MBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[crusader]

haven't paid much attention to ncc this year, i remember last year when they beat clarke by 1 after an impressive start to their season(one of the more solidly played basketball games i've witnessed), but then it seemed to me like they really lost it down the stretch of the season. 

cardinalpride, as i stated before, this has been a year of inconsistency for the niic.  yes, those wins against au and ben are impressive, but on the other hand, i'm sure that au and ben could beat teams that have beat ncc.  my arguement is that these teams have the ability to play with anyone.  the talent is there, there is just a lot of inconsistent play.  clarke, for example, plays augustana tough(79-73 loss), showing they can play with one of d3's top teams, and then loses to marion in ot after giving up a 14 point halftime lead.  or robert morris college(chicago), who blows everybody out...with 8 minutes to go in the first half clarke was up by 8. 

and how about au, who beat millikin(weren't they your first loss of the season?)

the talent in the niic is there, they can play with anybody.

[Gregory Sager]

Crusader, I've seen three of the NIIC's six teams this season: Aurora, Benedictine, and CURF. They are most definitely a couple of notches, if not more, below the current Big Four in the CCIW: Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst, and North Central. Aurora, which is your league's best team this season, would lose to any of those CCIW powers four out of every five times they played.

Your assertion that the NIIC's teams "can play with anybody" simply isn't true. In years past, a NIIC team or two would usually be good enough to go toe-to-toe with the better D3 teams in Wisconsin and Illinois. But not this year.

[crusader]

i said play with anybody, not beat anybody.  cardinalpride made it seem like the niic would just get blown out by everybody.  i saw a post somewhere on this that said in a scrimmage aurora beat augustana earlier this year.  and, i might have to correct you, clarke is the niic's best team this year.  i can't wait til wednesday when we are at full strength against aurora, then we can prove to all the doubters.  aurora might have the best player, but clarke does indeed have the best team.

[Warrior_Fish]

Muskies win a battle in the tank  66-63 over MSOE and Byeeeeea had just 10 pts.  Nice defense by the Muskies, and the bench steped up after injuries took out some people.

WLC turns out a big win against Edgewood to get a first round home game at the REX.  Look out CUW.  Congrats to whomever started that "one more year" chant.  Thanks to you, we might now get Cooper back for a 7th year.  One can only hope. 

Marian gets a win over MBBC.  big suprise there. 


Thurs. , Feb. 16, 2006
Quarterfinals - 7pm
#1 Lakeland vs. #8 Maranatha   <<<<<<<<< LC
#2 MSOE vs. #7 Marian               <<<<<<<<< MSOE
#3 Wis. Lutheran vs. #6 Concordia<<<<<<<  WLC
#4 Edgewood vs. #5 Dominican<<<<<<<<<  How great would that be if EC goes down!  to bad it aint gonna happen.


PEACE

[Big_Uns]

I think the Maniacs got under MSOE's collective skin yesterday. Sleepy Floyd was staring them down the entire game. With 10 points, I'm glad the loss was humbling for the cocky Raiders.

[crusader]

Crusader, I've seen three of the NIIC's six teams this season: Aurora, Benedictine, and CURF. They are most definitely a couple of notches, if not more, below the current Big Four in the CCIW: Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst, and North Central. Aurora, which is your league's best team this season, would lose to any of those CCIW powers four out of every five times they played.

What good timing for loses to 3 of your big 4 teams, just proving that any team can get beaten on any given day.
Aurora at Clarke is set for Wednesday night, the NIIC's last conference championship will be on the line!!!! 

[Bust Ya'll]

Well words could not express what happened this weekend.  All in all an Edgewood sweep is great, actually its beyond belief the relief that I felt when I heard the final score that night.  Is it wrong that the first thing I thought about was "Ha, we were supposed to finish 6th in the LMC!"  Once again, WLC is underestimated and is placed with the task of playing against Concordia on the 16th I believe.  Thats fine with us though, we will play Concordia any day of the year (however, you boyz cant get cocky or go in looking at it as a pushover)  and then, eventually, when all the dust is settled, it will be WLC and Lakeland in the final.  And guess what...guess who has the only LMC win against Lakeland?  That means that WLC is 1 win better then the rest of you chumps.  If we get there look for D3hoops LMC posters worse nightmare...another WLC conference championship.

You heard it here first,
Bust Ya'll

Edgewood 81, WLC 70.......subject to change if things change in the next couple of days.

Good call there buddy...keep hating

[Bust Ya'll]

bust-yall - gordon bombay  -- whatever your name is... are you one of the "6th man" in the Xtra small tee shirts?

I may have the heart of Gordon Bombay, but I am certainly not him...And no, I wear an XL shirt actually and it fits very comfortably.  Wasnt it you who said show big or go home?...well I think its fair to say an XL constitutes as showing up "big"

Showtimesazero....you too can keep hating.

With a brothers love,
Bust Ya'll
<Hey, its Valentines day soon why not?)

[fishguy]

Busty

Congrats on the win over Lakeland ... even if it did come over 2 months ago. But that's ago, living in the past is something we've grown used to from WLC fans.

Congrats also on finishing below .500, getting swept by Dominican and losing to ... Marian.

Good luck in the tournament! I'm sure Lakeland would enjoy seeing you and your team head north on tourney championship day.

[Big_Uns]

Good luck in the tournament! I'm sure Lakeland would enjoy seeing you and your team head north on tourney championship day.

Not so fast. Edgewood could be the most dangerous 4 seed ever. How the hell they collapsed to that 4 seed is beyond me. And I wouldn't give LC the title yet. That match up is scary. Of course, EC has to get through Dominican first, and despite Warrior_Fish's prediction I think it might be a pretty close game.

Really the only game without intrigue in the first round is the Lakeland-Maranatha game. I mean, could Marian duplicate their upset of MSOE?

Just for the record, I'd rather see Concordia in The Aquarium than WLC.

[TroyG]

I agree with big uns. I believe that all of these games are going to be competitive exept for LC vs. MBBC. Marian has shown that they can beat MSOE and MSOE is not playing there best basketball as of right now. When Bahiya came back it made their TEAM much worst I actually think that they are better without him. As for the 4 vs 5 game Edgewood has beaten DU twice but in each game Dominican was up double digits in the game. They were up 20 points in the game at Edgewood but they seem to have a continuing problem with holding on to leads. If it wasn't for that DU could actually be a pretty good team instead they are mediocre. WLC seems to be playing pretty good as of late but you never know. WlC was swept by DU and Dominican lost at home to CU. I feel as if all the match-ups can go either way it all depends on who plays the better game and who commits the least mistakes. This is why coaches say that their teams need to be playing their beast basketball at the end of the year.

My predictions are:

LC over MBBC (landslide pick)
Marian over MSOE (upset pick)
WLC over Concordia
Dominican over Edgewood

[Gregory Sager]

What good timing for loses to 3 of your big 4 teams, just proving that any team can get beaten on any given day

I never said that that wasn't true. I said that the top four in the CCIW are superior enough to Aurora to beat the Spartans four out of five times each. I haven't seen Clarke play this season, but based on your home loss to Augustana, your loss to Wheaton when they were 2-4 and seriously floundering early in the season, and your sixteen-point loss to Aurora earlier in the NIIC slate, I doubt that your Crusaders are all that much better than Aurora in terms of how they'd fare against the CCIW's top four.

BTW, saying that NIIC teams can "play with" the big dogs is a bit of an empty brag. Beating teams is what matters, not hanging around with them. I always tip my cap to any underdog that can stay with a better team, and there's some pride to be found in a close loss under those circumstances, but in the end basketball isn't horseshoes or hand grenades. Close doesn't count. Winning is what matters.

[Gregory Sager]

And no, I wear an XL shirt actually and it fits very comfortably.  Wasnt it you who said show big or go home?...well I think its fair to say an XL constitutes as showing up "big"

In my book, "showing up big" means posting after your team's losses as well as after your team's wins. Anybody can turn on the computer and talk big after a win. Posting consistently after every game, even if it's a loss to your most hated rival, is the epitome of "showing up big".

[Greek Tragedy]

My predictions are:

LC over MBBC (landslide pick)
Marian over MSOE (upset pick)
WLC over Concordia
Dominican over Edgewood

I'll take:

LC over MBBC
MSOE over Marian
WLC over Concordia
Edgewood over Dominican

[showtimeSmyHero]

I dont think WLC has much of a chance to make it to the final -- Just my opinion.

I was not at the Lakeland/MSOE game but it sounded like it was a good game. MSOE had the lead late in the 2nd half and couldnt seal the deal.  I am not sure what miller has up his sweater vest, but it better be something good if he wants to beat Lakeland....and for that matter Marian.  For the 1st round my picks are:

LC over MBBC
MSOE over Marian
Concordia over WLC
Edgewood over dominican

How can anyone pick LC over MBBC as the blowout special?  I wouldnt be suprised if Maranatha didnt even show up... thanks Guru!