MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

It's hard to find, but here's the link to the Welch athletics website: http://welchathletics.com/landing/index

[y_jack_lok]

SLIAC teams go 3-2 on opening night. Prin gets thumped bad at Illinios College, 88-36. Greenville loses a back and forth 2 OT battle at home vs Spurgeon, an NCCAA school in Kansas City. Score was 162-156.

In the win column were: Lyon, 65-62 at home over D3 Austin College from Sherman, TX; Eureka 90-85 in OT at Dominican in Chicago; Webster 82-66 at Welch College, another NCCAA school in Gallatin, TN.

The Griffloks of Webster were led in scoring by former FU Griffin players Charles Nelson (27) and Adam Painter (13), plus returning WU Gorlok Jemard Sykes (13). Former FU (and UMSL) player Ethan Chartrand scored eight points. The Griffloks outrebounded Welch 59-30, with returning Gorlok Justin Ugo grabbing nine of those, as did Sykes.

[Gregory Sager]

"Griffloks"! Love it!

[y_jack_lok]

"Griffloks"! Love it!

It's better than the alternative.😀

[GU1999]

Are you sure the working name is not the Gorons?   Recruiting coordinators will start saying things like, "Don't be a Goron, come to Greenville"...

[y_jack_lok]

Are you sure the working name is not the Gorons?   Recruiting coordinators will start saying things like, "Don't be a Goron, come to Greenville"...

The alternative I had in mind was "Gorfins". But, I've had my fun and will use Gorloks moving forward.

[GU1999]

Grinnell vs. Greenville: A System Showdown

Game Overview

Grinnell hosts Greenville today at 5 p.m. in what promises to be another high-paced matchup between two teams known for their "System" style of play. Historically, these meetings have favored Grinnell, and past results suggest tonight may follow a similar trend.
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Previous Encounters

2016–17 Season
The first meeting between these programs during the 2016–17 season was a foul-heavy contest. Greenville committed 44 fouls and picked up multiple technical fouls, while Grinnell capitalized by setting an NCAA record for free throws attempted and made. The final score: Grinnell 151, Greenville 128.

2023–24 Season
The second matchup was lower scoring. Greenville limited fouls to 14 and forced 37 turnovers, but Grinnell shot significantly better and still won comfortably, 125–101. Interestingly, Grinnell was the team to pick up multiple technical fouls in this game.
________________________________________

Team Trajectories

Both Greenville squads from those seasons posted 20-win campaigns. Greenville has since lost many of its top players to graduation. Grinnell, on the other hand, returns considerable firepower, including standout Kai Te Huki from New Zealand. A quick look at Grinnell's roster reveals impressive length—a key advantage against a Greenville team that thrives when attacking the basket.
________________________________________

Prediction

While an upset would be welcome to me, the evidence points toward another decisive Grinnell victory tonight.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If past matchups are any indication System vs System basketball is darn near unwatchable!

[Gregory Sager]

If past matchups are any indication System vs System basketball is darn near unwatchable!

Now that the game's been archived on watchmidwestsports.com my curiosity is getting the best of me, and I'll probably try watching it just for kicks.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If past matchups are any indication System vs System basketball is darn near unwatchable!

Now that the game's been archived on watchmidwestsports.com my curiosity is getting the best of me, and I'll probably try watching it just for kicks.

Grinnell had a stellar night.  I didn't get to watch much, but I'm sure, given the result, that a rewatch would be worth the time.  Those shooting stats are out of this world, especially at volume.  You'll still have to sit through a lot of FTs, but you can always fast forward on rewatch!

[GU1999]

Grinnell is a good team.  I was pleased with the fight from Greenville in the first half, bit as predicted, Grinnells length was a problem for the panthers.  Many altered shots.

Greenvilles FT shooting was an encouragement. It will bode well for them if they can be anyway close to that over the course of the year as they shoot so many.  Greenville needs to get more from the returning bigs.  Lofton and the Comeaux twins are good players who did not play up to their standard last night.  THe Comeaux brother turned it over 11 times between them.  Many were unforced.   

And Greg, its a good one to watch to get familiar with the names in advance of Greenvilles trip to NP in December.   I attended the last match up between GU and NPU at Carlson.  I am sure that this time it will be a closer matchup.

[Gregory Sager]

And Greg, its a good one to watch to get familiar with the names in advance of Greenvilles trip to NP in December.  I attended the last match up between GU and NPU at Carlson.  I am sure that this time it will be a closer matchup.

That's my primary reason for wanting to watch it, offbeat hoops voyeurism being the secondary reason. As for the outcome being closer than the last go-round in the crackerbox, I'll gladly settle for NPU being the orca and Greenville being the shark this time.

[GU1999]

GU loses at home to Depauw 108-100.  This is the third time these teams have met in the past 5 years and GU continues to close the gap.  The outcome is an encouragment as GU has a fair amount of new players who are still learning and physically adjusting to the pace which is demanded of a winning Barber style system team. 

The game was tied at 54 at the half after GU led most of the way leading up to the break.  But the pace was too slow for GUs liking.  You could see Coach Barber physically willing his team to be more aggressive and to play with more consistant energy.  At one point early in the second, in order to encouarge a faster pace, he shifted the press into the super agressive variety where the back man is a part of front court traps.  Depauw was able to take advantage of it by heaving the ball over the top to Reph Stevenson (49p/14r) was throwing in all sorts of wild dunks.  This was, in my opinion, what allowed for the ultimate 8 point margin. 

Despite the loss, this felt like a game that will help GUs new guys continue to learn just how hard they need to play to make the system be successful. 

Next stop, NYC on Friday to play John Jay. 

[y_jack_lok]

Next stop, NYC on Friday to play John Jay.

I see the Panthers won this game, but it doesn't appear on the SLIAC men's basketball schedule. UPDATE: The game and result have been added to the SLIAC Men's Basketball schedule.

Last night's Webster vs Concordia game was declared final with 7:54 remaining due to unsafe court conditions. Webster was leading 75-58 and thus gets the win. The court was very slippery and players were having a hard time keeping their footing. Multiple attempts to deal with moisture in places all over the court weren't successful. I suspect the recent rain and high humidity was the culprit. Hopefully, now that the sun is out and humidity likely to decline, this afternoon's games will go off without a hitch. Would probably be a good idea to turn up the AC in the gym to help lower the humidity, just in case. I'm sure the players will like the cooler (and drier) conditions -- and the fans can just leave their coats on if necessary.

In yesterday's first game at Grant Gym, Westminster downed University of the Ozarks 63-58.

[y_jack_lok]

Webster downs University of the Ozarks for the second time this season. The first meeting, at Ozarks, was a 12 point Webster win, but yesterday the Gorloks cruised. After trailing by one point with 7:22 left in the first half, Webster went on a 26-2 run to lead 51-28 at the half. Final was 96-69. The Gorloks went 17-18 from the free throw line. Other shooting stats were also impressive.