MBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[Big_Uns]

Since i have only seen Lakeland one time, i may not be correct in assuming this, but i will anyways. I noticed that when Lakeland whooped MSOE, they were packing it in the paint when Mikos and Floyd had the ball... forcing them to shoot outside which of course both of them would rather slash and dish.  That kid from Benedictine was hitting everything and it looks like Lakeland couldnt hit anything.  MSOE beat both of those teams easy so i dont know what to think either.  Its a game of matchups and Lakeland matchs up good with MSOE since they are deep and MSOE's lack of shooting(and all around offense) and defense from 1-5.

When lakeland plays MSOE next week, i would do the same thing and take away the dribble pen. and make em shoot... cause MSOE doesnt have anyone who is going to go 8-12 from 3point range and im sure saiberlich will not disappear.

I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment. It seems to me like their strength all season has been denying guard penetration, forcing the outside shot and not too many teams have shot well, not even Hope if I remember correctly. Finally a team comes along that did shoot the lights out from behind the arc and here's the result.

Of course, this will work for every team if only all of them could shoot so well from outside. 

[tommy_devito]

Old School, I think you are blowing this loss out of proportion just a bit, but also exposing one of Lakeland's weaknesses.

But, what does this say about the strength of the LMC and Lakeland more specifically.

The two other top teams in the LMC beat Benedictine at Benedictine just a month ago so I don't think it hurts the strength of the LMC vs. the NIIC that much. Marian - 7th - beat Clarke, and Dominican - 4th - beat Aurora. Clarke and Aurora are the NIIC's top two teams this season. The LMC is 12-5 against the NIIC. An improvement over previous years I'm sure.

As some referenced earlier this game may have been a trap game for Lakeland. Yet it also shows one of their weaknesses, playing on the road. Not to take anything away from Lakeland's season, but they are only 7-4 on the road.

Not to take anything away from the Bens or even Rockford for that matter, but the NIIC is hardly a power conference and Lakeland has managed to lose to both of them.

Not to take anything away from Clarke, Lakeland or Edgewood, but the NIIC and LMC are hardly power conferences and Point has managed to lose to all three of them.  Yet Point is only a half game back from first place in the WIAC, the best conference in the nation year in and year out IMHO. And is it really fair to call it a down season for Point? They are still in the hunt for the league title with a few games left to play. I suppose after winning back to back national titles, anything less is a down season. But the season is still going and Point proved two years ago they don't even have to win their conference to win the national title.

[keith45]

WELL, AT LEAST THE KID WHO SCORED 45 IS GRADUATING

[Gregory Sager]

I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment. It seems to me like their strength all season has been denying guard penetration, forcing the outside shot and not too many teams have shot well, not even Hope if I remember correctly. Finally a team comes along that did shoot the lights out from behind the arc and here's the result.

Of course, this will work for every team if only all of them could shoot so well from outside. 

It wasn't so much a team effort by Benedictine from beyond the arc as it was the work of one player. Matt Harrison, who has been on fire over the past week (28 pts in the upset win over Aurora last Saturday) went 8-12 from downtown last night en route to his 45-point performance. But his teammates only went a collective 4-16 from three-point range.

[Greek Tragedy]

Not to take anything away from Clarke, Lakeland or Edgewood, but the NIIC and LMC are hardly power conferences and Point has managed to lose to all three of them.  Yet Point is only a half game back from first place in the WIAC, the best conference in the nation year in and year out IMHO. And is it really fair to call it a down season for Point? They are still in the hunt for the league title with a few games left to play. I suppose after winning back to back national titles, anything less is a down season. But the season is still going and Point proved two years ago they don't even have to win their conference to win the national title.

Well, I realize Point's accomplishments the last two years may make everything less a "down year" but that's not really the case.  Point is now has FOUR nonconference losses.  Mid-America Nazerene is a pretty good NAIA team, but Point played like crap in that game.  Losses to Edgewood and Clarke are inexcusable, No disrespect to those two teams.  I know Edgewood beat Platteville (I think, last year), but I know Edgewood is not nearly as good has they have been in the past.  The loss to Lakeland is understandable because Lakeland was just untouchable that day.  They shot the lights out.

Maybe Point has the Lakeland syndrome where they play down to their competition.   Add those losses to wins over Stout, La Crosse and Oshkosh to name a few and it's confusing! I was looking up the stats on Point and they hadn't lost a nonconference regular season game since the 1999-2000 season.  Their lost loss, Edgewood at Point.  They split that year.  They haven't had SEVEN losses in a season since the 2000-2001 season and that's when they went 10-6 (mind you, good for first place tie) in the WIAC and lost in the WIAC tourney.  The last time they had a double-digit losing season was 98-99 when they went 15-11 and 8-8 in conference.  By the way, that' when Platteville was dominating everything DIII.

So, yeah, even without the last two National Championships, you can say Point has some pretty high standards.

[tommy_devito]

Old School, it may be a 'good luck' that Edgewood beat Point. In 99-00 Edgewood beat Point, Point won the WIAC. In 00-01 Edgewood beat Whitewater, Whitewater won the WIAC (co-champs with Point). Last year Edgewood beat Platteville, Platteville won the WIAC (co-champs with Point). So who knows?

Muskie Fan South, I'm assuming you were at the game. How does a good defensive team like Lakeland let a guy shoot 8-12 from 3's? Wouldn't they just clamp down on the guy after he made a few? Or was he J.J. Reddick's twin last night?

[Muskie Fan South]

Tommy D. no I was not at the game but my wife was and she said #44 was unconscious out there,just on fire.....
they shut down the team but not him.
Here is a question since I'm a rookie at this, can Lakeland still go to the D3 tournament and if they can what will it take? soething about a pool C I didn't understand.

[iwumichigander]

Tommy D. no I was not at the game but my wife was and she said #44 was unconscious out there,just on fire.....
they shut down the team but not him.
Here is a question since I'm a rookie at this, can Lakeland still go to the D3 tournament and if they can what will it take? soething about a pool C I didn't understand.

MSF - I'll take a try at this. Lakeland really needs to win the LMC Tournament and get the automatic bid. Lakeland's overall record of 18 - 5 with only 4 in regions losses preceeds the LMC Tournament.  With a sixth loss your team, in this example Lakeland losing in the LMC Tournament, would probably be below the bubble.  Another big key factor is the QOWI, or Quality of Wins Index, used by the committee to prioritze both NCAA Tournament rankings and Pool C invitations.  Lakeland does not currently appear in the Top 100 Div III teams QOWI.  So a really low QOWI and 6 losses would likely mean season over.  Another factor is NCAA's Ranking for the Midwest Region.  While Lakeland has a sound record, other Midwest teams also have a sound record plus very high QOWI rankings.  I am tracking 10 other Midwest teams which I think are in competition for 6 spots in the NCAA Rankingsfor the Midwest Region; the first of which will be published 2/8.  Wish I had better news for you.  Win that Tournament then you don't have to worry about Pool C just who you draw and where you play!

[Greek Tragedy]

Lakeland has a solid record as iwumichigander said.  They do only have four in-region losses and that's what the NCAA looks at.  That 5th loss was to Hope and since that was not an in-region loss, it doesn't count.  The NCAA looks at teams on a national level using regional criteria.  Yeah, it's the NCAA, what do you expect?  So, if Lakeland runs the table and loses in the LMC tourney, they will only have FIVE losses.  As far as the NCAA is concerned, Lakeland is actually just 14-4, not 18-5. 

There several criteria that goes into picking Pool C teams.  In-region winning % and QOWI are just two of them.  Here is the NCAA Handbook that explains who QOWI is calculated and the other selection criteria.  If you decide to calculate Lakeland's QOWI, be sure to use just the in-region opponents and their in-region records.  Explanation starts on Page 7 with the QOWI calculations on Page 9.

The reason why Lakeland's QOWI is so low is because their opponents have really bad in-region records.  The LMC is not a very good conference!

There are several other boards in on this site that can help you out and give you an idea of what others think.  There is a Pool C board and a QOWI board.  Pat Coleman lists the QOWI on the Top 100 teams and it was last posted last month. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Because I'm a team player.

Lakeland's in-region schedule

9 pts-W @ Lake Forest (5-12, .294)
8 pts-W vs. Maranatha Baptist (0-12, .000)
6 pts-L vs. La Crosse (16-4, .800)
12 pts-W vs. Stevens Point (11-6, .647)
13 pts-W @ Edgewood (9-9, .500)
3 pts-L @ Wisconsin Lutheran (5-9, .357)
9 pts-W @ Marian (6-13, .316)
10 pts-W vs. Concordia (IL) (7-9, .438)
5 pts-L @ Rockford (8-8, .500)
12 pts-W vs. Edgewood (9-9, .500)
13 pts-W @ Dominican (12-9, .571)
11 pts-W @ Concordia (WI) (6-10, .375)
8 pts-W vs. Marian (6-13, .316)
10 pts-W vs. Wisconsin Lutheran (5-9, .357)
10 pts-W vs. Concordia (WI) (6-10, .375)
12 pts-W vs. Dominican (12-9, .571)
15 pts-W @ MSOE (13-4, .765)
3 pts-L @ Benedictine (7-8, .467)

QOWI is 9.388.

I think this is right! Lakeland will be rooting for their opponents to win so they keep their QOWI points or possibly improve them.  If Point gets to the .667 threshold, that win would be worth 14 points, not 12!  Getting Benedictine to get to .500 is worth another 2 points for Lakeland's loss as well.

[Muskie Fan South]

 Old School,
                   You are a team player ! I'd put you on the A team in fact. Thanks for the information you provided, you have some really good postings, it would be cool to meet you at one of the games . my wife are usually at the games.

[Greek Tragedy]

It's tough to make Lakeland games for a couple of reasons.  I work late during the week, so usually can't make it out to the campus on weekdays.  On the weekends, Pointer basketball takes priorities.  In fact, I'm heading to Point today to see the big Point/La Crosse game.  The one Lakeland game I saw was Point vs. Lakeland! 

I would love to see next week's Lakeland/MSOE game, but I'll be in GB to see outdoor hockey! lol.

[fishguy]

I see Marian won at MSOE Saturday, so Lakeland has clinched a tie for the title and will win it outright if (when?) they win at Maranatha on Tuesday. It will take a lot of the anticipation out of next weekend's MSOE-Lakeland game. The tournament pairings will be interesting, since so many teams are clustered around that 4-5 spot, but I really don't see anyone giving Lakeland much of a challenge since they will be playing every game at home. It would take Lakeland having an off day, which i suppose is always possible.

[Greek Tragedy]

Old School,
You are a team player ! I'd put you on the A team in fact.

I always loved Face, B-A, Hannibal and Murdock! 

Congrats to Sleepy Floyd Bayiha for being named to the d3hoops Team of the Week for the week ending Jan. 29th!  Not sure if any of you saw that.  The most impressive stat is that he averaged three assists in two games.  Wow! 

Nice to see the hated Fondy Lacers going down and beating MSOE for the Fish on Saturday.  I guess MSOE was looking ahead a bit to the battle next weekend.

Lakeland 11-1
MSOE 9-3
Edgewood 7-5
WLC 6-6
Dominican 6-7
Concordia 5-7
Marian 4-8
Maranatha 0-11

Wow, I remember the week when Dominican actually got a vote in the D3hoops poll! 

Prior to this weekend's conference ending games...

Feb. 7 Dominican @ MSOE*
Feb. 7 Edgewood @ Marian*
Feb. 7 Lakeland @ Maranatha Baptist*
Feb. 7 Wis. Lutheran @ Concordia (Wis.)*

Feb. 9 Maranatha @ Concordia (Wis.)*

MSOE will bounce back and top Dominican at home.
Edgewood will take down Marian, even though the latter just upset MSOE
Lakeland will sleepwalk to a win at Baptist
Lutheran should win the short trip up I-43 in Mequon.

[Pat Coleman]

Colorado College was a Pool B team and was never in competition for any spot vacated by a team that had a shot at an automatic bid and lost.