MBB: Northwest Conference

[P4L]

For those who are wondering about UST, I have played against them six times in the last two years and have also played UPS this year as well out in San Francisco.

St. Thomas, as someone mentioned before me, presses all 40 minutes, but I wouldn't say it's as frantic and scramble type of press that you run. They have the best on the ball defenders I have ever played against in D3 and this is what they use to cause problems. They let you catch it and then play 1 on 1 defense on the point with their 2 wing defenders hanging back around half court. Since very few people can get past the first defender, every team I've seen play against them gets to 6 or 7 seconds in the back court and then has to, in some ways, force the issue just to get it across half court before the 10 second violation. When a team does this, that's when the wing defenders come into play and usually one of them will jump and trap the ball handler at the 6 to 7 second mark which usually causes a difficult pass out of the oncoming double team. The way to beat their press is to attack it early because if you wait, which is tempting since they don't deny the pass or apply pressure right away, is where teams play into their hands.

Besides their press, they have two extremely dangerous shooters in Nicolai and Scott. Both players need little to no space to get off a 3 attempt which helps spread the floor.

To be continued.......

Having seen/played against each in recent history, I would like to hear your prediction on te outcome of the UST/UPS matchup... 

[Gacman]

With these two shooters on the floor, the offense they most often run is a 4 out 1 in with McCoy as the one in. When the ball goes into him, he almost never makes a move right away. The first thing that happens when he gets the ball are two to three UST players that will cut off of him. He passes the ball extremely well. If someone hasn't received a pass from him off a basket cut, he either passes it back out or then starts making an offensive move. Almost every move consists of a step-through or an up and under finishing to his right hand. UST's biggest strength might be its bench as they bring in Tuma off the bench who would start for any other miac team, Halvorsen who is a 6'8" wing and is extremely athletic. He is very similar to Foster. Also Ervin and Peltier provide some muscle. They do the little things. both are extremely strong allowing them to guard people bigger than them, but quick enough to defend almost any guard. Healy is a gunner who comes in and looks to get some shots up.

The other starters not mentioned earlier are Lonnie Robinson and B.J. Viau. Both are top notch defenders who play the game under control and smart. Lonnie is the best defender in the MIAC and it isn't even close. He doesn't shoot a lot but can hit the three if you leave him open. Viau is Mr. everything. He defends, rebounds, blocks shots, takes good shots, passes well. His range doesn't go out past 15 feet. He is a good leaper. Him and Kraul will be a good match up. We never broke 60 against them this year. A lot of teams didn't. To beat them, will take a very good shooting effort, because they shoot 53 percent as a team on the season because when they aren't getting layups off their press they are getting great shots in the half court do to their High Basketball IQ and patience.

Good luck to UPS. They will be a formidable opponent and it should be a good game.

[P4L]

I realize St. Thomas plays up tempo as well, but I am wondering if even they will be a bit rushed playing against a UPS team that has reached 100 points 4 times this season.  UST reached 100 once in a blowout of St. Mary's (Minn).

[P4L]

With these two shooters on the floor, the offense they most often run is a 4 out 1 in with McCoy as the one in. When the ball goes into him, he almost never makes a move right away. The first thing that happens when he gets the ball are two to three UST players that will cut off of him. He passes the ball extremely well. If someone hasn't received a pass from him off a basket cut, he either passes it back out or then starts making an offensive move. Almost every move consists of a step-through or an up and under finishing to his right hand. UST's biggest strength might be its bench as they bring in Tuma off the bench who would start for any other miac team, Halvorsen who is a 6'8" wing and is extremely athletic. He is very similar to Foster. Also Ervin and Peltier provide some muscle. They do the little things. both are extremely strong allowing them to guard people bigger than them, but quick enough to defend almost any guard. Healy is a gunner who comes in and looks to get some shots up.

The other starters not mentioned earlier are Lonnie Robinson and B.J. Viau. Both are top notch defenders who play the game under control and smart. Lonnie is the best defender in the MIAC and it isn't even close. He doesn't shoot a lot but can hit the three if you leave him open. Viau is Mr. everything. He defends, rebounds, blocks shots, takes good shots, passes well. His range doesn't go out past 15 feet. He is a good leaper. Him and Kraul will be a good match up. We never broke 60 against them this year. A lot of teams didn't. To beat them, will take a very good shooting effort, because they shoot 53 percent as a team on the season because when they aren't getting layups off their press they are getting great shots in the half court do to their High Basketball IQ and patience.

Good luck to UPS. They will be a formidable opponent and it should be a good game.

Thanks for the recap.. Great info!

[Gacman]

Predicting the outcome is tough because I know how hot UPS can get, and how fast they can score points. On the flip side I think UST plays smarter than any other team I have faced.  I think UST will win 83-76 in a close game. I could go either way, but UST wins in a close and exciting game.

As for being rushed. I think UST will handle the pace just fine. They have the athletes and the discipline to be successful against a team like this. I think UST would prefer to play fast as to a grind it out game like their last win against UWSP. Playing faster gets more open shots for their deadly shooters. I also think that UST's half court defense is too good to allow a game to get that high scoring. Remember UST is giving up only 58 points a game on the season and have beaten 2 D2 teams in concordia-st. paul this year, and they beat D2 national champion Winona St. last year. It was Winona's only loss en route to their second national championship in three years. And UST did it with the exact same players they have this year since they didn't graduate anyone from the top 10 in their rotation.

I have a feeling that both presses will be rendered useless since both teams have oustanding guards. The game will be won in the half court. The question will be who can defend better in the half court.

[Nites]

I realize St. Thomas plays up tempo as well, but I am wondering if even they will be a bit rushed playing against a UPS team that has reached 100 points 4 times this season.  UST reached 100 once in a blowout of St. Mary's (Minn).

And to add to Gacman's great analyis:  Although most feel that the Tommies had not really been tested this year until their win Saturday over WSP, it's probably worth remembering that they returned their top 11 scorers from last year's 23-5 team that suffered a 72-70 defeat to Buena Vista in the opening round of the tourney. 

For those that follow D-II basketball, you undoubtedly are familiar with Winona State, the D-II national champion in 2006 and 2008 and the runner up in 2007.  Winona State had two losses in those 3 years, the first in the national championship game in 2007 and the other, a loss at home to UST.

From what I've been reading, however, it seems that few teams are better at running up and down the court than UPS so they likely will be better off if they can slow the tempo down.  Their passing game in the half court that Gacman alluded to is a pleasure to watch.

[Nites]

Okay, so Gac was thinking the same thing as I was and he beat me to the Post button. . . .

[LogShow]

Every team gets the same amount of practice time on the floor: 90 minutes on Thursday and 60 minutes on Friday.  Wheaton can obviously practice as much as they want until Thursday, but once Thursday comes it becomes an NCAA venue and they get only their 90 minutes.

I'd imagine if UPS arrives early they'd find a practice site elsewhere.

Wheaton is a great place to play with a top notch gym and overall athletic facilities.

2 observations:

There are seats on the end line in the first row with about 40% court visibility.  If its packed, better get there early.

Secondly, I always found it amusing how the home announcer for Wheaton announced a Kent Raymond basket.  KENT RAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He seems to be the only Wheaton player to get the announcer EXTRA excited.

Does the mention of Raymond bring back personal nightmares P4L? lol. 
Nobody on your squad could stop him that night...probably nobody anywhere could have.

[LogShow]

Gac and Nites thanks for all the input!  Really appreciate it.  Sound like these teams are pretty similar.  I worry a little bit about the UPS offense in the half court...does UST zone at all?

From the way that you guys described UST pressure, I don't think that UPS will have too much trouble with that aspect.  Williams is one of the quickest players I have ever seen.  If they can slow him down I will be really impressed.  If their defenders are going to try to stay in front of him one-on-one, they will spend most of the game chasing him from behind.  Also, most players on UPS are very comfortable handling the ball, since they practice against the press all year.

As far as UPS defense goes...they have a tendency to give up some easier shots.  But they have been doing better at getting back and taking away lay-ups.  That being said, their half court d has looked very strong this year.  For UST to have success they need to take advantage of their fastbreaks.

This is a very interesting match-up and I can't wait for the game on Friday.

[P4L]

Every team gets the same amount of practice time on the floor: 90 minutes on Thursday and 60 minutes on Friday.  Wheaton can obviously practice as much as they want until Thursday, but once Thursday comes it becomes an NCAA venue and they get only their 90 minutes.

I'd imagine if UPS arrives early they'd find a practice site elsewhere.

Wheaton is a great place to play with a top notch gym and overall athletic facilities.

2 observations:

There are seats on the end line in the first row with about 40% court visibility.  If its packed, better get there early.

Secondly, I always found it amusing how the home announcer for Wheaton announced a Kent Raymond basket.  KENT RAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He seems to be the only Wheaton player to get the announcer EXTRA excited.

Does the mention of Raymond bring back personal nightmares P4L? lol. 
Nobody on your squad could stop him that night...probably nobody anywhere could have.

Actually I don't mind the guy.  I only faced him once and beat him.  Very good player, I think he still had 25 or so on us.

It is going to be very interesting watching the rebound line for the UPS/UST game.  With as many shots going up as we think I would wager that the team more dedicated to securing defensive rebounds would have an advantage.  If both teams hit the offensive boards hard we could have a 100-100 game as that will result in a bunch of fast break situations and 3 on 2's the other way.

[LogShow]

Yes, it'll be there and we'll have the links for you. I'll be calling the games myself, so you'll get a (hopefully) knowledgeable, (definitely) unbiased call.

video or radio?

For those that are interested...the front page has a story on the internet video broadcast for the Logger's sectional.

I am pumped to actually have video!  8)

[Tglassman55]

I am pumped to actually have video!  8)

I spoke with our athletic department multiple times about broadcasting video for all the homegames on the website that most of the teams in the conference use ustream.com.  I explained how easy it was and found volunteers to point the camera.  Chris Thompson informed me that "we don't have the technology in the fieldhouse."  I told him that they obviously do because 1) they broadcast the "radio" broadcasts on Ustream which only requires an internet connection and 2) They broadcast video for the Willamette game using the laptop that they were carrying around.  Our library said have cameras with all the cords they would need for use for FREE. 

It is so frusterating to see Whitworth, Willamette, and especially Whitman (they have a clock and scoreboard!) among others with professional looking broadcasts that people outside of the general area or someone that needs to be somewhere else but has an internet connection. 

We have the worst athletic department in the conference FAR AND AWAY.  Unless there are some big problems at other schools I don't know about. 

It's GREAT to see video, now let's see some recognition for 1,000 point scorers and record setters, some signs letting people know when games are, some positive interactions between our Athletic MisDirector Amy Hackett and the student body that supports the sports she doesn't care about. 

d3 is only small time when your leadership believes it is.  ...sorry about the rant...

[LogShow]

I hear ya.  That isn't the first complaint I have heard about the Athletic Department...Guess she just comes from a different school of thought.

That's really too bad they have the tech to broadcast games but don't...kind of hard to understand.  I know lots of alumni and other would definately checkout/watch the games.  Not to mention the parents of the kids on the team from california and other places that aren't able to always make the trip up.

[Pat Coleman]

Any readers here who are even thinking they might want to attend the Final Four should enter the City of Salem's contest: Free lodging, free tickets, admission to team banquet and VIP passes:

http://www.d3hoops.com/salemgiveaway/

[LogShow]

Any readers here who are even thinking they might want to attend the Final Four should enter the City of Salem's contest: Free lodging, free tickets, admission to team banquet and VIP passes:

http://www.d3hoops.com/salemgiveaway/

Thanks Pat!

Guess it's worth a shot