MBB: Midwest Conference

[schwanman]

Okay, here goes:

Ripon
Lawrence
Lake Forest
Grinnell
St. Norbert
Carroll
Illinois College
Knox
Monmouth
Beloit

[John Gleich]

Here goes...

Larry U
St Norbs
Ripon
Carroll
Grinnell
Lake Forest
IC
Knox
Monmouth
Beloit

... what happens if there are ties?

[The Roop]

Folgers Crystals are sold in a variety of sizes so Jeff will have no problem if there are any ties. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Boxscore

Back from Oshkosh and the Titans pull out a good victory vs. a solid (as usual) Lawrence team.

Oshkosh played pretty well throughout with Capelle and D.J. Marsh being the most impressive on the Titans squad, while Ryan Kroeger ran circles around the Oshkosh defense and Andy Hurley also playing very well.

One of the best plays of the game came midway through the 2nd half when Kroeger ran the baseline, and with Gibson coming in for defensive help and the potential block, Kroeger went all the way around and with a beautiful reverse layup.  Very nice stuff.

Both teams came out flat, but when Oshkosh took a double-digit lead, Lawrence fought back like they always do.  Great effort by the Vikings.  Come crunch time though, with the game still in the balance around the 5 minute mark, Oshkosh clamped down defensively and came up with some big stops that included a great steal by D.J. Marsh and some timely rebounding by Gibson.

Lawrence was still within about 3 or 4 with 5 to play, but Oshkosh was able to close it out with good free throw shooting at the end.  Their FTs at the beginning were horrible, missing the first 3.

Key stats:

LU out rebounds Osh 34-25 and LU has 13 offensive boards.  Wow.  Osh only has 3 turnovers.  LU 15-19 FTs, Osh 30-37 FTs.

LU ranked 9th in the NCAA Div. III by D3hoops.com...UWO's Gibson blocks 275th
career shot to set WIAC record...Down 60-59, UWO goes on 29-15 scoring run
over the final 8:02 of game...46th meeting between two schools, with LU owning
a 32-14 lead in series...Game has only 14 turnovers, just three by UWO..UWO scores
points (29) on its last 14 possessions of game...UWO snaps three-game losing streak
to LU...UWO has five players in double-figure scoring.

Oshkosh goes for the MWC sweep on Wednesday vs. Carroll.

[Greek Tragedy]

A full 24 hours after a Lawrence loss and still no posts from the Viking faithful.  Weird.   

On a side note, I think there was a Chris Braier sighting at the Oshkosh game.  I think it was him...or I could be totally wrong.  Any LU fans confirm or deny this, oh yeah, they lost, I won't hear from them for awhile! lol. 

[The Roop]

I think they're busy making a pilgrimage to Stone Henge to right the wrongs of a multiple loss season.

FYI "My boys" were doing so well tonight that I left at half time. I can't name players for a variety of reasons but lets just say that they play for New Roop City - South.

[LU_nut]

Lu faithful are still here and still optimistic regarding the season.  They have had three tough losses to three very good teams.  I did not see a reason to jump in as I thought your review of the game was balanced and on target old school.

LU is going to be just fine in the MWC conference.  They need to step up their ability to create turnovers, but I think their big guys and guards will be the class of the conference.  They are young and getting better.  Outrebounding a Oshkosh frontline that is 6-7, 6-7, 7-1 bodes well for the future. 

In my view, anybody dancing on LUs grave is being pre-mature.   Carthage and Point both came down to last second shots.  Oshkosh was even with 5 minutes to go despite a huge free throw difference.

"Nut" running and hiding.

[Greek Tragedy]

LU-nut,

I don't mean to make too much of a big deal about the absence of the LU faithful, but they always seem to disappear after a loss.  I don't think I'd be going out on a limb and saying the LU faithful would be in full force had the Vikings beaten Point at the Alex and had they made it four (or would it have been five) in a row against the Titans of Oshkosh.  Things get pretty quiet after a loss, it seems.

I've been impressed, not surprisingly, with Larry U thus far and I've seen two of their three losses.  They are still very disciplined and work very hard for the ball, many times out-hustling their opponents...a la Stevens Point.  They are very similar to Point and I respect that a lot.

I, for one, am not dancing on LU's grave.  I've seen Carroll and Ripon both play and Lawrence seems A LOT better than Carroll, though I've only seen Carroll and Ripon play Point.  Ripon will be tough if they stay focused.  Schmitting is a monster inside and they have quick guards.  But, you guys know all that.

Not to take anything away from LU's performance in Oshkosh, but Kerry Gibson looked horrible for 32 minutes and then turned it on the last 8.  He didn't seem effective at all in the first half and I think if he was fully healthy, he would've gotten a lot more of the ball, which could've been bad news for the Vikings.  Just my thoughts. 

[Gregory Sager]

I, for one, am not dancing on LU's grave.  I've seen Carroll and Ripon both play and Lawrence seems A LOT better than Carroll

Could be, and if so it'd be conclusive proof (as if any was needed) of the folly of using comparative scores to assess teams that haven't played each other yet, since Carroll beat Carthage while Lawrence lost to the Red Men.

Final score from the Midwest Invitational in Huntington Beach, CA: NPU 57, Lake Forest 56. The Foresters (5-3) will meet Dominican (3-5) in tomorrow's consolation game.

[Early]

Lawrence
Ripon
Grinnell
Carroll
Nubs
Lake Forest
Monmouth
IC
Beloit
Knox

[cubs]

A full 24 hours after a Lawrence loss and still no posts from the Viking faithful.  Weird.   

That's just because titan2000 can't rip on TVD about hunting/fishing.  If he's not doing that (or complaining about the visitor's seating at Quandt) you usually don't hear from him.

[LU 05]

Everyone at Lu is just so uspet that Oshkosh beat us in our "superbowl" this year. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Could be, and if so it'd be conclusive proof (as if any was needed) of the folly of using comparative scores to assess teams that haven't played each other yet, since Carroll beat Carthage while Lawrence lost to the Red Men.

In my opinion, the difference between Lawrence and Carroll is attitude.  When Point was crushing Lawrence (up by as many as 19 in the first half), the Vikings didn't really panic too much.  They fought back in the 2nd half and had a chance to win it at the end.  Against Oshkosh, they were again facing a 2nd half double-digit deficit, and again, they came back, too the lead briefly before finally falling in the last 5 minutes or so of the game.

Carroll, on the other hand, never seemed like they were going to get back in the game when Point had a big lead in both halves.  I don't think I, as a fan, ever felt Point's lead was threatened.  Against Carthage, Carroll always had the lead.  Maybe Carroll doesn't have the ability or mental capacity to come from behind, while the Vikings never feel like they are out of it. 

[The Roop]

Carroll doesn't seem to be the type of team that likes having to gut one out. They will need to change their thinking this year as they don't have the talent they did last year. I don't think they are quitters by any means but I have seen them **tantrum their way out of games when everything isn't going the way they want.

**have not seen them play this year

[GrinnellFan68]

jeff p is santa claus