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.