As far as the LU's gym (Alex) it is very very difficult to play at.  First of all, it's awkward cause it only has one side of bleachers and only one side of the court has a wall in back of it.  It can throw off a players depth perception.  Secondly, and i don't know if its changed this year, but the hoops are different.  One hoop seems like you're shooting on a 10 1/2 foot hoop and the other is like shooting on a 9 1/2 foot hoop.  If you aren't used to the gym it is extremely difficult to shoot well for these reasons....and imagine what the score would have been if you have the entire student section pumping up the team the whole game....the players really feed of the fans

As far as the MWC competition....I bet if you look up LU's and Ripon's record vs. non-conference opponents, even on neutral sites, you will see a lot of very good, play-off caliber type teams that didn't win...In the last four years Ripon has beaten Ill. Wes, Augie (twice), Babson(twice), Hanover, Keene State, UW-Lacrosse, Northpark....these are the only teams i can remember off the top of my dumb head. I'm sure Lake Forest and Carroll have had some quality wins aswell.

PS- Ripon's been a pretty darn good program when Becker wasn't there...oh yeah his brother played on a team that won 20 straight in 1999.

[LU 05]

Anyone want to tell me how Lawrence is going to be down this year?  It seems the last couple years of success has reaped some huge benefits in the form of recruiting.  Great teams don't rebuild, they reload.  Go Vikes!

[mwc4life]

133 days until Briar and LU are no more

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mr. Ypsi:  You too may be heading toward 3000 posts, but in this case I think you're off your rocker...     That would be about a 20-place jump in the polls.  I'll say Pcole let's them inch up to 32...maybe 31 if he's in a giving mood.    

Don't forget that Pat only has 1 of the 25 votes.

I'm going on the assumption that most of the voters think Oshkosh is still a very good team (falling only to, say, 8 or 9), and that therefore LU was GREATLY underestimated.  Of course, they MAY draw the opposite conclusion (that UW-O was grossly over-rated), and NOT raise their opinion of LU nearly as much.

I don't know how many voters will draw which conclusion, but I'm assuming many more will take the former rather than the latter.  (I suppose it also depends how each of the teams does in OTHER games before the next vote.)

BTW, when IS the next poll?

[diehardfan]

Well, hoopsville took a week off for the holidays, I assume the poll is doing the same as well?

[Greek Tragedy]

Just some feedback...

I'm sure the perception of LU having a down year had to do with the fact that they lost senior all-conference starters in Holinbeck and Evans, and Brandon Falls.  That's three starters.  Give the general public and voters a little break.  

I agree that the MWC is getting better and better.  But in the past, it's been Lawrence (in the very recent past) and Ripon.  That's all folks.  Lawrence has been a solid program in the nation's eyes for just two years and the MWC hasn't done well in the national scene prior to that.  They don't have the history like some conferences do, that's why they are overlooked.  But, LU, along with Ripon, and the emergence of other teams like Carroll, should get MWC on the map.  

When it comes to tourney time, Lawrence and other MWC teams have been put in the "west region", haven't they?  They've played Buena Vista, Gustavus Adolphus, Point, etc.

And no, the pure number of students attending a school isn't that much of an advantage.  This isn't high school where you get to pick from the school's population.  It's not like you only have 2000 students to pick from while your public schools have 10000 students to pick from.  There are advantages, like cost and all that, but please, let's not start that argument again, it gets real boring.

The Alex is interesting.  Zorn arena in Eau Claire has the baseline walls right on top of you too.  I'm glad to see Alex add bleachers on the other end of the baseline, to add capacity.  It's a nice addition.  Not sure about the hoops.

Beating the likes of North Park and La Crosse haven't been too hard in recent years.  North Park is horrible.  I'm not so sure Keene State is all that good either, but I'll leave that up to someone else to decide.  Ripon's win over Hanover (last year?) was real nice though, I'll give you that.

I think the next poll will come out the week after Thanksgiving, possible the following week.  

[LU 05]

mwc4life,
               I believe Ripon fans were posting last year that they couldn't wait for last years seniors to graduate.  They were convinced that LU's fortunes would change dramatically when they left.  I don't believe that is going to be the case.  What a lot of people on this board don't realize is that Tharp has done a great job of building this program for the future.  The underclassmen on Lawrence can play.  Tharp is now able to go after kids he couldn't get before.  Now he is selling not only a great school, but a team with strong support within the University that  plays in games of national consequence.  You say 133 days until Bopper graduates, fine.  I say 133 more days until LU lands its next stud recruit.     

[diehardfan]

I agree that the MWC is getting better and better.  But in the past, it's been Lawrence (in the very recent past) and Ripon.  That's all folks.  Lawrence has been a solid program in the nation's eyes for just two years and the MWC hasn't done well in the national scene prior to that.  They don't have the history like some conferences do, that's why they are overlooked.  But, LU, along with Ripon, and the emergence of other teams like Carroll, should get MWC on the map. 

Lol OS... did you not know that Beloit used to be a major powerhouse??

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/century/nov99/mill111499.asp

Beloit was so big I believe they even made the great moments in wisconsin book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931599459/103-7874011-9195806?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

[Warren Thompson]

diehardfan et al.:

This goes under the heading of "I'm-a-Geezer-and-I-Can-Prove-It": I clearly remember -- as clearly as a geezer can -- the year that Beloit went to the NIT. I was [ ] a high school junior in Texas and had a vague idea where Beloit (and Wisconsin, for that matter) was. At the time, I remember thinking that it must be somewhere north of Oklahoma.

[LUVikings04]

First off, a great win for LU...both Braier & MacGillis played a heck of a game.  3 in a row versus Osh Kosh is a great accomplishment for these seniors.  New freshman Kroeger looks like a great pick up for Tharp & his crew.  I know that he is only a freshman & only has a few games under his belt on a collegiate level, but what I have seen and heard about him during practices, he is only going to get better. I could not agree more with LU 05 in terms of what Tharp has done for the LU program.  In years past, he consistently brought in good role players & seldomly had all-star caliber players (with a few exceptions Huff, DePactor, Lavoy, Braier) but now he is getting a chance to talk to & recruit  better Athletes.