MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Started by miac newbie, February 17, 2005, 03:57:25 PM

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fredfalcon

I agree that US Bank Stadium, though impressive for all the mentioned reasons, is not a basketball venue. I don't think moving the court to mid-field for the Final Four will make it any better. I too hope the UST/RF series continues miacmaniac,  although last night's game was not fun to watch from a Falcon fan standpoint.

Before last night's game, I thought RF would compete for a spot in the WIAC top four instead of finishing as predicted below all but Eau Claire and Stout. They may still do that, but now I'm not as sure. It depends on how much the players benefit from having their weaknesses exploited.
WORLD'S OLDEST FALCON FAN.

MESSAGE TO RECRUITS:  IN DOUBT? ENROLL AT STOUT. DON'T CARE? GO TO EAU CLAIRE. AT A LOSS? TRY LACROSSE. FEELIN' OUTTA JOINT? YOUR PLACE IS POINT. DON'T LIKE THE REST? DO WHAT'S BEST!


GOT BALLS? PLAY FOR THE FALLS!

bball1122

#19441
Fun day(s) in the MIAC.  As already covered, UST with a good win at US Bank Stadium against UWRF.   Anders Nelson is special.   The Tommies are deep and will be tough all year.  What happened to Erik Davis from Hopkins?

Bethel with a big win over Augsburg in OT, despite Booker Coplin's near triple double.   Augsburg has some fun pieces but just isn't deep at all.  Bethel is very similar.  Kingland is a stud, but man has Jack Jenson gotten better since he first set foot on campus.  He can really score.

Hamline with a good home win over Concordia.  2-0 start in the MIAC is big for the Pipers.  The senior trio of Isaac Brooks, Connor Knutson, and Ethan Scheuring have led the way so far this year, and Jake Larson is emerging as a fun young PG to watch.  Still really like the backcourt of Bryden Urie and Thomas Schyma for the Cobbers.

Carleton with a road win over Saint Mary's.  Kent Hanson leads the way for the Knights, and FY Carlston McKenzie has a breakout game.   I think he was a good find for Coach Kalland.   The Cardinals top 6/7 are pretty solid, but it falls off quickly from there, and they didn't start a couple of their better players today.  Discipline?  Trying something different?  Anyone?

Oles coast to a pretty easy win over Mac.   A must win for the Oles and they took care of business. Where is Nate Albers?   Dom Bledsoe is really good, and if he can consistently become a scoring threat, he'll be an all league player. He's a bulldog defensively.  Mac has two really good players in Wyatt Ferm and Jackson Henningfield, but after that there's just not enough. 

Finally, the Johnnies take care of the Gusties.  GAC keeps it close for the first 25 minutes, but then the Johnnies are just too much.  I need to add Lucas Walford to the "may be the best player in the MIAC" list.  There just aren't many guys with his size and athleticism at the Division 3 level.  GAC has Riley Sharbono and some interesting young pieces, but I just can't see how this is a playoff season for the Gusties.

As it see it, here is how the league looks right now.  I feel like it is broken into three tiers:

The top 2:  UST and SJU.  They are the most talented, and I think they'll be battling for the crown the entire season.  Should make for two (or three) really fun matchups between the hated rivals.

The next 3:  Augsburg, Bethel, and St. Olaf.  Augsburg and Bethel both have high end talent but are short on depth.  Olaf is here right now because of how well they performed last year.  They didn't lose much but haven't looked right all year, though they seem to be finding their groove now.

Everyone else:   I think the race for the sixth playoff spot will be very interesting.  I don't see Macalester, Gustavus, or Concordia making the playoffs, but I can't write them off yet.  Carleton, Saint Mary's, and Hamline will have some very important matchups against each other.   One of those three is going to make the playoffs - will be fun to see who steps up.  Carleton has the recent history on their side, Saint Mary's has a talented top 6, and Hamline is led by three solid seniors in their frontcourt and already has two league wins.   Can't wait to see how it all shakes out (and how wrong I am!).

 


Kilroy

Ran into Anders this weekend — he's enjoying his time at UST. What an absolute steal for them.

I'm hearing that several guys have already quit Concordia-Moorhead, including some of their top kids. Not sure what's going on there.

My teams that I'll pick as rising are Gustavus and — believe it or not — SMU. As always, if SMU can keep the roster together, they'll have a very long and young lineup for a D3 team. Their starting lineup is something like 6-0, 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-8. Rusthoven did a great job with that last recruiting class.

I might stop by St. Thomas / Bethel on Wednesday night with my camera. That would be a fun one.
Twitter: @northstaralex

SUMMIT!!!!!

After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

Italian proverb

SUMMIT!!!!!

Last night, UST looked incredibly flat and out of joint the first 20-25 minutes. I'd call most of it "hangover from the high of the Bank". Trailing by as many as 15 - and looking bad doing so- they pulled things together and rallied to overcome a tenacious Bethel squad. After a scoreless first half, Nelson caught fire with 18 second half points, none of which were as big as a pair of FTs in the final seconds to ice the win. Not a pretty win, but the big rally shows this team has some moxie, which bodes well down the road.

Was anyone at any of the other games?
After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

Italian proverb

GoldandBlueBU

Quote from: miacmaniac on December 06, 2018, 08:43:19 AM
Last night, UST looked incredibly flat and out of joint the first 20-25 minutes. I'd call most of it "hangover from the high of the Bank". Trailing by as many as 15 - and looking bad doing so- they pulled things together and rallied to overcome a tenacious Bethel squad. After a scoreless first half, Nelson caught fire with 18 second half points, none of which were as big as a pair of FTs in the final seconds to ice the win. Not a pretty win, but the big rally shows this team has some moxie, which bodes well down the road.

Was anyone at any of the other games?

I didn't watch this game - or any others, as I usually don't find much time to do so until January rolls around, but I was curious about this result, given the way that SJU absolutely demolished BU.  I do think that SJU is certainly better than BU, but I don't know if they're going to be 35 points better regularly?  Maybe they are, and they're just that good, but BU being right there with UST was certainly encouraging.

My guess is that BU laid a bit of an egg against SJU, and SJU being a good team, punished them for it.  Will be curious to see how the rest of the season shakes out for Bethel, UST, St. Olaf, and how they all stack up against each other and SJU.

Drake Palmer

Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on December 06, 2018, 11:54:00 AM
Quote from: miacmaniac on December 06, 2018, 08:43:19 AM
Last night, UST looked incredibly flat and out of joint the first 20-25 minutes. I'd call most of it "hangover from the high of the Bank". Trailing by as many as 15 - and looking bad doing so- they pulled things together and rallied to overcome a tenacious Bethel squad. After a scoreless first half, Nelson caught fire with 18 second half points, none of which were as big as a pair of FTs in the final seconds to ice the win. Not a pretty win, but the big rally shows this team has some moxie, which bodes well down the road.

Was anyone at any of the other games?

I didn't watch this game - or any others, as I usually don't find much time to do so until January rolls around, but I was curious about this result, given the way that SJU absolutely demolished BU.  I do think that SJU is certainly better than BU, but I don't know if they're going to be 35 points better regularly?  Maybe they are, and they're just that good, but BU being right there with UST was certainly encouraging.

My guess is that BU laid a bit of an egg against SJU, and SJU being a good team, punished them for it.  Will be curious to see how the rest of the season shakes out for Bethel, UST, St. Olaf, and how they all stack up against each other and SJU.

I watched the Bethel UST game, and came away impressed with the tenacity of the Tommie team.  Although undersized, they played active athletic defense, and the UST coaches kept rotating in fresh wings to keep up the defensive pressure.  Primary scorers look to be the FY wunderkind Anders Nelson 18 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assists, Connor Bair 13 pts, and streaky shooting Michael Hannon 13pts. UST has little to no depth in the front court behind Bair & GT Johnson.

Bethel's got four main players who contribute offensively, Derek Magnuson, Matt Ambriz, Jack Jensen & Granger Kingland.  Jensen has really developed a nice outside shot to go with his terrific slashing ability & quickness.   He was the high point man last night with 22 pts on 6-12 fga, & 9-9 FTs. Magnuson had 17 pts, Ambriz 11 pts. Granger Kingland was in foul trouble most of the night and didn't play his usual game 5 pts, 2-7 fga. I was quite surprised Bethel lost this game.

It will be interesting to see how the Tommies fare against the taller Jays whose starting lineup goes 6-2, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, & 6-8. Plus, more size & quickness off the bench.  When SJU played Bethel, for some reason, the Royals were without the services of SR forward Derek Magnuson, and as a result, the Jays not only pounded Bethel on the scoreboard 90-55, but also on the boards 40-20.

SJU is definitely the league favorite, but if the Oles get Nate Albers back, I still think it could be a 4 team race between the Jays, STO, UST, & possibly Bethel. Looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds.
"If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude." ;)

GoldandBlueBU

Quote from: Drake Palmer on December 06, 2018, 10:52:49 PM
Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on December 06, 2018, 11:54:00 AM
Quote from: miacmaniac on December 06, 2018, 08:43:19 AM
Last night, UST looked incredibly flat and out of joint the first 20-25 minutes. I'd call most of it "hangover from the high of the Bank". Trailing by as many as 15 - and looking bad doing so- they pulled things together and rallied to overcome a tenacious Bethel squad. After a scoreless first half, Nelson caught fire with 18 second half points, none of which were as big as a pair of FTs in the final seconds to ice the win. Not a pretty win, but the big rally shows this team has some moxie, which bodes well down the road.

Was anyone at any of the other games?

I didn't watch this game - or any others, as I usually don't find much time to do so until January rolls around, but I was curious about this result, given the way that SJU absolutely demolished BU.  I do think that SJU is certainly better than BU, but I don't know if they're going to be 35 points better regularly?  Maybe they are, and they're just that good, but BU being right there with UST was certainly encouraging.

My guess is that BU laid a bit of an egg against SJU, and SJU being a good team, punished them for it.  Will be curious to see how the rest of the season shakes out for Bethel, UST, St. Olaf, and how they all stack up against each other and SJU.

I watched the Bethel UST game, and came away impressed with the tenacity of the Tommie team.  Although undersized, they played active athletic defense, and the UST coaches kept rotating in fresh wings to keep up the defensive pressure.  Primary scorers look to be the FY wunderkind Anders Nelson 18 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assists, Connor Bair 13 pts, and streaky shooting Michael Hannon 13pts. UST has little to no depth in the front court behind Bair & GT Johnson.

Bethel's got four main players who contribute offensively, Derek Magnuson, Matt Ambriz, Jack Jensen & Granger Kingland.  Jensen has really developed a nice outside shot to go with his terrific slashing ability & quickness.   He was the high point man last night with 22 pts on 6-12 fga, & 9-9 FTs. Magnuson had 17 pts, Ambriz 11 pts. Granger Kingland was in foul trouble most of the night and didn't play his usual game 5 pts, 2-7 fga. I was quite surprised Bethel lost this game.

It will be interesting to see how the Tommies fare against the taller Jays whose starting lineup goes 6-2, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, & 6-8. Plus, more size & quickness off the bench.  When SJU played Bethel, for some reason, the Royals were without the services of SR forward Derek Magnuson, and as a result, the Jays not only pounded Bethel on the scoreboard 90-55, but also on the boards 40-20.

SJU is definitely the league favorite, but if the Oles get Nate Albers back, I still think it could be a 4 team race between the Jays, STO, UST, & possibly Bethel. Looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds.

Interesting!  Thanks for the writeup!

Drake Palmer

Wow! Eli Cave – "Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds" (SMU Cardinals) scored 53 second half points to defeat Gustavus  86-81.  Cave had 29 pts, 27 in the second half!  FY Nolan Malo had 24 pts for the Gusties.

The Redbirds looked tough, and kept their composure under pressure.  Encouraging signs for first year coach Joe Fano and SMU as they are now 5-3 about a third of the way through the season.

"If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude." ;)

SUMMIT!!!!!

Drake that was SMU's first win at GAC since 1982-83 (35 years)....also how did Kareem-Anthony Bello NOT make your All-Name team?

Impressive win for the Cards, and an ominous loss for the Gusties as the once-proud and dominant GAC program continues to slide.

UST struggled in the opening minutes, trailing Carleton 10-1 at one point before unleashing its arsenal with a 21-9 run en route to a 99-50 shellacking of the Knights. UST's starters played around 5 minutes each in the 2nd half as 18 guys took the court and 16 of them scored. Had JT wanted to, I think they could have hit Grinnell level scoring.

Now to  don me now my gay apparel "fa-la-la la-la-la la la la" etc
After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

Italian proverb

SUMMIT!!!!!

After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

Italian proverb

Drake Palmer

Quote from: miacmaniac on December 08, 2018, 08:50:55 PM
Drake that was SMU's first win at GAC since 1982-83 (35 years)....also how did Kareem-Anthony Bello NOT make your All-Name team?

Impressive win for the Cards, and an ominous loss for the Gusties as the once-proud and dominant GAC program continues to slide.


Mose - KAB (KAT to his teammates  ;D) is a sophomore this year.  Last year he did make the All Palmer MIAC FY Name Team:

Quote from: Drake Palmer on November 15, 2017, 12:00:09 AM
Thanks PR (Purple Reign) for the notice/reminder regarding the Palmer All Name Team.

A little more background on this honor.  Although there are very few rules regarding nomination and selection to this highly prized and coveted award, the committee must remain firm on this one rule: Nominees and recipients of the Palmer All Name Team award must have earned a jersey number to be selected. ;)

Unfortunately, this ruled out a bumper crop of great names that are on the Bethel roster. Names such as – Thunder Heyer (AWESOME Name!), Boston "More Than a Feeling" Mast, Sandin Skow, & "Raymond" Chandler Wellman. But fear not Bethel Royals, you shall not go unrepresented.

Also, before the awards are announced it should be noted that two of last year's Palmer awards recipients went on to earn recognition on the athletic merit based MIAC All Freshman team.  Wings Jubie Alade at St. Johns, and Granger Kingland at Bethel. (Fortunately, no one ever went back to check the record, but last year the Palmer committee misspelled Kingland's last name and referred to him as Kirkland.  Oops!  ??? ;))  Which player from the Palmer list will go on to earn FY All MIAC award this season? The committee will list their predictions after the names are listed.

So without further ado:

2017-2018 Palmer Freshman MIAC All Name Team

Second Team

Dom Bledsoe – St. Olaf
Simeon Davis – St. Thomas
Sam DuBois – Gustavus
Keegan Greaney – Macalester
Max McNellis – Hamline

First Team

Zeke Carver-Bagley – Bethel
Big "O" Oakley "Tree" Baker – St Johns
Kareem "Abdul" Anthony-Bello – St Mary's
Zander Schmidt - Macalester

Co – PGs of the Year:

Trey Mack "Truck"- St. Thomas
Trey "Purple Rain", "In Trey we Trust" Prince – Hamline

Strictly guesses, but the committee thinks
*Big Tree Baker, or Oakley sunglasses will make a big splash at SJU this year.
*Sam Dubois at Gustavus;
*Trey Mack at UST might be the next generation of taller ( 6-3) D3 athletic PGs.

Non Palmer FY candidates who have a legitimate chance of making a name for themselves include:

*Ryan Lindberg at UST
*Matthew Stritzel at Carleton.  I've heard very good things about Stritzel's game.
*One of the FY bigs at UST should  make a favorable first impression as well.

In the transfer department, Riley Dearring & Matt Ambriz will get a lot of shine st Bethel,
but SO Booker Coplin at Augsburg earned a lot of minutes last year as a FY at WIAC league winner – UW River Falls.

Anthony Bello had a very nice game against the Gusties as he scored 21 pts, 17 pts in the first half.

It's interesting to note that MAC & SMU, two schools that have been bottom dwellers in the MIAC for a number of years, have chosen to use their talented small forwards as occasional point forwards. Wyatt Ferm at Mac and Eli Cave at SMU. Imagine my pleasant surprise to see Cave bringing the ball up the court and acting as the lead team facilitator as well as as leading scorer. It will be interesting to see how the Redbirds fare this season.  Once proud Gustavus basketball program is correct.  Yowch.

"If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude." ;)

Retired Old Rat

Quote from: Drake Palmer on December 06, 2018, 10:52:49 PM
Quote from: GoldandBlueBU on December 06, 2018, 11:54:00 AM
Quote from: miacmaniac on December 06, 2018, 08:43:19 AM
Last night, UST looked incredibly flat and out of joint the first 20-25 minutes. I'd call most of it "hangover from the high of the Bank". Trailing by as many as 15 - and looking bad doing so- they pulled things together and rallied to overcome a tenacious Bethel squad. After a scoreless first half, Nelson caught fire with 18 second half points, none of which were as big as a pair of FTs in the final seconds to ice the win. Not a pretty win, but the big rally shows this team has some moxie, which bodes well down the road.

Was anyone at any of the other games?

I didn't watch this game - or any others, as I usually don't find much time to do so until January rolls around, but I was curious about this result, given the way that SJU absolutely demolished BU.  I do think that SJU is certainly better than BU, but I don't know if they're going to be 35 points better regularly?  Maybe they are, and they're just that good, but BU being right there with UST was certainly encouraging.

My guess is that BU laid a bit of an egg against SJU, and SJU being a good team, punished them for it.  Will be curious to see how the rest of the season shakes out for Bethel, UST, St. Olaf, and how they all stack up against each other and SJU.

I watched the Bethel UST game, and came away impressed with the tenacity of the Tommie team.  Although undersized, they played active athletic defense, and the UST coaches kept rotating in fresh wings to keep up the defensive pressure.  Primary scorers look to be the FY wunderkind Anders Nelson 18 pts, 6 rebs, 4 assists, Connor Bair 13 pts, and streaky shooting Michael Hannon 13pts. UST has little to no depth in the front court behind Bair & GT Johnson.

Bethel's got four main players who contribute offensively, Derek Magnuson, Matt Ambriz, Jack Jensen & Granger Kingland.  Jensen has really developed a nice outside shot to go with his terrific slashing ability & quickness.   He was the high point man last night with 22 pts on 6-12 fga, & 9-9 FTs. Magnuson had 17 pts, Ambriz 11 pts. Granger Kingland was in foul trouble most of the night and didn't play his usual game 5 pts, 2-7 fga. I was quite surprised Bethel lost this game.

It will be interesting to see how the Tommies fare against the taller Jays whose starting lineup goes 6-2, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, & 6-8. Plus, more size & quickness off the bench.  When SJU played Bethel, for some reason, the Royals were without the services of SR forward Derek Magnuson, and as a result, the Jays not only pounded Bethel on the scoreboard 90-55, but also on the boards 40-20.

SJU is definitely the league favorite, but if the Oles get Nate Albers back, I still think it could be a 4 team race between the Jays, STO, UST, & possibly Bethel. Looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds.

Additionally, the Bethel bus broke down on the way to Collegevile and they arrived shortly before game time.
   
National Champions: 1963, 1965, 1976, 2003

Drake Palmer

#19453
Quote from: Retired Old Rat on December 11, 2018, 02:32:57 AM

Additionally, the Bethel bus broke down on the way to Collegeville and they arrived shortly before game time.

Thanks ROR.  The Bethel bus mechanical malfunction might account for a portion of their troubles in C-ville, as well as the loss of Derek Magnuson, but at this point, the Jays look like a well oiled machine.  Via webcast, I watched SJU take apart a very solid Hamline team on Saturday and beat them by 29 pts on Saturday.  If Stokman is off his game, the Jays might be in trouble from the perimeter, but Oakley Baker appears to be a solid spot up shooter,  Jubie Aladie is a terrific slasher, and a host of front court players.

On another note, the MIAC continues to get recognized nationally as two other players were recognized for their efforts and were named to the D3Hoops Team of the Week.  Augsburg's Booker Coplin, and the baddest lefty in the league, Eli Cave from SMU.  Now when was the last time anyone from the Redbirds received this type of recognition?   :) Mose?

https://www.d3hoops.com/awards/tow/2018-19/week4
"If anything here offends, I beg your pardon. I come in peace, I depart in gratitude." ;)

bball1122

Chris Palmer was the D3Hoops West Region Rookie of the Year in 2010.  My guess is that would be the last D3Hoops recognition for the Cards.

After now having watched just about everyone at least once, I think it's clear that St. John's is the best team in the league, UST a small step below, Augsburg, Bethel, and St. Olaf next, and then we'll see what happens after that.  I really do think it's Hamline or SMU for that final playoff spot, but a lot can happen in the next two months.  If I'm being candid, this is the least talented Gustavus team I've seen in following the league for the last fifteen years or so and could easily see them finishing tenth. 

Also, I think Booker Coplin is the best player in the league this year. He's just...really good.  Hamline had the Auggies on the ropes the other night, with Isaac Brooks hitting a three to take the lead in the last two minutes, and Booker came down and hit a three on the next possession to give the Auggies the lead for good.  Ice in his veins. 

Still wondering about Erik Davis from UST - what happened to him?