MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Which ESPN?  The new total service is $39.99.

Guess I'm living in the past. I just checked and it says $29.99 for "new and eligible returning customers" otherwise $35.99.
The other BS thing is that all D3 playoff football games are streamed through ESPN+. I'm not paying almost $40 to watch that. I'll just bring a case of beer over to my buddy that has it.

I think you can still subscribe to just ESPN+ for a cheaper amount, but they've essentially put the whole network on streaming this fall and added a bundle with FoxOne included as well.

[Greek Tragedy]

Anyone have an unofficial MIAC preseason poll?

[bball1122]

I'll take a stab at it, after a handful of non-conference games for each team:

1. Gustavus

Despite losing a ton, they look very good. Schmitt and Barnette are tough, Koch has had a couple of nice games, and Quam looks legit. Not as deep as years past, but I think they're the early favorite.

2-5
Carleton
Concordia
Hamline
St. Johns

Hard to tease these four apart, but I feel like they are the clear next tier. Carleton has the three-headed monster of Engelberg, Drake, and Koelling, but not much depth and not a ton of athleticism.  Concordia has the twin towers of Cook and Loge, but the guard situation has me a little worried, though freshman Payton Schell is off to a nice start. Hamline has their dynamic returning duo of Brendan Ebel and Raoul Vaidya; can they find a consistent third scorer (post Dominic Dosmann has had a solid start to the year, and watch for freshman Jake DeDominces to get things rolling as the year progresses.)  The Johnnies are loaded with talent but really young (no Kyle Johnson yet; anyone know why?) - they are playing mostly freshman and sophomores and a couple of juniors who have barely played.  They are likely the most talented team from top to bottom, but experience matters in the MIAC.  If they win the league this year, I'll be very impressed.

6-9
Augsburg
Bethel
St. Olaf
St. Scholastica

I think Augsburg is a step above the other teams in this tier, but also below the teams above them.  I decided to put them here, but I wouldn't be mad if you bumped them up.  Freshman JJ Semanko is a dude, and he will likely be a 3 or 4 time all-conference player.  Really like how Elias Batala has developed.  Olaf is likely next, with Kobe Kirk being the best scorer in the league.  If he brings it consistently this year, they have a shot to make the playoffs. I like their trio of sophomores (Uhl, Lamb, and Madigan).  Scholastica is an interesting team - they've got some pieces, but not much depth.  Bethel...I don't have a lot here. Not sure they have the horses to keep up in the race.

10 & 11
Macalester
Saint Mary's

I don't think either team is particularly good.  Mac is scary in that they can score and shoot a ton of threes (194 attempts in 6 games!!!!) - lots of variability in their outcomes because of that.  Noah Shannon is a load and a unique player.  For Saint Mary's, I think it's gonna be a long year.  I like freshman Reid Klug, and they have a couple of interesting sophomores, but I don't see them winning many games.

Overall, I think this is the most wide open the league has been in a long time.  I could see any of the top five winning the league this year, and I am excited for conference play to start (and for much of my prognosticating to be wrong)!

[GoldandBlueBU]

I think that's a pretty good take on the season's outlook.  I didn't realize SJU was so young this year.

I noticed that Zach Filzen is now an assistant on the SJU staff.

[faunch]

Johnnies will be lucky to finish in the top 4 of the MIAC. They looked horrible last night at home against Ole. The tommie$ are going to destroy them next week.
Maybe by the second half of the season McKenzie will figure out a rotation and the team will gel but they are green.

[bball1122]

I'll take a stab at it, after a handful of non-conference games for each team:

1. Gustavus

Despite losing a ton, they look very good. Schmitt and Barnette are tough, Koch has had a couple of nice games, and Quam looks legit. Not as deep as years past, but I think they're the early favorite.

2-5
Carleton
Concordia
Hamline
St. Johns

Hard to tease these four apart, but I feel like they are the clear next tier. Carleton has the three-headed monster of Engelberg, Drake, and Koelling, but not much depth and not a ton of athleticism.  Concordia has the twin towers of Cook and Loge, but the guard situation has me a little worried, though freshman Payton Schell is off to a nice start. Hamline has their dynamic returning duo of Brendan Ebel and Raoul Vaidya; can they find a consistent third scorer (post Dominic Dosmann has had a solid start to the year, and watch for freshman Jake DeDominces to get things rolling as the year progresses.)  The Johnnies are loaded with talent but really young (no Kyle Johnson yet; anyone know why?) - they are playing mostly freshman and sophomores and a couple of juniors who have barely played.  They are likely the most talented team from top to bottom, but experience matters in the MIAC.  If they win the league this year, I'll be very impressed.

6-9
Augsburg
Bethel
St. Olaf
St. Scholastica

I think Augsburg is a step above the other teams in this tier, but also below the teams above them.  I decided to put them here, but I wouldn't be mad if you bumped them up.  Freshman JJ Semanko is a dude, and he will likely be a 3 or 4 time all-conference player.  Really like how Elias Batala has developed.  Olaf is likely next, with Kobe Kirk being the best scorer in the league.  If he brings it consistently this year, they have a shot to make the playoffs. I like their trio of sophomores (Uhl, Lamb, and Madigan).  Scholastica is an interesting team - they've got some pieces, but not much depth.  Bethel...I don't have a lot here. Not sure they have the horses to keep up in the race.

10 & 11
Macalester
Saint Mary's

I don't think either team is particularly good.  Mac is scary in that they can score and shoot a ton of threes (194 attempts in 6 games!!!!) - lots of variability in their outcomes because of that.  Noah Shannon is a load and a unique player.  For Saint Mary's, I think it's gonna be a long year.  I like freshman Reid Klug, and they have a couple of interesting sophomores, but I don't see them winning many games.

Overall, I think this is the most wide open the league has been in a long time.  I could see any of the top five winning the league this year, and I am excited for conference play to start (and for much of my prognosticating to be wrong)!

Time to update this, with all games before Christmas completed.

1.  Gustavus

Hard to move them from this spot - they took a haymaker from the Pipers at home and weathered the storm, executing down the stretch to secure a win.  Their near +10 per game in the turnover battle right now is remarkable, and if they can keep anything like that up they will be formidable. Two games in Florida before the new year, and then back to MIAC play.  I'll be curious to see how they do on the road at Olaf and Concordia in early January.

2-4
Augsburg
Hamline
Carleton

I think these three are the next three.  Augsburg fulfilled my earlier hopes of a rise, led by freshman sensation JJ Semanko.  They turn teams over at a high clip and can score in bunches.  Two red flags - they don't rebound that well, and they are the worst free throw shooting team in the league, which could bite them in close games.  Hamline had the Gusties on the ropes in the aforementioned showdown in St. Peter, but couldn't close them out.  The Pipers shoot it well and defend at a high level - Brendan Ebel is having an outstanding senior season on both ends. Carleton is the shakiest of this bunch - they are 3-0 in the league, but against teams that are closer to the bottom of the league, and have now lost 3 in a row.  Looks like they are battling some injuries - we'll see what they look like in the new year.

5-7

Concordia
St. John's
St. Olaf

These three teams should be the final three contending for a playoff spot.  Concordia is big and has two standouts in Jacob Cook and Jackson Loge, but lack of consistency from the guard spots and not a ton of experienced depth have me wondering about their ceiling. The Johnnies are very talented, and have their star Kyle Johnson back, but they are so inexperienced.  I think it will be an up and down season, likely losing a game or two they "shouldn't" based on talent, but also likely knocking off a team or two above them in the standings.  I still think they make the playoffs and will be a team no one wants to play come late February.  St. Olaf is off to a great start in the conference, winning over the other two teams in this grouping.  Kobe Kirk is likely the best scorer in the league and has played like it so far this season.  Their games against Carleton and Gustavus in early January will tell us a lot about their ceiling.  I won't be surprised if I have them and Carleton flipped in these rankings a month from now.

8-10

Bethel
Macalester
St. Scholastica

Each of these teams will be competitive most nights.  Bethel has a win over Mac, Mac has played 3 close games (all losses) in league play, and Scholastica is on a bit of a slide after getting a couple of solid non-con wins.  I'll be curious to see how these teams look the first couple of weeks in January.

11

Saint Mary's

The Cardinals got their first win of the season right before the break, but are still looking for their first conference win.  They have some interesting pieces, but their current -17.8 scoring margin is tough to overlook.

Love to hear others thoughts about the league - I really do think teams 1-7 are very close and could see any of them winning the league this year.  Happy Holidays to all!