MBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[from downtown]

Im pretty happy with the way MSOE started its season. If I remember correctly, Marian beat Ripon last season so Im not going to go about claiming that MSOE would tear apart this league after beating a mediocre MWC team.
Random Thoughts:
MSOE hit some big shots early exploiting the zone
Andy Voight looked much improved
Neil Trainer played pretty well taking over the point guard spot but he cannot afford to get into foul trouble
Jamel Sabree needs to stop fouling so much (perhaps it was just me, but it seemed like two or three of his fouls were just going for rebounds)
MSOE needs to protect the ball better with a lead
Alot of fouls called both ways but it was a physical game.
Scott Murphy would be first team all-conference in the NAC this year
Alot of depth this year, despite the loss of Mikos, MSOE has only lost 4 seniors the last 2 years (will lose none this year) and it shows
I guess what I was most impressed with is after MSOE went into a terrible shooing slump for about five minutes and let Beloit make it close, they bounced back and pulled away down the stretch. Got some stops and some huge buckets.
Coming off of exams I thought the players minds might be elsewhere but they came out focused ready to play. Hopefully with the grades coming out we dont have the same problems we had last season on our trip to Dominican
for those of who dont remember or know: page 18 http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4609.msg435489#msg435489

[WLCALUM83]

Just wanted to let y'all know that WLC was missing 4 (Hagel, Behm, Krygiel, M. Zondag) of its top 8 fellas for the Coe game.  Would have theoretically made the game a little more interesting.

First 2 are primarily known for outside shooting (Hagel gets the most individual print for his all-around game), the latter two for being "bangers" and crashing the boards. Zondag was called upon to shoot more than Krygiel last season.

Thanks for posting that. 

[TroyG]

Just a prediction...

CUC- 75
N.P.- 64

That is quite a stretch to think CUC will beat North Park by 11. North Park is a good team and will not be that easy to beat. I hear that they are very athletic and have some solid post players who can keep up with Mr. Bobby Smith and Mr. Bell other than those 2 CUC really does not have anyone. Those 6' 9" guys everyone were talking about, don't even play according to the box scores, and to me if you are that tall and don't play you cant be that good. I would not look to see any contribution from them this year. My prediction is

North Park 65
Concordia  58

[TroyG]

Dominican
for those of who dont remember or know: page 18 http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4609.msg435489#msg435489

MSOE VS. DU

This game will be very intriguing to me I also think that this will be one of the better games of the night, but could become a bad night for either team  if they don't come ready to play, particularly DU. I heard that DU were down a lot of players one of those being their leading scorer and All conference selection Mike Haiduc. A few other key contributors also seem to be out with injuries so this will be a hell of a mountain for DU to overcome. DU will have to defend well and I have no idea where there scoring will come from. Benyamin Jones had a good night against Greenville with 20 points and 16 boards but can he keep that up? I think he's one of their gaurds and thats impressive but I don't think he will continue that. MSOE on the other hand is coming off a solid win over Beloit and Murphy played well in the post for them with 24 points. With the string of players out for DU, specifically their big men, who is going guard Murphy in the post? I think it will be a good game but a lot for Dominican to overcome. I would predict DU by 2.

[escalade07]

Just a prediction...

CUC- 75
N.P.- 64

My prediction is

North Park 65
Concordia  58

While I think that it is obivous who you both see winning this game. I think that the winner will only have a 3-5 pt. advantage. I know NP is SUPPOESED to be good but that jury is still out. CUC's jury is still out as well, but I think that a strong weekend with these young athletes has made them a better team already. I know that they are hungry for a win at home. Last year CUC had some great success at home (ex playing with Augie for a half). Anyway wish I could be there for the home opener, but CUC will come out of this dog fight on top!

To quote a friend of mine:

COUGS WILL WIN!!!

[Gregory Sager]

BTW - Grace Bible is pretty good. They recruit well in Grand Rapids, MI. I think they get players who don't have the grades to make it at Hope, Calvin, or Cornerstone.

I'm not sure where you heard this, but it isn't true. Grace Bible is 3-7. One of their other two wins, which came at the hands of NAIA-2 Davenport, is legit for this level. The other one was over another Bible school, NCCAA-2 member Atlanta Christian.

Grace Bible's players aren't the guys who don't have the grades to get into Hope, Calvin, or Cornerstone. They're the guys who don't have the game to get into Hope, Calvin, or Cornerstone. Grace Bible has played Calvin four times in this decade, and Grace Bible lost all four times -- by an average margin of 30.5 points. Cornerstone? They've beaten Grace Bible all three times that they've played in this decade. Average margin of victory? A tidy 28.7 points. Just last week Cornerstone shellacked GBC by a score of 100-66. And as for Hope, the Dutch have played GBC three times in this decade, and beaten them all three times by scores of 83-51 (2001-02), 94-58 (2002-03), and 120-75 (2004-05).

In the other game that GBC played in last weekend's tourney at Calvin, they lost to Benedictine by 21 points. Keep in mind that Benedictine is in the midst of a serious rebuilding project; the Bennies have no seniors and only three juniors on their roster, and this past weekend they fielded a starting lineup that included three freshmen (Jacob Carwell, Rob Bridgeman, and Dan Klecan), a sophomore (Jared Bailey) who saw garbage minutes in ten games last year for BU, and a junior (Tim Swanson) who is the only returning starter.

Grace Bible is not a good team. You can't whitewash that Falcons loss, Libero.

While I think that it is obivous who you both see winning this game. I think that the winner will only have a 3-5 pt. advantage. I know NP is SUPPOESED to be good but that jury is still out.

NPU is 1-1 as well. They lost in overtime to host Mount St. Joseph in the opening round of MSJ's tipoff tourney on an outrageous foul call with one second left in regulation that sent the game into an undeserved OT. It was such a bad call that it led to the MSJ coach and one of the refs apologizing for it afterwards. The Vikings then defeated a decent Kalamazoo team the next night by five. NPU is young, too, with only one senior in the starting lineup and only one starter who was on the team at the end of last season (another starter tore his ACL last January). I don't know how well the Park is going to do tomorrow, but I know that they're hungry to avenge last season's home loss to the Cougars.

I expect to see a good game tomorrow night in River Forest, and I'm anticipating a solid performance by NPU.

[AndOne]

Just a prediction...

CUC- 75
N.P.- 64

My prediction is

North Park 65
Concordia  58

While I think that it is obivous who you both see winning this game. I think that the winner will only have a 3-5 pt. advantage. I know NP is SUPPOESED to be good but that jury is still out. CUC's jury is still out as well, but I think that a strong weekend with these young athletes has made them a better team already. I know that they are hungry for a win at home. Last year CUC had some great success at home (ex playing with Augie for a half). Anyway wish I could be there for the home opener, but CUC will come out of this dog fight on top!

Based on what I saw in the leagues in both Des Plaines and Deerfield this summer, I would say NPU has a SLIGHT advantage IF they play together and hit their outside shots. My concern with North Park is that they have a lot of players who seem to have good athletic/basketball ability. However, I believe a good portion of their roster is new to the program and the players need time to play together and jell AS A UNIT. In comparison, Concordia seemed like a team that plays well together and is strong in the fundamentals, but is SLIGHTLY lacking in overall athletic ability. Speed and leaping ability on the side of NPU. Unity and fewer turnovers on the side of Concordia. Please keep in mind this info is based on how the teams looked during the summer. With preseason conditioning and formal team practice since last month, things may have changed.

[Gregory Sager]

Just a prediction...

CUC- 75
N.P.- 64

My prediction is

North Park 65
Concordia  58

While I think that it is obivous who you both see winning this game. I think that the winner will only have a 3-5 pt. advantage. I know NP is SUPPOESED to be good but that jury is still out. CUC's jury is still out as well, but I think that a strong weekend with these young athletes has made them a better team already. I know that they are hungry for a win at home. Last year CUC had some great success at home (ex playing with Augie for a half). Anyway wish I could be there for the home opener, but CUC will come out of this dog fight on top!

Based on what I saw in the leagues in both Des Plaines and Deerfield this summer, I would say NPU has a SLIGHT advantage IF they play together and hit their outside shots. My concern with North Park is that they have a lot of players who seem to have good athletic/basketball ability. However, I believe a good portion of their roster is new to the program and the players need time to play together and jell AS A UNIT. In comparison, Concordia seemed like a team that plays well together and is strong in the fundamentals, but is SLIGHTLY lacking in overall athletic ability. Speed and leaping ability on the side of NPU. Unity and fewer turnovers on the side of Concordia. Please keep in mind this info is based on how the teams looked during the summer. With preseason conditioning and formal team practice since last month, things may have changed.

No, that's a fairly accurate assessment of NPU. As I said, NPU only has one player in the starting lineup who was on the active roster at the end of last season, forward Jay Alexander. The other starters include three transfers (Anthony Lenoir, Stephano Jones, and Sheldon Evans) who are new this year, plus guard Jason Gordon (who as I said tore his ACL last January). Three of the first four players off of the bench are freshmen, and the fourth is a sophomore. The Vikings are definitely talented -- and, just as definitely, a work in progress in terms of chemistry and familiarity with each other and with Coach Paul Brenegan's system.

[Gregory Sager]

GS---

Thanks for confirming my analysis based on this summer's play is still valid. 

Specifically, with regard to Alexander, I think the only thing keeping him from 3rd team all conference is that he is a genuinely nice guy both on and off the court. I have talked to him VERY briefly on a couple of occasions, and this was my initial impression.
From a basketball standpoint, I think he would really have something going if he maintained that nice guy behavior OFF the court, but played a bit meaner ON it.

There may be something to that. Jay is a genuinely nice and personable young man. I'd settle for him becoming more muscular rather than meaner, though. 

[libero]

BTW - Grace Bible is pretty good. They recruit well in Grand Rapids, MI. I think they get players who don't have the grades to make it at Hope, Calvin, or Cornerstone.

I'm not sure where you heard this, but it isn't true. Grace Bible is 3-7. One of their other two wins, which came at the hands of NAIA-2 Davenport, is legit for this level. The other one was over another Bible school, NCCAA-2 member Atlanta Christian.

Looks like it could be a long season for CUW then. . .

[The Way]

The Way I See It,

Downtown,
Stop giving us a 12 page update on MSOE. For starters, they are not even currently in this league. And most importantly, they cost the conference its automatic birth to the NCAA tournament. I would much rather pick up my National Enquirer and read about K-Fed trying out his new WWE moves on Justin Timberlake. Save your game capsules and MSOE updates for your Thanksgiving Day toast at the dinner table.

[WLCALUM83]

Looks like UW-Oshkosh is going to win big vs. Edgewood. The Titans were up by some 20 pts. or so with approx. 2 minutes left when I lost my connection to the Edgewood feed.
DeMarco got his share of points, but the Eagles' slow second half start did them in.

(BTW, anyone want a separate board set up just for Northern Athletics Conference in-game updates?  Your call, your choice, folks. Just throwing that out there.)

[Fartcus Smellwood]

N.P. 68
CUC 30

for this, I put myself on silence and I am embarrassed by my prediction...ouch...ouch...ouch...

[mr_b]

N.P. 68
CUC 30

for this, I put myself on silence and I am embarrassed by my prediction...ouch...ouch...ouch...

The CUC website gives the final as 68-31.  At any rate, the margin of victory is a surprise to everyone, and the Vikings dominated in every statistical category.

[Gregory Sager]

The final score was indeed 68-31, NPU over CUC. North Park could've won by a lot more, too; but Coach Brenegan put in his JV players at the end of the game, and he also declined to press a Cougars team that has obviously ballhandling problems.

I'll have to check the NPU record book when I get home, but I think that this might be an all-time best for the Vikings in terms of fewest points allowed. Considering that this is a pretty storied program that owns five national championships, any new "all-time best" tends to be a pretty significant accomplishment.

The Cougers were missing PG David Mikrut, but his presence would not have made a bit of a difference this evening. NPU simply put the Cougars on lockdown. The Cougars only had 16 points at halftime, and it took them eight minutes into the second half before they even broke the 20-point barrier. The NPU defense was absolutely stifling.

It was sweet revenge for last year's Cougars win over the Vikes in Chicago, and then some.