MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[PurpleReign]

20 minutes until tipoff, let's get this season started.  I think the Tommies might struggle a bit early in the season, but they will hit their stride by February.  Best freshman class in a long long time.  The livestream looks great for this game and looking forward to the 1st game of the season.  Should be interesting to see whom is the starting 5 and how deep they go into the bench.

[PurpleReign]

It's:

P Erik Davis  Soph
F Ryan Boll   Sr.
F Elijah Hannah Soph
G Ryan Lindberg Frosh
G GT Johnson Jr.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's:

P Erik Davis  Soph
F Ryan Boll   Sr.
F Elijah Hannah Soph
G Ryan Lindberg Frosh
G GT Johnson Jr.

From what we hear, here, Veil twisted his ankle in warmups.  Do any of you know where Connor Bair is?  He seems to be MIA.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

M Hannon is in street clothes...not sure the injury. Hedstrom and both Davis have looked solid. Defense looks promising . UST has size & athleticism....just needs seasoning/experience

[PurpleReign]

Decent effort by the Tommies this evening in a 73-68 victory over Dickinson.  Played without John Veil, Connor Bair, and Michael Hannon.  I would imagine that two of these two are starters and so UST used a lot of their underclassman.  Take-away from the game:

The Tommies are tall and athletic.
This is an excellent team when it comes to rebounding and points in the paint.
Very quick team that will have a strong inside game leading to a lot of open shots.
Must have been 10 traveling calls on us tonight - will need to clean that up.

Good opening victory and really looking forward to the game tomorrow night against 15th ranked Marietta.

[Smitty Oom]

The Tommies will be tough this year, because, well.... they have Coach Tauer and they get solid recruiting classes every year. Boll is one of the best players in the league and will have to do more offensively than normal this year but I think he can handle it as he showed last night. They will need Veil and Hannon to play today against a very solid Marietta team, would be a lot to ask for those freshies to play against the Pioneers in the second collegiate game.

St. John's handled St. Scholastica to further the MIAC dominance over the UMAC so far. Not much to take away here, we all know the Johnnies can score it and have many options on offense. One thing to note is that John Oliver didnt play last night and Jubie Alade took his place in the starting 5. Alade had 22 points, a good outing coming off his stellar freshman season that landed him on the All-Rookie team last year. Lastly, Augustana (SD) transfer Walford played 24 minutes, had 8 points (4-4) 10 boards and 3 blocks. He is very athletic and long and will be a very good player for them this year, as we expected. They play St. Cloud State (D2) tonight which will be a fun game as the Johnnies have a good chance at taking down the Huskies.

Bethel also won their first tilt of the season last night against Simpson. Simpson is solid and has a very good player in Sam Amsbaugh but Bethel was too much for them. Royals starting 5 is super talented, especially with transfer Riley Dearring who filled up the stat sheet last night in all regards (11 points, 3 3Pts, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block). I know Tim Hanson has some experience and is a solid player, but their depth will be an area of concern for me going forward. They play Carroll (CCIW) today, who also is 1-0 after a win against Concordia Wisconsin. This will be a tougher game on the Pioneer's home court



The MIAC has done a good job so far getting some important non-conference wins but today will be a bigger test for most teams as they play some stiffer competition.

Smitty's Picks

• Macalaster at Beloit
• Concordia at Bethany Lutheran (Had to pick against my heart here, BL was second in the UMAC preseason poll and first road game for a young cobber team. A win here would be big for the teams confidence moving forward!)
• Bethel at Carroll 
• UW- Eau Claire at. St. Olaf
• Augsburg at UM-Morris
• St. Mary's at Luther (Mary's could start 2-0 if they beat the Norse who was unanimously last in the IIAC coaches poll. I recognized one player from their first box score, a lot of turnover in Winona for Coach R)
• Gustavus vs. Blackburn (@ North Park University)
• St. John's!!at St. Cloud St.
• St. Thomas at Marietta Marietta too tough and experienced for the Toms this early in the season, especially if they don't have Veil and Hannon.

[PurpleReign]

I am curious at to why Erik Davis only played 17 minutes last night.  He was dominate force on the offensive and defensive end.  Ended up 5-6 of FG, 4 rebounds and altered a few shots.  When Davis, Boll, and GT Johnson were in there, Dickinson had no inside game.  Hopefully Veil and Hannon are able to play tonight and give us a good look against the 13th ranked team.  It's kickoff time, so see ya on the other side and back here for tipoff.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Great pair of games for the Tommies this weekend in Ohio, paying some of the finest in D3 to open the 2017-18 hoops season. Despite not having either starting guard (Michael Hannon or John Veil) able to play, UST managed a solid win Friday over a good Dickinson squad. They showed a lot of guts and gumption on Saturday against the host, highly ranked Marietta. Falling down by a dozen, they exhibited the "never quit" attitude that is synonymous with UST hoops. They battled back and nearly knocked off the Pioneers before losing in OT by two. With either Hannon or Veil healthy, UST would have won the game no doubt in my mind. Still, I tip my hat to a great team effort and am excited for the next 23 games pus what I expect to be a long post-season run!
Mad props to senior Ryan Boll, who put up 18 points & 15 rebounds on Friday and then exploded for HIRTYNINE (39) points on Sat with another 11 boards!  I truly expect a phenomenal senior year from this beast!!
Was sweet to see some of the talented FY class (Ryan Lindberg, Burt Hedstrom, Simeon Davis, Toby Gillooly and JP Costello) get lot of playing time in both games, and I look forward to watching them and play for four seasons. Also seeing some guys who didn't play a lot last year get on the court and shine, particularly GT Johnson (who was amazing on Friday) and Erik Davis (hopefully he's ready to play  by MIAC opener)

[GoldandBlueBU]

Happy to see BU pick up two wins, granted not against the caliber of the teams UST played, but wasn't like they were slumming it with the UMAC either.

Yes, it seems that UST still has plenty of ammo, and SJU had a nice win over SCSU.  Has to be an ego hit to those SCSU kids who think they're superior athletically to division 3 players.

Bodes well for some exciting matchups between Bethel and UST / SJU in December, though we have to wait all the way until Jan 20 to see SJU and UST square off.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Bethel has a hard row to hoe in December, with Auggie, Johnnie and Tommie in an 8-day span....if they go 2-1 (or 3-0) in that stretch, they move into the inside track on conference title before Christmas.

Gotta like the league's start in non-conference games... 14-4 with one of those losses an OT game vs a highly ranked team. First MIAC battle is this Saturday! I'm sure all Cobber alum posters in the Metro will be there  (assuming the married ones are out of the doghouse by then)

[Smitty Oom]

I'm sure all Cobber alum posters in the Metro will be there  (assuming the married ones are out of the doghouse by then)

I am not sure what my Thanksgiving weekend plans are quite yet, if I stay in the cities I will be there without a doubt!

Cobbs don't get a lot of talk on this message board, so since you brought them up MIACMANIAC, I will give mu thoughts on the season so far! Not surprisingly, I am VERY pleased with the start of the season and the coaching career of Grant Hemmingsen. They beat a solid UM-Morris squad who returns one of the better players in the UMAC (CD Douglas) in the first game for many players for Concordia. Then they back that up by going into Bethany Lutheran, who has some solid returning players, and get a big win with some unbelievable 3 point shooting! Now, they haven't played perfect basketball... they have had double digit leads with about 6-8 minutes to go each game and they have let the opponent creep back due to some questionable shot selection and turnovers; however, they got two wins in the end as well as priceless experience for some solid young players. Coach Grant has led the Cobbers to a great start so far and I am excited to see how they continue to grow throughout the season and in the upcoming years.

A couple of new faces to get familiar with in the maroon and gold you will see for a couple years:

• SG Collin Larson, Jr, 17.5pt 5 ast 3 reb: He went 7-9 from downtown against BL and thats no fluke. Sharpshooting guard that will be able to score in bunches when he gets hot.
• PG Tommy Schyma, So, 13pt 5 ast 4 reb: Starting point guard and has done a great job running the offense so far. Solid build, just over 6 feet. I think he will be a multiple year All-Miac selection before its done
• SF Jacob Pazdernick, So, 15pt 2.5ast 5.5reb: Jacob played a little bit last year behind F Austin Nelson, but he moved into the starting role this year and has done a good job being able to create his own shot and score the rock. Long and athletic with good skills.

Would be fun if they are in the battle for one of the last playoff spots in Jan/Feb but I see this year filled with growth and learning... And of course a couple of upsets as teams make the long drive up to Moorhead on I94!

[Drake Palmer]

Bethel has a hard row to hoe in December, with Auggie, Johnnie and Tommie in an 8-day span....if they go 2-1 (or 3-0) in that stretch, they move into the inside track on conference title before Christmas.

Gotta like the league's start in non-conference games... 14-4 with one of those losses an OT game vs a highly ranked team. First MIAC battle is this Saturday! I'm sure all Cobber alum posters in the Metro will be there  (assuming the married ones are out of the doghouse by then)

Ha! Not sure about Cobber alum posters, but other married MIAC alum posters maybe out of the doghouse, but family celebrations and the like will make it very difficult to catch any live hoops action this weekend.  Plus, these new Saturday 1:00PM start times for  Men's hoops could be challenging this season.  However, if I play my cards right, I will either see Cobb/Toms or Pipes/ Carlies next Wednesday.  Then a Saturday decision to head to C-ville for Bethel SJU or Tomcats/Pipes back in St. Paul.

In the meantime, wow is right! What a great opening weekend for the MIAC!  I saw bits & pieces of the SJU SCSU game and the Jays are for real.  Lucas Walford gives them an athletic, long, 6-8 forward who patrols the lane, is active on the glass and caught the sweetest alley oop from Garrett Goetz for a power two handed flush. Tyler Weiss was a force, Jubie Aladie is proving his FY year wasn't a fluke, and David Stokman & Patrick Strom are going to be tough.

I don't believe any webcasts were available for either of the Bethel games this past weekend, but the boxscores seem to indicate these Royals are going to be quite formidable as well.

I did catch quite a bit of the second half of UST Marietta game, and what a treat! Ryan Boll & the baby frosh were giving as good as they got against 13th ranked Marietta. Boll, was absolutely killing it!  Although in hindsight, I'm sure he wishes he would have taken the ball to the cup to attempt a layup, and or foul,  rather than settling for an 18 foot jumper at the end of regulation.  But still, what a game he and the rest of the Tommies had.  39pts!

For his efforts Boll was named the MIAC Player of the Week.  I went to the UST website and read another article which stated - Playing without four injured teammates expected to start or be in the team's top eight, Boll averaged 28.5 points, 13 rebounds and 4.0 assists while playing 81 of 85 minutes in the Tommies' trip to Ohio. He recorded his sixth and seventh career double doubles in the process.

Mose, curious minds need to know who were the four missing teammates – John Veil, Michael Hannon, 3..., 4...?  Erik Davis got injured at the end of the Marietta game so they couldn't have been talking about him.  Another FY, Trey Mack never played, nor did SO Jack Sowada.  Was it either one of those two guys?

If last weekend was any indication, I may be in and out of the doghouse all season watching MIAC hoops! Gotta love it!

[Drake Palmer]

...Or Juniors Connor Bair, Davis Cowan, and why does SO Tommy Anderson who played in over half of the UST games last year not have a jersey number? 

[Smitty Oom]

I know Connor Bair is one of the other two not mentioned. Not sure on the fourth. Maybe Ryan Scott knows since he was at Marietta this weekend and referenced it on the Hoopsville pod.

[GoldandBlueBU]

  Lucas Walford gives them an athletic, long, 6-8 forward who patrols the lane, is active on the glass and caught the sweetest alley oop from Garrett Goetz for a power two handed flush.

Interesting!  I was unaware of his addition to SJU.  Yes, he gives SJU a  different angle on height compared to Weiss being more of a power type of a 6'7.

There should be some seriously fun to watch match-ups at the top of the MIAC this year as the Tommies looked plenty competent in LAG. (Life after Grant (He may be my favorite non Bethel player in MIAC history))

Bethel's games were webcasted...I watched about half of each while sneaking away from parenting duties.  They looked pretty solid, lots of slashing from Kingland, typical backdoor passing out of the high post...I'm hoping that Dearring gets more aggressive as he settles in with his new team.

Jenson and Magnusson had solid offensive weekends, as did newcomer Matt Ambriz (4-8 from 3pt in game 2).

Tusler was off offensively, but was his typical harassing defensive self, even though it didn't really show up in the stats.  He did lead them in assists in the first game with 6, and had 4 in the second.

They've only got 2 really reliable guys on the bench in Ambriz and Hanson, so they're shallow, but I feel as good about their top 5 as I ever have, and Ambriz could easily be a starter.

They gave some minutes to junior Tyler Barker, who looked pretty comfortable, so I could see him providing some quality minutes from the bench to make them 8 deep.