I wasn't quite sure where to post this, if I were going to post it at all. So, instead of posting where some may not care to read or post where it doesn't relate, I've decided to open a new thread, so if posters don't care, they don't have to read this specific board.
As some of you may know, there are 23 Division 3 schools in Wisconsin and I've decided to take it upon myself to try to attend a game at each school...in one season.
I have been posting on Twitter (@greektragedy08) and I created a public group on Facebook (Wisconsin D3 Basketball Challenge).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255
I figured since this is a D3 basketball site, this may be the best place for people to follow my adventure. If you want to see pictures, you'll have to head to my Facebook public group or check out the limited number of pictures that are allowed on Twitter (apparently only 4 at a time?). It's cool to see the different gyms.
Obviously with the digital age, you can see these gyms in the comfort of your own home, watching online. However, there is something special in attending games in person, even if you have to pay $7 to get in and $3 for a soda.
To review to this point, I've been to 5 games, 3 in one day. It's interesting that I was able to make 3 games in 3 cities in one day because I wasn't even supposed to be in town last weekend. My original plan was to go to Bloomington to see Stevens Point take on Webster on Saturday and then play on Sunday, which ended up being IWU. Apparently I missed a great weekend of Pointer basketball.
It is a busy week if I make all the games I'm planning. In about an hour, I'll be driving down to Mequon to see the Concordia v Concordia matchup in the NACC. Tomorrow I plan to head west on Highway 23 to Fond du Lac to see Marian take on ranked Elmhurst. Saturday I'm planning on traveling to the capital to see the Pointers take on Edgewood.
Wish me luck, especially those trips to Superior, Northland and those far west WIAC schools.
Teams I've seen in person
Lakeland - NACC - 11/8/22
Lake Forest - MWC - 11/8/22
Ripon - MWC - 11/11/22
SNC - NACC 11/11/22
MSOE - NACC - 11/12/22
Bethany Lutheran - UMAC 11/12/22
WLC - NACC -11/12/22
Martin Luther - UMAC - 11/12/22
Carroll - CCIW - 11/12/22
Dubuque - ARC - 11/12/22
Wisconsin Destinations:
Lakeland - 11/8/22
Marian
MSOE - 11/12/22
Concordia
WLC - 11/12/22
Superior
Northland
Eau Claire
Stout
River Falls
La Crosse
Stevens Point
Oshkosh
Whitewater
Platteville
Carthage
Carroll - 11/12/22
Beloit
Edgewood
Lawrence
St. Norbert
Ripon - 11/11/22
Maranatha Baptist
Games:
11/8/22 Lakeland 98, Lake Forest 72 (at Lakeland)
11/11/22 Ripon 68, St. Norbert 55 (at Ripon)
11/12/22 MSOE 85, Martin Luther 45 (at MSOE)
11/12/22 Bethany Lutheran 95, Wisconsin Lutheran 78 (at WLC)
11/12/22 Dubuque 68, Carroll U 53 (at Carroll)
It is multi-regional after all, although it's basically Regions 8 and 9 consisting mostly NACC, WIAC, MWC and the Wisconsin based CCIW teams.
I traveled south down Interstate 43 to Mequon last night to catch the Concordia WI v Concordia Chicago game. It was the NACC opener for both and, interestingly, it was the host's season opener as well. I think it kind of sucks to have your first game a conference game, but I'll leave that up to Concordia's scheduling gurus.
Of the 6 games I've been to, it was, by far, the best, most competitive game. The only game won by single digits...87-85 to the southsiders. I don't think there was a lead larger than single digits.
Jared Jurss went to the line with less than 3 seconds left down 3 and made the 1st FT. After a timeout, I'm pretty sure he tried to miss the 2nd one, but it rolled in. Con WI still had a chance after fouling right away. Con Chicago missed the 1st, but made the 2nd. A 3/4 court desperation heave wasn't even close and Con Chicago escaped with the win.
I love this. I'll do this in Missouri this year, but we only have 4 Division III schools, so not impressive.
I pledge to visit every Division III team in Oklahoma this year... wow, I'm finished already.
Poppers can do NY.
Sager can do Illinois.
Knightslappy can do Michigan.
FCGG can do Indiana
Plenty of fans to do Ohio.
Nescac can volunteer a New England state.
There are 40 or so Division III schools in Tax-achusetts so volunteering a fellow fan for "a New England state" is the way to go. New York would be the bucket list accomplishment of a lifetime.
From my count Pennsylvania would be interesting. There are 57 division 3 schools.
Quote from: WUPHF on November 16, 2022, 01:54:58 PM
There are 40 or so Division III schools in Tax-achusetts so volunteering a fellow fan for "a New England state" is the way to go. New York would be the bucket list accomplishment of a lifetime.
I forget exactly how many we have. Region 3 has 42 programs, all in NY, plus there's a few more in the other regions. Probably in the 50-60 range all told.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 16, 2022, 01:23:44 PMSager can do Illinois.
I don't own a car, and I really don't have much interest in trying to figure out if you can take Greyhound, Trailways, or Amtrak to places like Monmouth or Carlinville, or if a cab ride from St. Louis to Elsah is affordable or even possible.
Although I can get to each of the D3 schools in Chicagoland (and over the years I've seen plenty of basketball games at all eleven of them), even if I wanted to confine my travels to northeastern Illinois I couldn't do so. Most schools play their games on Wednesdays and Saturdays, especially after the New Year, and my PBP responsibilities at North Park for both the men's and women's Vikings basically lock me in for every Wednesday and many Saturdays. I have a nephew who is a starter for an NAIA men's basketball team in Indiana, and I've had a very hard time finding a day this season where I can go see him play in person. In other words, I'm the wrong guy for your project.
I'd suggest my fellow CCIW poster Pete McBride. He's retired now, and he'd probably enjoy this.
I was going to "brag" that I did this in Michigan for maybe 15 years running starting in the 90's. Not hard back then with just the MIAA to worry about. But now you gotta go to Finlandia, and I'm pretty sure they have at least 4 feet of snow before practice even starts. Google maps I think has you take sled dogs for part of the journey. Do sled dog miles count in the 500 mile rule? :)
Quote from: WUPHF on November 16, 2022, 01:54:58 PM
There are 40 or so Division III schools in Tax-achusetts so volunteering a fellow fan for "a New England state" is the way to go. New York would be the bucket list accomplishment of a lifetime.
... especially because it's so big. Midwesterners have absolutely no idea how huge New York really is. They assume that, because it's a northeastern state, it's pretty small ... but it takes seven hours to drive from Plattsburgh to Fredonia, and about six and a half hours to get from NYC to Buffalo (if you cut through New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
The sheer number of D3 schools in the Empire State makes it impossible to see a game at each one over the course of only one season, but even if you split the state in half and covered them all in a two-season span you'd put a lot of miles on your odometer.
Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on November 16, 2022, 04:04:54 PM
I was going to "brag" that I did this in Michigan for maybe 15 years running starting in the 90's. Not hard back then with just the MIAA to worry about. But now you gotta go to Finlandia, and I'm pretty sure they have at least 4 feet of snow before practice even starts. Google maps I think has you take sled dogs for part of the journey. Do sled dog miles count in the 500 mile rule? :)
I hear it's Michigan's only stop on the Iditarod. ;)
Quote from: mailsy on November 16, 2022, 02:46:58 PM
From my count Pennsylvania would be interesting. There are 57 division 3 schools.
That is incredible, but with all the regional universities and so many liberal arts colleges, it makes sense.
Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 16, 2022, 04:07:53 PM
... especially because it's so big. Midwesterners have absolutely no idea how huge New York really is. They assume that, because it's a northeastern state, it's pretty small ... but it takes seven hours to drive from Plattsburgh to Fredonia, and about six and a half hours to get from NYC to Buffalo (if you cut through New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
The sheer number of D3 schools in the Empire State makes it impossible to see a game at each one over the course of only one season, but even if you split the state in half and covered them all in a two-season span you'd put a lot of miles on your odometer.
I had not idea until your post to be honest.
Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on November 16, 2022, 04:04:54 PM
I was going to "brag" that I did this in Michigan for maybe 15 years running starting in the 90's.
That is brag-worthy!
Also, Ryan Scott drove through every state in the country in like 48 hours so maybe he could do New York.
Quote from: WUPHF on November 16, 2022, 04:37:33 PM
Also, Ryan Scott drove through every state in the country in like 48 hours so maybe he could do New York.
Of course, we all know that Ryan was only able to do that because he drives a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12.
I feel like doing 23 in Wisconsin isn't a big deal anymore. ::) ??? LOL
Beloit to Superior is just over 5 1/2 hours away. I'm on the far East side of the state. Sheboygan to Superior is 6 hours. I need a lot of motivation to do that trip. Ashland, where Northland is, is a little over an hour from Superior and the schedule gives me 3 opportunities to do both schools in one trip (both play Friday and Saturday). I guess that's a bonus.
Quote from: Gregory Sager on November 16, 2022, 04:53:36 PM
Of course, we all know that Ryan was only able to do that because he drives a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12.
I do not know Ryan, but I can see him driving a DeLorean.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 16, 2022, 05:07:10 PM
I feel like doing 23 in Wisconsin isn't a big deal anymore.
I think it is awesome, but I am easily impressed...
The 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 I had in mind is this one:
(https://www.d3boards.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnevadacountyfair.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FBack-to-the-Future.jpg&hash=fe7a949e96a5b443e19e62b888829d7a39dda98d)
Yeah, I figured that's what you were referencing. No idea how long it took him, though.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 16, 2022, 06:28:22 PM
Yeah, I figured that's what you were referencing. No idea how long it took him, though.
I believe the record is just under 4 days and Ryan had some car issues late in the journey so it was a bit over 4 days. Still impressive though.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 16, 2022, 01:23:44 PM
FCGG can do Indiana
Are we including women's schools as well? St Mary's would make 10 in Indiana (the smallest mainland state west of the Appalachians)
I've always wanted to try and visit as many D3 schools as possible but I don't really travel much.
Well. I went thru d3hoops and all the teams in each region and made a list of all D3 schools in each state. 35 states and DC have D3 schools. You do have to have understanding of each states' abbreviation. ;D NY has the most schools with 63, followed by PA with 59 and MA with 35 for the top 3. There would be some interesting road trips in some states.
AL 2
AR 2
CA 10
CO 1
CT 9
DC 2
GA 6
IA 10
IL 22
IN 9
KY 5
LA 1
MA 35
MD 8
ME 11
MI 8
MN 17
MO 4
MS 3
NC 8
NE 1
NH 5
NJ 15
NY 63
OH 22
OR 5
PA 59
RI 4
SC 1
TN 3
TX 16
VA 17
VT 5
WA 4
WI 23
WV 1
Nice work mailsy. +1
Yes, good work and thanks!
Gym #7 found me in Fond du Lac with Marian hosting #23 ranked Elmhurst. An electric crowd welcomed the visitors. Marian more than handled their opponents and lead by 3 at the break. It could've been more. They were up 6 with the ball with about 8 seconds left. However, they coughed the ball up on the inbounds play and Elmhurst ended up with a "and-1" play.
Marian increased their lead in the 2nd half, but that's when Elmhurst went on a huge run and basically put the game away. The taller, more athletic visitors dominated the boards. It was still an uncomfortable 10 point lead with about 5 minutes to go, but the Sabres just ran out of gas.
Sadoff gym is really small. There is literally no walk way between the stands and the player bench and between the wall and the end lines. If play was going on, you'd feel uncomfortable trying to walk past either spots. It was a nice intimate gym as the crowd was literally on top of the players. The Marian fans were a treat and the student section filled up most of the opposite side stands. This site says Sadoff holds 1100. The box score says there were just over 400. There's no way you're getting another 400 in there, let alone 700 to make up the 1100 capacity.
I mentioned this on Twitter. Have you ever seen Saved By the Bell? You remember the basketball game scenes? This reminded me of that...almost like the court was smaller than it was supposed to be, like on the show. It's definitely not a criticism. I'd rather have 500 fans at Sadoff than 500 fans at WLC's Tex Center that apparently holds 2500.
Find the public Facebook group: Wisconsin D3 Basketball Challenge and check out some pictures or follow me on Twitter @greektragedy08
I'm enjoying your reports. Thanks!
Week review:
Tuesday 11/15
Concordia-Chicago 87, at Concordia (WI) 85
Wednesday 11/16
Elmhurst 86, at Marian 68
Saturday 11/19
Stevens Point 75, at Edgewood 71
North Central 87, at Whitewater 86
Wisconsin Destinations:
Lakeland - 11/8/22
Ripon - 11/11/22
MSOE - 11/12/22
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
Superior
Northland
Eau Claire
Stout
River Falls
La Crosse
Stevens Point
Oshkosh
Platteville
Carthage
Beloit
Lawrence
St. Norbert
Maranatha Baptist
Teams I've seen in person
Lakeland - NACC - 11/8/22
Lake Forest - MWC - 11/8/22
Ripon - MWC - 11/11/22
SNC - NACC 11/11/22
MSOE - NACC - 11/12/22
Bethany Lutheran - UMAC 11/12/22
WLC - NACC -11/12/22
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
Whitewater - WIAC 11/19/22
North Central (IL) - CCIW 11/19/22
Gym # 1 -Tuesday 11/8
Lakeland 98, Lake Forest 72
Gym #2 - Friday 11/11
Ripon 68, SNC 55 - BEST ATMOSPHERE/CROWD
Gym #3 - Saturday 11/12
MSOE 85, Martin Luther 45 - BEST GYM
Gym #4 - Saturday 11/12
Bethany Lutheran 95, at WLC 78
Gym #5 - Saturday 11/12
Dubuque 68, at Carroll 53
Gym #6 - Tuesday 11/15
Concordia-Chicago 87, at Concordia (WI) 85 - BEST GAME 1A
Gym #7 - Wednesday 11/16
Elmhurst 86, at Marian 68
Gym #8 - Saturday 11/19
Stevens Point 75, at Edgewood 71
Gym #9 - Saturday 11/19
North Central 87, at Whitewater 86 - BEST GAME 1B
I saw two barnburners on Saturday.
I dragged the wife to Madison to see the Stevens Point Pointers take on the Edgewood Eagles. Point came out of the gates fast and were up 7-0 in a blink of an eye. Edgewood weathered the storm and actually took the lead a little over 5 minutes into the 1st half. The hosts were up as many as 7 in the 1st half, thanks to the unstoppable force named JAKE SCHROECKENTHALER. Point did cut it to 3 at the break.
The 2nd half was tight throughout with neither team gaining more than a 2-4 point lead. Point looked to have sealed it with two FTs with less than a minute to go to push the lead to 6. However, Point imploded with back to back turnovers resulting in a quick layup and a 3 to cut their lead to 1. Edgewood fouled and Point hit the 1st FT, but missed the 2nd. Luckily, the visitors got the rebound and iced the game with two more FTs to push the lead to the final margin, 75-71.
A win is a win and I'll take a Pointer win any day. I was shocked that Jake Schroeckenthaler only had 17 points (and 14 rebounds). I thought for sure he was in the mid-20s the way he dominated Point's inside guys. One of Point's starting forwards committed two fouls on the "Big Jake" in the opening 15 seconds or so.
After the nerve-wrecking game in the Capitol, we headed to Whitewater to see them host CCIW foe North Central (IL). Those Helwig boys are the real deal with Matt scoring a game high 28 and Ethan chipping in with 20 and 10. It was a back and forth game. NCC seemed to get a jump on Whitewater, only for the hosts to battle back. NCC had a 10-point lead less than 5 minutes in, but the Warhawks battled back and actually took a 4-point lead going into the interval.
More of the same in the 2nd as the visitors seemingly pulled away only for Whitewater to regain their footing and make it a game. Like the Point/Edgewood game, the visitors nearly self-destructed. NCC had an 8 point lead with a little over a minute to go in the game, but Whitewater wouldn't go away. Whitewater cut it to one with less than 10 seconds to go. A turnover by NCC gave Whitewater a chance to win it. A missed shot and scrum under the basket resulted and the whistle blew just before the buzzer went off to end the game. A ref meeting concluded in a traveling call on NCC, giving Whitewater one last hope for the miracle win with .4 seconds to go. A nice inbounds play setup a wide open look for Miles Barnstable, but he air-balled his 3 giving NCC the road victory.
Two really exciting games, but both crowds were disappointing. Point fans travel well, but they were non-existent throughout the game and only came to life in the waning seconds of the game...probably too nervous to cheer. Edgewood's student section basically consisted of about 15 guys all wearing the same Edgewood wooly caps and cheering when there was a big play. Whitewater's Williams Center holds 2300, so even when there is a few hundred, it's hard to get into the game. Students must have had better things to do on a Saturday evening (5 pm game) and the ones there were on their phones most of the game. Yeah, there were spurts of excitement, but nothing like Ripon, Concordia or Marian.
Most games have been $5 for adult fans, some $7. I haven't kept track of student prices. Whitewater was $8 to get in for adults, not sure about the students. I wonder if charging students to get in results in a lack of a student section.
Greek, I've been enjoying your posts. Just curious, after seeing your comments about Marian's Sadoff Gymnasium, what did you think of Edgewood's Edgedome?
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 20, 2022, 09:56:03 PMWhitewater's Williams Center holds 2300, so even when there is a few hundred, it's hard to get into the game. Students must have had better things to do on a Saturday evening (5 pm game) and the ones there were on their phones most of the game. Yeah, there were spurts of excitement, but nothing like Ripon, Concordia or Marian.
Most games have been $5 for adult fans, some $7. I haven't kept track of student prices. Whitewater was $8 to get in for adults, not sure about the students. I wonder if charging students to get in results in a lack of a student section.
Back in the day, UWW was notorious for being a "suitcase school" (i.e., everybody leaves campus and goes home on the weekends). Looks like that might still be the case.
No. They just drink on campus now. Especially Saturday after the football team lost at home.
Home teams started off 3-0 with me in attendance. They are now on a streak of 6 losses in a row. They'll need to break out of that tomorrow as I'm heading to Point for their game against WLC.
It's been fun tagging along vicariously with Greek Tragedy as he takes all across the Badger State and recaps his trips...
If there ever is a Hall of Fame for D3 fans who post here, GT - who also conducts the annual fantasy drafts/competition on this website - gets my vote!
And I will make a book plug here, for a title I've been trying to track down for a long time: A Championship is a Journey: College Basketball's best kept secret, WIAC. Its "the storied history of basketball's most powerful NCAA Division III" and was published in 2003, recapping the 2001-02 season, when UWO, UWW and UWSP tied at the top of the conference standings. UWO - a Tim Dworak team - then beat UWW by one in the championship game and then won its first two games in the NCAA tournament before bowing out in the third round. Rich Melzer, UWRF, was also but a "diaper dandy" on the scene, a sophomore!
Author is John Johnson... Anyone here read it?
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on November 20, 2022, 09:56:03 PM
I saw two barnburners on Saturday.
I dragged the wife to Madison to see the Stevens Point Pointers take on the Edgewood Eagles. Point came out of the gates fast and were up 7-0 in a blink of an eye. Edgewood weathered the storm and actually took the lead a little over 5 minutes into the 1st half. The hosts were up as many as 7 in the 1st half, thanks to the unstoppable force named JAKE SCHROECKENTHALER. Point did cut it to 3 at the break.
The 2nd half was tight throughout with neither team gaining more than a 2-4 point lead. Point looked to have sealed it with two FTs with less than a minute to go to push the lead to 6. However, Point imploded with back to back turnovers resulting in a quick layup and a 3 to cut their lead to 1. Edgewood fouled and Point hit the 1st FT, but missed the 2nd. Luckily, the visitors got the rebound and iced the game with two more FTs to push the lead to the final margin, 75-71.
A win is a win and I'll take a Pointer win any day. I was shocked that Jake Schroeckenthaler only had 17 points (and 14 rebounds). I thought for sure he was in the mid-20s the way he dominated Point's inside guys. One of Point's starting forwards committed two fouls on the "Big Jake" in the opening 15 seconds or so.
After the nerve-wrecking game in the Capitol, we headed to Whitewater to see them host CCIW foe North Central (IL). Those Helwig boys are the real deal with Matt scoring a game high 28 and Ethan chipping in with 20 and 10. It was a back and forth game. NCC seemed to get a jump on Whitewater, only for the hosts to battle back. NCC had a 10-point lead less than 5 minutes in, but the Warhawks battled back and actually took a 4-point lead going into the interval.
More of the same in the 2nd as the visitors seemingly pulled away only for Whitewater to regain their footing and make it a game. Like the Point/Edgewood game, the visitors nearly self-destructed. NCC had an 8 point lead with a little over a minute to go in the game, but Whitewater wouldn't go away. Whitewater cut it to one with less than 10 seconds to go. A turnover by NCC gave Whitewater a chance to win it. A missed shot and scrum under the basket resulted and the whistle blew just before the buzzer went off to end the game. A ref meeting concluded in a traveling call on NCC, giving Whitewater one last hope for the miracle win with .4 seconds to go. A nice inbounds play setup a wide open look for Miles Barnstable, but he air-balled his 3 giving NCC the road victory.
Two really exciting games, but both crowds were disappointing. Point fans travel well, but they were non-existent throughout the game and only came to life in the waning seconds of the game...probably too nervous to cheer. Edgewood's student section basically consisted of about 15 guys all wearing the same Edgewood wooly caps and cheering when there was a big play. Whitewater's Williams Center holds 2300, so even when there is a few hundred, it's hard to get into the game. Students must have had better things to do on a Saturday evening (5 pm game) and the ones there were on their phones most of the game. Yeah, there were spurts of excitement, but nothing like Ripon, Concordia or Marian.
Most games have been $5 for adult fans, some $7. I haven't kept track of student prices. Whitewater was $8 to get in for adults, not sure about the students. I wonder if charging students to get in results in a lack of a student section.
We were at Edgewood last Wednesday. It's a very loud gym. I think they found a level past 10 on the speaker system. Had to shout to talk to someone next to you during pregame.
It is a loud gym. But pretty quiet if the crowd is quiet. Yes, they must have borrowed the speaker system from my dad back in the late 80s. It's loud, but the PA announcer must be Charlie Brown's teacher because you can't understand anything.
Nothing fancy about the gym. It looks like an old high school gym. There's only one side of bleachers with the player benches up against a wall. I do like the balcony feature where there's a few tables to stand at to watch the game above the benches and the concession stand is on that side was well. Nothing really stands out with the gym, so opinion-wise, I guess I really don't have one of substance.
As I said, the crowd was overall disappointing. I was expecting much more from the Point crowd that travels well.
I headed to the old stomping grounds of Stevens Point for Gym #10 to see the Pointers host Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Needless to say, I'm still shocked that the hosts were able to pull out the victory. A more detailed post is on the WIAC board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF27dJ5ktQ4
https://athletics.uwsp.edu/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=11055
This may be the only game I get to this week with the holiday. I'm not sure if I'll make one this weekend.
WLC is the first team I've seen twice this year. They took a loss at home to Bethany Lutheran (admittedly, only saw half the game), but thoroughly outplayed Point for 37 minutes last night. EDIT: I've also seen Stevens Point twice at the same time. Duh.
Point's win broke a streak of 6 consecutive losses by the home team, following a 3-0 start by the hosts.
I'm sure it sounds like I'm a homer, but Point's Quandt Gym is the best gym so far. I like the layout. One side has bleachers all the way up, while the other side, there is a two tiered bleacher system. There are also bleachers behind each basket. There's room to walk between the player benches and bleachers. Quandt is big, but doesn't seem overly huge like Oshkosh's Kolf or even WLC's Rex. It is also well-lit. You've read my complaints about WLC when the game starts.
I have been to a lot of the nearby gyms on this side of the state. Obviously, I still have St. Norbert College in DePere, Oshkosh and Lawrence in Appleton. Carthage is a bit further south, but it's going to get difficult when I have all the western WIAC schools to go to like Eau Claire, Stout in Menomonie, River Falls, La Crosse and Platteville, not to mention Beloit and Maranatha Baptist in Watertown. Oh yeah, Superior and Northland in Ashland near Canada.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255
@greektragedy08 (Twitter)
I'm still alive. I'm planning on two tomorrow.
I did go back out to Lakeland U. for the Muskies' game vs Greenville. It ended up 155-127. Actually, I was a little disappointed as some of the time, Greenville played a full court press, but didn't trap. It was more like man-to-man full court pressure. Lakeland did actually shoot a lot of 3s, something that usually doesn't happen vs System teams.
https://d3hoops.com/seasons/men/2022-23/boxscores/20221201_snwg.xml?view=boxscore
After Stout's Brody Fox went for 70, Lakeland's Caleb Fuller, averaging about 8 points a game, scored a career high 38, in 23 minutes.
Still an entertaining game.
It's been awhile.
I last attended a #wisconsind3basketballchallenge game on Tuesday before Thanksgiving in Stevens Point.
I did go back out to Lakeland on Thursday, Dec. 1 for the Muskies' game vs Greenville. 155-127 to the hosts.
Gym #11 took me to Beloit for the MWC game vs Monmouth this past Saturday. A good sized crowd and the home students were really into it. Even when Beloit was down double digits, they made their voices heard. In the end, Monmouth was able to hold off Beloit for the road conference victory. It was a double-digit win, but it didn't feel that comfortable. It was a victory for me because it was free to get in and there were dollar sodas and popcorn! Best prices so far (there was dollar popcorn at other gyms as well).
After the game, we drove another near-2 hours west to Platteville, as the Pioneers hosted the Pointers in a WIAC clash for gym #12. No luck on the cheap date this time as it was 10 clams for general admission adults and $2 and $2.50 for water and soda. The stands were a little too dark for my liking and we took the last row like usual, for the back support up against the wall.
This game had 2 different halves. The 1st half seemed wide open with lots of easy baskets. Point jumped out early, only for the hosts to bounce back. The visitors took a 5-point lead into the half as Point shot over 70%, while the Pioneers were around 55%. I think it was 48-43. The 2nd half was a grinder. Tough to get points. As usual, Point came out cold in the 2nd half and Platteville took full advantage to grab a 10-point lead. Instead of packing it in, Point stormed back late and took a 3-point lead. Platteville nailed a game tying 3 with about 20 seconds to go. Point had the last shot, but missed a deep 3 at the buzzer. Free basketball for everyone! It was a defensive clinic in the extra 5 minutes as only 4 free throws made the difference for Point's upset road victory.
Even if I wasn't a Point fan, this was probably the best game I've been to. Back and forth, OT grinder. The fans didn't match the game. The reserve section on the opposite side was non-existent. A few dedicated Pointer fans that made the trip made some noise including yours truly and the wife in tow. Not to pat myself on the back, but I believe some of the Platteville fans on our side of the stands started getting noisy because we were. It was a long trip home, but a happy one.
#wisconsind3basketballchallenge
#whyd3
#d3hoops
D3hoops.com
@d3hoops
@greektragedy08
Thanks for the update, Greek... Looking forward to the rest of your reports...
And I hate to do it, but I am going to knock you off the Lucky 777s karma. Ha.
+1
Thanks.
Go to:
https://facebook.com/groups/650269139884255/
to see pictures of all the gyms.
Wisconsin Destinations:
Lakeland - 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Ripon - 11/11/22
MSOE - 11/12/22
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
HALF WAY THERE!
Superior
Northland
Eau Claire
Stout
River Falls
La Crosse
Oshkosh
Carthage
Lawrence
St. Norbert
Maranatha Baptist
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
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
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
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
Home teams are 6-7 with me in attendance.
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 (https://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Alverno/Women/2022-23/index) and Mount Mary (https://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Mount_Mary/Women/2022-23/index) do play D3 basketball, it's just women only.
Quote from: FCGrizzliesGrad on December 12, 2022, 09:15:22 PM
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 (https://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Alverno/Women/2022-23/index) and Mount Mary (https://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Mount_Mary/Women/2022-23/index) 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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. ;)
Thanks for the update, Greek Tragedy...
Why am I always hungry for popcorn after reading your posts? Heh, heh. ;)
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
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
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...
Teams I've seen in person
Augustana (CCIW) 12/17/22
Beloit (MWC) 12/3/22
Bethany Lutheran (UMAC) 11/12/22
Carthage (CCIW) 12/17/22
Carroll (CCIW) 11/12/22
Concordia - Chicago (NACC) 11/15/22
Concordia (WI) (NACC) 11/15/22
Dubuque (ARC) 11/12/22
Edgewood (NACC) 11/19/22
Elmhurst (CCIW) 11/16/22
Greenville (SLIAC) 12/1/22
Lake Forest (MWC) 11/8/22
Lakeland (NACC) 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Marian (NACC) 11/16/22
Martin Luther (UMAC) 11/12/22
MSOE (NACC) 11/12/22, 12/14/22
Monmouth (MWC) 12/3/22
North Central (IL) (CCIW) 11/19/22
Northland (UMAC) 12/30/22
Ohio Wesleyan (NCAC) 12/29/22
Oshkosh (WIAC) 12/29/22
Platteville (WIAC) 12/3/22
Ripon (MWC) 11/11/22
River Falls (WIAC) 12/30/22
Stevens Point (WIAC) 11/19/22, 11/22/22, 12/3/22, 12/14/22
St. Norbert (NACC) 11/11/22
St. Olaf (MIAC) 12/29/22
St. Scholastica (MIAC) 12/30/22
Stout (WIAC) 12/29/22
WLC (NACC) 11/12/22, 11/22/22
Whitewater (WIAC) 11/19/22, 12/30/22
For gym #17, we were back in Oshkosh, but at Kolf, not the Oshkosh Arena where the Wisconsin Herd play their G-league games. Almost as expensive though. $9 for old people, $5 for brats at the gate. The line was huge to get tickets, but you could scan the QR code and buy tickets online. I don't know what qualifies as an adult-group ticket, but that's what I bought and it was cheaper. The student didn't question me at all when he scanned my ticket on my phone, so I don't anticipate the police showing up at my door.
There seemed to be a good sized crowd there, but the box score says less than 400. However, Kolf holds something like 5,000, so there could be 2,000 there and it would seem empty. Point had a good traveling section with Oshkosh only an hour away. The Oshkosh fans were pretty vocal with the band and some students there.
Kolf is a multi-use facility with the track around it. I'm not a fan of that kind of gym, but I don't pay the bills. As mentioned, it holds 5,000, so it's hard to get any kind of exciting atmosphere in there. It's also on the dark side, especially when you get further up the bleachers, another thing I don't like.
If you were a Pointer fan, this was a rough one, losing 81-45.
Check out the pictures on the Facebook group page.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255/
I headed to Menomonie and Eau Claire for Gyms #18 and #19 in the #wisconsind3basketballchallenge. Aside from the courts, it doesn't look like there have been any renovations and that's a good thing sometimes. I enjoy the old school feel of the old "high school" wooden bleachers. As uncomfortable as they are, they're usually better than the hard plastic bleachers nowadays.
I've always enjoyed going to Johnson Fieldhouse at Stout. It has the track around it, but the place is a lot smaller than Kolf, so it doesn't seem as bad. The lighting is good as well. I've also always been amused by the press boxes they have above the bleachers. Makes them feel "big time"? I don't think Stout has ever had "heydays," but they had some really good, raucous crowds, at least when I've gone for Point games.
A pretty small crowd there last night. Oshkosh's small traveling crowd made up for the lack of numbers as they stomped on the bleachers a lot, screamed objections, and raised their "3" signs every time the Titans made one. Not a lot of action from the home crowd, but the Blue Devils were always behind. They had a few good runs to get the crowd back into it, but it was overall a comfortable win for Oshkosh.
It took me about 35 minutes to get to Eau Claire from Menomonie, so I missed the the last 5 minutes of Oshkosh's win and the first 5 minutes of the Eau Claire/La Crosse battle. Despite what the box scores say, there was a lot more fans at the Eau Claire game. La Crosse brought a good crowd and both sets of fans were really into the game. It was probably the best game I've seen as a neutral fan.
Zorn still looks the same, aside from the fancy new floor. It gets a little dark in the upper level and if you sit/stand in the last row, it's a pretty bad view...like you're looking above the rafters. It does have an intimate feel with no room on the baselines. Zorn is the opposite of River Falls' new Don Page Arena. Fancy and new to old school and nostalgic.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=702048168039685
#greektragedy08
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
Game 20 - Wednesday 1/18
Oshkosh 81, Stevens Point 45 (at Kolf, Oshkosh)
Game 21 - Saturday 1/21
Oshkosh 83, at Stout 72
Game 22 - Saturday 1/21
La Crosse 68, at Eau Claire 66
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 (2 games)
Oshkosh (Kolf) 1/18/23
Stout 1/21/23
Eau Claire 1/21/23
Superior
Northland
La Crosse
Lawrence
Maranatha Baptist
Teams I've seen in person
Augustana (CCIW) 12/17/22
Beloit (MWC) 12/3/22
Bethany Lutheran (UMAC) 11/12/22
Carthage (CCIW) 12/17/22
Carroll (CCIW) 11/12/22
Concordia - Chicago (NACC) 11/15/22
Concordia (WI) (NACC) 11/15/22
Dubuque (ARC) 11/12/22
Eau Claire (WIAC) 1/21/23
Edgewood (NACC) 11/19/22
Elmhurst (CCIW) 11/16/22
Greenville (SLIAC) 12/1/22
La Crosse (WIAC) 1/21/23
Lake Forest (MWC) 11/8/22
Lakeland (NACC) 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Marian (NACC) 11/16/22
Martin Luther (UMAC) 11/12/22
MSOE (NACC) 11/12/22, 12/14/22
Monmouth (MWC) 12/3/22
North Central (IL) (CCIW) 11/19/22
Northland (UMAC) 12/30/22
Ohio Wesleyan (NCAC) 12/29/22
Oshkosh (WIAC) 12/29/22, 1/18/23, 1/21/23
Platteville (WIAC) 12/3/22
Ripon (MWC) 11/11/22
River Falls (WIAC) 12/30/22
Stevens Point (WIAC) 11/19/22, 11/22/22, 12/3/22, 12/14/22, 1/18/23
St. Norbert (NACC) 11/11/22
St. Olaf (MIAC) 12/29/22
St. Scholastica (MIAC) 12/30/22
Stout (WIAC) 12/29/22, 1/21/23
WLC (NACC) 11/12/22, 11/22/22
Whitewater (WIAC) 11/19/22, 12/30/22
Home teams are just 10-10 with me present, that included a 6-game losing streak.
Stevens Point is 3-2 with me around.
Which D3 gyms in America's Dairyland do you have yet to hit this season?
I did go to De Pere for a game, but I actually didn't see St. Norbert play. I saw Stout v St. Olaf. If I have time, I'll make it back up there to see the Green Knights play. I have a weekend planned to see Superior one night and Northland the next day. I'm planning on seeing La Crosse take on Point. Tomorrow, the plan is to head to Watertown to see D3 part-timers Maranatha Baptist play a D3 team, Martin Luther. Appleton should be pretty easy for a weekday game, if needed, to see Lawrence play.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on January 23, 2023, 08:54:20 AM
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
Oshkosh (Kolf) 1/18/23
Stout 1/21/23
Eau Claire 1/21/23
Superior
Northland
La Crosse
Lawrence
Maranatha Baptist
Thanks for the update, Greek Tragedy...
This Blugold wonders if you have any other tidbits about UWEC/Zorn? How was the popcorn? (My go-to pregame meal was usually two hot dogs. Ha. I have not been on lower campus or in Zorn for 15 years; it has changed so much with all the new buildings there I probably wouldn't recognize it from when I was a student there many moons ago...)
You caught Zorn just in time, as a new arena is slated to open in 2024 - adjacent to where the hockey arena is along the Chippewa River, if you are familiar with that site?
PS - you have some pretty neat photos on your Facebook page that capture your travel challenge escapades throughout the state....
I headed to Watertown for Gym #20 in the #wisconsind3basketballchallenge. I think the last time I was at Maranatha Baptist, I got a red card playing for Lakeland.
Being that Maranatha is pretty small and they aren't very good, I was expecting about 50 fans there. The box score says 250, so I'll go with that. The gym reminded me a little of my junior high school with the stage on one end and the size resembles Marian's Sadoff gym. I was told by a student that the reason the crowd was larger than usual was because Martin Luther, their opponents for the night, actually had a campus in Watertown as well, before moving/joining the campus in Minnesota. They still have a few Martin Luther fans in the area. I Googled it to read up on it a little more. The school that was actually there was Northwestern. They combined with Dr. Martin Luther in Minnesota and now it's called Martin Luther College. Close enough.
Anyway, I was greeted to a nice-sized crowd (at least for the size of the gym) and an enthusiastic student section that stood the whole time, even when they were down double digits late in the game. They cheered not only big plays, but also hustle plays, guys diving for loose balls, a guy throwing the ball off an opponent before going out of bounds and a nice dunk by 6'11" freshman named Goodnews. It was truly a real fun crowd.
The price was right too. $5 for old people, free for the brat. Honestly, this should be the standard.
This challenge has been fun and has taken me to places that I never had any intention of going. I'm glad I was able to make it here. Nice people. Fun atmosphere.
One amusing thing I wanted to add is that Maranatha must be very proud of being in Watertown. There's a player on their team from Watertown and the PA guy says, "...Ben Price, from our very own THE(E) Watertown..." like when the players say, "THE(E) Ohio State University." The guy running their Twitter account Tweeted the same thing. Pretty funny. "Thank you for choosing THE Watertown, Wisconsin"
Quote from: bulk19 on January 23, 2023, 10:14:25 PM
Thanks for the update, Greek Tragedy...
This Blugold wonders if you have any other tidbits about UWEC/Zorn? How was the popcorn? (My go-to pregame meal was usually two hot dogs. Ha. I have not been on lower campus or in Zorn for 15 years; it has changed so much with all the new buildings there I probably wouldn't recognize it from when I was a student there many moons ago...)
You caught Zorn just in time, as a new arena is slated to open in 2024 - adjacent to where the hockey arena is along the Chippewa River, if you are familiar with that site?
PS - you have some pretty neat photos on your Facebook page that capture your travel challenge escapades throughout the state....
Thanks. I apologize for never answering your question. Not too much else to add about Zorn. It's the same, basically! No popcorn. I had a nice meal prior to the Stout game, so I wasn't in the mood for popcorn at Zorn. I did find a Panda Express afterwards, so that was my late night meal when I got home late after the 4+ hour drive. I do remember going to Zorn for a Point game way back when their games were huge with Eau Claire, literally standing in the last row in the 2nd level. Pretty sure the Pointers got smoked too. Nice to hear they are building a new gym. I have been to hockey games in Eau Claire, heckling the Hicks brothers while cheering on the Pointer hockey team. Glory days.
Here in Appleton for Gym #21 in the #wisconsind3basketballchallenge to see Lawrence host Knox. I always liked this gym.
Some good memories. I saw Lawrence's first game of the season vs Oshkosh on their way to an undefeated regular season in 2005-2006. I also saw their last game of the season, a full house to see a barn burner as IWU came in and beat the Vikings in the NCAA tournament. They actually had to add seats just to qualify to host. They also had to clear out the gym after the 1st game. The picture of the outside of the gym is where I had to walk to after the 1st game so we could get back in line for the 2nd game. Mind you, it was March and the line was past the street. I was always curious how long fans were standing out there waiting for the 1st game to end.
I also saw Grinnell here for the 1st time back in their heydays when The System was in full swing backed by Little Dave Arsenault, John Grotberg and Bobby Long. Some good Ripon v Lawrence games too. Outside of Stevens Point's Quandt (and Lakeland, of course), I may have been here the most (or Oshkosh's Kolf).
The Alex is a neat gym. It's a stand alone facility, so it's a cool building from the outside. Not really on campus, but by other sports facilities.
The game itself was nothing to write home about. I thought I was in for a good game between two ok teams as Knox beat Lawrence by 10 previously. I was very wrong. Know quickly built a big lead that got to 30 points (or close to that) just in the 1st half. The 2nd half was basically cruise control, though Lawrence cut it to about 15.
The box score says there was 375 at the game, but it was more like 100. It was a cold January midweek game, the gym is off campus and Lawrence isn't very good.
The price was right, it was 5 clams to get in, but they made up the cost by charging me $2 for a really small bag of popcorn.
One strange thing is that they started the game early. I got to the Alexander Gymnasium about 8 minutes early. By the time I got into the facility, I could hear them playing already. It was 6:56 and they were already at the 17 minute mark. So they started the game about 10 minutes early?? Who does that? Weird.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255/
@greektragedy08 on Twitter
If you had to guess, Greek, how many Division III basketball games have you attended over the course of your life?
Gym #22 is in La Crosse to see the Eagles hosts the Stevens Point Pointers. They weren't very nice as they hammered the visitors 81-58. 10 minutes in and Point was already down double digits. It was a 27-point lead for La Crosse at the break. It was between 20 and 30 points the rest of the way, so hardly anything to feel good about after driving 3 1/2 hours.
The gym itself is pretty standard. It's about the same size as WLC, but it's better lit. They have the old bleacher in there, but they are the hard plastic ones. $7 for old people, $5 for the kid. $2 for overcooked popcorn. $2.50 for drinks. Parking is a premium down there, no idea where everyone parks for football games.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255/
@greektragedy08
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 (neutral court game)
Oshkosh (Oshkosh Arena) 12/29/22
River Falls 12/30/22 (2 games)
Oshkosh (Kolf) 1/18/23
Stout 1/21/23
Eau Claire 1/21/23
Maranatha Baptist 1/24/23
Lawrence 1/31/23
La Crosse 2/4/23
Superior
Northland
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 (2nd game at Lakeland)
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 (2nd game at MSOE)
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 (2nd game at River Falls)
River Falls 73, St. Scholastica 55
Game 20 - Wednesday 1/18
Oshkosh 81, Stevens Point 45 (at Kolf, Oshkosh)
Game 21 - Saturday 1/21
Oshkosh 83, at Stout 72
Game 22 - Saturday 1/21
La Crosse 68, at Eau Claire 66
Game 23 - 1/24
Martin Luther 76, at Maranatha Baptist 58
Game 24 - 1/31
Knox 89, at Lawrence 65 - Best Gym
Game 25 - 2/4
La Crosse 81, Stevens Point 58
Teams I've seen in person
Augustana (CCIW) 12/17/22
Beloit (MWC) 12/3/22
Bethany Lutheran (UMAC) 11/12/22
Carthage (CCIW) 12/17/22
Carroll (CCIW) 11/12/22
Concordia - Chicago (NACC) 11/15/22
Concordia (WI) (NACC) 11/15/22
Dubuque (ARC) 11/12/22
Eau Claire (WIAC) 1/21/23
Edgewood (NACC) 11/19/22
Elmhurst (CCIW) 11/16/22
Greenville (SLIAC) 12/1/22
Knox (MWC) 1/31/23
La Crosse (WIAC) 1/21/23, 2/4/23
Lake Forest (MWC) 11/8/22
Lakeland (NACC) 11/8/22, 12/1/22
Lawrence (MWC) 1/31/23
Maranatha Baptist 1/24/23
Marian (NACC) 11/16/22
Martin Luther (UMAC) 11/12/22, 1/24/23
MSOE (NACC) 11/12/22, 12/14/22
Monmouth (MWC) 12/3/22
North Central (IL) (CCIW) 11/19/22
Northland (UMAC) 12/30/22
Ohio Wesleyan (NCAC) 12/29/22
Oshkosh (WIAC) 12/29/22, 1/18/23, 1/21/23
Platteville (WIAC) 12/3/22
Ripon (MWC) 11/11/22
River Falls (WIAC) 12/30/22
Stevens Point (WIAC) 11/19/22, 11/22/22, 12/3/22, 12/14/22, 1/18/23, 2/4/23
St. Norbert (NACC) 11/11/22
St. Olaf (MIAC) 12/29/22
St. Scholastica (MIAC) 12/30/22
Stout (WIAC) 12/29/22, 1/21/23
WLC (NACC) 11/12/22, 11/22/22
Whitewater (WIAC) 11/19/22, 12/30/22
Good stuff, Greek Tragedy...
He wonders: "Parking is a premium down there (at UWL), no idea where everyone parks for football games."
I live less than a half mile from the stadium; they surround our neighborhood, especially during the state track meet... ;)
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 06, 2023, 07:42:15 AM
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 (neutral court game)
Oshkosh (Oshkosh Arena) 12/29/22
River Falls 12/30/22 (2 games)
Oshkosh (Kolf) 1/18/23
Stout 1/21/23
Eau Claire 1/21/23
Maranatha Baptist 1/24/23
Lawrence 1/31/23
La Crosse 2/4/23
Superior
Northland
Going to attempt the Superior/Northland Friday/Saturday double next weekend?
That was my plan, but apparently my wife thought it was more important to have eye surgery on Friday. Who needs to see anyway? LOL So, I had to reschedule for the last weekend of the season, Feb. 17th and 18th.
It's disappointing because the last weekend I was going to go to the Maranatha v Finlandia game so I could wear my FU Lions hat. I did get to wear my FU Lions hat to the Packer game when they played the Detroit Lions, but it didn't help as the Packers lost anyway.
Quote from: bulk19 on February 06, 2023, 09:36:59 PM
Good stuff, Greek Tragedy...
He wonders: "Parking is a premium down there (at UWL), no idea where everyone parks for football games."
I live less than a half mile from the stadium; they surround our neighborhood, especially during the state track meet... ;)
The neighborhood looked surrounded already...for 400 people at a basketball game.
Quote from: WUPHF on February 01, 2023, 09:27:50 AM
If you had to guess, Greek, how many Division III basketball games have you attended over the course of your life?
I would say less than 300. I can't really count any of the games I "attended" when I was a kid sneaking in with my dad, who was the pep band director (as well as a professor at the university) because I didn't really watch the games and Point wasn't a D3 school at the time. In my younger days, I was a Pointer hockey fan, attending every Final Four they were in during the late 80s and early 90s. After college, I got back into basketball because when returning home, that's where my dad was on the weekends. I would say I probably averaged between 10-15 games a year for about 10 years and then only 5 games a year for another 20 years.
I finally finished off my last two gyms in the #wisconsind3basketballchallenge, on the last weekend of the regular season, nonetheless. Gym #23 took me all the way up to Superior in the Northwest corner of the state, and man, it was a drive. Not much up there to say the least. It took a lot of motivation to make the trip. I suppose part of the motivation of getting up there was because I've never been there even after all the years Superior was in the WIAC, for a hockey game or basketball game.
Superior's gym is pretty standard. Good lighting. The facility has 3 courts and during games, the main bleachers fill one court and portable bleachers are on the other court. The portable bleachers are so small, it makes me wonder why they even have them. Not a lot of room for seating, but I digress. $7 for old people, $5 for brats, standard procedures for WIAC schools, even though UW-Superior plays in the UMAC. Huge gallon Ziplock bags for popcorn for $3 and standard cost for drinks.
The game was entertaining for the most part. Superior always held Minnesota-Morris at arms' length. A decent crowd and both sets of fans seemed interested, for the most part.
The game ended a little after 7 and the Superior hockey team was playing Northland in the WIAC quarterfinals nearby, but I couldn't convince the wife or kid to go see playoff hockey. A friend suggested I find a new family.
We stayed overnight in Superior and headed to Ashland across Hwy 2 on Saturday for the Northland game vs...guess who, Minnesota-Morris. Travel partners with Crown. We had a nice meal at the Chequamegon Family Restuarant because everyone knows that the Chequamegon Bay runs into Lake Superior, right?!
Northland College is the complete opposite of UW Superior. Small, private college vs the big public university. The gym itself is really small, holding about 1,000 fans not unlike Marian, Maranatha Baptist and the like. Over the course of this journey, I've come to appreciate the smaller gyms.
The game was one of the more exciting games of the season with the small Northland crowd really into it on Senior Night. The even smaller traveling supporters were vocal as well. The game was tight early on, but the hosts built it up to 13 with less than 5 minutes to go in the half. Minn-Morris slowly chipped away and it was just a one-point game at the break. I don't think it was more than a 3-pooint game the whole second half until the very end. A real fun game to watch in a nice small gym made for a great experience. $5 for old people, free for kids. Dollar soda, water and popcorn helps the experience as well.
Check out Facebook for some gym pictures!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/650269139884255
@greektragedy08
Congrats!
Thanks for doing this and for bringing us along on the journey! The pix on FB have been great.
Thanks. It was a fun and unique experience. I really should've taken more pictures though. Maybe when I retire and move to Florida, I'll do all the D3 schools down there!
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 20, 2023, 01:59:03 PM
Thanks. It was a fun and unique experience. I really should've taken more pictures though. Maybe when I retire and move to Florida, I'll do all the D3 schools down there!
;D
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 20, 2023, 01:59:03 PM
Thanks. It was a fun and unique experience. I really should've taken more pictures though. Maybe when I retire and move to Florida, I'll do all the D3 schools down there!
Done.
I've been to all the d3 gyms in Delaware, which used to be 1 and now is zero. I guess I've solved a mathematical conundrum. 1 divided by zero equals Wesley College.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/09/18/every-wisconsin-restaurant-on-guy-fieri-diners-drive-ins-and-dives/70819804007/
Apparently I missed a couple of good places to eat while I went up to see Superior and Northland. I'm always up for a good burger and breakfast. I doubt I'll ever make it back up there, unless Point plays in Superior's tournament or if Point plays a back to back at Superior and Northland. If I do, I'll have to try to remember Anchor Bar and Grill in Superior and Delta Dinner in Delta.
To answer the question before it's asked, I'm not planning on doing this again, at least this year. Next year (2024-2025), I am planning on doing the Big 3: Great Lakes Invite, D3 hoops in Vegas and the Final Four in Fort Wayne.
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on September 18, 2023, 07:53:38 AM
https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/09/18/every-wisconsin-restaurant-on-guy-fieri-diners-drive-ins-and-dives/70819804007/
Apparently I missed a couple of good places to eat while I went up to see Superior and Northland. I'm always up for a good burger and breakfast. I doubt I'll ever make it back up there, unless Point plays in Superior's tournament or if Point plays a back to back at Superior and Northland. If I do, I'll have to try to remember Anchor Bar and Grill in Superior and Delta Dinner in Delta.
To answer the question before it's asked, I'm not planning on doing this again, at least this year. Next year (2024-2025), I am planning on doing the Big 3: Great Lakes Invite, D3 hoops in Vegas and the Final Four in Fort Wayne.
That tripleheader sounds worth a two-year wait. I envy you that experience!
Quote from: Gregory Sager on September 18, 2023, 10:44:43 AM
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on September 18, 2023, 07:53:38 AM
https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/09/18/every-wisconsin-restaurant-on-guy-fieri-diners-drive-ins-and-dives/70819804007/
Apparently I missed a couple of good places to eat while I went up to see Superior and Northland. I'm always up for a good burger and breakfast. I doubt I'll ever make it back up there, unless Point plays in Superior's tournament or if Point plays a back to back at Superior and Northland. If I do, I'll have to try to remember Anchor Bar and Grill in Superior and Delta Dinner in Delta.
To answer the question before it's asked, I'm not planning on doing this again, at least this year. Next year (2024-2025), I am planning on doing the Big 3: Great Lakes Invite, D3 hoops in Vegas and the Final Four in Fort Wayne.
That tripleheader sounds worth a two-year wait. I envy you that experience!
Damn! Very nice.
Dang! Seven-plus months away and I already know I won't be heading to Vegas for the D3hoops Classic. Apparently my family likes ocean/water over desert. We'll be heading to Clearwater, Florida for Christmas/New Year's. However, I do know there are tournaments down there, so I'll just have to find them. Hopefully as schedules come out, everyone can point me in the right direction. Maybe Magicman can help me out. I know private companies run small college tournaments that include D3 teams, so hopefully I'll find time.
I attended 6 games involving 12 different teams...in four different states over the weekend. Hardly a Wisconsin Challenge, but quite the opposite.
I decided to go to the Jack Skima tournament at IWU in Bloomington, Illinois. Ironic because Stevens Point was down there 2 years ago, but I didn't go. It took us about 4 1/2 hours to get there. There were four ranked teams participating, so it seemed like a good idea. IWU hosted Cal Lutheran in the early game and Platteville played Calvin in the nightcap.
Here's the end of that game.
https://twitter.com/IWUhoopscom/status/1855088255722545551?t=5IC77hQMtRGVnlQTsljb6A&s=19
I really didn't want to stick around Saturday for 5 and 7 pm games, so I scrolled the schedule. It basically snowballed from there because Trine was hosting their own tournament with 1 pm and 3 pm Saturday games. We stayed overnight in Bloomington and then headed out to Angola, Indiana, a little over 4 hours away. We made the 1 pm game that had UMHB taking on Heidelberg. The 2nd game involved Trine hosting Wabash. The game ran a little late, so we headed out at halftime to... Albion, Michigan, about an hour away, for a 5 pm tip-off. Albion vs Illinois Tech.
After the game, we stopped by the last Hot n Now in existence, about 45 minutes away in Sturgis, MI. We made it home a little before midnight.
Sunday, I actually worked and then came home, took a quick shower and headed out to my Alma Mater, Lakeland University Muskies to watch them take on my hometown team Stevens Point.
So, if you lost track:
Friday: Illinois
IWU vs Cal Lutheran
Platteville vs Calvin
Saturday: Indiana
UMHB vs Heidelberg
Trine vs Wabash
Saturday: Michigan
Albion vs Illinois Tech
Sunday: Wisconsin
Lakeland vs Stevens Point
Check out the below link for lots of pictures.
https://www.facebook.com/share/pimsMN3jbKa2iH5x/
Good stuff! I'll be along again vicariously for your annual excursions...
Curious to see if you'll head up to the new arena in Eau Claire, and your thoughts about that...
You could be an NCAA tournament selection consultant if they ever add the "eyetest" to their criteria. ::)
No Wisconsin Challenge, but I did return to Michigan this weekend for the Great Lakes Invitational. It's quite the lineup hosted by Calvin College.
The 1st game involved Wisconsin La Crosse, who received votes in the preseason poll, vs Marietta, who was 3-0. Marietta was the only team in this field who wasn't ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll. La Crosse smoked them 99-75. They shot the lights out.
The 2nd game was #12 St. John's vs #21 Hope. The Flying Dutchmen were no match for the Johnnies' tough defense and lost 64-48.
The 3rd game pitted #3 John Carroll vs Johns Hopkins, another team receiving single digit votes in the preseason poll. John Carroll couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and was behind double digits most of the game. They did cut it to 6, but JHU weathered that storm and won 84-69.
The last game featured two top 10 teams. Host #9 Calvin vs #8 Emory. It was a close game throughout, but Emory was able to hold off everthing Calvin threw at them, eventually winning 83-74.
It's interesting that Calvin is now 0-5. they lost to #2 Platteville at IWU, lost to #24 Cal Lutheran at the same tournament, lost to Oshkosh at the Heidelberg tournament and then lost to the hosts a day later. Today, Calvin plays #16 St. John's.
Today's Great Lakes Invitational schedule:
#21 Hope vs Marietta
Johns Hopkins vs La Crosse
#3 John Carroll vs #8 Emory
#16 St. John's at #9 Calvin
Calvin's Van Noord Arena is huge. It seats 5,000 and is part of a bigger athletics facility. It even has a 3-story rock climbing wall just outside the arena. The restrooms are just outside the arena and the concessions are just outside as well, in a commmons-type area. It's nice and new-ish, but nothing really says, "Wow," I guess. They do have a nice NBA-style scoreboard that hangs from the ceiling, although the "players on the floor" feature never seemed updated. The most interesting aspect of the arena is that the lower level is bleachers and the upper level is folding chairs. In most places, it's the opposite. It was nice sitting in the upper level in a nice comfortable folding chair with a back. They do have a suite area for, I assume, donors, booster club members, coaches families etc. They also have electrical outlets in the arena. That was nice since I was there for 9 hours yesterday. I was able to charge my phone! I know, 1st world problems.
As usual, check my Wisconsin Basketball Challenge Facebook page for pictures.