MBB: Midwest Conference

[bucs r bust]

Roop, this last injury was actually the "good" ankle but it didn't matter tonight.  Beloit is just not very good...plain and simple.  One thing I notice about all the other team in this conference is how they just fly around the court.  I don't know if the other teams are just faster or if Beloit is just slower.  It takes to long to set screens and come off of them so they just hold the ball and eventually throw it away.  If they would sprint from one spot on the floor to another (like everyone else) and just pass the ball around quicker I think they would be alright offensively.  They can hit open shots they just don't get very many.  I don't know, there are so many things they need to work on...sorry for my venting.  Thank you.

[Greek Tragedy]

Well, made the trip up to The Alex and let me say, I WON'T HESITATE TO SAY I JUST WASTED FOUR HOURS OF MY LIFE.

Like GLADIATOR, I'm there to get entertained.  I'm definitely not saying I'm a Grinnell fan, but of the half dozen times I've seen them play, this is by far the worst I've seen.  No ball movement, no screens, horrible shots etc.  When Little A got the ball in his hands, well, he became the Black Hole...once it went in, it never came out. 

LU didn't even do anything special.  They played like they have been coached.  They played "four corners" a lot, at least it seemed, and GC just helped them by giving up too many layups and not hitting the broad side of a barn on their possessions.  Seemed like Grinnell went back to the old days of playing Hack attack.  I swear LU was in the double bonus by the 10-minute mark.

Grinnell puts up 55!

I wanted a good game, but I'll have to head to Quandt tomorrow to see that, Point v Superior and hopefully back to The Alex on Tuesday to see a barnburner of Oshkosh visiting Appleton.

[Greek Tragedy]

Monmouth 74, Beloit 50

at Carroll 83, Knox 62

at St. Norbert 72, Illinois College 67 

Lake Forest 73, at Ripon 66

[The Roop]

Roop, this last injury was actually the "good" ankle but it didn't matter tonight.  Beloit is just not very good...plain and simple.  One thing I notice about all the other team in this conference is how they just fly around the court.  I don't know if the other teams are just faster or if Beloit is just slower.  It takes to long to set screens and come off of them so they just hold the ball and eventually throw it away.  If they would sprint from one spot on the floor to another (like everyone else) and just pass the ball around quicker I think they would be alright offensively.  They can hit open shots they just don't get very many.  I don't know, there are so many things they need to work on...sorry for my venting.  Thank you.

Their team speed seems to be alright but they got pushed around quite a bit on offense. They're just not a very physical team. The refs aren't going to call a foul just because you thought you were fouled. They have to keep playing until the whistle blows and not have a 2 or 3 possession tantrum because a perceived foul wasn't called. I'm all in favor of letting them play but it's not to the Bucs advantage this year.

Dr. Roops prescription is an off season program of weights and red beans & rice. And if everybody could grow another 5 inches that would be nice too. It seems like Monmouth has always been tall but this year they have some body's which created lots of match up problems. However, Beloit has to take better care of the ball or it won't matter the rest of the way. Monmouth has a good defense but not a great defense. 7 of the 11 1st half turnovers were give aways.

Now that certain individuals have finally been accepted it could be a very different team next season. Not necessarily more physical but taller, faster and more 3 point shooters. 2 of them may be in the house today so pay attention to whom the coach talks to before the game.   

[jeffdc]

Best of (gulp) luck against Beloit today, GC!

Here's hoping that the team I saw in November returns. Not sure what's going on, but all of that raw talent (the best I've seen in a decade) is just not clicking.

Maybe it's the cold weather?

[LU_nut]

Last night was as poor as I have seen Grinnell play since that bad team they had 4 years ago.   They did miss Chamberlin and his defense around the rim.   What LU did that was smart is really key on Grinnell's two main shooters: Grotberg and Long.  They are great shooters.  The rest of the team is average to poor shooters and they took all the shots.   There was not as much rim clanking as advertised...............they missed the rim several times.

I think Grinnell is a bit like Stevens Point....if there shooters are hitting, they are tough as nails.  If they are not, they are pretty ordinary.   Point is more talented and consistent, but they both tend to live by the 3 ball.

Tuesday's game should be good against Oshkosh and will give a real view as to how good the top of the MWC is this year.

Nut

[The Roop]

Grinnell 104 Beloit 92. For those of you that saw Lake Forest pull the upset in Grinnell last season Beloit was playing the same 4 corners style offense. No surprise since Coach Vraney came from Lake Forest. Unfortunately for Beloit it took them a half to get the hang of it. Still, they cut it to 8 with plenty of time left but could get no closer.

I might have looked for the 3s a little sooner but Grinnell made their free throws down the stretch after Beloit was forced to foul and that ultimately sealed it. Looks like "The System" could be back.

[wc2viking]

Well, no letdown for LU against Knox.  Lawrence used a strong first half of 3-point shooting to pull to a 44-22 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way to a 90-54 win over the Prairie Fire.  Once again, LU's defense was stellar and KC never seemed to get in any offensive rhythm.  KC tried zone defense in the first half.  LU quickly found the holes in the zone and used a period of really hot 3 point shooting to get a 37-11 lead.  KC finally switched to man-to-man defense which was much more effective but LU already had a huge lead. 

Big game coming up against 16th ranked UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday.  If LU can get a win, it shows they may be able to make some noise in the national tournament.

[Greek Tragedy]

I think Grinnell is a bit like Stevens Point....if there shooters are hitting, they are tough as nails.  If they are not, they are pretty ordinary.   Point is more talented and consistent, but they both tend to live by the 3 ball.

I'm pretty sure I'm totally insulted by that comment. lol 

Point hasn't been shooting the ball very welll from outside, but we have enough players that can step up when the outside shot isn't falling, we can still put up points.  We beat LU by 19 and were only 6 of 20 from the 3-pt line.

[Greek Tragedy]

Lawrence 6-0:  2-0 over the weekend; W GC, W KC
Carroll 5-1:  2-0; W IC, W KC
Grinnell 4-2:  1-1; L at LU, W at BC
St. Norbert 4-3:  2-0; W IC, W LF
Monmouth 4-4:  1-1; L at RC, W at BC
Illinois College 3-3:  0-2; L at SNC, L at CC
Lake Forest 3-3:  1-1; L at SNC, W at RC
Knox 2-4:  0-2; L at LU, L at CC
Ripon 1-5:  1-1; L LF, W MC
Beloit 0-7:  0-2; L GC, L MC

In my opinion, pretty much chalk.  I thought Ripon could sneak by LF...but I think that's about it.  Obviously a big weekend ahead.

Jan. 25 
St. Norbert at Monmouth   
Ripon at Grinnell   
Beloit at Knox   
Lawrence at Illinois College   
Carroll at Lake Forest   

Jan. 26 
St. Norbert at Illinois College   
Carroll at Knox  . 
Beloit at Monmouth   
Lawrence at Grinnell . 
Ripon at Lake Forest 

[fcnews]

Please check out my last post on the SLIAC page. It is worth your time.

[LU_nut]

Interesting and most difficult stretch of the year coming up for LU.  They have Oshkosh at home and then the next 4 teams in the MWC in a row, three of them on the road.    It will be a chance to really secure a grip on the conference or ??.

Old School.  You have seen both teams this year.   How do you see Tuesday's game in Alexander?   Who do you pick?   LU played Oshkosh pretty well last year, within one late in the second period.   We did not have a real answer for Marsh.    It will be nice to play them for the first time in 5 years without Gibson.

Nut.

[Scots4]

Will the Larry-Oshkosh game be webcast or be available via live stats?

[LU 05]

looking to win our 4th of the last 5 vs. UW zero

[Greek Tragedy]

From the Top 25 page.

Isn't it anout time Lawrence is at least receiving some votes?   Does one season (last) of mediocrity completely erase the national reputation they have built in the last 5 years?

You know that I'm hardly a Lawrence U. follower, but I'm somewhat familiar with them over the years since I have seen them play "a lot" for a team that isn't in the WIAC.  They are a pretty good team, I will give you that and they've had a good recent history, and argue it or not, I think that plays into current polls.

Lawrence is currently 10-1 and 6-0 in the MWC.  Unfortunately, they don't have any impressive wins and their lone loss, at Stevens Point (13-3, 5-2 WIAC), was by 19.  I think if they would've even kept it remotely close, they would've been considered for some votes.  But their schedule right now isn't doing them any favors.  At the beginning of the year, I'm sure that Dominican (7-9, 4-5 NathCon) win looked a lot better than it does now.  The Stars were picked to finish near the top of the NathCon, but they are under .500 in conference, while Concordia (IL) (2-13, 2-8 NathCon)is just plain bad.  The Lake Forest (7-6. 3-3 MWC) and Monmouth (4-10, 4-4 MWC) wins aren't going to open any eyes, though I think the Foresters aren't horrible.  Not sure about their opponents they played down in Florida, but they were both non-D3 schools, I gather.  Ripon (6-7, 1-5 MWC) played well against Point, but LU's win over them isn't going to win you votes since Ripon has 1 more win in the MWC than I do, and I don't even play.  Big win over Grinnell (9-4, 4-2 MWC), who started off well, but most in the D3 world kind of discount the Pioneers' success.  I do remember it took Grinnell to go 13-0 or something like that a few years ago before breaking into the Top 25 and then rewarded the voters by tanking. lol.

The conference isn't helping much...and neither is the schedule at this time.  The Vikings  have a big matchup on Tuesday with ranked Oshkosh (12-4, 6-2 WIAC) and they do head to Grinnell this weekend for the return match.  At the beginning of February, they play Carroll College (9-3, 5-1 MWC), really the only other MWC team with NCAA tourney history/success.  Those Pioneers have 3 losses, blowout losses to Point and Whitewater and a tough loss to the other Pioneers of Grinnell. 

The only way the Vikings will open up some eyes is if they knock off the Titans on Tuesday, otherwise, I could see a senario where they run the table in the MWC, end up 23-2 (losses to Point and Oshkosh) and not even break the Top 25 because the MWC isn't really perceived as a real strong conference and to add the fact that it's probably down this year (Carroll lost Drury and Colomy, Grinnell is down and LU had a tough year last year and a new coach this year).