WBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[BDB]

Hey Downtown,

Go over and say hi to stoutguy today. He'll be doing the color on the Stout radio broadcast.  8)

[foul_language]

My question: can a 'best starting five in the conference' hold up for 40 minutes against a barrage of teams? It can if it has decent backup; does Oshkosh have depth? Stout's strength--and maybe, at this point, also it's weakness--is it's numbers. I think Stout may have two 'first string' line-ups, and the problem has been putting the right people together. In effect, Oshkosh could be facing two good starting line-ups today if Coach T creates the right combination. After the two good starting line ups, he has some pretty decent bench players. We know that Duoss can give Stout points inside, we know that L Geissler and Bird and Hendricks can give Stout points from the outside. We know A Geissler can get the ball up the court and into the hands of someone who can either score or pass on to a scorer. The elements are there. They need to learn to trust each other and not worry about another position doing its job.

I think Dani Boese is gaining strength and getting used to being on the court; if Bird starts to distribute the ball rather than looking for opportunities to score, she might reduce her turnover rate. Assists are important in basketball, too.

I figured that Stout has 75 fouls to give up before they're in serious trouble. Is that an advantage?

You know, I think Janelle Daniels, despite her height (or lack of it) shows some great potential. I think she sees the court well, she's quick, and who can swipe the ball from her dribble? I'd actually like to see what she can do in a real game and not just the final minutes of a blowout one way or the other. The advantage is the dribble is low; the disadvantage is her vision when she gets across mid-court. The closer she gets to the basket, the harder it is to see the forest for the trees.

[BDB]

Foul,  I agree with everything you just posted.

It's the patented Coach Thomas 'line changes" that keep the intensity level so high for the Devils, and the players fresh.

It will take more than a starting five to beat Stout.

[foul_language]

I can look at this two ways: either it doesn't take more than a starting five to beat Stout OR Oshkosh could consider Stout's top ten as part of its bench. I'm listening to the game and wondering what in the hell the hurry was? Did Stout get reduced time on the shot clock? Was only one Stout player allowed to touch the ball or if a second person got the ball, was she obligated to fling it wildly in the general direction of the backboard? Where was the passing? Where was the patience?  I don't know how it looked, but it sounded pathetic.

[bulk19]

UWEC - 66, Carroll College 61.

Nice win for the Blugolds in defeating a team that was 6-0 coming into the game, including wins against UW-Oshkosh and UWSP.

Blugolds trailed by 6 at half, but played with more intensity and gave fans a glimpse of a promising future by staging/maintaining a comeback with three starters on the bench for the last 6 minutes of the game or so.

Michelle Burns led the 'Golds in scoring with 24, but key players in this game were Brittanni Hakanson and Heidi Arciszewski, freshmen who combined for 30 points and played the final five minutes, along with Burns, and two more freshman - Ashley Anderson and Heather Witt. Arciszewski had a whale of a game on both ends, and provided a big spark.

Blugolds took the lead for good, 53-52, with about 4 minutes left, then hit all six of its FTs to help seal the win, along with a big 3-pointer by Burns.

Big confidence booster for this team, which showed some of the promise/athleticism that I saw during the team's intrasquad game. They played with chemsitry and a hunger down the stretch today. Hope that continues down the stretch this year, and bodes well for the next three years as this team continues to grow and improve. 

[Voice of the Titans]

Quite the game at the Bob this afternoon. Foul trouble looked to doom UWO early, butthe question of depth was answered. Stout couldn't even pull away when Oshkosh had 3 or 4 starters out. By no means did the Titans bench dominate, but the young kids held the line and got them to the locker room up 4. I would question the officiating, but it leveled out in the second half. It really was a case where one end of the floor seemed to be the only side where the whistle was blown. UWO got hammered in the first half while Stout got to the line, while in the second half it was reversed. Except for the last foul with 1.2 seconds left. I think they were hoping for a make to set up the 13-pointer. And a heck of a birthday to Shannon Eggers: 21 points, a win, and a T. I believe that's the basketball version of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

[bulk19]

UWL - 62, UWSP 55.

UWL stops its 11-game losing streak to the Pointers.
And they had 550+ fans at Mitchell Hall to see it. Impressive crowd there.

Now the rest of you Eagles fans get on the bandwagon, too, and start rooting for your team, which is now 9-0 and 4-0 in conference play!

[billys]

I think this season the "we're young" excuse has got to be relaxed. I just looked around the league at the rosters. Guess how many seniors there are in the entire league? Of the eight teams with rosters on the net (come on Superior), there are 22 seniors total.

EC-2 (both play big roles)
LC-1 (she's out for the year)
OSH- 4 (all important)
PL- 6 (the leaders, one's hurt)
RF- 2 (one major contributor)
SP- 2 (one major contributor)
Stout- 4 (2 or 3 play a lot)
WW-1 (major contributor)

I've seen it in articles about coaches saying "We're young" and people here talking about being patient with young teams.

Reality is, what you see this year in many cases, is what you'll see next year. EC, LC, PL, SP, WW all play a lot of freshman; most everyone has a good class of sophomores. If everyone is in the same boat, it's not unique. It's exciting for the league that the majority of the main contributors this year will be back next year which can only improve the quality of the league. I guess if you play Oshkosh experience is a factor (or big game experience with Stout) but I don't think it should be used as an excuse if you play an equally young team.

[bulk19]

Billys-

Yes, there are few seniors on the rosters this year. But add in the experience of juniors, too. That will give you a better idea of how young UWEC is, when you consider that its roster of 18 has only three upper classmen. A team of 15 freshmen/sophomores is young.

Yes, seems there are a lot of young teams this year - UWL being another one that comes to mind. But, as you point out, they are all in the same boat in this conference, so it's not an excuse.

It's just it takes a while to learn to win in this league, and have success... No matter how successful you were in HS, you will take some lumps in this conference as underclassmen, and experience some growing pains.

Looking at the bigger picture, outside of the WIAC, though, the teams that have success in the NCAA tournament over the years - Stout, Oshkosh, UWEC and UWSP - didn't have 15 underclassmen on them. That's when the experience pays off...

[billys]

I agree, juniors are a very important part of "experience" like I said, in the league I just don't think youth should be used as an excuse. Unless you're playing Oshkosh where their experience could be a factor.

You are absolutely right, tournament success often relies on experience. I still think Oshy is the team to beat and I think Stout will still rebound and be a major factor, but the upstart from over here in La Crosse is looking to make things interesting. They pounded Edgewood tonight to get to 10-0.

Kind of surprising they're not ranked. 26th this week, Oshkosh checks in at 20th. Stout is 28th. I realize D3 polls are probably the least accurate since the voters see hardly any of the teams actually play. But I would figure 9-0 at the time of the vote, which would be tied for the best record on the board, would earn a ranking. Especially with a 2 loss team comfortably in it. Again, I've seen exactly 2 teams thus far, but I think if I were voting I'd put in unbeaten teams from good leagues until they prove you wrong.

[bulk19]

billys -
In the case of UWL being ranked, and from a tough conference, perhaps, you see them as innocent until proven guilty?

But the pollsters, perhaps, are thinking guilty, until proven innocent, if that makes any sense?

But it maybe it's because, despite a 4-0 mark in conference, the Eagles have only beaten one upper-tier opponent so far - UWSP. They haven't played Stout or Oshkosh yet, but did beat the Blugolds, who are traditionally a good team...

Also, they are in a bit of an unfamiliar territory, as far as success goes for that program... so they haven't necessarily "earned" the spot based on a history of winning...

And, they do have a young team, too. One without seasoned veterans who we all know what to expect from. So there!

I think the Eagles are flying under the radar a bit (if 26th can be considered such). Maybe that's why they've been successful. They didn't have the pressure of having the targets on their backs coming into this season.

But they have not gone unnoticed in the WIAC, I'll guarantee you that. I'm sure the teams in this conference have noticed, and are not going to take them lightly...

Nevertheless, it's exciting to see them doing well, and that the fans turned out vs. the Pointers... Keep filling up Mitchell Hall...

[cmhwest]

I still think La Crosse should be in the top 25... I understand that maybe they are not 100% proven yet based on opponents but when you have polls like this, where the people voting have not seen the teams, you should base some things on common apponents ... For example      Oshkosh is ranked and they Beat edgewood at home by 15...  La Crosse who is unbeaten beat Edgewood at home by 24...       They have also Beaten Rockford and to this day that is Rockfords only loss....   If they lose there first game of the year at Stout or at Oshkosh and they are not in the top 25, it will be that much harder for them to get into the top 25. However if they were now like they should be there first loss may not knock them out since there are several 2 loss teams in the top 25. The fact that they are a young team should not worry anybody at all. This team plays together and with alot of confidence.  I have seen them in person and they dont panic when a team makes a run and most important there defence is smothering ....         this is going to be an intresting year

[cmhwest]

One more thing...  I think the La Crosse defense leads the wiac in forced turnovers      does anybody have that stat?

[buf]

EC 59
Carleton 50

A decent win for EC, but an ugly win.  Carleton has been at or near the top of the MIAC the last few years, but like EC, they lost some seniors last year.

Muggenberg and Brooke Hakanson shot pretty well outside, which EC needs desperately.  Both teams made a lot of substitutions and played zone defense for much of the game.  I think both coaches were using this game to work on some things for conference play.

Only 4 points from EC's seniors and two of them were when they were icing the game from the FT line.  However, Becker had some good assists.

Megan Vig and Oken-Berg lead Carleton.

[bulk19]

I've got to mention Heidi Arciszewski  for her role tonight, too, in the Blugold's win. 13 points off the bench...

I agree with buf's summary - looks like the coaches were tinkering, tweaking and playing different combinations. Blugolds are back to .500, where Coach Englund wanted them to get to before heading out to California, and then back into conference play.

Don't know much about the teams they play out West, but I hope they can at least split???

Merry Christmas to all the posters here, good luck to the Warhawks football team on Saturday, and we'll see you all back here after the break...