MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Patrick Coleman]

No.

[Greek Tragedy]

Re: Point v North Park

HT: Up 17. Half a game to go, yes. But that's a nice lead to have.

Regulation: Up 6 with 1:19. Close the game out. Take care of business. Point went scoreless the rest of regulation. 2 missed FTs, a TO and a missed layup at the end to win it.

1st OT: Yes, NPU lead the whole period. Point tied it with 30 seconds to go. Had the ball for the win, but couldn't get it done.

2nd OT: Up 6 with 1:59 to go and scores one point the rest of the way. 2 TOs and a missed FT. NPU ties it with 8 seconds to go.

3rd OT: Point up 4 with 18 seconds to go. Point goes 1-2 from the line with 3 seconds to go.

So yes, close the game out. Point had a chance to win it every time.

[Gregory Sager]

Re: Point v North Park

HT: Up 17. Half a game to go, yes. But that's a nice lead to have.

Regulation: Up 6 with 1:19. Close the game out. Take care of business. Point went scoreless the rest of regulation. 2 missed FTs, a TO and a missed layup at the end to win it.

1st OT: Yes, NPU lead the whole period. Point tied it with 30 seconds to go. Had the ball for the win, but couldn't get it done.

2nd OT: Up 6 with 1:59 to go and scores one point the rest of the way. 2 TOs and a missed FT. NPU ties it with 8 seconds to go.

3rd OT: Point up 4 with 18 seconds to go. Point goes 1-2 from the line with 3 seconds to go.

So yes, close the game out. Point had a chance to win it every time.

Wrong. Again, that shot Baumgartner threw up at the end of the first overtime was not makeable. Well, it was makeable if you gave him an entire week to keep at it until his arms gave out. The game is archived on the CCIW Network, so you can watch the end of the first overtime for yourself. As I said before, North Park was the only team that had a realistic chance to win the game at the end of that overtime.

[Greek Tragedy]

OK, I was wrong for one of the four.

[PauldingLightUP]

Rather close throughout and Eau Claire holds off North Park 70-66. Blugolds go through nonconfence play undefeated, enter WIAC play 11-0.

[Greek Tragedy]

The WIAC is pretty good.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/

6 teams in the tournament if it started today.

https://masseyratings.com/cb2026/14654

6 teams in the top 25.

[Greek Tragedy]

https://trinitytigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-26/uw-stevens-point/boxscore/10817

Point finishes off a nice Texas Sweep this past weekend.

Against the hosts, they found themselves down for most of the opening 5 minutes of the game last night. The visitors took the lead for the rest of the 1st half with 2 FTs by Butler to make it 12-11 at 14:49. That started an 11-0 as Point built the lead to 22-11. The Tigers did cut it to 26-23 with 2:24 to go. Point built the lead back to 12 before Trinity hit a 3 to finish off the 1st half scoring, trailing 35-26.

Point held Trinity at arm's length for most of the 2nd half with the Tigers cutting it to just one at 46-45 with 10 to go. However, Point lead the rest of the way, owning a 3-8 point lead until the final buzzer. Whenever Trinity would score, Point counter with their own bucket.

Krohn was unstoppable with 22 points on 10-14 shooting despite playing with 3 fouls for a long period of time. Baumgartner hit four 3s (all his shots from behind the arc) on his way to 17. Seth Miron added 15 points and 6 dimes. Isaiah Moore came off the bench with 11.

Point had 16 assists on 24 made FGs while turning the ball over just 8 times. Trinity was the complete opposite with 16 TOs and just 8 assists. Trinity did win the rebounding margin 40-32 with both teams grabbing 12 offensive boards apiece.

Point hosts Lakeland a week from now.

[ChickenHoops]

Point keeps winning and I'll be forced to buy a beer stand spot.

[John Gleich]

The WIAC is pretty good.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/

6 teams in the tournament if it started today.

https://masseyratings.com/cb2026/14654

6 teams in the top 25.

I'm wondering when the WIAC will get some love in the poll...

LAX - 8-1 (#3 in the poll) They'll likely drop after losing to Augustana but they started the year at #7
EC - 11-0 (#20 in the poll) This one seems a bit suspect to me, honestly. They've played exactly 1 team in the Massey top 100 (North Park) and only 4 in the top 200.
SP - 9-1 No poll points. They've gotten a few votes in recent polls, haven't been ranked all year
WW - 9-1 No poll points. They got a few preseason votes, haven't been ranked all year
Osh - 8-2 7 poll points, were ranked as high as #17 in week #2
UWP - 6-3 No poll points. Preseason #17

[John Gleich]

You're mischaracterizing the UWSP @ NPU game. The Pointers did not have four opportunities to ice the game against North Park, at least not four realistic ones. Meanwhile, North Park could've won the game in regulation. Kolden Vanlandingham was at the line in the double bonus with eight seconds left in regulation and the Vikings down by one, and he missed the first free throw. Yes, UWSP still had the last shot, which Josiah Butler missed, but the Vikings also ganked the opportunity to win it in regulation, settling for the tie because KV missed one of his two free throws.

At the end of the first overtime the game was tied at 91-91 after Butler had tied it up for UWSP with 28.2 seconds to go. The Vikings thus had the ball with the shot clock turned off -- and with it the opportunity to not only win the game but to do so after having run down the game clock. Jalen Houston attempted a wide-open trey from the left corner, but missed it with six seconds left. After a rebound scramble, Logan Baumgartner of UWSP got the ball while facing the west basket with a second left, spun around, and attempted a 65-foot off-balance two-handed heave with 0.2 seconds left that nicked the top of the shot clock above the east basket (i.e., five feet too high and off to the left of his target) and fell to the floor. Baumgartner could spend an entire day trying to make a 180-degree-turnaround two-handed heave from 65 feet away over and over without ever making it once. Houston? He's a 35% shooter from three-point range, and a lot of his attempts have come from the corner. In other words, he's a good bet for NPU to win the game with that shot at 00:06 of the first overtime.

In other words, North Park was just as capable of winning that game before the end of the third overtime as UWSP was, if not more.

Greg, what are free throws if not an opportunity to ice the game?

UWSP was up 7 with 3:12 to go in regulation.
Up 6 with 2:09, up 4 with 1:59, up 6 with 1:11
After letting up a 3 and turning it over, still up 1 with 0:54 left. down to :31.7, UWSP was on the line with two free throws. And Miron missed BOTH (from the description... the vid was showing the wrong side of the court). And with it tied with 11 seconds left, SP STILL had an opportunity to score to win. Again, the video wasn't showing the UWSP end of the court, so I don't know what happened down on that end. So, that's at least two opportunities by UWSP at the end of regulation (FT's, to go up 3, and the ball with the score tied).

First OT
UWSP missed 5/6 FTs in the first OT. Point rebounded the second miss and still scored, but getting FT's is one way to ice the game.  Plus a half-court heave. Realistic or not, it was a chance.

Second OT
1/2 FT's for the 2nd OT. up 1 with :28 left in the 2nd OT.

Third OT
2/4 FT's in the final :18 of 3rd OT.

So let's count JUST the missed FT's.
2 in Regulation (0/2)
5 in OT #1 (3/8)
1 in OT #2 (1/2)
2 in OT #3 (8/10)

12/22 from the line. 10 missed FT's in the final two minutes of regulation and three 5-minute OT periods. I'd say those were opportunities to ice the game that were missed.


I don't want to take anything away from North Park in that game. They made the plays to win. But, they were given opportunity after opportunity by things within UWSP's control, on TOP of having some chances while the clock was running.

[Gregory Sager]

You're mischaracterizing the UWSP @ NPU game. The Pointers did not have four opportunities to ice the game against North Park, at least not four realistic ones. Meanwhile, North Park could've won the game in regulation. Kolden Vanlandingham was at the line in the double bonus with eight seconds left in regulation and the Vikings down by one, and he missed the first free throw. Yes, UWSP still had the last shot, which Josiah Butler missed, but the Vikings also ganked the opportunity to win it in regulation, settling for the tie because KV missed one of his two free throws.

At the end of the first overtime the game was tied at 91-91 after Butler had tied it up for UWSP with 28.2 seconds to go. The Vikings thus had the ball with the shot clock turned off -- and with it the opportunity to not only win the game but to do so after having run down the game clock. Jalen Houston attempted a wide-open trey from the left corner, but missed it with six seconds left. After a rebound scramble, Logan Baumgartner of UWSP got the ball while facing the west basket with a second left, spun around, and attempted a 65-foot off-balance two-handed heave with 0.2 seconds left that nicked the top of the shot clock above the east basket (i.e., five feet too high and off to the left of his target) and fell to the floor. Baumgartner could spend an entire day trying to make a 180-degree-turnaround two-handed heave from 65 feet away over and over without ever making it once. Houston? He's a 35% shooter from three-point range, and a lot of his attempts have come from the corner. In other words, he's a good bet for NPU to win the game with that shot at 00:06 of the first overtime.

In other words, North Park was just as capable of winning that game before the end of the third overtime as UWSP was, if not more.

Greg, what are free throws if not an opportunity to ice the game?

UWSP was up 7 with 3:12 to go in regulation.
Up 6 with 2:09, up 4 with 1:59, up 6 with 1:11
After letting up a 3 and turning it over, still up 1 with 0:54 left. down to :31.7, UWSP was on the line with two free throws. And Miron missed BOTH (from the description... the vid was showing the wrong side of the court). And with it tied with 11 seconds left, SP STILL had an opportunity to score to win. Again, the video wasn't showing the UWSP end of the court, so I don't know what happened down on that end. So, that's at least two opportunities by UWSP at the end of regulation (FT's, to go up 3, and the ball with the score tied).

First OT
UWSP missed 5/6 FTs in the first OT. Point rebounded the second miss and still scored, but getting FT's is one way to ice the game.  Plus a half-court heave. Realistic or not, it was a chance.

Second OT
1/2 FT's for the 2nd OT. up 1 with :28 left in the 2nd OT.

Third OT
2/4 FT's in the final :18 of 3rd OT.

So let's count JUST the missed FT's.
2 in Regulation (0/2)
5 in OT #1 (3/8)
1 in OT #2 (1/2)
2 in OT #3 (8/10)

12/22 from the line. 10 missed FT's in the final two minutes of regulation and three 5-minute OT periods. I'd say those were opportunities to ice the game that were missed.


I don't want to take anything away from North Park in that game. They made the plays to win. But, they were given opportunity after opportunity by things within UWSP's control, on TOP of having some chances while the clock was running.

That goes both ways, though; I've already pointed out Vanlandingham's FT miss at the end of regulation that would've given the Vikings the chance to go ahead with eight seconds left. And the Vikings turned the ball over three times in the last 2:03 of the first overtime, the first three coming when they were ahead and thus could've augmented their lead. Instead, UWSP tied it both times after the NPU turnovers. I even commented at the time about NPU's missed opportunities to add to the lead in my call of the game. The third time NPU turned it over in the last 2:03 was when Vuckovic lost the ball after grabbing that final rebound off of Houston's miss from the left corner, depriving the Vikings of the chance to win it in the final two seconds via a putback bunny.

And the Baumgartner toss wasn't a "half-court heave." It was from well beyond half-court; he launched from a good three feet behind the volleyball attack line, which is ten feet from the center line, so it was from about a 60-foot distance from the basket and well off to the left -- and, again, he was completing a full 180-degree spin when he raised his arms and launched it.

I've seen plenty of successful half-court heaves before. I even made one once in a shooting contest and won $80 (the first, and last, time I will ever have success with a basketball in my hands ) . I know what's makeable and what's a miracle. And if it he had hit that shot it would've pegging the miracle-o-meter in the red. If you're going to insist that that was a chance, you're forcing me to go Lloyd Christmas on you:



 

[ChickenHoops]

You're mischaracterizing the UWSP @ NPU game. The Pointers did not have four opportunities to ice the game against North Park, at least not four realistic ones. Meanwhile, North Park could've won the game in regulation. Kolden Vanlandingham was at the line in the double bonus with eight seconds left in regulation and the Vikings down by one, and he missed the first free throw. Yes, UWSP still had the last shot, which Josiah Butler missed, but the Vikings also ganked the opportunity to win it in regulation, settling for the tie because KV missed one of his two free throws.

At the end of the first overtime the game was tied at 91-91 after Butler had tied it up for UWSP with 28.2 seconds to go. The Vikings thus had the ball with the shot clock turned off -- and with it the opportunity to not only win the game but to do so after having run down the game clock. Jalen Houston attempted a wide-open trey from the left corner, but missed it with six seconds left. After a rebound scramble, Logan Baumgartner of UWSP got the ball while facing the west basket with a second left, spun around, and attempted a 65-foot off-balance two-handed heave with 0.2 seconds left that nicked the top of the shot clock above the east basket (i.e., five feet too high and off to the left of his target) and fell to the floor. Baumgartner could spend an entire day trying to make a 180-degree-turnaround two-handed heave from 65 feet away over and over without ever making it once. Houston? He's a 35% shooter from three-point range, and a lot of his attempts have come from the corner. In other words, he's a good bet for NPU to win the game with that shot at 00:06 of the first overtime.

In other words, North Park was just as capable of winning that game before the end of the third overtime as UWSP was, if not more.

Greg, what are free throws if not an opportunity to ice the game?

UWSP was up 7 with 3:12 to go in regulation.
Up 6 with 2:09, up 4 with 1:59, up 6 with 1:11
After letting up a 3 and turning it over, still up 1 with 0:54 left. down to :31.7, UWSP was on the line with two free throws. And Miron missed BOTH (from the description... the vid was showing the wrong side of the court). And with it tied with 11 seconds left, SP STILL had an opportunity to score to win. Again, the video wasn't showing the UWSP end of the court, so I don't know what happened down on that end. So, that's at least two opportunities by UWSP at the end of regulation (FT's, to go up 3, and the ball with the score tied).

First OT
UWSP missed 5/6 FTs in the first OT. Point rebounded the second miss and still scored, but getting FT's is one way to ice the game.  Plus a half-court heave. Realistic or not, it was a chance.

Second OT
1/2 FT's for the 2nd OT. up 1 with :28 left in the 2nd OT.

Third OT
2/4 FT's in the final :18 of 3rd OT.

So let's count JUST the missed FT's.
2 in Regulation (0/2)
5 in OT #1 (3/8)
1 in OT #2 (1/2)
2 in OT #3 (8/10)

12/22 from the line. 10 missed FT's in the final two minutes of regulation and three 5-minute OT periods. I'd say those were opportunities to ice the game that were missed.


I don't want to take anything away from North Park in that game. They made the plays to win. But, they were given opportunity after opportunity by things within UWSP's control, on TOP of having some chances while the clock was running.

That goes both ways, though; I've already pointed out Vanlandingham's FT miss at the end of regulation that would've given the Vikings the chance to go ahead with eight seconds left. And the Vikings turned the ball over three times in the last 2:03 of the first overtime, the first three coming when they were ahead and thus could've augmented their lead. Instead, UWSP tied it both times after the NPU turnovers. I even commented at the time about NPU's missed opportunities to add to the lead in my call of the game. The third time NPU turned it over in the last 2:03 was when Vuckovic lost the ball after grabbing that final rebound off of Houston's miss from the left corner, depriving the Vikings of the chance to win it in the final two seconds via a putback bunny.

And the Baumgartner toss wasn't a "half-court heave." It was from well beyond half-court; he launched from a good three feet behind the volleyball attack line, which is ten feet from the center line, so it was from about a 60-foot distance from the basket and well off to the left -- and, again, he was completing a full 180-degree spin when he raised his arms and launched it.

I've seen plenty of successful half-court heaves before. I even made one once in a shooting contest and won $80 (the first, and last, time I will ever have success with a basketball in my hands ) . I know what's makeable and what's a miracle. And if it he had hit that shot it would've pegging the miracle-o-meter in the red. If you're going to insist that that was a chance, you're forcing me to go Lloyd Christmas on you:



 

Wonder if this Sager guy paid his taxes on the $80 ? 

[Greek Tragedy]

The WIAC is pretty good.

https://d3datacast.com/npi/

6 teams in the tournament if it started today.

https://masseyratings.com/cb2026/14654

6 teams in the top 25.

I'm wondering when the WIAC will get some love in the poll...

LAX - 8-1 (#3 in the poll) They'll likely drop after losing to Augustana but they started the year at #7
EC - 11-0 (#20 in the poll) This one seems a bit suspect to me, honestly. They've played exactly 1 team in the Massey top 100 (North Park) and only 4 in the top 200.
SP - 9-1 No poll points. They've gotten a few votes in recent polls, haven't been ranked all year
WW - 9-1 No poll points. They got a few preseason votes, haven't been ranked all year
Osh - 8-2 7 poll points, were ranked as high as #17 in week #2
UWP - 6-3 No poll points. Preseason #17

To be honest, I don't care if they don't get any love in the poll. It's a fun thing to look at. Obviously, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the NPI. So, really, that's the only thing I look at. I don't understand how Massey works, let alone the NPI. It is interesting how Eau Claire has the #11 rating but has an SOS of 249. I guess because they've won all their games? But then they are #22 (Pool C 10 of 21) in the NPI.

A few games left in the non-conference season before things ramp up after the new year. I'm cautiously optimistic for the Pointers. Last year, they knocked off the #1 team at the time, Trine, and also beat CNU before losing at the end to RMC. But the wheels fell off in conference play and they missed the tournament. They had a great weekend in Texas and barring a complete meltdown vs Lakeland, they should enter conference play with another 10-1 non-conference record.

The WIAC looks even better than last year with Eau Claire, Whitewater, Oshkosh and even Platteville playing well, along with frontrunner La Crosse, heading into the conference season.

[Gregory Sager]

I don't know how many of the poll's voters take Massey seriously, but I'm willing to bet that of those who do the majority don't give it a ton of credence until after New Year's Day. By that time non-conference play is largely finished. But, more importantly, each of the 409 teams in D3 MBB have played enough games by then to flush out most, if not all, of the data artifacts carried over from 2024-25 from the team's dataset that Ken Massey's algorithm measures. In other words, after New Year's Day almost all of the stuff that Ken's computer is measuring is stuff from the current season.

My guess is that in early January the voters who use Massey are going to let out a big "Wow!" when they look at the high ratings of the WIAC as a whole -- right now, six of the eight WIAC teams are in Massey's top 25 -- and will fill out their ballots accordingly.

[ChickenHoops]

I don't know how many of the poll's voters take Massey seriously, but I'm willing to bet that of those who do the majority don't give it a ton of credence until after New Year's Day. By that time non-conference play is largely finished. But, more importantly, each of the 409 teams in D3 MBB have played enough games by then to flush out most, if not all, of the data artifacts carried over from 2024-25 from the team's dataset that Ken Massey's algorithm measures. In other words, after New Year's Day almost all of the stuff that Ken's computer is measuring is stuff from the current season.

My guess is that in early January the voters who use Massey are going to let out a big "Wow!" when they look at the high ratings of the WIAC as a whole -- right now, six of the eight WIAC teams are in Massey's top 25 -- and will fill out their ballots accordingly.

Interesting.  I think Eau Claire has had a cupcake schedule and I have reasons to believe that Stevens Point is just not as good as they may appear. Oshkosh is a hard one to consider with their revised approach, but they had good results against CCIW teams and only one bad loss to Calvin. If LaCrosse and Oshkosh are the better teams in WIAC play, and Point and Eau Claire are exposed, is the WIAC a two bid league?

You saw LaCrosse, Eau Claire and Stevens Point play North Park. Is LaCrosse much better than, and are Point and Eau Claire going to be exposed?

TIA for your view. I have time this year to watch a lot of WIAC hoops (my parents just sold the family chicken biz) and am gauging my trips accordingly.