MBB: Midwest Conference

[The Roop]

Carroll 70 Beloit 63. Might have to order a DVD of this one too because the feed was so bad I missed most of the second half restarting WMP constantly. Horton scored a bunch, 30 points the last time anything was intelligable and probably added a few more down the stretch.

A couple fouls in the first half put him on the bench and Carroll opened up their first lead. I wouldn't say they never looked back after that because Beloit did cut it to 4 late. But too many hurried possessions and another stretch where they couldn't by one did them in. Shot great from the line tonight but it didn't matter this time. Frustrating game.

[RiponRed34]

RC 71 SNC 53  Final

Ripon played very good defense and forced tough shots all night.  Brian Schmitting was very good tonight, but he could have been great if he made more FT's.  I don't know what the stat sheet is, but I guarantee he missed over 8-10 FT's in the second half.  Ripon altogether had one of the worst FT shooting performances I've ever witnessed.  This is a problem.

[schwanman]

Not a lot of analysis to offer on the Monmouth game, but I do have a few points:

1) When I see the Scots play Grinnell at home, they almost always start out each half well while they have their focus and their legs. The first half was a fine example, as they got three straight layups and led 6-2. Their second half start, however, may have cost them them the game. They had four straight turnovers, and Grinnell turned its 12-point lead into a 19-point spread. Monmouth cut it to eight later, but no closer.

2) I agree on the "contact at the basket" point. Many, many times, it looked like the defense was just fine, and the Grinnell player simply threw up a bad shot. But the Scots would get called for a foul, and the Pioneers would make them pay at the line (30-of-34).

3) Grotberg, especially, but a few others get some very easy baskets on dribble penetration while defenders are scared to leave their man. What would happen if a team played a zone? At least those easy baskets would be eliminated and, hopefully, the extra three-pointers that would result could at least be contested.

[Greek Tragedy]

GC 127, MC 111

KC 70, IC 63

CC 70, BC 63...didn't I just type that score? 


Ripon 71, St. Norbs 63

[fightingscots13]

ugh...where to start...in a word - disheartening.  It's late (for me) so I'll be brief (or maybe not).

It doesn't matter who you play, if you go 10-24 from the ft line in a half you don't win.

Against GC, you HAVE to shoot better than 59% from the floor.

And when your defense allows GC to shoot 40% from three, you're in trouble. 

I don't want to go on a rant, but...

My personal feeling is that GC played the way they normally would want to play, and MC didn't match the intensity for 40 minutes...I think MC lost not so much by what GC did, but rather what MC didn't do...if you look at the running score you can see they played well in spurts, but to be in the top four there needs to be consistency, and the Scots don't do it enough right now...they need a leader to put the team on his shoulders, and no one seems to want to do it...anyone who's seen MC play would tell you that they can really get after it defensively when they want to...and to even have an outside shot at the end of the year, they have to do it on the defensive end...anyone can have an off night shooting, but there's no excuse for not playing defense.

[diehardfan]

The three scores that are not involving Grinnell are all strangely similar.... what are you guys putting in the water over there?

[Speaking MWC]

PS:

Covering a number of topics:

Grinnell recent success

If the oafs actually call the games, GC has about 4 more losses this year and are not in the running for the MWC title.  

It seems to me Titan you're somewhat sour. It is the fact that Grinnell has swept LU for the first time in school history this year? My magic 8-ball says: Signs point to yes!

Also, the team was let down by the player who was supposed to have another big game. What a wasted game for the Scotties.

Grotbergs foul issues were a non factor because with the way they play defense allows them to hide him on the court. Believe me that was in the mind of the Scotties but he was just never around.

If nothing else, we will look to win out to help the South earn the #1 seed in the playoffs.

Scots seems to know lots of inside information...and the usage of "we" makes one wonder...

[Pat Coleman]

Changing to a fake e-mail kinda locks you out of the system, Speaking MWC.

[systemfan86]

First of all, kudos to Monmouth fans posting after the game. I'm impressed by the honest analysis. With five games left, the Scots do have a tough road, but I for one hope they start turning it around this coming weekend  .

The analysis from those there, and the box score make it appear to be a good effort from GC. Given the style of play, it has to be hard to beat an up tempo team when they make 40% of their 3 pt shots. And 30 of 34 from the line is amazing! When any team does that, their chances of winning are good.

A couple interesting numbers in the box score. First, big contribution from Langenhan: six of seven from 3pt. Four of those in the second half. Second, TTMG didn't shoot too well from 3, but was 10-16 inside the arc and 11-13 from the line. Very nice. Little A (Mr. Consistency) added his 18 pts and his assists per normal.

Monmouth looks like they tried to keep three of their starters on the floor a lot. Singleton, Rogers, and Terwelp all had 30+ minutes. History seems to indicate that that may be too much time to play effectively against the pace. Carroll has been one of the few teams that has been successful doing that.

All in all, a very good win for GC. The top three teams in the standings have a little space on the rest of the league - but Larry has played one less game. Saturday's game in Iowa is all set up. I still think Ripon should finish the week on top, now the question is will they have company and who will it be?

Wish I could be at Darby on Saturday. Should be rocking.

[jeffdc]

Just caught the second half (via the web). Grotberg seemed to get cold toward the middle stretch, but it didn't matter, as Langehan, Long, and Aresenault made up for it. MC lost steam about 6-7 minutes from the end - surprised me a bit, as they closed it up to 8=9 points at various time. Perhaps systemfan86 was right - too much time on the floor for the starters.

IMO, awful camera work - I felt seasick at times! 

[jeffdc]

oh yeah, and I loved the way the announcers fumbled Ticus' name. They kept saying tick-us.  It's tie-cuss, guys!

[scottie]

A competent SID department from the visiting school would provide a pronounciation key.  And,  competent announcers would use it.     I'm too far removed from the roster to be sure, but I think the announcers were mispronouncing some of the Scots' names as well.  So don't take it too hard Jdc. 

Monmouth began this webcast series with a former professional broadcaster - but the Division III experience is about the students, afterall.  Let's allow them to make a few mistakes (some of which were much more glaring than others, if you happened to keep the stream running for the women's game).

[jeffdc]

Scottie,

I didn't mean to sound too critical - it was more amusing than anything. I'm sure the GC announcers are just as entertaining (!) when they take the mike.

[RiponRed34]

Ripon's announcer was a lot better then he was last week....a lot better.  Still very raw though.  And what is the problem with announcing the score more often.  It's like I have to keep track of the score myself!  It should be announced every other possesion.

Three side notes:

1.  Did anyone see Schmittings "and one" power dunk lastnight...it was pretty dang sweet.

2.  David McMullen just moved into 2nd place alltime in assists at Ripon.  He is already the alltime leader in steals.  Congrats to David, he has quietly put together an outstanding career at Ripon.  Now all he needs is a conference championship!

3.  I'm not that certain Ripon wins both games this weekend.  Traditionally Ripon doesn't do too well on back to back roadies no matter who the competition is. 

[systemfan86]

I'm not that certain Ripon wins both games this weekend.  Traditionally Ripon doesn't do too well on back to back roadies no matter who the competition is. 

Well, I hope you're right...

If I have a worry on the weekend for GC, it would be Saturday not Friday. That's not to say I'm predicting a win Friday, I just sense that the team will be ready for that game. Saturday has the possibility of being a let down game. It has to be hard to play at 7:00 PM on Friday and then turn around and play another game the next day at 3:00 PM. Not much rest time there. On the plus side, their opponent has to play the same schedule and include a 2-3 hour drive in the middle. Maybe a good double OT game against Knox could be arranged! 

Actually CC may have it worse. They get the big/fast game in Grinnell at 7:00 PM Friday, and then drive to MC for a game 3 PM Saturday. At least Grinnell gets to sleep in their own beds.

I would love to see GC win both games, and not just for the obvious standings reason. If they can beat CC and StN, then they only need a win against LFC (at home on the 10th) to have a win against every team in the league this season. I think that would be a great accomplishment and a great confidence boost to the team going into the tournament (likely at home if they DO, in fact, win those games). Confidence is an important aspect of the game for a team that shoots as much as GC does.

BTW, GC gets a quick mention on the front page of D3Hoops. Thanks, Pat!