Almost lost amid the excitement of the girls and boys high school tournaments the past 2 weeks was the continuation of college playoff action from D1 through the junior colleges. I'll start with something you didn't know.
Junior Colleges
The Anoka-Ramsey and Northland Community College women played in the NJCAA D3 tournament at Rochester. ARC lost in the 1st round to Montgomery College, MD 84-77, then won 2 games to finish in 5th place. Kelli Schramm, from Mounds View, earned all-tournament honors.
Northland also lost in the 1st round to Roxbury CC, MA 72-65, and finished 7th.
Rochester CTC played in the men's tournament in New York and lost all 3 games to finish 8th. Justyn Galloway, from Kenosha, WI, won all-tournament honors.
D3
The St. Thomas men and women are both done for the year.
The men got to the D3 semi-finals before losing to Mary Hardin-Baylor 74-67. St. Thomas led 54-40 at 10:22 of the 2nd half before ripped off a 23-8 run to take the lead at 63-62. St. Thomas led 67-66 with 36 seconds left but Hardin-Baylor hit 8 FT down the stretch.
The Tommies, rated #1 going into the post-season, finish at 30-2. Mary Hardin-Baylor plays Amherst for the national title next week.
The women got to the Sweet 16 before losing to Hope 71-61. The unranked Tommies led #2-ranked Hope 32-31 at the half and 50-49 at 8:44, but Hope put a 12-2 run on the Tommies to pull away. Hope shot 57 percent, St. Thomas just 42. The Tommies finished 24-6.
D2
The Winona State men are the last Minnesota basketball team still standing, well, this side of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They will meet #1 rated West Liberty on Thursday afternoon of this week in the Elite Eight. The Warriors defeated Mankato State 76-73 at Mankato to advance to this round of play. If Winona wins on Thursday, the semi-final is Saturday. The national championship will be played on Sunday, April 7.
Senior post Clayton Vette leads Winona with 21 ppg and 8 rebounds. Xavier Humphrey adds 11 points and 2 assists, Grant Johnson 11 points, and Taylor Cameron 10 points, 5 boards and 3 assists.
Winona is rated just #28 in the final D2 poll, but defeated #6 Mankato to advance.
Gopher Men
The men defeated UCLA 83-63 in the NCAA tournament, then lost to Florida 78-64 to finish 21-13 incluring 8-10 in the Big 10. And coach Tubby Smith was fired.
Gopher Women
Then there's the Gopher women who lost to Ball State at home in the NIT 54-51 to finish 18-14 including 7-9 in the Big 10. And coach Pam Borton was not fired.
Coaches Corner
In 6 years as Gopher coach Tubby Smith won 124 games while losing 81 (.610). In the Big 10 he went 46-62 (.426). In 10 years as Gopher coach, Coach Borton has won 189 games while losing 132 (.589). During the past 6 years she is 102-90 (.537). In the Big 10 for the past 6 years she is 45-57 (.441).
Top College Players
C- Clayton Vette, Winona State men
C- Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas men
F- Taylor Hall, Bethel men
G- Andre Hollins, Minnesota Gopher men
G- Rachel Banham, Minnesota Gopher women
2nd Team
C- Assem Marei, Mankato State men
F- Ali Wilkinson, Mankato State women
F- Annika Whiting, Concordia (St. Paul) women
G- John Nance, St. Thomas men
G- Rachel Hanson, Concordia (St. Paul) women
College Coach of the Year
1. Mike Boschee, Bemidji State men
2. Mike Leaf, Winona State men
3. John Tauer, St. Thomas men
4. Mandy Pearson, St. Mary's women
5. Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas women
Showing posts with label D3 Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D3 Men. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Meanwhile, in the college ranks....
Hey, I'm a high school basketball fan, mostly. I like college ball, don't get me wrong. But during the state tournament? Who's got the time.... Still, there's a couple days here to at least get caught up on what's been happening. And, you know about the Gopher men and women, so I'm going to get right to the stuff you might not know about.
Division 2 Men
Mankato State--er, Minnesota State Mankato--and Winona State are 2 of 4 NSIC teams invited to the D2 dance. They plus Augustana and Upper Iowa all played in the Central Region tournament at Mankato. Mankato and Winona are still playing.
Mankato beat Arkansas Tech 81-65 and Harding 86-65 over the weekend. Meanwhile, Augustana took out Upper Iowa 79-65 while Winona beat Northeastern State 70-57, then Winona knocked out Augustana 77-65.
As a result, Mankato and Winona play tonight at Mankato to advance to the D2 Elite Eight.
Jarvis Williams scored 19 and 16 points in Mankato's 2 wins, and the Mavericks shot 50 and 57 percent in the 2 games. Clayton Vette scored 18 for Winona in its 1st win, Taylor Cameron a career high 25 in the 2nd. Against Augustana, Winona shot 70 percent in the 1st half to take a lead of as many as 22 points.
Mankato is 28-4, Winona 26-7 going into tonight's region final.
Division 2 Women
Minnesota women fared less well but Augustana of the NSIC won 3 games, eliminating Concordia (St. Paul) along the way, to advance to the Elite 8. Augie defeated CSP 78-66 though the Golden Bears shot 45 percent from the floor. It was the 1st time all year that Augustana has allowed a team to shoot better than 40 percent. Augie used a 17-0 streak late in the 1st half to take control.
Mankato lost to Emporia State 69-67 to finish at 26-6, then Augustana defeated Emporia 75-74. Augie will play Clayton State next weekend in the Elite 8.
Division 3
Meanwhile, St. Thomas stayed alive in its effort to repeat its national D3 title of 2 years ago. The Tommies had to survive a substantial threat from Calvin, winning 63-62 as Calvin missed a potential game-winner with about 5 seconds left to play. St. Thomas, the nation's top D3 shooting team at .527, shot .524 against the nation's #2 FG defense (.364), but made only 9-of-22 FT.
The #1 ranked Tommies move on the the Elite 8 where they will play #8 Williams on Friday. 4 Friday winners will play again on Saturday, and those winners will play for the D3 title on April 7. This is the tommies 3rd trip to the Elite 8 in 5 years (2009, 2011).
Earlier the St. Thomas women also defeated Calvin (at Calvin) by 2 points in an NCAA D3 game, and the Tommie women also defeated Calvin for the D3 volleyball title last fall.
Division 2 Men
Mankato State--er, Minnesota State Mankato--and Winona State are 2 of 4 NSIC teams invited to the D2 dance. They plus Augustana and Upper Iowa all played in the Central Region tournament at Mankato. Mankato and Winona are still playing.
Mankato beat Arkansas Tech 81-65 and Harding 86-65 over the weekend. Meanwhile, Augustana took out Upper Iowa 79-65 while Winona beat Northeastern State 70-57, then Winona knocked out Augustana 77-65.
As a result, Mankato and Winona play tonight at Mankato to advance to the D2 Elite Eight.
Jarvis Williams scored 19 and 16 points in Mankato's 2 wins, and the Mavericks shot 50 and 57 percent in the 2 games. Clayton Vette scored 18 for Winona in its 1st win, Taylor Cameron a career high 25 in the 2nd. Against Augustana, Winona shot 70 percent in the 1st half to take a lead of as many as 22 points.
Mankato is 28-4, Winona 26-7 going into tonight's region final.
Division 2 Women
Minnesota women fared less well but Augustana of the NSIC won 3 games, eliminating Concordia (St. Paul) along the way, to advance to the Elite 8. Augie defeated CSP 78-66 though the Golden Bears shot 45 percent from the floor. It was the 1st time all year that Augustana has allowed a team to shoot better than 40 percent. Augie used a 17-0 streak late in the 1st half to take control.
Mankato lost to Emporia State 69-67 to finish at 26-6, then Augustana defeated Emporia 75-74. Augie will play Clayton State next weekend in the Elite 8.
Division 3
Meanwhile, St. Thomas stayed alive in its effort to repeat its national D3 title of 2 years ago. The Tommies had to survive a substantial threat from Calvin, winning 63-62 as Calvin missed a potential game-winner with about 5 seconds left to play. St. Thomas, the nation's top D3 shooting team at .527, shot .524 against the nation's #2 FG defense (.364), but made only 9-of-22 FT.
The #1 ranked Tommies move on the the Elite 8 where they will play #8 Williams on Friday. 4 Friday winners will play again on Saturday, and those winners will play for the D3 title on April 7. This is the tommies 3rd trip to the Elite 8 in 5 years (2009, 2011).
Earlier the St. Thomas women also defeated Calvin (at Calvin) by 2 points in an NCAA D3 game, and the Tommie women also defeated Calvin for the D3 volleyball title last fall.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
5 Minnesota Teams in D3 Tournament
5 Minnesota teams--3 women's and 2 men's, and 3 MIAC and 2 UMAC--have been selected to play in the 2 (men's and women's) 64 team NCAA D3 championship tournaments. Those teams are:
The Men
• The St. Thomas men are 26-1 and rated #1 nationally, so they'll open at home against Aurora (22-6).
• Northwestern (Roseville) men, regular and post-season champs of the UMAC, 21-6 and unrated. They will open at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Pointer men are 21-5 and #14 nationally.
As long as the Tommies are victorious they should retain the home court (until the quarter-finals, anyway) while St. Scholastica seems destined to stay on the road as long as they keep winning.
The Women
• Concordia (Moorhead) women, regular season champions of the MIAC at 19-3, go into the NCAA tournament 21-6 overall. They are the only at-large selection among the 5. They too will open at Wisconsin-Stevens Point 23-5, #21, though on Friday versus the men's game on Saturday. The Pointers won their 6th straight WIAC playoff title by defeating regular season champion Wisconsin-Whitewater 78-71 in OT. The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of Simpson versus Westminster, MO, at Stevens Point on Saturday.
• The St. Scholastica women advance as the UMAC post-season champs, with just a 13-14 record overall. They open on Friday with Cornell (IA), 24-1 and #14, at Mount Vernon, IA, where Calvin is the host school.
• The St. Thomas women stumbled in January and therefore are 22-5 but rated just #36, and they open on the road Friday at Calvin, 23-3, #3. The 2 met in the season-opener for both schools with Calvin winning 78-72. The 2 also met for the D3 volleyball title last fall with St. Thomas winning that one, 3-2. The Calvin-St. Thomas winner will play the Cornell-St. Scholastica winner on Saturday.
Discussion
Storylines include 1) the most peculiar post-season format ever seen. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the NCAA championships, D1, D2 and D3 finals will all be held April 7 and 8 in Atlanta. That means that the men's D3 tournament will sprawl out over a 6-week period. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds are on successive Saturdays March 2, 9 and 16, all at the higher remaining seeds.
The Elite 8 and Final 4 will be played Friday and Saturday March 22 and 23 in Salem, VA. 2 winners will emerge from there, and will play for the championship TWO WEEKS LATER in Atlanta. What a stupid arrangement. 6 games in 6 weeks. The champion will be the team that can stay awake for the whole affair.
The 2nd storyline for us Minnesotans is St. Thomas, St. Thomas, St. Thomas. 1 for the men, 1 for the women and another for the obvious overkill. Can't anybody here beat these people? But now that they've advanced (and let's be honest, Concordia and St. Scholastica are not going to get the job done), let's see if they can (no, let's cheer for them to) repeat their success of 2 years ago (when the men won the national title) and a year ago (when the women made it to the Final Four).
The women, by the way, play a normal timeline. 2 games this weekend, 2 next weekend, and 2 the weekend after that, at least for the 2 finalists.
In summary, I expect the Tommies men to win a bunch of games, while the Tommies women? If they can get past Calvin, they could win a bunch, too, but NCAA did them no favors making them play the #3 team on the road in the 1st round. Still, they're playing well of late and a victory is hardly out of the question. Everybody else is probably one a done.
The Men
• The St. Thomas men are 26-1 and rated #1 nationally, so they'll open at home against Aurora (22-6).
• Northwestern (Roseville) men, regular and post-season champs of the UMAC, 21-6 and unrated. They will open at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Pointer men are 21-5 and #14 nationally.
As long as the Tommies are victorious they should retain the home court (until the quarter-finals, anyway) while St. Scholastica seems destined to stay on the road as long as they keep winning.
The Women
• Concordia (Moorhead) women, regular season champions of the MIAC at 19-3, go into the NCAA tournament 21-6 overall. They are the only at-large selection among the 5. They too will open at Wisconsin-Stevens Point 23-5, #21, though on Friday versus the men's game on Saturday. The Pointers won their 6th straight WIAC playoff title by defeating regular season champion Wisconsin-Whitewater 78-71 in OT. The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of Simpson versus Westminster, MO, at Stevens Point on Saturday.
• The St. Scholastica women advance as the UMAC post-season champs, with just a 13-14 record overall. They open on Friday with Cornell (IA), 24-1 and #14, at Mount Vernon, IA, where Calvin is the host school.
• The St. Thomas women stumbled in January and therefore are 22-5 but rated just #36, and they open on the road Friday at Calvin, 23-3, #3. The 2 met in the season-opener for both schools with Calvin winning 78-72. The 2 also met for the D3 volleyball title last fall with St. Thomas winning that one, 3-2. The Calvin-St. Thomas winner will play the Cornell-St. Scholastica winner on Saturday.
Discussion
Storylines include 1) the most peculiar post-season format ever seen. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the NCAA championships, D1, D2 and D3 finals will all be held April 7 and 8 in Atlanta. That means that the men's D3 tournament will sprawl out over a 6-week period. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds are on successive Saturdays March 2, 9 and 16, all at the higher remaining seeds.
The Elite 8 and Final 4 will be played Friday and Saturday March 22 and 23 in Salem, VA. 2 winners will emerge from there, and will play for the championship TWO WEEKS LATER in Atlanta. What a stupid arrangement. 6 games in 6 weeks. The champion will be the team that can stay awake for the whole affair.
The 2nd storyline for us Minnesotans is St. Thomas, St. Thomas, St. Thomas. 1 for the men, 1 for the women and another for the obvious overkill. Can't anybody here beat these people? But now that they've advanced (and let's be honest, Concordia and St. Scholastica are not going to get the job done), let's see if they can (no, let's cheer for them to) repeat their success of 2 years ago (when the men won the national title) and a year ago (when the women made it to the Final Four).
The women, by the way, play a normal timeline. 2 games this weekend, 2 next weekend, and 2 the weekend after that, at least for the 2 finalists.
In summary, I expect the Tommies men to win a bunch of games, while the Tommies women? If they can get past Calvin, they could win a bunch, too, but NCAA did them no favors making them play the #3 team on the road in the 1st round. Still, they're playing well of late and a victory is hardly out of the question. Everybody else is probably one a done.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The Big Game Feb. 24--St. Thomas men 92 Augsburg 65
The Augsburg men made a game of it for a half and, based on the kind of season St. Thomas has had, that is about all one could expect. And so, leading 35-32 late in the 1st half, the Auggies watched the Tommies hit 3 3s down the stretch for a 41-35 halftime lead. And, then, St. Thomas dominated the 2nd half 51-30 for an easy 92-65 win.
Leading 44-38 early in the 2nd, St. Thomas put it away with a 16-5 spurt. Suddenly it was 60-43. Game over.
And make no mistake, Augsburg played pretty well--shot 44 percent, committed just 10 turnovers, scored 13 2nd chance points. But, seriously, St. Thomas is not 26-1, rated #1 in the nation for no reason. The Tommies out-did the Auggies every which way--shot 58 percent and 60 percent (12-of-20) on the 3s, committed just 8 turnovers, and scored 15 points off Augsburg turnovers.
Tommy Hannon scored 22 points with 6 boards for St. Thomas. Will DeBerg scored 20. John Nance scored 7 but added 9 boards and 2 blocks, Zach Reidemann scored just 6 but added 7 assists and 3 steals. Noah Kaiser scored just 4 but added 5 assists.
Augburg was led by Dan Kornbaum with 20 points and 10 boards, Andy Seidlitz with 13, 5 boards and 8 assists, and Parker Hines with 10, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Player of the Day: Hannon
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas
Leading 44-38 early in the 2nd, St. Thomas put it away with a 16-5 spurt. Suddenly it was 60-43. Game over.
And make no mistake, Augsburg played pretty well--shot 44 percent, committed just 10 turnovers, scored 13 2nd chance points. But, seriously, St. Thomas is not 26-1, rated #1 in the nation for no reason. The Tommies out-did the Auggies every which way--shot 58 percent and 60 percent (12-of-20) on the 3s, committed just 8 turnovers, and scored 15 points off Augsburg turnovers.
Tommy Hannon scored 22 points with 6 boards for St. Thomas. Will DeBerg scored 20. John Nance scored 7 but added 9 boards and 2 blocks, Zach Reidemann scored just 6 but added 7 assists and 3 steals. Noah Kaiser scored just 4 but added 5 assists.
Augburg was led by Dan Kornbaum with 20 points and 10 boards, Andy Seidlitz with 13, 5 boards and 8 assists, and Parker Hines with 10, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Player of the Day: Hannon
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Big Game Feb. 22--MIAC Men's Finals Set
Finally there's an upset in the MIAC playoffs, as the Augsburg men win at Concortdia 76-67. They'll visit top seed St. Thomas Sunday at 2 p.m. for the post-season title. The Tommies defeated Carleton 70-57.
Both games took a dramatic turn late. Carleton and St. Thomas were 57-all at 4:32, but the Tommies closed it out on a 13-0 run. Scott Thiesen was a 1-man gang for the Knights with 31 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Augsburg led Concordia by 14 late, but the Cobbers put on a 14-2 run to get within 2 at 1:23. But Concordia missed a tying 3 pointer and that's where the rally ended. Dan Kornbaum had 18 points and 9 boards for Augsburg, while Dewon McKenzie of Concordia had 18 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.
Player of the Day: Thiesen
Coach of the Day: Ted Critchley of the Roseville boys who clobbered Woodbury 74-52 in a revenge game.
Both games took a dramatic turn late. Carleton and St. Thomas were 57-all at 4:32, but the Tommies closed it out on a 13-0 run. Scott Thiesen was a 1-man gang for the Knights with 31 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Augsburg led Concordia by 14 late, but the Cobbers put on a 14-2 run to get within 2 at 1:23. But Concordia missed a tying 3 pointer and that's where the rally ended. Dan Kornbaum had 18 points and 9 boards for Augsburg, while Dewon McKenzie of Concordia had 18 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.
Player of the Day: Thiesen
Coach of the Day: Ted Critchley of the Roseville boys who clobbered Woodbury 74-52 in a revenge game.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Big Game Feb. 20--Northwestern (Roseville) Splits UMAC Playoffs
Northwestern (Roseville) hosted not 1 but 2 UMAC playoffs Wednesday night. The women hosted Martin Luther at 5:30 and the men Minnesota-Morris at 7:30. The result was, well, near disaster.
The women fell behind by 10 early in the 2nd, clawed back to within 51-49, then fell behind by 15 with just 2 minutes remaining. The game, or at least the 2nd half, was not as close as the 78-72 final.
The men followed by falling behind 41-27 then 47-38 at the half. It looked like a bad night for Northwestern. But the men roared back to take a 49-48 lead early in the 2nd half, and even pulled ahead by 10, 66-56, at the 10 minute mark. Now it was UMM that roared back to tie at 76. But Wade Chitwood and Tom Gisler scored the next 5 points and Northwestern never again trailed. Even so, Steve Birman of UMM launched a 3 with 8 seconds remaining that would have tied the game, but missed. Brendan Foss grabbed the rebound but UMM was unable to get off another shot.
Player of the Day: The top players both excelled in a losing cause. Mollie Sir of Northwestern scored 27 points with 9 assists and 2 steals, while Foss of UMM scored 19 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.
Coaches of the Day: Here I'm gonna pick Aaron Greiss, Augsburg men, and Guy Kalland, Carleton men, winners of tonight's MIAC playoffs. Augsburg led most of the way in beating St. John's 74-67. Carleton edged Bethel 48-43, after blowing a 25-13 (!) half-time lead and trailed 39-35 with 4:12 to go. Taylor Hall of Bethel ended his career as the top MIAC scorer on the night with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
The women fell behind by 10 early in the 2nd, clawed back to within 51-49, then fell behind by 15 with just 2 minutes remaining. The game, or at least the 2nd half, was not as close as the 78-72 final.
The men followed by falling behind 41-27 then 47-38 at the half. It looked like a bad night for Northwestern. But the men roared back to take a 49-48 lead early in the 2nd half, and even pulled ahead by 10, 66-56, at the 10 minute mark. Now it was UMM that roared back to tie at 76. But Wade Chitwood and Tom Gisler scored the next 5 points and Northwestern never again trailed. Even so, Steve Birman of UMM launched a 3 with 8 seconds remaining that would have tied the game, but missed. Brendan Foss grabbed the rebound but UMM was unable to get off another shot.
Player of the Day: The top players both excelled in a losing cause. Mollie Sir of Northwestern scored 27 points with 9 assists and 2 steals, while Foss of UMM scored 19 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.
Coaches of the Day: Here I'm gonna pick Aaron Greiss, Augsburg men, and Guy Kalland, Carleton men, winners of tonight's MIAC playoffs. Augsburg led most of the way in beating St. John's 74-67. Carleton edged Bethel 48-43, after blowing a 25-13 (!) half-time lead and trailed 39-35 with 4:12 to go. Taylor Hall of Bethel ended his career as the top MIAC scorer on the night with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
MIAC Playoff Preview
It has been in many ways a remarkable MIAC season, especially for the women. Concordia won its 1st regular season title since 1990. St. Mary's, in 3rd at 18-4, has in both respects had its best season since 1986. Hamline at 14-8 also has won the most conference games since 1986.
Among the men, this is the 1st time Gustavus has ever missed the post-season playoffs (which were 1st held in 2001). It is also the 1st time Gustavus has finished outside of the top 6 in the regular season standings (6 teams make the MIAC post-season playoffs) since 1984.
Da Men
In fact, half of the men's playoff teams were not in the top 6 in the coach's pre-season poll. St. Olaf, picked to finish 2nd, dropped all the way down to 8th at 8-12, and Gustavus, picked 5th, and Hamline, picked 6th, also missed out. Bethel and St. John's, tied for 7th in the pre-season poll, and Concordia all fought their way into the playoffs. The Cobbers utterly baffled their opposing coaches--picked to finish 9th, they instead finished in 2nd place. Hamline's season was wrecked by a legal problem that led to the departure of coach Nelson Whitmore.
Modesty does not prevent me from pointing out that I had Gustavus and St. Olaf out of the playoffs in my pre-season forecast, but I also had Augsburg and St. John's out. Still, I had 4 of 6 right versus the coach's 3 of 6. And how the coaches could have had Concordia 9th...I had 'em 2nd and that's where they now sit, and that makes Rich Glas coach of the year. But enough gloating, here's how the playoffs match up.
1st Round Wednesday Feb. 20
#6 St. John's 12-13 at #3 Augsburg 19-6
#5 Bethel 15-10 at #4 Carleton 15-10
2nd Round Friday Feb. 22
Lowest remaining seed at #1 St. Thomas 24-1
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 Concordia (Moorhead) 18-7
Finals Sunday Feb. 24 at highest remaining seed
The obvious question is whether anybody can compete with St. Thomas, and the obvious answer probably is, No. The Tommies can score in bunches, but even if you slow 'em down, the problem is scoring some points yourself. In a close, half-court game, the Tommies' defense takes over. Center Tommy Hannon and guard John Nance are the ring-leaders there, while on offense 10 guys can score. And having home court throughout, the #1 nationally-rated Tommies look like as close to a sure thing as you'll see.
If anybody can compete it would have to be the misunderestimated Cobbers, who gave St. Thomas their only loss 54-52 in Moorhead on Jan. 21, and finished up on a 7-game winning streak. The Tommies outscored their MIAC opponents 82-60, leading the league on both ends of the court. The Cobbers are #2 on offense at 77 points per game, but give up 72. Center Jacob Huus and 3-point shooting specialist Andrew Martinson match up OK but everywhere else the Tommies defense is a deal-breaker most of the time.
But 1st Concordia will have to get by Augsburg, Carleton or Bethel. Bethel, with probable MIAC MVP Taylor Hall, could surprise. He was recently named the #3 player in all of D3 by Breitbart Sports, and #13 among all non-D1 players. He led the MIAC is points (22), boards (10) and was among the leaders in FG shooting (57 percent).
It says here that Bethel wins at Carleton, while Augsburg defeats St. John's. That means that Augsburg goes to Concordia, and that's a tough match-up for the Cobbers. Center Dan Kornbaum was right behind Hall with 18 ppg and 8 boards, and he shot 59 percent. And while almost nobody shoots 3s like Martinson, Augsburg's top 2 3-point shooters, Tyler Schmidt and Parker Hines, combined for 84 on 38 percent 3-point shooting, comparing favorably with Concordia's Martinson and Aaron Lindahl (86 on 43 percent shooting).
Still, while Augsburg beat Concordia by 5 at home, the Cobbers won by 20 in Moorhead.
So I look for Concordia and St. Thomas in the final, and the Tommies are not going to lose at home. The real question is how far St. Thomas can go nationally. Anything short of the Final Four would be a disappointment.
All-Conference
C- Dan Kornbaum, Augsburg, 6-9, junior, 18 pts, 8 reb, 59FG%, 1 blk
C- Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas, 6-8, senior, 11 pts, 6 reb, 59.5FG%
F- Taylor Hall, Bethel, 6-8, senior, 22 pts, 10 reb, 57FG%, 3 asts, 2 blks
W- Scott Theisen, Carleton, 6-6, senior, 17 pts, 7 reb, 6 asts, 2 stls
G- Ebo Nana-Kweson, Concordia, 6-4, senior, 14 pts, 3 asts, 1 blk
Da Women
The big surprise was St. Thomas finishing 2nd, 1 slot lower than predicted. I know 1 slot isn't much, but you've got to remember that the Tommies made it to the Final Four a year ago. Expectations were that high. But St. Thomas was without all-conference post Maggie Weiers all year, and all-conference forward Taylor Young started the year hurt and only came around slowly. So the Tommies lost 3 of 4 in 1 stretch in January. But they finished with 7 straight wins and Young was player of the week for the next-to-last week of the season. So despite the 2nd place finish, the Tommies look like the favorite in the post-season.
But Concordia has the home court as long as they keep winning, and they've got Trish Sorenson and Emily Thesing, both among the MIAC's top 10 scorers.
But the best story of the season is St. Mary's, returning to the playoffs for a 2nd straight year after winning just 31 games while losing 103 the previous 6 years. 6-1 bookends Courtney Eurele and Jamie Stefely lead the way, along with senior guard Jessica Thone. Coach Mandy Pearson is my choice for coach of the year.
Hamline is another good story. They are the only team not in the coach's pre-season top 6 to sneak into the playoffs (at St. Olaf's expense). Steph Pilgrim and Jordan Sammons finished #1 and #3 in conference scoring.
1st Round Tuesday Feb. 19
#6 Gustavus 15-10 at #3 St. Mary's 21-4
#5 Hamline 14-11 at #4 St. Ben's 19-6
2nd Round Thursday Feb. 21
Lowest remaining seed at #1 Concordia (Moorhead) 20-5
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 St. Thomas 20-5
Finals Saturday Feb. 23 at highest remaining seed
Gustavus will give St. Mary's a scare. An interesting sidebar there is the reunion of Gustavus guard Julia Dysthe, from White Bear Lake, and Thone, from Woodbury, who were Suburban East Conference rivals. St. Ben's should win easily. That leaves St. Ben's to go to Concordia and St. Mary's to St. Thomas. I'll take St. Ben's in a surprise, then St. Thomas over St. Ben's in the final.
All-Conference
C- Rachel Parupsky, Bethel, 6-2, freshman, 16 pts, 9 reb, 4.5 blks
C- Abby Rothenbuhler, Gustavus, 6-2, senior, 12 pts, 8 reb, 2 blks
F- Trish Sorenson, Concordia, 5-11, senior, 14 pts, 7 reb
G- Jordan Sammons, Hamline, 5-8, sophomore, 15 pts, 8 reb, 3 stls
G- Jessica Thone, St. Mary's, 5-8, senior, 12 pts, 4 asts, 2 stls
Among the men, this is the 1st time Gustavus has ever missed the post-season playoffs (which were 1st held in 2001). It is also the 1st time Gustavus has finished outside of the top 6 in the regular season standings (6 teams make the MIAC post-season playoffs) since 1984.
Da Men
In fact, half of the men's playoff teams were not in the top 6 in the coach's pre-season poll. St. Olaf, picked to finish 2nd, dropped all the way down to 8th at 8-12, and Gustavus, picked 5th, and Hamline, picked 6th, also missed out. Bethel and St. John's, tied for 7th in the pre-season poll, and Concordia all fought their way into the playoffs. The Cobbers utterly baffled their opposing coaches--picked to finish 9th, they instead finished in 2nd place. Hamline's season was wrecked by a legal problem that led to the departure of coach Nelson Whitmore.
Modesty does not prevent me from pointing out that I had Gustavus and St. Olaf out of the playoffs in my pre-season forecast, but I also had Augsburg and St. John's out. Still, I had 4 of 6 right versus the coach's 3 of 6. And how the coaches could have had Concordia 9th...I had 'em 2nd and that's where they now sit, and that makes Rich Glas coach of the year. But enough gloating, here's how the playoffs match up.
1st Round Wednesday Feb. 20
#6 St. John's 12-13 at #3 Augsburg 19-6
#5 Bethel 15-10 at #4 Carleton 15-10
2nd Round Friday Feb. 22
Lowest remaining seed at #1 St. Thomas 24-1
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 Concordia (Moorhead) 18-7
Finals Sunday Feb. 24 at highest remaining seed
The obvious question is whether anybody can compete with St. Thomas, and the obvious answer probably is, No. The Tommies can score in bunches, but even if you slow 'em down, the problem is scoring some points yourself. In a close, half-court game, the Tommies' defense takes over. Center Tommy Hannon and guard John Nance are the ring-leaders there, while on offense 10 guys can score. And having home court throughout, the #1 nationally-rated Tommies look like as close to a sure thing as you'll see.
If anybody can compete it would have to be the misunderestimated Cobbers, who gave St. Thomas their only loss 54-52 in Moorhead on Jan. 21, and finished up on a 7-game winning streak. The Tommies outscored their MIAC opponents 82-60, leading the league on both ends of the court. The Cobbers are #2 on offense at 77 points per game, but give up 72. Center Jacob Huus and 3-point shooting specialist Andrew Martinson match up OK but everywhere else the Tommies defense is a deal-breaker most of the time.
But 1st Concordia will have to get by Augsburg, Carleton or Bethel. Bethel, with probable MIAC MVP Taylor Hall, could surprise. He was recently named the #3 player in all of D3 by Breitbart Sports, and #13 among all non-D1 players. He led the MIAC is points (22), boards (10) and was among the leaders in FG shooting (57 percent).
It says here that Bethel wins at Carleton, while Augsburg defeats St. John's. That means that Augsburg goes to Concordia, and that's a tough match-up for the Cobbers. Center Dan Kornbaum was right behind Hall with 18 ppg and 8 boards, and he shot 59 percent. And while almost nobody shoots 3s like Martinson, Augsburg's top 2 3-point shooters, Tyler Schmidt and Parker Hines, combined for 84 on 38 percent 3-point shooting, comparing favorably with Concordia's Martinson and Aaron Lindahl (86 on 43 percent shooting).
Still, while Augsburg beat Concordia by 5 at home, the Cobbers won by 20 in Moorhead.
So I look for Concordia and St. Thomas in the final, and the Tommies are not going to lose at home. The real question is how far St. Thomas can go nationally. Anything short of the Final Four would be a disappointment.
All-Conference
C- Dan Kornbaum, Augsburg, 6-9, junior, 18 pts, 8 reb, 59FG%, 1 blk
C- Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas, 6-8, senior, 11 pts, 6 reb, 59.5FG%
F- Taylor Hall, Bethel, 6-8, senior, 22 pts, 10 reb, 57FG%, 3 asts, 2 blks
W- Scott Theisen, Carleton, 6-6, senior, 17 pts, 7 reb, 6 asts, 2 stls
G- Ebo Nana-Kweson, Concordia, 6-4, senior, 14 pts, 3 asts, 1 blk
Da Women
The big surprise was St. Thomas finishing 2nd, 1 slot lower than predicted. I know 1 slot isn't much, but you've got to remember that the Tommies made it to the Final Four a year ago. Expectations were that high. But St. Thomas was without all-conference post Maggie Weiers all year, and all-conference forward Taylor Young started the year hurt and only came around slowly. So the Tommies lost 3 of 4 in 1 stretch in January. But they finished with 7 straight wins and Young was player of the week for the next-to-last week of the season. So despite the 2nd place finish, the Tommies look like the favorite in the post-season.
But Concordia has the home court as long as they keep winning, and they've got Trish Sorenson and Emily Thesing, both among the MIAC's top 10 scorers.
But the best story of the season is St. Mary's, returning to the playoffs for a 2nd straight year after winning just 31 games while losing 103 the previous 6 years. 6-1 bookends Courtney Eurele and Jamie Stefely lead the way, along with senior guard Jessica Thone. Coach Mandy Pearson is my choice for coach of the year.
Hamline is another good story. They are the only team not in the coach's pre-season top 6 to sneak into the playoffs (at St. Olaf's expense). Steph Pilgrim and Jordan Sammons finished #1 and #3 in conference scoring.
1st Round Tuesday Feb. 19
#6 Gustavus 15-10 at #3 St. Mary's 21-4
#5 Hamline 14-11 at #4 St. Ben's 19-6
2nd Round Thursday Feb. 21
Lowest remaining seed at #1 Concordia (Moorhead) 20-5
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 St. Thomas 20-5
Finals Saturday Feb. 23 at highest remaining seed
Gustavus will give St. Mary's a scare. An interesting sidebar there is the reunion of Gustavus guard Julia Dysthe, from White Bear Lake, and Thone, from Woodbury, who were Suburban East Conference rivals. St. Ben's should win easily. That leaves St. Ben's to go to Concordia and St. Mary's to St. Thomas. I'll take St. Ben's in a surprise, then St. Thomas over St. Ben's in the final.
All-Conference
C- Rachel Parupsky, Bethel, 6-2, freshman, 16 pts, 9 reb, 4.5 blks
C- Abby Rothenbuhler, Gustavus, 6-2, senior, 12 pts, 8 reb, 2 blks
F- Trish Sorenson, Concordia, 5-11, senior, 14 pts, 7 reb
G- Jordan Sammons, Hamline, 5-8, sophomore, 15 pts, 8 reb, 3 stls
G- Jessica Thone, St. Mary's, 5-8, senior, 12 pts, 4 asts, 2 stls
The Big Game Sat. Feb. 16--MIAC Playoff MatchUps Set
Hard to believe that for half of MIAC teams the basketball season is now over. 6 men's and 6 women's teams advance to the post-season and we now know who they are and where they'll go.
The 2 biggest games of the day were wins by the Hamline women and the Bethel men. Hamline jumped from #6 to #5 as a result of their win, while Bethel leapfrogged Gustavus for the final spot in the men's field with their win (though they too ended up with the #5 seed due to a tie-breaker).
The Hamline women won at Carleton 66-60 in OT as Steph Pilgrim scored 22 points to win the MIAC individual scoring title. Jordan Sammons added 18 and finished 3rd. Pilgrim made 6-of-6 throws in OT, and added 9 boards. Sammons scored 4 points in OT.
The Bethel men edged Macalester 77-60 while Gustavus was losing at Concordia 65-49. The Gusties, Bethel and St. John's all finished 11-9 and Gustavus was odd man out on about the 7th tie-breaker. Taylor Hall had 17 points and 15 boards for Bethel.
As a result of Saturday's action, the playoffs are as follows:
Women
1st Round Tuesday Feb. 19
#6 Gustavus 15-10 at #3 St. Mary's 21-4
#5 Hamline 14-11 at #4 St. Ben's 19-6
2nd Round Thursday Feb. 21
Lowest remaining seed at #1 Concordia (Moorhead) 20-5
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 St. Thomas 20-5
Finals Saturday Feb. 23 at highest remaining seed
Men
1st Round Wednesday Feb. 20
#6 St. John's 12-13 at #3 Augsburg 19-6
#5 Bethel 15-10 at #4 Carleton 15-10
2nd Round Friday Feb. 22
Lowest remaining seed at #1 St. Thomas 24-1
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 Concordia (Moorhead) 18-7
Finals Sunday Feb. 24 at highest remaining seed
Players of the Day: Steph Pilgrim, Hamline women, and Taylor Hall, Bethel men
Coach of the Day: Kerri Stockwell, Hamline women
The 2 biggest games of the day were wins by the Hamline women and the Bethel men. Hamline jumped from #6 to #5 as a result of their win, while Bethel leapfrogged Gustavus for the final spot in the men's field with their win (though they too ended up with the #5 seed due to a tie-breaker).
The Hamline women won at Carleton 66-60 in OT as Steph Pilgrim scored 22 points to win the MIAC individual scoring title. Jordan Sammons added 18 and finished 3rd. Pilgrim made 6-of-6 throws in OT, and added 9 boards. Sammons scored 4 points in OT.
The Bethel men edged Macalester 77-60 while Gustavus was losing at Concordia 65-49. The Gusties, Bethel and St. John's all finished 11-9 and Gustavus was odd man out on about the 7th tie-breaker. Taylor Hall had 17 points and 15 boards for Bethel.
As a result of Saturday's action, the playoffs are as follows:
Women
1st Round Tuesday Feb. 19
#6 Gustavus 15-10 at #3 St. Mary's 21-4
#5 Hamline 14-11 at #4 St. Ben's 19-6
2nd Round Thursday Feb. 21
Lowest remaining seed at #1 Concordia (Moorhead) 20-5
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 St. Thomas 20-5
Finals Saturday Feb. 23 at highest remaining seed
Men
1st Round Wednesday Feb. 20
#6 St. John's 12-13 at #3 Augsburg 19-6
#5 Bethel 15-10 at #4 Carleton 15-10
2nd Round Friday Feb. 22
Lowest remaining seed at #1 St. Thomas 24-1
Second lowest remaining seed at #2 Concordia (Moorhead) 18-7
Finals Sunday Feb. 24 at highest remaining seed
Players of the Day: Steph Pilgrim, Hamline women, and Taylor Hall, Bethel men
Coach of the Day: Kerri Stockwell, Hamline women
Monday, February 4, 2013
The Big Game Feb. 4--Augsburg men 106 St. John's 87
Augsburg had 6 players score in double figures in pulling away from St. John's to a high-scoring win 106-87. Dan Kornbaum led the way with 27 points, 5 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. As a result, Augsburg held on to 3rd place in the MIAC. A loss would have moved St. John's into 3rd place.
Player of the Day: Kornbaum
Coach of the Day: Aaron Greiss, Augsburg men
Team and Game of the Day: Augsburg and Augsburg 106-87 over the Johnnies
Player of the Day: Kornbaum
Coach of the Day: Aaron Greiss, Augsburg men
Team and Game of the Day: Augsburg and Augsburg 106-87 over the Johnnies
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Big Game Feb. 2--Alex Illikainen and Grand Rapids 74 Forest Lake 73
How do you beat the best big man in Minnesota? How about shooting 20-for-34 from behind the 3-point line? Would that do the trick? Ya think?
Well, it would have been good enough today. But, unfortunately, Forest Lake "only" made 19-of-34 3s and fell to Grand Rapids 74-73 on an Alex Illikainen FT with 0:08 remaining. It was his 31st point of the day on 14-of-20 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks and an assist.
And, yet, Illikainen was pretty much overshadowed by the best 3-point shooting exhibition I think I've ever seen. Forest Lake hit 19-of-34 3s, 9-of-15 in the 1st half and 10-of-19 in the 2nd, according to my unofficial numbers. 6-6 senior forward Noah Davis was the chief bombardier at 7-of-11, while junior guard Matt Degendorfer was 5-of-10 and senior guard Brock Baumgartner was an unlikely 4-of-4. Sophomore guard Connor Knutson was 2-of-6 and senior guard Wyatt Lawson 1-for-3.
At one time in the 1st half the score was tied at 21-21, and the Rangers' 21 points had all come on 3s (7-of-8 at that point). Its 1st 2-pointer, by Knutson, came at 7:56 of the 1st half. Degendorfer followed with another 2 and then 2 more 3s to close out the 1st half. The Thunderhawks led 35-31 behind Illikainen's 16 points, while Forest Lake had 9 3s and a pair of 2s.
Forest Lake missed its 1st 6 shots of the 2nd half and fell behind 41-31, then trailed 48-36 at 10:58 before regaining the touch. Inside of 9 minutes, the Rangers hit 7-of-8 3s, 5 of them by Davis, but Grand Rapids scored on 12-of-15 possessions, so all those 3s just tied it up at 73. Actually it was a put-back by Anthony Tyler on a missed 3 by Davis at :13 that finally got Forest Lake back to square.
But the Thunderhawks got a long ball to Illikainen against full court pressure. Davis fouled him, and Illikainen made 1-of-2. A Davis 3 clanked off the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
Player of the Day: Illikainen 31 points 7 boards, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 1 assist
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas, who beat 2nd place Augsburg 80-60 to go 15-1 in the MIAC
Honorable Mention: To the genius who put together the match-ups at the MN-WI Border Battle that resulted in (so far) 6 MN wins in 6 games by a average margin of 72-48. (The Apple Valley finale not yet complete.)
Well, it would have been good enough today. But, unfortunately, Forest Lake "only" made 19-of-34 3s and fell to Grand Rapids 74-73 on an Alex Illikainen FT with 0:08 remaining. It was his 31st point of the day on 14-of-20 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks and an assist.
And, yet, Illikainen was pretty much overshadowed by the best 3-point shooting exhibition I think I've ever seen. Forest Lake hit 19-of-34 3s, 9-of-15 in the 1st half and 10-of-19 in the 2nd, according to my unofficial numbers. 6-6 senior forward Noah Davis was the chief bombardier at 7-of-11, while junior guard Matt Degendorfer was 5-of-10 and senior guard Brock Baumgartner was an unlikely 4-of-4. Sophomore guard Connor Knutson was 2-of-6 and senior guard Wyatt Lawson 1-for-3.
At one time in the 1st half the score was tied at 21-21, and the Rangers' 21 points had all come on 3s (7-of-8 at that point). Its 1st 2-pointer, by Knutson, came at 7:56 of the 1st half. Degendorfer followed with another 2 and then 2 more 3s to close out the 1st half. The Thunderhawks led 35-31 behind Illikainen's 16 points, while Forest Lake had 9 3s and a pair of 2s.
Forest Lake missed its 1st 6 shots of the 2nd half and fell behind 41-31, then trailed 48-36 at 10:58 before regaining the touch. Inside of 9 minutes, the Rangers hit 7-of-8 3s, 5 of them by Davis, but Grand Rapids scored on 12-of-15 possessions, so all those 3s just tied it up at 73. Actually it was a put-back by Anthony Tyler on a missed 3 by Davis at :13 that finally got Forest Lake back to square.
But the Thunderhawks got a long ball to Illikainen against full court pressure. Davis fouled him, and Illikainen made 1-of-2. A Davis 3 clanked off the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
Player of the Day: Illikainen 31 points 7 boards, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 1 assist
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas, who beat 2nd place Augsburg 80-60 to go 15-1 in the MIAC
Honorable Mention: To the genius who put together the match-ups at the MN-WI Border Battle that resulted in (so far) 6 MN wins in 6 games by a average margin of 72-48. (The Apple Valley finale not yet complete.)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Big Game Jan. 30--Wednesday means MIAC
MIAC playoffs are a mere 2 1/2 weeks away. Some MIAC teams have just 2 weeks left of their basketball seasons. (Say what?) And if the playoffs had started yesterday, the Carleton men would have snuck in at #6 and Gustavus would have been out. Meanwhile, the Hamline and St. Olaf women were tied for the 6th and final spot.
Today the Gusties men are in and Carleton is out, while Hamline has taken over sole possession of #6 among the women.
Gustavus men 82 St. Mary's 43 and St. Thomas men 74 Carleton 52
Hapless St. Mary's (now 2-12) were no match for the Gusties in St. Peter, and Carleton is no match for the awesome Tommies (14-1) anywhere. Ben Biewen contributed 13 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Gusties. John Nance led St. Thomas with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Hamline women 52 Macalester 43 and Concordia (Moorhead) women 65 St. Olaf 58
Hamline won the bragging rights to Snelling Avenue as well as a lead in the battle for the 6th and final playoff spot. Kara Poirer and Steph Pilgrim combined for 29 Piper points while Poirer added 5 assists and Pilgrim 3 blocks. Emily Thesing led 1st place Concordia with 20 points.
Sidebar: The Gustavus-St. Mary's women's game, won by host St. Mary's 65-58, matched high school rivals Julia Dysthe of White Bear Lake and Gustavus and Jessica Thone of Woodbury and St. Mary's. In 2 years of high school ball, Thone's team won 3 times while White Bear Lake won twice but including the rubber match, the Section 4 final of 2009, earning a spot in the state tournament.
Player of the Day: Steph Pilgrim, Hamline, leading scorer among MIAC women.
Coach: Mark Hanson, Gustavus
Today the Gusties men are in and Carleton is out, while Hamline has taken over sole possession of #6 among the women.
Gustavus men 82 St. Mary's 43 and St. Thomas men 74 Carleton 52
Hapless St. Mary's (now 2-12) were no match for the Gusties in St. Peter, and Carleton is no match for the awesome Tommies (14-1) anywhere. Ben Biewen contributed 13 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Gusties. John Nance led St. Thomas with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Hamline women 52 Macalester 43 and Concordia (Moorhead) women 65 St. Olaf 58
Hamline won the bragging rights to Snelling Avenue as well as a lead in the battle for the 6th and final playoff spot. Kara Poirer and Steph Pilgrim combined for 29 Piper points while Poirer added 5 assists and Pilgrim 3 blocks. Emily Thesing led 1st place Concordia with 20 points.
Sidebar: The Gustavus-St. Mary's women's game, won by host St. Mary's 65-58, matched high school rivals Julia Dysthe of White Bear Lake and Gustavus and Jessica Thone of Woodbury and St. Mary's. In 2 years of high school ball, Thone's team won 3 times while White Bear Lake won twice but including the rubber match, the Section 4 final of 2009, earning a spot in the state tournament.
Player of the Day: Steph Pilgrim, Hamline, leading scorer among MIAC women.
Coach: Mark Hanson, Gustavus
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Big Game Jan. 26--St. Thomas women on the skids
The St. Thomas women lost for the 3rd straight game (and 4th of 6) to fall into a tie for 4th place in the MIAC. These are the same Tommies who came into the season as prohibitive favorites after finishing 22-0 in the conference a year ago, 31-2 overall with 30 straight wins, and a trip to the D3 Final Four. They started this season 11-1, 9-0 in the MIAC and rated as high as #3 nationally. Suddenly St. Thomas had lost 3 games at St. Ben's, at Concordia and at St. Mary's. All 3 losses not only came on the road, but to the top 3 teams in the conference standings as of today.
Now comes a shocking loss at home to 6th place Hamline (8-7). The Pipers took an early 20-11 lead, but the Tommies came back to within 3 at the half and took the lead 38-36 at 12:13. But Hamline scored the next 13 points, 8 of them by Steph Pilgrim, and the Tommies never got closer than 8.
Each team had 13 turnovers, yet Hamline out-scored St. Thomas 19-3 on points off turnovers. The offensive boards were 18-11 Hamline and the 2nd chance points 15-8 Hamline.
Maggie Weiers remains out with an injury for St. Thomas. Taylor Young is back from early injury troubles, but fouled out with 0 points, 4 boards and 4 turnovers.
Meanwhile the top high school game of the day saw the Maranatha girls win at Upsala 70-68 despite 28 points by Upsala's Aimee Pelzer.
Player of the Day: Taylor Hall, Bethel men, 6-8, senior forward, scored 37 points and added 14 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks as Royals edged Carleton 74-73. Bethel is now 8-6 in the conference, Carleton 7-6.
The high school player of the day is Graham Woodward of Edina who scored 33 in a 78-68 win over St. Paul Johnson.
Coach of the Day: Paul Fessler, Concordia (St. Paul) women, who won their 5th straight, and took over sole possession of 1st place in the Southern Division at 11-3 as Augustana lost at Mankato State 78-73 to drop to 10-4. St. Cloud leads the North at 10-4.
The high school coaches of the day are Dave Thorson and Faith Johnson Patterson of DeLaSalle, who swept Eden Prairie 77-60 (boys) and 78-57 (girls).
Now comes a shocking loss at home to 6th place Hamline (8-7). The Pipers took an early 20-11 lead, but the Tommies came back to within 3 at the half and took the lead 38-36 at 12:13. But Hamline scored the next 13 points, 8 of them by Steph Pilgrim, and the Tommies never got closer than 8.
Each team had 13 turnovers, yet Hamline out-scored St. Thomas 19-3 on points off turnovers. The offensive boards were 18-11 Hamline and the 2nd chance points 15-8 Hamline.
Maggie Weiers remains out with an injury for St. Thomas. Taylor Young is back from early injury troubles, but fouled out with 0 points, 4 boards and 4 turnovers.
Meanwhile the top high school game of the day saw the Maranatha girls win at Upsala 70-68 despite 28 points by Upsala's Aimee Pelzer.
Player of the Day: Taylor Hall, Bethel men, 6-8, senior forward, scored 37 points and added 14 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks as Royals edged Carleton 74-73. Bethel is now 8-6 in the conference, Carleton 7-6.
The high school player of the day is Graham Woodward of Edina who scored 33 in a 78-68 win over St. Paul Johnson.
Coach of the Day: Paul Fessler, Concordia (St. Paul) women, who won their 5th straight, and took over sole possession of 1st place in the Southern Division at 11-3 as Augustana lost at Mankato State 78-73 to drop to 10-4. St. Cloud leads the North at 10-4.
The high school coaches of the day are Dave Thorson and Faith Johnson Patterson of DeLaSalle, who swept Eden Prairie 77-60 (boys) and 78-57 (girls).
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Big Games Jan. 21--Concordia Moorhead Sweeps St. Thomas
What a night to be a Concordia Cobber!
First the women knocked off the 1st place (and recently rated as highly as #3 in the nation) Tommies 69-62. But the Cobbers were just getting warmed up on this cold, below zero night.
Because then came what Concordia's news service called an "improbable" win but perhaps the biggest win in Cobber basketball history, 54-52 over the previously unbeaten and #1 ranked Tommies men. Senior guard Andrew Martinson scored 11 points, all within the space of 3 minutes in the 2nd half, as Concordia erased a 37-32 deficit with a 17-6 run.
Now leading 49-43 at 5:55, Concordia would never trail again, though the Tommies would tie it up at 52 on a Will DeBerg 3 at 1:50. But the Tommies missed their last 4 shots, and Jacob Huus hit a pair of throws at 0:29 to win it. Huus finished with 9 points, 11 boards and 4 assists.
The women followed a similar script, using a 16-4 2nd half run to turn a 39-31 deficit into a 47-43 lead. They too would never trail again though the Tommies tied it up momentarily at 47. Finally it was 63-62 at 0:42, and St. Thomas missed their last 3 shots while Tricia Sorenson and Erika Jossart scored 4 and 2 points, respectively, including 4-of-6 throws, to clinch it. Sorenson led the Cobbers with 15 points and 8 rebounds, coming off the bench for the 1st time this year after starting 15 straight games.
The Concordia women thus tied St. Thomas for 1st place in the MIAC at 11-2, just 1 game ahead of Gustavus, St. Ben's and St. Mary's. Among the men, St. Thomas remains comfortably in 1st at 11-1, 2 games ahead of Augsburg and 3 games ahead of the Cobbers. But the national #1 ranking is probably a casualty at least for the time being.
Player of the Day: Concordia's 6th players, Andrew Martinson and Tricia Sorenson.
Coach of the Day: Obviously Concordia's Rich Glas and Jessica Rahman are the obvious candidates. But I just gotta mention a 3rd really amazing game last night. #1AA boys Pelican Rapids traveled to #6AA Hawley...and lost 79-51. So Hawley's Jed Carlson is the Coach of the Day, 'cause I got no other category left to get Hawley into today's report.
First the women knocked off the 1st place (and recently rated as highly as #3 in the nation) Tommies 69-62. But the Cobbers were just getting warmed up on this cold, below zero night.
Because then came what Concordia's news service called an "improbable" win but perhaps the biggest win in Cobber basketball history, 54-52 over the previously unbeaten and #1 ranked Tommies men. Senior guard Andrew Martinson scored 11 points, all within the space of 3 minutes in the 2nd half, as Concordia erased a 37-32 deficit with a 17-6 run.
Now leading 49-43 at 5:55, Concordia would never trail again, though the Tommies would tie it up at 52 on a Will DeBerg 3 at 1:50. But the Tommies missed their last 4 shots, and Jacob Huus hit a pair of throws at 0:29 to win it. Huus finished with 9 points, 11 boards and 4 assists.
The women followed a similar script, using a 16-4 2nd half run to turn a 39-31 deficit into a 47-43 lead. They too would never trail again though the Tommies tied it up momentarily at 47. Finally it was 63-62 at 0:42, and St. Thomas missed their last 3 shots while Tricia Sorenson and Erika Jossart scored 4 and 2 points, respectively, including 4-of-6 throws, to clinch it. Sorenson led the Cobbers with 15 points and 8 rebounds, coming off the bench for the 1st time this year after starting 15 straight games.
The Concordia women thus tied St. Thomas for 1st place in the MIAC at 11-2, just 1 game ahead of Gustavus, St. Ben's and St. Mary's. Among the men, St. Thomas remains comfortably in 1st at 11-1, 2 games ahead of Augsburg and 3 games ahead of the Cobbers. But the national #1 ranking is probably a casualty at least for the time being.
Player of the Day: Concordia's 6th players, Andrew Martinson and Tricia Sorenson.
Coach of the Day: Obviously Concordia's Rich Glas and Jessica Rahman are the obvious candidates. But I just gotta mention a 3rd really amazing game last night. #1AA boys Pelican Rapids traveled to #6AA Hawley...and lost 79-51. So Hawley's Jed Carlson is the Coach of the Day, 'cause I got no other category left to get Hawley into today's report.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Big Game Jan. 16--Gustavus men surprise Augsburg 70-59
The Gustavus men surprised 2nd place Augsburg 70-59 at Augsburg Wednesday night, pulling away from a 32-all half-time tie and a 40-40 tie at the 10 minute mark. But over the next 3 minutes the Gusties ripped off a 16-2 run and never looked back. Ben Biewen, Jim Hill and Isaac Tapp each scored 2 buckets in the run, and Hill finished with team highs of 20 points and 6 boards. Biewen contributed 14 points and 8 assists.
Player of the Day: In the absence of anybody having a super killer-diller night, here's a choice based more on the body of work. Anna Smith, St. Thomas women, forward-center. She was the starting big forward anyway, but now she's moved into the pivot to cover for the injured Maggie Weiers. In her 1st year as a regular, she's become the Tommies leading scorer at 10.6 ppg and their leading rebounder with 7 per game. Last night she had 20 points and 8 boards as St. Thomas manhandled Macalester 73-44. Coach of the Day: Mark Hanson, Gustavus men.
Player of the Day: In the absence of anybody having a super killer-diller night, here's a choice based more on the body of work. Anna Smith, St. Thomas women, forward-center. She was the starting big forward anyway, but now she's moved into the pivot to cover for the injured Maggie Weiers. In her 1st year as a regular, she's become the Tommies leading scorer at 10.6 ppg and their leading rebounder with 7 per game. Last night she had 20 points and 8 boards as St. Thomas manhandled Macalester 73-44. Coach of the Day: Mark Hanson, Gustavus men.
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Big Game Mon. Jan. 14--St. Thomas men 94 St. Olaf 64
The Tommies continue to steamroller people, now St. Olaf by 30 on the Olies home court. The #2 Tommies are 10-0 in the MIAC and 15-0 overall. An unbeaten season seems likely now. Who in the MIAC is going to beat 'em?
Player of the Day: But the PoD is Taylor Hall of Bethel, who scored 28 points with 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a 78-62 win at Hamline. Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas.
Player of the Day: But the PoD is Taylor Hall of Bethel, who scored 28 points with 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a 78-62 win at Hamline. Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas.
Monday, January 7, 2013
The Big Game Monday, Jan. 7--Gustavus women 66 Macalester 56
Kelsey Florian, Abby Rothenbuhler, Julia Dysthe and Karina Schroeder all scored in double figures to lead Gustavus Adolphus over host Macalester 66-56. The Gusties led by as many as 20 at 58-38 before the Scots closed the gap late. Veronkia Jakubovie of Macalester led all scorers and rebounders with 19 and 10.
The St. Thomas men blitzed Bethel 42-12 in the 1st half of their game at Bethel. The final was 90-48. No box score was available as of 10:30 p.m.
Player of the Day: Dan Kornbaum, Augsburg, scored 26 points in a 77-65 win at St. John's
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas men. Yikes! The Tommies played on the road at a team that had a five-game winning streak going. The results are mentioned above.
The St. Thomas men blitzed Bethel 42-12 in the 1st half of their game at Bethel. The final was 90-48. No box score was available as of 10:30 p.m.
Player of the Day: Dan Kornbaum, Augsburg, scored 26 points in a 77-65 win at St. John's
Coach of the Day: John Tauer, St. Thomas men. Yikes! The Tommies played on the road at a team that had a five-game winning streak going. The results are mentioned above.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Big Game January 5, 2012--Tommies Hammer Auggies
And then there was one...unbeaten among the MIAC men, that is, as St. Thomas demolished Augsburg 94-52. THe Tommies shot 54 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just 4 times, to the Auggies' 35 percent and 17 turnovers.
2 Andy Seidlitz FT brought Augsburg within 13-11 at 10:44 when a 13-0 run made it 26-11 at 5:57. Will DeBerg sparked the run with a 3 and then 3 FT. The lead reached 20 points at 39-19 at 1:53 and was 22 (45-23) at the half.The 2nd half brought more of the same as St. Thomas out-scored Augsburg 47-27. The final score represented the Tommies' largest lead of the night. DeBerg led the Tommies with 23 points.
Player of the Day: Rashad Vaughn of Robbinsdale Cooper scored 35 points but his Hawks lost to Apple Valley and Tyus Jones 80-70 at the Target Center Shootout. Jones had 18 points, 8 assists and 2 steals and Dennis Austin 22 points and 12 boards for Apple Valley.
Coach of the Day: Johnny Tauer, St. Thomas men
2 Andy Seidlitz FT brought Augsburg within 13-11 at 10:44 when a 13-0 run made it 26-11 at 5:57. Will DeBerg sparked the run with a 3 and then 3 FT. The lead reached 20 points at 39-19 at 1:53 and was 22 (45-23) at the half.The 2nd half brought more of the same as St. Thomas out-scored Augsburg 47-27. The final score represented the Tommies' largest lead of the night. DeBerg led the Tommies with 23 points.
Player of the Day: Rashad Vaughn of Robbinsdale Cooper scored 35 points but his Hawks lost to Apple Valley and Tyus Jones 80-70 at the Target Center Shootout. Jones had 18 points, 8 assists and 2 steals and Dennis Austin 22 points and 12 boards for Apple Valley.
Coach of the Day: Johnny Tauer, St. Thomas men
Sunday, December 9, 2012
MIAC Goes on Holiday Break
The MIAC has concluded conference play for 2012. A few non-conference games remain, but otherwise action will renew in January 2013. They've played about 1/4 of the conference schedule. Here's what you've missed.
1. St. Thomas remains unbeatable...er, unbeaten. No, make that unbeatable.
I mean, who's gonna beat the men? They're 4-0 and tied for 1st with Augsburg. They're #1 in both offense and defense, out-scoring opponents by a ridiculous 87-62. They outshoot 'em 53 percent to 46, and out-rebound 'em by 10. Will DeBerg leads in scoring with 14 ppg, while Connor Nord comes off the bench to add 10.
But it is their team defense--and especially the defense of Tommy Hannon and John Nance--that is a thing of real beauty. The Tommies wear you down, going 10 deep in the season thus far.
And, who's gonna beat the women? They're 4-0 and 2nd behind 5-0 Gustavus. They're only #3 on offense and #2 on defense but at 65-54 they lead the MIAC women on margin of victory. Like the men, they lead the MIAC in FG percentage, and they outshoot the opponents 45 percent to 36. They are, however, not a great rebounding team, but of course all-conference post Maggie Weiers is out.
They beat then #1 UW-Stevens Point 73-70 with both Weiers and all-conference forward Taylor Young out, and their only loss is on the road to then #1 Calvin 78-72. New starters Jenna Dockter, a guard, and forward Anna Smith join Weiers and Young in scoring double figures on average, and they use their depth to wear people down. 10 Tommies average double figures in minutes played.
2 more conference championship looks all but inevitable. The only question is how far the 2 Tommie teams can go nationally. The Final Four is a reasonable goal for both.
2. Gustavus and Macalester women, and Augsburg, St. John's and St. Olaf men surprise. Among the women, the Gusties and the Scots lost a lot of talent, including in the Gusties' case coach Mickey Haller. So the coaches picked 'em 4th (which is low for the Gusties) and 11th, respectively, in their pre-season poll. Instead, the Gusties make the turn in 1st place (5-0) and the Scots in 5th (3-2). Abby Rothenbuehler leads Gustavus with 14 points and 9 boards, while Julia Dysthe is scoring 13. Coach Laurie Kelly would be the Coach of the Year as of today. Macalester is led by Kyanna Jones with a ridiculous 13 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals.
Among the men, the coaches had St. Olaf #7 and Hamline #9, and I must admit to having had Augsburg #9 myself. Instead the Olies are 2-1 (4th), Hamline 2-2 (5th) and Augsburg 4-0 (tied for 1st). For St. Olaf, 3 new starters are scoring in double figures: Connor Gunderson at 17.5, Sterling Nielsen at 13, and Riley Aeikens at 12. In the Johnnies' case, it's Seth Marx (11 ppg) and Mitchell Kuck (10).
In Augsburg's case, I was not aware that Dan Kornbaum had joined the Auggies when I picked them for 8th. Kornbaum, from Little Falls, had started his college career at UMD. His grandpa is Ron Johnson from New Prague and an all-American at the U of M. Kornbaum is currently 4th in MIAC scoring (17 ppg) and 2nd in boards (9) and blocks (2). He would be the PoY as of today.
3. St. Olaf women and Gustavus men disappoint.
With guard Mackenzie Wolter and forwards Nikki Frogner, Erin Haglund and Elise Raney back, much was expected of the Olies. The coaches had 'em 4th, I had 'em 3rd. Instead they're 1-3 in 9th. Newcomer Kim Cerjan, coming off the bench, suddenly is their leader in minutes (27) and scoring (13). Frogner is at 12 ppg and 7 boards. But Wolter and Raney are down from 13 and 11 ppg last year to 7 and 6 so far this.
The perennially powerful Gusties men are currently 1-3 and in 8th place. They lost a ton of talent and, honestly, I had 'em 7th in my pre-season ranking, but the coaches had 'em 2nd. Jim Hill and Ben Biewen score 17 and 16 points, respectively, but they're giving up 75 points a game.
4. If I had it to do all over again....
Among the men, I had St. Thomas, Concordia and Hamline 1-2-3. Today I would have the Tommies 1, Augsburg 2 and Concordia 3. P.S. I had Carleton, Bethel and Macalester through 6th and therefore in the playoffs. Now I'll replace Bethel and Macalester with St. John's and St. Olaf.
Among the women I had St. Thomas, Concordia and St. Mary's. Now I'll say St. Thomas, Gustavus and Concordia. St. Mary's still makes the playoffs. But I also had Carleton and St. Olaf. Now I'll say Carleton and St. Ben's.
5. What to look for...
The Augsburg men visit St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon January 5, so you'll get an early feel for whether anybody can compete with the Tommies.
Oddly enough the Tommie women are 4-0 with 4 home games so far and have not played 1st place Gustavus. They travel to St. Peter to face the Gusties on Wednesday, January 9. So here again, maybe we'll see then whether anybody is going to push the Tommie women.
1. St. Thomas remains unbeatable...er, unbeaten. No, make that unbeatable.
I mean, who's gonna beat the men? They're 4-0 and tied for 1st with Augsburg. They're #1 in both offense and defense, out-scoring opponents by a ridiculous 87-62. They outshoot 'em 53 percent to 46, and out-rebound 'em by 10. Will DeBerg leads in scoring with 14 ppg, while Connor Nord comes off the bench to add 10.
But it is their team defense--and especially the defense of Tommy Hannon and John Nance--that is a thing of real beauty. The Tommies wear you down, going 10 deep in the season thus far.
And, who's gonna beat the women? They're 4-0 and 2nd behind 5-0 Gustavus. They're only #3 on offense and #2 on defense but at 65-54 they lead the MIAC women on margin of victory. Like the men, they lead the MIAC in FG percentage, and they outshoot the opponents 45 percent to 36. They are, however, not a great rebounding team, but of course all-conference post Maggie Weiers is out.
They beat then #1 UW-Stevens Point 73-70 with both Weiers and all-conference forward Taylor Young out, and their only loss is on the road to then #1 Calvin 78-72. New starters Jenna Dockter, a guard, and forward Anna Smith join Weiers and Young in scoring double figures on average, and they use their depth to wear people down. 10 Tommies average double figures in minutes played.
2 more conference championship looks all but inevitable. The only question is how far the 2 Tommie teams can go nationally. The Final Four is a reasonable goal for both.
2. Gustavus and Macalester women, and Augsburg, St. John's and St. Olaf men surprise. Among the women, the Gusties and the Scots lost a lot of talent, including in the Gusties' case coach Mickey Haller. So the coaches picked 'em 4th (which is low for the Gusties) and 11th, respectively, in their pre-season poll. Instead, the Gusties make the turn in 1st place (5-0) and the Scots in 5th (3-2). Abby Rothenbuehler leads Gustavus with 14 points and 9 boards, while Julia Dysthe is scoring 13. Coach Laurie Kelly would be the Coach of the Year as of today. Macalester is led by Kyanna Jones with a ridiculous 13 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals.
Among the men, the coaches had St. Olaf #7 and Hamline #9, and I must admit to having had Augsburg #9 myself. Instead the Olies are 2-1 (4th), Hamline 2-2 (5th) and Augsburg 4-0 (tied for 1st). For St. Olaf, 3 new starters are scoring in double figures: Connor Gunderson at 17.5, Sterling Nielsen at 13, and Riley Aeikens at 12. In the Johnnies' case, it's Seth Marx (11 ppg) and Mitchell Kuck (10).
In Augsburg's case, I was not aware that Dan Kornbaum had joined the Auggies when I picked them for 8th. Kornbaum, from Little Falls, had started his college career at UMD. His grandpa is Ron Johnson from New Prague and an all-American at the U of M. Kornbaum is currently 4th in MIAC scoring (17 ppg) and 2nd in boards (9) and blocks (2). He would be the PoY as of today.
3. St. Olaf women and Gustavus men disappoint.
With guard Mackenzie Wolter and forwards Nikki Frogner, Erin Haglund and Elise Raney back, much was expected of the Olies. The coaches had 'em 4th, I had 'em 3rd. Instead they're 1-3 in 9th. Newcomer Kim Cerjan, coming off the bench, suddenly is their leader in minutes (27) and scoring (13). Frogner is at 12 ppg and 7 boards. But Wolter and Raney are down from 13 and 11 ppg last year to 7 and 6 so far this.
The perennially powerful Gusties men are currently 1-3 and in 8th place. They lost a ton of talent and, honestly, I had 'em 7th in my pre-season ranking, but the coaches had 'em 2nd. Jim Hill and Ben Biewen score 17 and 16 points, respectively, but they're giving up 75 points a game.
4. If I had it to do all over again....
Among the men, I had St. Thomas, Concordia and Hamline 1-2-3. Today I would have the Tommies 1, Augsburg 2 and Concordia 3. P.S. I had Carleton, Bethel and Macalester through 6th and therefore in the playoffs. Now I'll replace Bethel and Macalester with St. John's and St. Olaf.
Among the women I had St. Thomas, Concordia and St. Mary's. Now I'll say St. Thomas, Gustavus and Concordia. St. Mary's still makes the playoffs. But I also had Carleton and St. Olaf. Now I'll say Carleton and St. Ben's.
5. What to look for...
The Augsburg men visit St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon January 5, so you'll get an early feel for whether anybody can compete with the Tommies.
Oddly enough the Tommie women are 4-0 with 4 home games so far and have not played 1st place Gustavus. They travel to St. Peter to face the Gusties on Wednesday, January 9. So here again, maybe we'll see then whether anybody is going to push the Tommie women.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
St. Thomas men 75 UW River Falls 62
The St. Thomas Tommies (men) wore down Wisconsin-River Falls, using 3 11-0 runs to erase a UWRF lead, then to take the lead for good, and finally to put it away. With the win, St. Thomas moves to 4-0, including a road win at #17-ranked Whitworth 70-65. OK, officially, they're just 3-0 but a shocking 93-83 win at D2 Winona State, exhibition or not, deserves to be mentioned.
Trailing the Falcons 28-22 at 7:43 of the 1st half, St. Thomas amped up the defensive pressure and UWRF turned it over on 5 of their next 6 possessions. Noah Kaiser scored twice for the Tommies, who quickly made it 33-28. Arik Smith scored 5 quick points for UWRF to tie it up.
But then St. Thomas ran off another 11 points with Connor Nord scoring twice to make it 44-33, and the Tommies would never trail again. It was 46-36 at the half.
But with St. Thomas leading 54-44, Smith went really nuts for UWRF with 4 buckets in less than 2 minutes, all on lightning quick moves into the lane and a floating shot. Guard David Stanley from Maplewood, MN, and Concordia-St. Paul, to make it 60-54 with about 9 minutes remaining.
But the Tommies ran off 11 straight for the 3rd time,with Will DeBerg hitting a pair of 3's--meaning a 2 + 1 and then the long ball, and it was 71-54 at 2:25. Game over. Smith hit a 3 inside of 2 minutes for UWRF but that only made it 71-57.
In the end it was the Tommies ball defense that was the difference. Tommy Hannon inside, and DeBerg and Eric Tengwal and John Nance, in particular, made life miserable for the Falcons. Actually they shot 50 percent from the field and 53 percent (7-of-13) on the 3-ball, but they turned it over 15 times to the Tommies 6, and the Tommies' did it all without fouling, as UWRF got to the FT line only 4 times, and none in the 2nd half. UWRF had 1 more FG than St. Thomas, but the Tommies prevailed from the line 17-3.
Smith was the top offensive player on the floor with 18 points, but the Tommies had nice balance. DeBerg and Hannon had 12 points (Hannon added 8 boards), and Nance had 11 points. Nance's ultra-quick hands picked up 4 steals. St. Thomas also had a 37-27 edge on the boards.
But make no mistake, UWRF is a good squad. But the Tommies wore 'em down with their depth and their defensive pressure. Only Tengwall and Nance played more than 22 minutes (29 and 27), while 5 Falcons averaged 30 minutes and Smith and Stanley played 34. That will probably be a theme over the coming year.
Trench Player: Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas
Trailing the Falcons 28-22 at 7:43 of the 1st half, St. Thomas amped up the defensive pressure and UWRF turned it over on 5 of their next 6 possessions. Noah Kaiser scored twice for the Tommies, who quickly made it 33-28. Arik Smith scored 5 quick points for UWRF to tie it up.
But then St. Thomas ran off another 11 points with Connor Nord scoring twice to make it 44-33, and the Tommies would never trail again. It was 46-36 at the half.
But with St. Thomas leading 54-44, Smith went really nuts for UWRF with 4 buckets in less than 2 minutes, all on lightning quick moves into the lane and a floating shot. Guard David Stanley from Maplewood, MN, and Concordia-St. Paul, to make it 60-54 with about 9 minutes remaining.
But the Tommies ran off 11 straight for the 3rd time,with Will DeBerg hitting a pair of 3's--meaning a 2 + 1 and then the long ball, and it was 71-54 at 2:25. Game over. Smith hit a 3 inside of 2 minutes for UWRF but that only made it 71-57.
In the end it was the Tommies ball defense that was the difference. Tommy Hannon inside, and DeBerg and Eric Tengwal and John Nance, in particular, made life miserable for the Falcons. Actually they shot 50 percent from the field and 53 percent (7-of-13) on the 3-ball, but they turned it over 15 times to the Tommies 6, and the Tommies' did it all without fouling, as UWRF got to the FT line only 4 times, and none in the 2nd half. UWRF had 1 more FG than St. Thomas, but the Tommies prevailed from the line 17-3.
Smith was the top offensive player on the floor with 18 points, but the Tommies had nice balance. DeBerg and Hannon had 12 points (Hannon added 8 boards), and Nance had 11 points. Nance's ultra-quick hands picked up 4 steals. St. Thomas also had a 37-27 edge on the boards.
But make no mistake, UWRF is a good squad. But the Tommies wore 'em down with their depth and their defensive pressure. Only Tengwall and Nance played more than 22 minutes (29 and 27), while 5 Falcons averaged 30 minutes and Smith and Stanley played 34. That will probably be a theme over the coming year.
Trench Player: Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Can Concordia, Hamline Challenge Tommies Men?
The St. Thomas men have now won 7 straight MIAC titles (tied with Carleton in 2006 and 2011 and tied with Gustavus in 2012). This ties the record previously held by Hamline from 1947 to 1953 (tied with the Tommies in 1949).
St. Thomas went on to win the post-season playoff title in 6 of those 7 years, losing only to Carleton in 2010. In 2011, despite tying for the MIAC regular season title, the Tommies won not only the MIAC post-season title but the NCAA D3 title as well. Oddly enough, both Hamline in 1949 and St. Thomas in 2011 ended up winning the national championship--Hamline in the NAIA, the Tommies in NCAA D3--in a year in which they hadn't won an outright state conference title.
The Tommies lead Hamline 26-19 on the all-time regular season MIAC titles list, but Hamline hasn't won since 1960. St. Thomas has won 23 regular season titles titles just since 1960.
Enough History Already, What about 2012-2013
Well, as the Tommies go after their record 8th straight MIAC title, they could get some strong opposition from none other than the long-suffering Hamline Pipers and/or from the Concordia (Moorhead), who have not won an MAC title since 1983. What do you think?
Concordia (Moorhead). The Cobbers have size in 6-10 junior Jason Huus from Perham, 6-7 sophomore Scott Flotterud from Zumbrota and 6-4 junior Brandon Fisher. Huus and Fisher return 21 points and 12 boards, while Flotterud made his mark mostly as a shot blocker. The guards include 6-4 junior Ebo Nana-Kweson from Coon Rapids, 5-11 junior Dewon Mackenzie from Cooper and 6-foot guard Andrew Martinson from Chaska. McKenzie and Nana-Kweson return 22 points and 4 assists. So this is a well-balanced group with a quality head coach in Rich Glas, now in his 4th season in Moorhead.
Hamline. The Pipers also return a cast of thousands, though there's nothing like Concordia's size here. The forwards are 6-5 junior Noah Aguirre and 6-5 sophomore Dior Ford, who scored 20.5 ppg between 'em. The boss man is 6-3 swing man Mike Campbell, from Richfield, who scored 14 points with 5 boards and a league-high 3 steals. The pure guards are Tyler Pannell, a 6-foot sophomore, Brand Reig, a 5-8 senior, Al Tillman, a 5-11 junior from Richfield, and 5-10 senior Levi Wenrich. Pannell and Reig are 3-point specialists, while Tillman hit 52 percent of his FG attempts, not bad for a sub-6-foot fellow. This is a great shooting team. But can they keep the other guy from scoring?
St. Thomas. The Tommies return 5 of last year's contributors and they are mostly guards. But here's the scary part. Tommy Hannon, 6-5 center for the 2011 national champs, is back due to medical hardship, missing most of what otherwise would have been his senior season in 2011. Guards Will DeBerg, John Nance and Eric Tengwall, and forward Zach Reidemann would have contended for the MIAC title without Hannon. With Hannon? Well, nobody got rich betting against the Tommies.
1. St. Thomas
2. Concordia
3. Hamline
The rest of the fellows are going to have a tough go of it, some tougher than others.
4. Carleton. Lost Caleb Rosenow but returns 6-0 all-MIAC guard Tom Sawatzke from Monticello, 6-6 senior wing Scott Thiesen from Champlin Park, and 6-3 sophomore wing Shane McSparron from Eastview (named to the all-freshman 5 a year ago).
5. Bethel. Returns 6-8 senior forward Taylor Hall from Spring Lake Park, J.D. Robinson, 6-6 senior wing from Armstrong, and Kyle Zimmerman, 6-3 wing from Champlin Park.
6. Macalester. The long-time doormats of the MIAC promise to make a move this year under 4th year coach Tim Whittle. Though in truth, the optimism revolves mostly around 6-5 senior swingman Pierce Peters from Minnewaska, the league's top returning scorer at 19 ppg who also contributes 7 boards, and shoots 88 percent from the line and 41 percent from long distance. Peters was here when Whittle arrived. But Whittle has brought in 6-5 Sam Marshall, who scores 12 ppg with 6 boards, and 6-foot sophomore point guard Hans Erickson, with 3 assists per game a year ago.
7. Gustavus. Doesn't return much but I can't quite put a Mark Hanson team any lower than this. Guard Ben Biewen from Armstrong will carry a heavy load.
8. Augburg. Lost a ton. Rebuilding but around a superstar in senior guard Tyler Schmidt, who scored 14 ppg with 91 percent shooting from the line and 44 percent from long-range last year.
9. St. John's. Lost a ton. Rebuilding around guard Seth Marx at 9 ppg wityh 4 boards and 38 percent from long range.
10. St. Mary's. Mike Burfiend is back but without much help. Burfiend scores 18 ppg with 5 boards. Point guard Even Pederson recorded 3 assists and a steal as a frosh and is the long-term linchpin if the Cardinals can get off the mat. But, not this year.
11. St. Olaf. OK, now these guys really lost a ton, mainly Bobby Fong and Stuart Neville. Dan Kosmoski's toughest challenge ever.
All-Conference
Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas, 6-5, senior, post, Player of the Year
Pierce Peters, Macalester, 6-5, senior, forward-guard
Scott Thiesen, Carleton, 6-6, senior, wing
Taylor Hall, Bethel, 6-8, senior, forward
Mike Campbell, Hamline, 6-3, senior, forward-guard
2nd Team
Will DeBerg, St. Thomas, guard
John Nance, St. Thomas, senior, guard
Tyler Schmitz, Augsburg, 6-3, senior, guard
Mike Burfiend, St. Mary's, 6-5, senior, forward
Kyle Zimmerman, Bethel, 6-3, senior, wing
3rd Team
Dewon McKenzie, Concordia, 5-11, junior, guard
Jason Huus, Concordia, 6-10, senior, post
Seth Marx, St. John's, senior, guard
Sam Marshall, Macalester, 6-5, junior, forward
Hans Erickson, Macalester, 6-0, sophomore, guard
St. Thomas went on to win the post-season playoff title in 6 of those 7 years, losing only to Carleton in 2010. In 2011, despite tying for the MIAC regular season title, the Tommies won not only the MIAC post-season title but the NCAA D3 title as well. Oddly enough, both Hamline in 1949 and St. Thomas in 2011 ended up winning the national championship--Hamline in the NAIA, the Tommies in NCAA D3--in a year in which they hadn't won an outright state conference title.
The Tommies lead Hamline 26-19 on the all-time regular season MIAC titles list, but Hamline hasn't won since 1960. St. Thomas has won 23 regular season titles titles just since 1960.
Enough History Already, What about 2012-2013
Well, as the Tommies go after their record 8th straight MIAC title, they could get some strong opposition from none other than the long-suffering Hamline Pipers and/or from the Concordia (Moorhead), who have not won an MAC title since 1983. What do you think?
Concordia (Moorhead). The Cobbers have size in 6-10 junior Jason Huus from Perham, 6-7 sophomore Scott Flotterud from Zumbrota and 6-4 junior Brandon Fisher. Huus and Fisher return 21 points and 12 boards, while Flotterud made his mark mostly as a shot blocker. The guards include 6-4 junior Ebo Nana-Kweson from Coon Rapids, 5-11 junior Dewon Mackenzie from Cooper and 6-foot guard Andrew Martinson from Chaska. McKenzie and Nana-Kweson return 22 points and 4 assists. So this is a well-balanced group with a quality head coach in Rich Glas, now in his 4th season in Moorhead.
Hamline. The Pipers also return a cast of thousands, though there's nothing like Concordia's size here. The forwards are 6-5 junior Noah Aguirre and 6-5 sophomore Dior Ford, who scored 20.5 ppg between 'em. The boss man is 6-3 swing man Mike Campbell, from Richfield, who scored 14 points with 5 boards and a league-high 3 steals. The pure guards are Tyler Pannell, a 6-foot sophomore, Brand Reig, a 5-8 senior, Al Tillman, a 5-11 junior from Richfield, and 5-10 senior Levi Wenrich. Pannell and Reig are 3-point specialists, while Tillman hit 52 percent of his FG attempts, not bad for a sub-6-foot fellow. This is a great shooting team. But can they keep the other guy from scoring?
St. Thomas. The Tommies return 5 of last year's contributors and they are mostly guards. But here's the scary part. Tommy Hannon, 6-5 center for the 2011 national champs, is back due to medical hardship, missing most of what otherwise would have been his senior season in 2011. Guards Will DeBerg, John Nance and Eric Tengwall, and forward Zach Reidemann would have contended for the MIAC title without Hannon. With Hannon? Well, nobody got rich betting against the Tommies.
1. St. Thomas
2. Concordia
3. Hamline
The rest of the fellows are going to have a tough go of it, some tougher than others.
4. Carleton. Lost Caleb Rosenow but returns 6-0 all-MIAC guard Tom Sawatzke from Monticello, 6-6 senior wing Scott Thiesen from Champlin Park, and 6-3 sophomore wing Shane McSparron from Eastview (named to the all-freshman 5 a year ago).
5. Bethel. Returns 6-8 senior forward Taylor Hall from Spring Lake Park, J.D. Robinson, 6-6 senior wing from Armstrong, and Kyle Zimmerman, 6-3 wing from Champlin Park.
6. Macalester. The long-time doormats of the MIAC promise to make a move this year under 4th year coach Tim Whittle. Though in truth, the optimism revolves mostly around 6-5 senior swingman Pierce Peters from Minnewaska, the league's top returning scorer at 19 ppg who also contributes 7 boards, and shoots 88 percent from the line and 41 percent from long distance. Peters was here when Whittle arrived. But Whittle has brought in 6-5 Sam Marshall, who scores 12 ppg with 6 boards, and 6-foot sophomore point guard Hans Erickson, with 3 assists per game a year ago.
7. Gustavus. Doesn't return much but I can't quite put a Mark Hanson team any lower than this. Guard Ben Biewen from Armstrong will carry a heavy load.
8. Augburg. Lost a ton. Rebuilding but around a superstar in senior guard Tyler Schmidt, who scored 14 ppg with 91 percent shooting from the line and 44 percent from long-range last year.
9. St. John's. Lost a ton. Rebuilding around guard Seth Marx at 9 ppg wityh 4 boards and 38 percent from long range.
10. St. Mary's. Mike Burfiend is back but without much help. Burfiend scores 18 ppg with 5 boards. Point guard Even Pederson recorded 3 assists and a steal as a frosh and is the long-term linchpin if the Cardinals can get off the mat. But, not this year.
11. St. Olaf. OK, now these guys really lost a ton, mainly Bobby Fong and Stuart Neville. Dan Kosmoski's toughest challenge ever.
All-Conference
Tommy Hannon, St. Thomas, 6-5, senior, post, Player of the Year
Pierce Peters, Macalester, 6-5, senior, forward-guard
Scott Thiesen, Carleton, 6-6, senior, wing
Taylor Hall, Bethel, 6-8, senior, forward
Mike Campbell, Hamline, 6-3, senior, forward-guard
2nd Team
Will DeBerg, St. Thomas, guard
John Nance, St. Thomas, senior, guard
Tyler Schmitz, Augsburg, 6-3, senior, guard
Mike Burfiend, St. Mary's, 6-5, senior, forward
Kyle Zimmerman, Bethel, 6-3, senior, wing
3rd Team
Dewon McKenzie, Concordia, 5-11, junior, guard
Jason Huus, Concordia, 6-10, senior, post
Seth Marx, St. John's, senior, guard
Sam Marshall, Macalester, 6-5, junior, forward
Hans Erickson, Macalester, 6-0, sophomore, guard
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