MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

Hosting options this year in the Great Lakes/Central/West Regions. 
Four schools that looked really good to host lost this weekend.  Not as cut and dry as it usually is.

Great Lakes
Wittenberg  --safe bet
Marietta/LaRoche/Wooster  ---this ones tricky, I think it will be Marietta but its pretty close between the 3 if LaRoche wins today.  And even if LaRoche wins and hosts they may pick Marietta/Wooster as an additional host site anyway.

Central
Augustana  (lock)
Oshkosh  ----can't host if Oshkosh women host so alternate site would be needed like WashU to Hope in 2017
      ----North Central
      ----Wheaton
      ----Platteville
      ----Loras
Seeding says North Central ought to be the replacement, but Wheaton might be in the mix here to if they get a 'C' bid.  Platteville is just a touch to far West and to close to Augustana, same with Loras.  Doesn't help with geography like the two Chicago area schools would.  St. John's is also an option here, though not a good one for geography.

West  --Albion can't get to these sites without a flight.
Whitman (lock)
Neb Wesleyan (lock)





My best guess for Albion's seeding and pairing

Seeding pods 1,2,3,4 I have Albion right on a wide line between a 3 or a 4 but as "3" for now.

As a 4 they'd be paired against the host school so.....
Wittenberg
Marietta/Wooster/LaRoche
Augustana
Oshkosh   --at the alternate host site
Centre     (Centre needs to win today but they could be a host from the South Region)

Albion would be a "strong" 4 seed so I think you look for the weakest 1 seed.  In this group that's probably Marietta/Wooster/LaRoche or Centre.  I think those two sites are Albion's highest probability as a 4.


As a 3 seed they'd play a 2 seed......

These are my "2's", listed in order by seed strength
Loras
St. John's
St. Thomas
Wooster
North Central
Wheaton
LaRoche (need to win today)

This pool of teams expands as you mix teams in from the East or South which I'm sure the NCAA will do a little bit.  I just think these are highest probability.  I have Albion in the bottom 3 of the 3 seeds so paired vs top half of the 2's is more likely.  Loras/St. Johns/St. Thomas would mean Albion was sent West. 



Couple key games this afternoon for Albion's seeding
LaRoche vs PSU-Behrend    -----Behrend winning might bump Albion down closer to a 4
Hanover vs Transylvania     -----Albion is pretty even in criteria with these two, 6 of one, half dozen of another

Albion is pretty close in criteria with Hanover/Transylvania, Behrend and maybe Lake Forest, the line from 3 to 4 is right around these teams.


Most interesting potential pairing would be Albion vs Albion grad's Jon VanderWall's Marietta squad.  No matter where Albion goes I think they're a solid underdog in round one.

[sac]

This year was a truly amazing and great year for the league.  By being competitive up and down the line, it really made it a meaningful league season for all 8 teams.  Although I am a very strong supporter of my team, I think all teams benefit from the kind of experience we had this year in which every team eventually proved to be at least somewhat competitive, and the top 5 were only separated by a shot here and there.  It beats a situation in which 2 teams almost always end up one and two by being just more interesting from game to game.  The result in a win that really means a lot to the winning team and still provides a really hard fought tournament with the end difficult to predict.  Even Adrian, which at one point appeared sure to lose every game, won 3 straight games at the end.

It was a fun year within the league.  But outside the league we were pitiful.  Granted half our league played uber tough schedules but going into this afternoon the league has claim to 2 total wins over teams outside our league that have made the NCAA tournament.  That will go up to 3 when mighty Illinois Tech and Aurora play and one has to make the tournament.   

Our top six teams went 3-19 against regionally ranked opponents.  We had zero regionally ranked teams within the conference.

I argued pretty hard last Fall that the MIAA wasn't down last year, that's a harder argument this year.  Massey had us #8 last year, this year #17 right now 

[KnightSlappy]

There are a lot of deserving hosts to the west of us, so I think the committee will do everything they can to move teams that direction. I have Albion more as a high "4" than a low "3" (so likely matchup with the host school), but I think they're in a spot to be placed wherever just to make the bracket work out.

[almcguirejr]

I'm hearing Steve Ernst is out at Olivet.

[KnightSlappy]

I'm hearing Steve Ernst is out at Olivet.

Steve Bell has now Tweeted this as well.

https://twitter.com/BankHoops/status/1100086583225659394

[sac]

Albion draws Loras (21-6) in round one to be played at North Central in Naperville, Illinois.  North Central will play Chatham in the other game.

A tough but fair draw I think.  Albion ended up a low "3"  will be playing a high "2" in Loras. 


Loras beat up on Olivet pretty good back in November https://duhawks.com/boxscore.aspx?id=5270&path=mbball , Olivet played some weird minutes that day and Colin Jones was not yet on the team.   Loras is capable of winning the whole tournament.  They have wins over both Augustana and Nebraska Wesleyan.

[Jameswys]

I'm hearing Steve Ernst is out at Olivet.

Steve Bell has now Tweeted this as well.

https://twitter.com/BankHoops/status/1100086583225659394

The tweet has been deleted so I don't know what it said. The website still lists Coach Ernst as coach and there isn't a job posting for the job on the main site. I've heard the rumors too (including a petition in the city of Charlotte, where I live, to rehire Ernst as the high school boys coach) but a of now they are just that.

[sac]

WLNS out of Lansing makes it pretty unofficially official that Ernst intends to resign.

At about 3:10 of their 6 o'clock sportscast tonight.
https://www.wlns.com/sports/6-sports-at-6-february-25-1/1809889401



....and anyone within earshot of the Hope scoring table knew this 2 weeks ago.

[Jameswys]

....and anyone within earshot of the Hope scoring table knew this 2 weeks ago.

You're not wrong I was just holding out hope that he'd change his mind and give it one more year.

[Hope1993]

I will that as a college or university I would not want a coach that acts the way some coaches do and I feel the league is going to start reprimanding them for it. Or I hope so any how. The way a coach acts and what the coach is willing to let go in a program is the way the players will act and play the game and that can either make a college or university look really bad or really good. It gives the college a good name or bad name. 

[Jameswys]

I will that as a college or university I would not want a coach that acts the way some coaches do and I feel the league is going to start reprimanding them for it. Or I hope so any how. The way a coach acts and what the coach is willing to let go in a program is the way the players will act and play the game and that can either make a college or university look really bad or really good. It gives the college a good name or bad name.

I don't think the league will step in and reprimand. Olivet and Kzoo got into a scuffle this season and the league did nothing, as far as I know. Olivet players did get suspended but that was internal and not from the league. I don't foresee the league stepping up enforcement next year after they sat this year out.

[sac]

I'd like to believe on court player behavior and discipline(tech fouls) and coaching sideline conduct will be discussed this off-season.  Whether it results in anything substantive is questionable.  The MIAA has always, imho, been hands off in this area and allowed schools to handle their own discipline.  That's fine.  Unless it violates an NCAA rule, the MIAA isn't going to get involved.

Now I also believe its right to start asking, should they?


Off the top of my head in the last 3 years
3 assistant coaches have been suspended
2 head coaches have been suspended
at least 3 players have been suspended for actions on the court
1 near brawl that might have involved fans
1 serious incident that could have been viewed as intent to injure/ player played next game

I've been around close to 30 years now, I have a really hard time even remembering even one of these things being an issue any time before the last 3 years.

[Jameswys]

Sac, I agree that it should be discussed and that the league should be more hands on, I just am skeptical that it will happen. 

[monsoon]

Off the top of my head in the last 3 years
3 assistant coaches have been suspended
2 head coaches have been suspended
at least 3 players have been suspended for actions on the court
1 near brawl that might have involved fans
1 serious incident that could have been viewed as intent to injure/ player played next game

I've been around close to 30 years now, I have a really hard time even remembering even one of these things being an issue any time before the last 3 years.

Any sense what caused this unfortunate shift in recent years?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

....and anyone within earshot of the Hope scoring table knew this 2 weeks ago.

You're not wrong I was just holding out hope that he'd change his mind and give it one more year.

So, for those of us who didn't hear it, care to reveal what was said, or at least describe what was said?