MBB: Midwest Conference

[systemfan86]

David McMullen.....tip the cap.

There's an embarassing one to miss. I was going through the list very quick and must have over looked him.

Man, RC loses McMullen, Schmitting, and Johnson?! That's a lot to replace.

[LU_nut]

system fan:

I think next year will see an uptick in the top of the conference again.  Grinnell should be improved.  They improved greatly this past year and return almost everyone.  LU returns virtually everyone but needs to get tougher and quicker.  Lake Forest and St. Norbs both seem to have good, young teams and improved coaching.  Ripon and Carroll take a real hit to graduation, but I get the sense that Schultz at Carroll really has that program on the right course and have a hard time seeing them hit the skids.   Poor Knox is a wasteland.........kind of like Beloit with Hinz....they had an all time great player for 4 years and accomplished very little.

Just my thoughts.  Should be an interesting year.

BTW:  I see Carroll and GC in the final game and very close game.  Carroll has the quickness to match up reasonable well with GC.  If GC is hitting their 3's they should hold court.  Hopefully the winner does not win a trip to Point in the first round.  Maybe GC will get sent to the IIAC winner which might be a better route.

[systemfan86]

system fan:

BTW:  I see Carroll and GC in the final game and very close game.  Carroll has the quickness to match up reasonable well with GC.  If GC is hitting their 3's they should hold court.  Hopefully the winner does not win a trip to Point in the first round.  Maybe GC will get sent to the IIAC winner which might be a better route.

I agree with the all-Pioneer final and that it would be a good one.

If GC gets the AQ, I'm guessing they have a shot at skipping Point (in the first round). The latest regional rankings has Grinnell 7th in the Midwest. While that's not incredibly strong, I would imagine that their 'position' is better than some other AQs. Add to that the fact that the #6 team in the MW (Carthage) lost last night, so Grinnell could move up. If someone else wins the AQ, then I think a trip to Point could very easily happen. Either way, I'm guessing Point gets a bye, so who ever plays them would have one tournament win which would be nice.

While it would be preferable to get the IIAC champ (Loras being the leading candidate), I'm wondering if a trip to the CCIW champ (Augie?) or UAA champ (presuming Chicago or Wash U) could be in order for GC should they hold serve.

Guessing is fun, but I'm inclined to avoid 'counting the chickens before they're hatched' and find out with everyone else on what I hope will be a very happy Sunday in Central Iowa! 

[LU_nut]

System fan:

I am not an expert on how they come up with matchups.....when they send someone from the MW out West, etc.  It seems that in the past, there has been a stooge like Lakeland or Edgewood out of the "other" Wisconsin conference that gets to be sacrificial lamb to the WIAC or even the MWC when that champion is strong.  With the recent merger and the strength of Aurora, that stooge is no longer available.

I would think another option might be a trip to St. Thomas in Minnesota.

[systemfan86]

System fan:

I am not an expert on how they come up with matchups.....when they send someone from the MW out West, etc.  It seems that in the past, there has been a stooge like Lakeland or Edgewood out of the "other" Wisconsin conference that gets to be sacrificial lamb to the WIAC or even the MWC when that champion is strong.  With the recent merger and the strength of Aurora, that stooge is no longer available.

I would think another option might be a trip to St. Thomas in Minnesota.

I don't know either; I'm just hoping that if GC holds serve, their regional ranking will prevent them from being viewed as the stooge!

I thought of St. Thomas as an option after I finished the previous post. From purely a travel standpoint, St. Thomas or Loras would be better than Point or Wash U/Chicago. That said, jeffp might be pulling for Chicago and an opportunity to see That Girl. 
 

[systemfan86]

When are CC, RC, and LFC arriving in Iowa? Are they traveling today/tonight? Or they going to come day of?

jeffs (p and dc), can we arrange loud parties at the appropriate hotels if they are arriving tonight? Can we make sure Anger Management is showing on the TV's at LFC's hotel? 

[Scots4]

Lake Forest- I did not say we were embarrased to lose to Lake Forest. I said we were embarassed with the way we concluded our season.

Good luck to all four teams this weekend and hopefully the South is represented well!

[systemfan86]

system fan:

I think next year will see an uptick in the top of the conference again.  Grinnell should be improved.  They improved greatly this past year and return almost everyone.  LU returns virtually everyone but needs to get tougher and quicker.  Lake Forest and St. Norbs both seem to have good, young teams and improved coaching.  Ripon and Carroll take a real hit to graduation, but I get the sense that Schultz at Carroll really has that program on the right course and have a hard time seeing them hit the skids.   Poor Knox is a wasteland.........kind of like Beloit with Hinz....they had an all time great player for 4 years and accomplished very little.

BTW, does anyone think IC might be a sleeper? They haven't had a great couple of years - including this one - but they're young. Maybe with experience they could be a threat. Gillingham seems like a solid player and they had a lot of freshmen and sophmores get playing time.

[scottie]

system fan:

I think next year will see an uptick in the top of the conference again.  Grinnell should be improved.  They improved greatly this past year and return almost everyone.  LU returns virtually everyone but needs to get tougher and quicker.  Lake Forest and St. Norbs both seem to have good, young teams and improved coaching.  Ripon and Carroll take a real hit to graduation, but I get the sense that Schultz at Carroll really has that program on the right course and have a hard time seeing them hit the skids.   Poor Knox is a wasteland.........kind of like Beloit with Hinz....they had an all time great player for 4 years and accomplished very little.

BTW, does anyone think IC might be a sleeper? They haven't had a great couple of years - including this one - but they're young. Maybe with experience they could be a threat. Gillingham seems like a solid player and they had a lot of freshmen and sophmores get playing time.

Aren't you guys (...and DHF...and "that girl") forgetting a certain team? 

[systemfan86]

system fan:

I think next year will see an uptick in the top of the conference again.  Grinnell should be improved.  They improved greatly this past year and return almost everyone.  LU returns virtually everyone but needs to get tougher and quicker.  Lake Forest and St. Norbs both seem to have good, young teams and improved coaching.  Ripon and Carroll take a real hit to graduation, but I get the sense that Schultz at Carroll really has that program on the right course and have a hard time seeing them hit the skids.   Poor Knox is a wasteland.........kind of like Beloit with Hinz....they had an all time great player for 4 years and accomplished very little.

BTW, does anyone think IC might be a sleeper? They haven't had a great couple of years - including this one - but they're young. Maybe with experience they could be a threat. Gillingham seems like a solid player and they had a lot of freshmen and sophmores get playing time.

Aren't you guys (...and DHF...and "that girl") forgetting a certain team? 

Not necessarily forgetting. Maybe just not (yet) considering. Make a case for us! 

Looks like the Scots will have a heavily senior team next year. 12 juniors and seniors(-to-be) including Terwelp and Rogers. Not bad, not bad at all. But Glasgow will need to find another gear for a group that was .500 this year.

[schwanman]

I think the case is that Terwelp and Rogers are already talented players who, as seniors, should be at their top of their game. At the next level are five players with experience from this year -- Andy Moore, Corey Turner, Kyle Cook, Scott Scholten and Luke Reschke -- who do need to find that next gear (although in Reschke's case, it's not a lack of effort ... he really gets after it). Consistent double-digit scoring from just one of them might be the spark necessary to turn a .500 team into a playoff team. After all, Monmouth did post victories against playoff teams Ripon, Carroll and Lake Forest, so they're not THAT far away. And who knows who Coach Glasgow will be able to bring in from recruiting? Hopefully, at least one player who can make an immediate impact. Freshman guard Tyler Morrow might also be ready to be a steady contributor next season.

[titan2000]

When are CC, RC, and LFC arriving in Iowa? Are they traveling today/tonight? Or they going to come day of?

jeffs (p and dc), can we arrange loud parties at the appropriate hotels if they are arriving tonight? Can we make sure Anger Management is showing on the TV's at LFC's hotel? 

Do we need more proof that GC believes in cheating as a legitimate means to victory.  I guess the Systemfan doesn't have as much confidence in the circus as I thought he did. 

[LU_nut]

Scotie:

I did not mean to overlook MM.  I think they should be right in the mix and reinforce my point that the conference should be back "up" again next year.  I like Rogers, Moore and Tewlerp(sp?).   

I think there could be a legitimate 6-7 teams fighting for the post season tourney.

Having said all that.....for the conference to be really competitive with the WIAC and CCIW, it needs to attract more quality big guys.  That is the difference I see when I see those teams.  With Braier and Scheper gone, the conference did not fare as well this year. 

Nut

[diehardfan]

Aren't you guys (...and DHF...and "that girl") forgetting a certain team? 

Wheaton in 2006? 

I actually think that there's a more interesting matchup than Redlands-Grinnell... abd that would be Wheaton-Grinnell. The battle of the instant coffee, the the fight for all the cookies.. I mean, come on! And this one really REALLY might happen. Too cool.  8)

[systemfan86]

Aren't you guys (...and DHF...and "that girl") forgetting a certain team? 

Wheaton in 2006? 

I actually think that there's a more interesting matchup than Redlands-Grinnell... abd that would be Wheaton-Grinnell. The battle of the instant coffee, the the fight for all the cookies.. I mean, come on! And this one really REALLY might happen. Too cool.  8)

Well, you better be pulling for both GC and Wheaton tonight! Grinnell is one tick ahead of Wheaton in the update QoWI. That likely means Grinnell is ahead of Wheaton in the regional rankings. As a result, the best thing that can happen for Wheaton is for Grinnell to win the Pool A thus taking Grinnell out of the discussion for Pool C.

OK, the actual best thing is that Wheaton wins theirs, but you get my drift.