Wisconsin D3 Basketball Challenge

[Greek Tragedy]

Game 1 -Tuesday 11/8
Lakeland 98, Lake Forest 72
Game 2 - Friday 11/11
Ripon 68, SNC 55 - Best Crowd
Game 3 - Saturday 11/12
MSOE 85, Martin Luther 45
Game 4 - Saturday 11/12
Bethany Lutheran 95, at WLC 78
Game 5 - Saturday 11/12
Dubuque 68, at Carroll 53
Game 6 - Tuesday 11/15
Concordia-Chicago 87, at Concordia (WI) 85
Game 7 - Wednesday 11/16
Elmhurst 86, at Marian 68
Game 8 - Saturday 11/19
Stevens Point 75, at Edgewood 71
Game 9 - Saturday 11/19
North Central 87, at Whitewater 86
Game 10 - Tuesday 11/22
Stevens Point 60, WLC 59 Best Gym
Game 11 - Thursday 12/1
Lakeland 155, Greenville 127
Game 12 - Saturday 12/3
Monmouth 77, @ Beloit 65
Game 13 - Saturday 12/3
Stevens Point 78, @ Platteville 74 OT Best Game

[Greek Tragedy]

Home teams are 6-7 with me in attendance.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Are you hitting all D3 schools or just the ones with MBB? You've listed 23 schools but there's a total of 25 D3 institutions in Wisconsin. Alverno and Mount Mary do play D3 basketball, it's just women only.

[Greek Tragedy]

Are you hitting all D3 schools or just the ones with MBB? You've listed 23 schools but there's a total of 25 D3 institutions in Wisconsin. Alverno and Mount Mary do play D3 basketball, it's just women only.

Just men, but doing the two extra women's schools wouldn't be that hard. They are both in the Milwaukee area, only an hour from me.

[Greek Tragedy]

Game #14 found me back at MSOE in downtown Milwaukee to see Stevens Point play. Point goes cold in the 2nd half scoring just 16 points over the last 16+ minutes to lose 73-64, after being up 48-39 at the 16:47 mark.

I did get to see two reigning Conference Players of the Week go head to head. Point's Jake Buchanan won the WIAC and MSOE's Mason Dopirak won for the NACC. Jake had a horrible night, shooting 2-13 for 5 points while Mason scored 23.

Point falls to 3-1 with me in attendance and the home team breaks even at 7-7.

[Greek Tragedy]

Gym #13 sent me to Kenosha to see the Carthage Redmen Firebirds take on the Augustana Vikings. Carthage came out firing and was up 15-2 in no time. Augie cut it to 3 with about 5 minutes to go, but the hosts headed into the locker room up 11. Carthage got the lead up to 20 a couple times midway through the 2nd half, but Augustana wouldn't go away, chipping at the lead and got it down to single digits a few times, but the visitors ran out of gas and time. Carthage is a pretty good team. Bulatovic probably gets all the pub, but AJ Johnson is a real good, athletic player. Bulatovic fouled out with about 5 minutes to go and Carthage was up 10, so I thought that may be a real test for Carthage to hold that lead...and they did.

Tarble is a great gym. I've been to at least one Carthage game in the past when I did my 3-games in 3-cities in 1 day tour, but maybe that was before Tarble was built in 2009. I don't remember it being that nice. The setup is real nice with plenty of bleachers, walkways, bathrooms etc. I'm sure it gets a little dark in the two upper levels, but unless it's a huge crowd, they probably don't use those bleachers much. The side with the player benches were all seats (not bleachers), so that's a nice option for fans. Somehow I got in for free. The website said it was $8.00, but there wasn't anyone at the door to collect money and there wasn't even a table setup for anyone not to be there. So, not sure if it was purposely a free game. The prices at the concession stand were good but they were completely out of water before halftime. A nice sized bag of popcorn was $2, but again, they had one can of Coke Zero left, some Mountain Dew bottles and some other "flavored" soda. I asked if there was a vending machine nearby and the kid at the counter said I had to go to another building to get sometime. I find it hard to believe the whole building that housed Tarble Arena didn't have a vending machine, but I wasn't going to find out myself. The scoreboard was big and informative and they had a nice video screen that showed amusing clips from movies. Students must be on break because there were literally no college-aged kids there. The crowd was pretty non-existent, aside from some early noise from the visiting Augie fans. There was very little reaction from the Carthage fans.

I will have to say that the person responsible for the music during timeouts, stoppages in play, etc. should get a huge raise. The music was really good. Nowadays, the music that some of these kids listen to is cringeworthy and usually played so loud that it's distorted. I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace in the music selection.

Tarble jumps to the front of the line as the best gym I've visited this season. The game and fans...not so much.

[Greek Tragedy]

Game 1 -Tuesday 11/8
Lakeland 98, Lake Forest 72
Game 2 - Friday 11/11
Ripon 68, SNC 55 - Best Crowd
Game 3 - Saturday 11/12
MSOE 85, Martin Luther 45
Game 4 - Saturday 11/12
Bethany Lutheran 95, at WLC 78
Game 5 - Saturday 11/12
Dubuque 68, at Carroll 53
Game 6 - Tuesday 11/15
Concordia-Chicago 87, at Concordia (WI) 85
Game 7 - Wednesday 11/16
Elmhurst 86, at Marian 68
Game 8 - Saturday 11/19
Stevens Point 75, at Edgewood 71
Game 9 - Saturday 11/19
North Central 87, at Whitewater 86
Game 10 - Tuesday 11/22
Stevens Point 60, WLC 59
Game 11 - Thursday 12/1
Lakeland 155, Greenville 127
Game 12 - Saturday 12/3
Monmouth 77, @ Beloit 65
Game 13 - Saturday 12/3
Stevens Point 78, @ Platteville 74 OT Best Game
Game 14 - Wednesday 12/14
MSOE 73, Stevens Point 64
Game 15 - Saturday 12/17
Carthage 85, Augustana 78 Best Gym

[Greek Tragedy]

Wisconsin Destinations:
Lakeland - 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Ripon - 11/11/22
MSOE - 11/12/22, 12/14/22
WLC - 11/12/22
Carroll - 11/12/22
Concordia (WI) - 11/15/22
Marian - 11/16/22
Edgewood - 11/19/22
Whitewater - 11/19/22
Stevens Point 11/22/22
Beloit 12/3/22
Platteville 12/3/22
Carthage 12/17/22

Superior
Northland
Eau Claire
Stout
River Falls
La Crosse
Oshkosh
Lawrence
St. Norbert
Maranatha Baptist

[Greek Tragedy]

Teams I've seen in person
Lakeland (NACC) 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Lake Forest (MWC) 11/8/22
Ripon (MWC) 11/11/22
SNC (NACC) 11/11/22
MSOE (NACC) 11/12/22, 12/14/22
Bethany Lutheran (UMAC) 11/12/22
WLC (NACC) 11/12/22, 11/22/22
Martin Luther (UMAC) 11/12/22
Carroll (CCIW) 11/12/22
Dubuque (ARC) 11/12/22
Concordia - Chicago (NACC) 11/15/22
Concordia (WI) (NACC) 11/15/22
Marian (NACC) 11/16/22
Elmhurst (CCIW) 11/16/22
Edgewood (NACC) 11/19/22
Stevens Point (WIAC) 11/19/22, 11/22/22, 12/3/22, 12/14/22
Whitewater (WIAC) 11/19/22
North Central (IL) (CCIW) 11/19/22
Greenville (SLIAC) 12/1/22
Beloit (MWC) 12/3/22
Monmouth (MWC) 12/3/22
Platteville (WIAC) 12/3/22
Carthage (CCIW) 12/17/22
Augustana (CCIW) 12/17/22

[Greek Tragedy]

It's been awhile.

We made it to De Pere for the 1st neutral site game of the season. SNC was hosting their holiday tournament  so we were able to catch two teams that beat my Stevens Point Pointers by double digits.  Point had a double digit lead in the 2nd half vs St. Olaf to begin the season, but went cold and lost by 13. Up at Stout, Point was down just 4 at the break, but had their doors blown off after the interval and lost by 20.  I was curious to see what would happen here in Gym #14.

It was a close, cold shooting battle to start the game, but then St. Olaf quietly pulled away and, all of a sudden, it was a double digit lead midway through the 1st half with Stout scoring just 6 points. It didn't get any better for the Blue Devils as the Oles held a 35-18 lead at the break. The 2nd half got progressively worse for Stout with St. Olaf basically holding a 20+ point lead for much of the half easily handling Stout 78-45.

The Mulva Sports Center is a nice place. Nothing special. I'm not a fan of having the court inside the track, but yeah, it's a multi-use facility. It was only $5 to get in and the popcorn was good. Bleachers on both sides. Stout had a good traveling section...a good crowd for a neutral-site game.  St. Olaf looked like a well-oiled machine hitting nearly 50% of their shots and going 13-24 from beyond the arc. Stout, on the other hand, couldn't get anything going. They were just 2-25 from 3 and shot less than 32% overall.

It was a bonus gym for #15 in the Wisconsin D3 Basketball Challenge as we stopped by Oshkosh "on the way home" to catch the Titans host Ohio Wesleyan. However, we weren't at Kolf, we were at the Oshkosh Arena where the G-League's Wisconsin Herd plays their games. It was a pretty price to pay as, apparently, $10 + $10 + $6 + $6 is now $40. Oh yeah, the ticket guy failed to mention the inconvenient $2 a ticket "facility fee".  Ouch. Glad this will be our only stop here.

The game took the sting out of my wallet as it was an entertaining game throughout. Oshkosh started out fast with the hosts up 16-4 9 minutes in. The Bishops chipped away and it was 20-19 with about 4 1/2 left in the 1st half. Oshkosh took a slim 26-23 lead into intermission. It was a close game throughout the 2nd half with OWU keeping it close but never being able to get over the hump. They started running out of gas with really only Jack Clement keeping them in the game. After getting the lead to 10 with four minutes to go, Oshkosh was never threatened, resulting in a 64-52 win for the the Titans.

The Oshkosh Arena is a real nice place. I can't count it if it was the best gym I've been in since it's not a college gym. My initial thought is that this could be a place that could hold a Final Four, but it looked too small and after I looked up the capacity (3,500), it made me realize there isn't anyway it could hold the games. It's nicer that Kolf by a mile, even though Kolf holds like 5,600.

Don't forget to check out some pictures on Twitter @greektragedy08 and my Wisconsin D3 Basketball Challenge page on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255

[Gregory Sager]

I doubt that I'll make it to more than two or three gyms other than North Park's this season, so I'm living vicariously through you in 2022-23.

[bulk19]

Thanks for the update, Greek Tragedy...

Why am I always hungry for popcorn after reading your posts? Heh, heh. 

[Greek Tragedy]

I'll tell you, going to Gym #16 took a lot of motivation as it was over a 4 1/2 hour drive from home to the Western part of the state. Stops for eating, gas and my family's small blatter, it was closer to 5 1/2 hours.

We did see our first double-header of the season, so at least we got to see two games. It was the 2nd day of River Falls' holiday classic. Up first was Whitewater vs Northland. Whitewater was up 13-0 before Northland even scored, so it was obvious where this game was going. Northland didn't give up and actually cut it to 6 with about 9 minutes to go, but Whitewater pushed the lead to 20 going into the break at 39-19. More of the same and worse for Northland as they never threatened and Whitewater ended up winning 89-46. Despite the blowout, Northland played hard and were generally in good spirits. I admire that. It was a neutral game and so River Falls or St. Scholastica fans bothered to come early...at least it seemed like that. There were about 50 people for this game, so the atmosphere was completely non-existent.

The 2nd game featured the hosts taking on St. Scholastica. The 1st half was close for most of the 1st half with the lead only being single digits until River Falls made a little run and pulled away a bit for a 41-30 halftime lead. The Falcons built the lead up to 20 about 5 minutes into the 2nd half and basically maintained that lead throughout the rest of the game with St. Scholastica failing to cut much into that comfortable lead. Even though River Falls was hosting the 2nd game, there was only about 250 fans there and they were quiet as a mouse. It was a 5 pm game on a Friday, so maybe dinner plans were more important. I do realize the students were gone, but like the 1st game, the atmosphere was non-existent. It was dead in there and the game just dragged on forever as well. My wife said that was the most boring game she's been to this season.

The gym is really nice but lacked the bathroom options that Carthage's Tarble offered. The popcorn was yummy. It's a new gym, built in 2017 and it's nice and lit. Be sure to check out the pictures on Facebook or Twitter. It was $9 to get in and $6 for the kid. Those tix were good for both games.

After sitting in the car for 5+ hours and suffering through two super boring games, I did reward the family with a trip to Mall of America, so they did have a little fun...until they had a 5 hour drive home on New Year's Eve.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255

https://twitter.com/greektragedy08

[Greek Tragedy]

Game 1 -Tuesday 11/8
Lakeland 98, Lake Forest 72
Game 2 - Friday 11/11
Ripon 68, SNC 55 - Best Crowd
Game 3 - Saturday 11/12
MSOE 85, Martin Luther 45
Game 4 - Saturday 11/12
Bethany Lutheran 95, at WLC 78
Game 5 - Saturday 11/12
Dubuque 68, at Carroll 53
Game 6 - Tuesday 11/15
Concordia-Chicago 87, at Concordia (WI) 85
Game 7 - Wednesday 11/16
Elmhurst 86, at Marian 68
Game 8 - Saturday 11/19
Stevens Point 75, at Edgewood 71
Game 9 - Saturday 11/19
North Central 87, at Whitewater 86
Game 10 - Tuesday 11/22
Stevens Point 60, WLC 59
Game 11 - Thursday 12/1
Lakeland 155, Greenville 127
Game 12 - Saturday 12/3
Monmouth 77, @ Beloit 65
Game 13 - Saturday 12/3
Stevens Point 78, @ Platteville 74 OT Best Game
Game 14 - Wednesday 12/14
MSOE 73, Stevens Point 64
Game 15 - Saturday 12/17
Carthage 85, Augustana 78
Game 16 - Thursday 12/29
St. Olaf 78, Stout 45 (at St. Norbert)
Game 17 -Thursday 12/29
Oshkosh 64, Ohio Wesleyan 52 (at Oshkosh Arena)
Game 18 - Friday 12/30
Whitewater 89, Northland 46 (at River Falls)
Game 19 - Friday 12/30
River Falls 73, St. Scholastica 55 Best Gym

[Greek Tragedy]

Wisconsin Destinations:
Lakeland - 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Ripon - 11/11/22
MSOE - 11/12/22, 12/14/22
WLC - 11/12/22
Carroll - 11/12/22
Concordia (WI) - 11/15/22
Marian - 11/16/22
Edgewood - 11/19/22
Whitewater - 11/19/22
Stevens Point 11/22/22
Beloit 12/3/22
Platteville 12/3/22
Carthage 12/17/22
St. Norbert 12/29/22
Oshkosh (Oshkosh Arena) 12/29/22
River Falls 12/30/22

Superior
Northland
Eau Claire
Stout
La Crosse
Lawrence
Maranatha Baptist

Some of these will need some extra motivation. La Crosse won't be too bad since I'm planning on going when the Pointers play. My planned double-dip of Stout and Eau Claire took a hit with my wife having eye surgery the weekend Point played Eau Claire. So, now I have to go up there when Point isn't playing. Superior and Northland I can do in one weekend, seeing Superior one night and Northland the other, although it's a 5+ hour trip to the north. I can do Lawrence in Appleton on a weekday and also plan to see Point in Oshkosh at Kolf during the week, both about an hour away. Maranatha Baptist will be tough because I want to see them play a D3 school...