MBB: Midwest Conference

[I Can Sell It]

Mr. Roop:

I am new here, I will try to remember that.   I went and read some of Mr. Sager's posts and they are rather verbose.  But he seems like he wields a lot of power here. 

[The Roop]

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the movies..................... I saw the commercial twice today and still don't believe it. Each time I was expecting a Vonage box to hit Stallone in the head for making another Rocky movie. Yet no Vonage box ever appeared. So it seems "Rocky Balboa" will hit the big screen this Christmas. And yes he's making a comeback in the ring.

I wish it would have been a direct to video release, like SlapShot 2, so I could disguise myself while buying it and deny ever seeing it.

[Gregory Sager]

Beloit suffered another big loss to Augustana today 69-52.   With Whitewater coming up next, Beloit doesn't have too good a chance to win this one either.

Marian had a four-point lead going into the last quarter, and they were down by a single possession with under twenty seconds left in the game.

Mr. Sager, I thought they played two halves of 20 minutes in NCAA ball?

What do you call half of a half, ICSI?

Mr. Roop:

I am new here, I will try to remember that.   I went and read some of Mr. Sager's posts and they are rather verbose.  But he seems like he wields a lot of power here. 

MUHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

[/evil laugh]

[WLCALUM83]

Beloit suffered another big loss to Augustana today 69-52.   With Whitewater coming up next, Beloit doesn't have too good a chance to win this one either.

Marian had a four-point lead going into the last quarter, and they were down by a single possession with under twenty seconds left in the game.

Mr. Sager, I thought they played two halves of 20 minutes in NCAA ball?

What do you call half of a half, ICSI?

Mr. Roop:

I am new here, I will try to remember that.   I went and read some of Mr. Sager's posts and they are rather verbose.  But he seems like he wields a lot of power here. 

MUHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

[/evil laugh]

I am reminded of Vincent Price's classic similar laugh at the end of "Thriller".

[The Roop]

Having recently visited the Rocky.com website to get an idea of the story line for "Rocky Balboa", supposedly the 6th and final installment in that franchise, I found the concept so silly that only I could top it.

In Rocky 7 Aliens will be teleported here with Bigfoots help to re-investigate the findings of the Warren Commission. During the inevitable cultural exchanges, ESPN will discover that one of the Alien Investigators was a boxing champion on his home world. Therefore, an Inter-Planetary Unification bout will be scheduled.

Executives at Grassy Knoll Industries, fearing an alien victory and risk of exposure if the research continues, buy every arena on Earth and force the match and all aliens off planet. A delegation of neutral Swiss Bigfoots eventually persuade the Grassy Knoll Executives to allow the bout to be held in the future, on the condition that the results will not be disclosed until Rocky XVIII. Rocky 7 ends with Rocky and the Alien Champion entering the ring and being teleported to the year 2156 when the fight will eventually occur.

[hjmphelp]

Grinnell 136
MacMurray 116

Grotberg apparently went off in this game. Long with a much better game as well and Schmidt with a very balanced and complete game. Grinnell faltered only a bit in the 1st half, but lit up the second.

this team will be very hard to beat when they follow the game plan!

[Greek Tragedy]

Stevens Point/Ripon boxscore

Not a great defensive game by any stretch of the imagination by Point on Friday night.  Offensively, they were very balanced and finally found their stroke from long distance.  Six players scored in double figures with Bryan Beamish adding eight points.

Any team with a capable inside post presence will give Stevens Point a problem.  Brian Schmitting was a stud, going for 21 in the first half, but only 8 in the second.  I'm not sure why they went away from him...Point couldn't stop him last night at all.

Of the three MWC teams, I tihink Ripon gave Point the most problems.  Sure, Lawrence came back and nearly won, but Ripon basically kept it close and I was the most uneasy with Ripon, despite having a huge lead at some points of the game.

Bo Johnson was held in check, but there were other players that gave us trouble, even if it doesn't show in the boxscore.  Ripon has a couple of lightning quick guards and are pretty solid offensively, IMO.

I'm glad to get through the top 3 MWC teams at 3-0 and I think it will be a battle for top spot among those three. 

[Scots4]

Monmouth over Hannibal LaGrange 61-58

[The Roop]

UW-W 76 BC 51. Stats aren't posted yet but if Beloit didn't have 30 turn overs I'll be shocked. This is a good one to forget. It will also be interested to see the free throw attempts. Beloit might have had 6 for the entire game. Not sure how many Whitewater had but it was pretty obvious where the game was played.

[d3bbfan]

BC was 2-2 from the ft line. Both teams had 16 to's. Beloit shot terrible. Had open looks. Horton has to stay out of foul trouble and stay on the floor.

And yes the refs were horrible. Wouldnt have made a difference int he outcome but they were still bad.

Well conference starts next weekend......we'll see what happens there.

[Mac Attack]

Just a slight correction to the "faltered only a bit in the first half" comment from the MacMurray-Grinnell game. Score was 70-67 at the half. MacMurray scored the first six points to start the second half to grab the lead. There were several lead changes for the next few minutes before Grinnell started to pull away. Grotberg had an incredible game. Probably the best pure shooter I've ever seen, and he nailed several shots with a hand in his face. Grinnell probably took 50 or more three point shots. MacMurray attempted only three. Had this been a "normal" basketball game, I think MacMurray would have won. But when it turns into a three point shooting contest, it's a completely different story. The way to beat Grinnell is pretty simple - physical, aggressive guard play. With bigger, stronger guards, a defense needs to zero in on really getting after their shooters. Push them, hold them, foul them, really get in their face and disrupt their flow and concentration. MacMurray didn't really have anyone who could do this. I thought Monmouth had several guards who could really get after perimeter shooters like Grinnell has. Grinnell plays little to zero interior defense and isn't really interested in making more than one or two passes on offense and besides their one interior player, really doesn't look for anything in the paint. I was impressed with Grinnell's full court and half court defense - but once a team figures out the way to attack the defensive pressure - which is to split the defense in the middle of the floor with short, quick passes - it really shouldn't be a factor. MacMurray spent too much time trying to dribble the ball down the sidelines and make full-court baseball passes, both of which resulted in an avalanche of turnovers.

I was very impressed with Grinnell's players and coaching staff. Well disciplined, well conditioned, and very courteous. I was less impressed with several of their fans - talk about some leather lungs...

Good news is we won't play another team the rest of the season with this kind of style of play. Best wishes to Grinnell and its team.

[hjmphelp]

Mac-
Can't argue with your assessment at all-I wasn't there. What i was referring to-based on several comments from several people who were-is not so much lead change as straying from the game plan. when it works it is a thing of beauty. When they stray a bit or are forced out of what they do by poor shooting or whatnot, it can get pretty hairy. Lead changes early in a half mean nothing to this team when it is firing on all...er..five.
The keys to beating this team are somewhat more complicated than you state because after 17 years or so of piddling with this style, Coach has an adequate answer for whatever the opponent throws at the team. The real key is - especially this year - talent. Quite simply, a more talented team will usually win any game, and if one team or another is off their game the other has a chance to win. The system is an equalizer in that respect, but this team is so talented that it will take great effort from opposing teams to win this year. Carthage beat a team that wasn't ready to play but had more talent. I doubt (hope) that will happen often this year.


let the BS begin!

[hjmphelp]

One sad note about Grinnell fans-
We have always been loud obnoxious and funny with our comments. It even at times gets players from other teams laughing.
In the one game I've seen this year I was quite dismayed by the behavior of (quite) a few students. There is no room for loutishness at basketball games and right now the trend for Grinnell fans seems to be toward a more profane and less funny cheering section. I hope this changes quickly.

[Mac Attack]

To tell you the truth, the rude comments that I heard were coming from middle-age and older folks, and primarily women. Not students. I was pretty taken back by it. Usually don't hear or see that from adults, although there's always one or two loudmouths who think their team is being cheated. But most often it comes from from students, at least in the SLIAC. I can you from personal experience that if these were parents or grandparents of players, which I assume they were, it is extremely embarressing to their sons or grandsons who are out on the floor playing. Barking at a referee for two hours isn't my idea of how to support your team at a college basketball game, but everyone's different.

That being said, I'll repeat the Grinnell team was first class, as was their coaching staff.

[Dolph Stanley]

Looking for the next betting line to be posted by Roop Vegas so I can let my winnings ride.