With the first week of NSIC basketball already over, it's hard to believe how the first weekend transpired. Friday night proved to be an exciting night of basketball where four games were decided by three points or less, including two overtime games. Saturday had two more games of similar magnitude. All-in-all, it leads to a somewhat difficult power ranking to make, especially to me personally. I don't really like doing co-rankings but this is one week where I had to have co-#1's.
T1. Winona State 5-0 (2-0 D2, 1-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W vs. Clarke College 111-66
LG - W vs. Upper Iowa 78-61
UG - @ Bemidji State (4-2), @ UM-Duluth (4-2)
Note - It wasn't exactly a textbook victory for the Warriors, but they still came away with a solid 17 point victory over Upper Iowa. It wasn't a great win but it wasn't a terrible win either. The Warriors continue to see outstanding play out of sophomore center Clayton Vette. He scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds. What intrigued me about WSU in this game was how unwilling they were to go to their bench, even though their bench saw a lot of minutes in non-conference play. Only Xavier Humphrey and Jon Walburg saw more than 10 minutes off the WSU bench. Brad Meyer only saw eight minutes of the bench and Taylor Cameron, the Warriors promising young freshman point guard only saw a minute. I guess if there's anything to take away from it, Coach Leaf probably realized the starters could probably play a few more minutes since they only played one game this weekend. The Warriors hit the road next weekend when they travel to Bemidji and Duluth.
T1. MSU-Mankato 6-0 (4-0 D2, 2-0 NSIC) (+2)
PG - W vs. Wayne State 74-63
LG - W vs. Augustana 83-67
UG - @ Concordia-St. Paul (4-2), @ St. Cloud State (2-4)
Note - This was a tough call for me to make. I couldn't decide if they should be #1 or #2. Finally, I just decided to make them co-#1 until next week. Their wins this weekend were very convincing, especially beating a high-caliber team like Augustana by 16. Considering how well coached the Vikings typically are, that's impressive. They also perhaps have the best non-conference win with a win over a 6-1 Michigan Tech team from the GLIAC. What is surprising me the most out of MSU-Mankato is how deep they are. They had nine players see 10+ minutes against Wayne State and Augustana. It was a good weekend for Jefferson Mason, scoring 16 points against Wayne State and 24 points against Augustana. I'm sure the Vikings are still a little concerned with their perimeter shooting, but with how talented they are up-and-down the roster, it's something they won't be worrying about too much. The Mavericks will have a challenging road contest this weekend when they travel to Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State for their first NSIC road battles of the season.
3. SW Minnesota State 5-1 (4-0 D2, 2-0 NSIC) (+1)
PG - W vs. Augustana 66-64
LG - W vs. Wayne State 73-43
UG - @ St. Cloud State (2-4), @ Concordia-St. Paul (4-2)
Note - What a great weekend for the Mustangs. A big time home win against a great program like Augustana and then follow it up with a slamming of Wayne State. In the Vikings game, they did what they needed to do...allow someone other than Schilling or McCaffrey beat them. Of course, Schilling dropped 30 on them, but they help McCaffrey to seven points and not one other Viking scored in double figures. Against Wayne State, the Mustang defense was tenacious, only allowing the Wildcats to shoot 28% from the field and forced 18 turnovers. A 30 point victory is impressive against any team in the NSIC, let alone a solid Wayne State team that is in the running for a potential NSIC tournament bid. I know I was one that didn't think there was a big gap between the Mustangs and Wildcats...boy was I wrong. Could we be seeing another 2009-esque SMSU team on our hands? I don't think they are quite as good as that team was but they still seem to be a team that's buying in to Coach Brad Bigler's system and it's paying big dividends right now. With a road trip to St. Cloud and St. Paul, they could make a big statement as to what sort of team they have in the NSIC this year.
4. U-Mary 5-1 (5-1 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (-2)
PG - W vs. St. Cloud State 84-81 (OT)
LG - L vs. Concordia-St. Paul 70-67
UG - @ Augustana (3-3), @ Wayne State (4-2)
Note - What a roller coaster ride weekend for the Marauders. They had a thrilling OT battle with St. Cloud State on Friday night and then followed it up with a hard-fought, but disappointing loss to Concordia-St. Paul. The game against the Huskies felt like an NCAA tournament game with the sort of atmosphere and excitement surrounding the game. Granted, I'm sure both teams will be playing better when March rolls around, but it was still an exciting game with an exciting finish. Even after Damon Smith and Cameron Lee fouled out, this team was able to rally around guys like Baley Johnson and Jalen Jaspers to come up with big plays. In the Concordia-St. Paul game, the team struggled mightily from three-point range, hitting only 26% of their threes. It showed on the Marauders last possession as they had three open three-point shot attempts to tie the game up and missed on all three attempts. If there's an apparent weakness on this Mary team, it's that they still lack depth. Only eight players saw the floor in the Saturday game and only one of the bench players saw more than 10 minutes. Four of the five starters played 37 minutes or more, which is not a good sign when you played an OT game the night before. This team will have a challenging road test at Augustana and Wayne State this weekend. Despite both teams struggles, the Marauders won't want to overlook either of those teams.
5. Northern State 5-1 (1-1 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (+1)
PG - W vs. Concordia-St. Paul 96-94 (OT)
LG - L vs. St. Cloud State 91-83
UG - @ Wayne State (4-2), @ Augustana (3-3)
Note - It feels odd putting Northern State in this position. Splitting on your home court isn't necessarily a good thing. However, considering Augustana went 0-2 this past weekend, the Wolves made it to this position due in part to that event. The Wolves certainly need to be feeling good with the cast of players they have on this team, especially the new additions. Of Northern's top 5 scorers, only one of them is a player that returned from last year's active roster (Colin Pryor). Tom Parks, one of the new transfers had a nice game against Concordia-St. Paul, scoring 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 4-of-7 three-point shooting and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Against St. Cloud State, David Lane had a huge game, scoring 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting and made 10-of-13 free throw attempts. Northern State needs to find some consistency with their scorers because if they can get Pryor, Parks, Lane, Dustin Tetzlaff and Tydan Storrusten in double-figures consistently, this team will be hard to stop. Who knows? With Bojan Todorovic slowly getting back in game shape, this team could be a six-headed monster in the scoring column. I'm sure the Wolves will be looking for that consistency this weekend at Wayne and Sioux Falls because they are going to need it for this road trip.
6. Concordia-St. Paul 4-2 (2-1 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (+3)
PG - L @ Northern State 96-94 (OT)
LG - W @ Mary 70-67
UG - vs. MSU-Mankato (6-0), vs. SW Minnesota State (5-1)
Note - The Golden Bears are looking a little more golden in the NSIC Power Rankings this week after picking up an incredible road win in Bismarck, North Dakota last week. That's one of the toughest places to win in the NSIC and Concordia-St. Paul sure looked like they were up for the challenge. There were no last-second heroics needed for that game as the Golden Bears remained in control for a strong portion of that game. Concordia-St. Paul is getting great play out of the Olefeso brothers, especially Kenny, who tallied 19 points and nine rebounds against Northern State as well as 17 points and 13 rebounds against Mary. Brent Barz also seems to be getting back-on-track as he put up 17 points against both NSU and Mary. This weekend, the Golden Bears host a pair of tough NSIC basketball games against MSU-Mankato and SW Minnesota State. Even a split between those two might send them up the ranks. If they can sweep those two teams, who knows...you could see this team ranked as high as #2 or #3.
7. St. Cloud State 2-4 (1-3 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L @ Mary 84-81 (OT)
LG - W @ Northern State 91-83
UG - vs. SW Minnesota State (5-1), vs. MSU-Mankato (6-0)
Note - A road split at Mary and Northern State was huge for the Huskies. They could not afford to start off the conference season 0-2, especially considering how awful their non-conference season started off. It is really incredible to think how close the Huskies were to going 2-0 and 0-2. They came close to pulling off the upset against Mary but still fell a little short. Against Northern State, they were down by eight going in at halftime and caught fire in the second half, shooting 54% from the field and more importantly, shot 19-of-22 from the charity stripe (86%) to keep the Wolves at bay. The Huskies are going to need to pull for at least another split this weekend because they have a tall order in front of them. They draw SW Minnesota State on Friday night and then MSU-Mankato on Saturday night. The Huskies are being run through the gauntlet to start off the season and just need to hope they can pull through some of these tough games. With the way the Mustangs and Mavericks are playing, the Huskies might even be hard-pressed for a split.
8. Augustana 3-3 (0-2 D2, 0-2 NSIC) (-3)
PG - L @ SW Minnesota State 66-64
LG - L @ MSU-Mankato 83-67
UG - vs. Mary (5-1), vs. Northern State (5-1)
Note - Here's some food for thought, the Vikings have not lost three straight games since the 2005-2006 season. It just so happened that the Vikings lost four straight games that year and one of those losses in that string was at MSU-Mankato. Scary thought for Vikings fans...the Vikes finished 12-16 that year, 10-15 in D2. Needless to say, if Augustana repeats that this year, they won't even sniff at the NCAA Tournament. That would be a huge disappointment considering they've been the runners-up in the NSIC the past two seasons. However, we need to keep in consideration that we're only six games into the season. There is PLENTY of time for the Vikings to right the ship, but they'll need to do it in a hurry. They've got two tough home games to deal with right off the bat with Mary on Friday and Northern State on Saturday. If they drop both these games, they'd be looking at an 0-4 start in NSIC play and 3-5 overall. The key factor for Augustana this weekend is to get someone other than Schilling and McCaffrey going on the offensive end. Augie learned the hard way what happens when one of their top two scorers isn't producing on offense and it resulted in two losses.
9. Wayne State 4-2 (1-2 D2, 0-2 NSIC) (-2)
PG - L @ MSU-Mankato 74-63
LG - L @ SW Minnesota State 73-43
UG - vs. Northern State (5-1), vs. Mary (5-1)
Note - I'm not sure what happened to the Wildcats for three halves on this past road trip. The word "skunk" is an insult to skunks considering Wayne State's play the last three halves. In those three halves, the Wilcats have been outscored 117-67 and have only shot 22-of-74 (.297) from the field. Now THAT'S cold. It's not just the shooting with this team though. They turned the ball over 17 times against MSU and 18 times against SMSU. A combination of sloppy play offensively and poor shooting leads to very poor results. Right now, the Wildcats need somebody other than Amry Shelby to score for them, granted, it's not like Shelby lit up the Mustangs. Shelby needs Jensen, Starken, Tasa and Williams to help him out on the offensive end because he cannot carry the load by himself. Even though this team does get a well-needed homecoming from such a rough road test, it doesn't get much easier with Northern State and Mary on back-to-back nights. The Wildcats better pull for at least a split because starting off the conference 0-4 without even seeing Winona State, St. Cloud State or Augustana yet wouldn't look promising.
10. UM-Duluth 4-2 (2-2 D2, 2-0 NSIC) (+4)
PG - W vs. UM-Crookston 68-44
LG - W vs. MSU-Moorhead 71-70
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (1-4), vs. Winona State (5-0)
Note - Well, I can officially say the Bulldogs have surprised me. This team only won four conference games last year and are already halfway to matching that. I had a pretty good feeling they would beat UM-Crookston, but I thought the game would be much closer than what the final score was. The MSU-Moorhead game was certainly dramatic to say the least. To think what might have happened if Tarell Clark makes both free throws and sends the game into OT. I really wonder who would've pulled out the win in OT. I guess we should give a big welcome back to Ryan Rasmussen for showing up this weekend. If there was one guy not named Eric Erdmann that could've won NSIC POW honors, it might've been him. He scored 27 points on 10-of-16 FG, including 7-of-11 from three-point range against UM-Crookston and followed that up with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-6 from the charity stripe against MSU-Moorhead. They might need him to continue lighting up the scoreboard if they have any chance of pulling the upset against Winona State this weekend.
11. MSU-Moorhead 4-2 (1-1 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Bemidji State 60-58
LG - L @ UM-Duluth 71-70
UG - @ UM-Crookston (4-2)
Note - Wow, the Dragons were REALLY CLOSE to springing two road victories and perhaps climbing as high as #8 in my NSIC Power Rankings. Instead, a missed three throw killed those chances and they'll have to settle for what they were last week...#11. The good news for the Dragons is they did get that improbable win in Bemidji. I thought there was no way the Beavers drop that game to Moorhead, but they did. Major credit should be given to the Dragons for attacking the offensive glass. They outrebounded the Beavers 19-to-1 on the offensive glass and that was the difference between winning and losing that game. Unfortunately, that mentality doesn't work so well with UM-Duluth because they are better at attacking the glass than MSU-Moorhead is. The good news for MSU-Moorhead is they are taking better care of the basketball. They only turned the ball over seven times against BSU and 12 times against UMD. More good news is they play at UM-Crookston this weekend...definitely a winnable game for them to end their three-game road stretch.
12. Upper Iowa 1-4 (0-3 D2, 0-1 NSIC) (+1)
PG - W vs. Valley City State 88-59 (N)
LG - L @ Winona State 78-61
UG - @ UM-Duluth (4-2), @ Bemidji State (4-2)
Note - I must admit, the Peacocks are a much better basketball team than I gave them credit for. It's so easy to laugh at them with a 1-4 record, but they've lost tough games to some darn good basketball teams. In D2, they lost to a 4-2 Quincy, a 7-1 Drury and a 5-0 Winona State. Some props to the Peacocks for not only scheduling those teams, but hanging with their opponents in those games as well. I believe the Peacocks luck is about to change. They travel to UM-Duluth and Bemidji State this weekend. I have a feeling they will win one of those two games. Which one? It's tough to say. It's just a feeling I have. The one key for them is that somebody outside of Matt Lesan or Tucker Wentzien NEEDS to step up. I know Peacocks fans would be saying Dan Bestul but he was essentially non-existent against Winona State, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and only gathering four rebounds. All I will say is it will take a total team effort to pull off an upset in either Bemidji or Duluth, but I believe they can do it.
13. Bemidji State 4-2 (1-2 D2, 1-1 NSIC) (-3)
PG - L vs. MSU-Moorhead 60-58
LG - W vs. UM-Crookston 88-63
UG - vs. Winona State (5-0), vs. Upper Iowa (1-4)
Note - Am I a little harsh putting the Beavers at the metaphorical cellar (considering UM-Crookston has it reserved)? Perhaps...but one thing I will say, losing at home to MSU-Moorhead is BAD. I'm not exactly saying the Dragons are the worst team in the NSIC but that's a game you have to win on your home floor if you want to make a push for the NSIC Tournament. I have a feeling the Beavers are not that far from doing it...but they REALLY need to win those games on their home floor. As for the problem with this team, it's obvious. It is rebounding and low post defense. Dennis Williamson and Alex Novak had their way with the Beavers in the low block, combining for 26 rebounds. The Beavers should consider themselves lucky Novak couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in that game. If they struggle against Dennis Williamson, how are they going to fare against the 3rd highest scoring post player in the NSIC in Clayton Vette? They've got Winona State on Friday and Upper Iowa on Saturday. Losing to WSU wouldn't be unexpected but if they lose at home to Upper Iowa, this team could be in trouble.
14. UM-Crookston 4-2 (0-2 D2, 0-2 NSIC) (-2)
PG - L @ Bemidji State 88-63
LG - W vs. St. Scholastica 64-56
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (4-2)
Note - Well, that's what I get for getting my hopes up for UM-Crooston...they get into NSIC play and get EXPOSED!!! They lose by 24 to a less than average UM-Duluth team and by 23 to a Bemidji State team coming off a bad loss to MSU-Moorhead. I'd say, "well, at least they got a nice non-conference win against St. Scholastica, right?" That's even less impressive considering St. Cloud State just beat this same St. Scholastica team by 34 points. It is especially sad that it was a five-point game with 1:30 remaining. The phrase "they are who we thought they were" holds true. They aren't the least bit improved from last year and to be honest, they are probably worse. I really don't have high hopes for them in their upcoming game against MSU-Moorhead. Considering this MSU-Moorhead won in Bemidji, a place the Golden Eagles lost by 23 doesn't bode well. I don't care if this game is at home, it's still bad news for Crookston.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Adam Stanek's Men's Basketball NSIC Power Rankings (Start 'em up) Edition
With the NSIC kicking things off this weekend, I just thought I'd do my NSIC Power Rankings once again before we get things underway. I'll try and do these every week from now on. With no further ado, here they are...
1. Winona State 4-0 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W @ Barry 83-75 (OT)
LG - W vs. Clarke College 111-66
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (1-3)
Note - I would be lying to myself if the Warriors didn't look like the best team in the NSIC right now. They are coming off a blowout home win against Clarke College. They didn't look good in the first half, going into half with only a 13 point lead and turned the ball over 10 times. However, they had an outstanding second half performance, outscoring Clarke by 32 and not turning the ball over at all in the second half. There are two things that have really surprised me about the Warriors at this point in the season. The first being how well they have gelled at this point in the season. With the players they have and brought in, I thought their chemistry would be bad to start off with. Not so. The second being the emergence of their D1 transfers Anthony Tucker and Clayton Vette. Tucker is currently averaging 21.5 PPG (1st in NSIC) and Vette is averaging 14.8 PPG (18th in NSIC). These were the two guys I expected that needed to step up for the Warriors to be successful and so far they have been. They start off NSIC play nice and easy with one home game against Upper Iowa.
2. U-Mary 4-0 (4-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Saginaw Valley State 51-36 (N)
LG - W vs. PR-Rio Piedras 98-63 (N)
UG - vs. St. Cloud State (1-3), vs. Concordia-St. Paul (3-1)
Note - The Marauders have certainly got their season off on the right foot. They had a very successful trip down to Florida, picking up a victory over a very solid Saginaw Valley State team. Most importantly, they are 4-0 against D2 opponents, which looks very good if the Marauders want to make a push for the NCAA tournament. Part of the reason behind the Marauders early season success is the emergence of a third scorer. Anthony Moody and Eric Erdmann were proven stars but the one guy that's stepped up his game is Jordan Wilhelm. Wilhelm is currently averaging 16.8 PPG (T-9th in NSIC) along with Moody averaging 18.3 PPG (6th in NSIC). With Moody's driving and passing ability, Wilhelm's outside shot and Erdmann's inside game, the Marauders are looking like a force to be reckoned with. The Marauders are looking to start off NSIC play on the right foot as they host St. Cloud State and Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.
3. MSU-Mankato 4-0 (3-0 D2) (+1)
PG - W vs. Michigan Tech 63-61
LG - W vs. Eureka College 120-44
UG - vs. Wayne State (4-0), vs. Augustana (3-1)
Note - Just like Winona State, I am surprised at how well things are going for the Mavericks to start off the season. After losing some great players from last year's squad, I thought it'd take them a few games to adjust, but they look just fine to me. They didn't play particularly well against Michigan Tech and still won, which is worth saying something considering the Huskies are 4-1 to start off the season. Jefferson Mason isn't WOWING anyone yet, but he's putting up some solid all-round stats, while notable Marcus Hill and Cameron Hodges are putting up some good numbers. With some surprising bench play out of Joe Drapcho and Jimmy Whitehead, as well as Andre Gilbert coming back and showing some signs of promise, I think the Mavericks could be a team to watch out for in the NSIC. They start off the season with two tough home games against Wayne State and Augustana. If they can get off to a 2-0 start with those two teams, all the more power to them.
4. SW Minnesota State 3-1 (2-0 D2) (+1)
PG - W vs. Minnesota-Morris 87-65
LG - W vs. NW Missouri State 47-46
UG - vs. Augustana (3-1), vs. Wayne State (4-0)
Note - The Mustangs are heading in the right direction as they swept the home-and-away series with NW Missouri State. Sure, they weren't impressive wins but they are wins nonetheless. Their only loss was at D1 South Dakota State, which certainly wasn't a bad loss by any means. Jordan Miller and Scott Roehl have been absolute monsters for the Mustangs thus far in the early season and Roehl is nearly averaging a double-double a game at 16.5 PPG (12th in NSIC) and 9.0 RPG (3rd in NSIC). However, the Mustangs might need someone else to pick up the scoring load, however Matt Zager has looked poised to fill that position as a redshirt freshman. What's scary is this team has yet to see Vinard Birch step up...trust me, I think he will too. If Birch can get going and this team can find a 3rd and 4th scorer, look out, they'll be tough. This weekend should provide a good test for the Mustangs as they host Augustana and Wayne State.
5. Augustana 3-1 (0-0 D2) (-2)
PG - W vs. Valley City State 65-53
LG - L vs. Dakota State 52-51
UG - @ SW Minnesota State (3-1), @ MSU-Mankato (4-0)
Note - I really don't know what to think of the Vikings. To be honest, I almost feel like I'm rating them too high...and then again, I feel like I'm rating them too low. It's tough to get a read on a team that's expected to be one of the best teams in the conference, but then lose a game at home to Dakota State. No offense to Dakota State, but they had no business beating Augustana...but they did. Even though Augie is loaded with talent, they sort of remind me a lot of Winona State last year. It is a team full of inexperienced players and are asking two players to carry the load. So far, Cody Schilling and Cameron McCaffrey have been outstanding, yet mediocre. They are terrific scorers but it also feels like they are trying too much to score and now allowing their teammates to get into the mix. To be honest, Augie NEEDS to find a guy outside of Schilling and McCaffrey to contribute on the offensive end. I thought that guy would be Nathan Truex since he averaged 6.0 PPG in 15.6 MPG on a talented scoring team. However, Truex has fallen off the map with this team, averaging 1.3 PPG in 11.8 MPG. Overall, Augie needs to fix things fast because they could be looking at 3-3 if this road trip doesn't go well in Marshall and Mankato.
6. Northern State 4-0 (0-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Jamestown 86-80
LG - W vs. Mayville State 74-68
UG - vs. Concordia-St. Paul (3-1), vs. St. Cloud State (1-3)
Note - While the Wolves aren't playing as well as I expected them to, they still have a very solid, athletic team that I think can make some noise in the NSIC. I dare you to find many players that are playing better than Colin Pryor right now. Pryor is currently scoring 17.8 PPG (7th in NSIC) and averaging 10.5 RPG (1st in NSIC). I think what's scary about the Wolves is that they are deep. I'd say they are probably coming close to matching the Warriors in the depth department. With guys like Dustin Tetzlaff, Tydan Storrusten and Bojan Todorovic coming off the bench, it's hard not to say that. Granted, I think we'll see Todorovic start sooner or later, as he is recovering from a knee injury. Northern State has an opportunity to show that they are a team to be reckoned with when Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State come to town. This will be a particularly good opportunity to perhaps kick the Huskies while they're down and on their home turf.
7. Wayne State 4-0 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. York College 75-64
LG - W vs. Dakota State 84-80 (OT)
UG - @ MSU-Mankato (4-0), @ SW Minnesota State (3-1)
Note - I'll be honest, I feel like I am underrating Wayne State. To me, it feels like they are playing better than the 7th best team in the NSIC. On top of that, they did something Augustana could not...beat Dakota State at home. Granted, it took OT to do it, but they still did it. There are two things that are surprising me about the Wildcats. For one, they are extremely balanced with their scoring. They have five players scoring 9.8 PPG or more. To me, that bodes well if you can have somebody else step up on your team when somebody else is struggling. On top of that, after losing key players like Brett Spiker and Brian Metz, to have balance like that is incredible. The second thing that's surprising me about the Wildcats is the play of Amry Shelby. Granted, he led the team in scoring last year at 13.8 PPG, he's taken his game to another level, averaging 18.5 PPG (T-5th in NSIC) and has a 2.60 A/TO ratio (2nd in NSIC). He's a dangerous player in the NSIC. We'll see if the Wildcats can prove they deserve to be in the forefront when they go to Mankato and Marshall this weekend.
8. St. Cloud State 1-3 (0-2 D2) (-)
PG - L vs. Grand Canyon 71-65 (N)
LG - W vs. St. Scholastica 88-54
UG - @ U-Mary (4-0), @ Northern State (4-0)
Note - While the Huskies maybe 1-3, that's no reason to take the Huskies for granted. With how things have gone in St. Cloud to start the year, it should come as no surprise they are 1-3. They lost Tim Bergstrasser for the rest of the season (torn ACL), they've missed Andrew Bernstetter and Josh Ortmann for a few games this season (both are back in the lineup now), Nate Phillips was suspended for the first 2 games of the season due to violating a team rule and now Theo Rothstein appears to have an injured ankle (missed 1 game vs. St. Scholastica). If there is some good news, most of these players are back and playing for the Huskies but it should be needless to say that all these guys were sorely missed during their non-conference games. If there is a bright spot for the Huskies, it has been the emergence of freshman center Ben Bucholz. Bucholz is currently averaging 11.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG, not bad for a frosh. I do feel kind of bad for St. Cloud considering they are only playing one home game in their first six games. Of course, I am including the current road trip to Mary and Northern State. I believe the Huskies would be more than happy to split this road trip...but an 0-2 start to the conference season would not bode well for the Huskies.
9. Concordia-St. Paul 3-1 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Valley City State 69-63
LG - W vs. Academy of Art (CA) 77-67
UG - @ Northern State (4-0), @ U-Mary (4-0)
Note - I REALLY don't know what to think of the Golden Bears. They are more hot-and-cold than Katy Perry. They looked good at UW-Parkside but AWFUL against St. Thomas. They looked AWFUL against Valley City State but good against the Academy of Art (which may not be a D2, play a lot of D2 schools). I guess it should be understandable when you have the turnover the Golden Bears had. They have almost a completely different starting five than they had last year. The one thing the Golden Bears have a lot of compared to prior years teams is athleticism. Tyler Courtney, Isiah Thomas and the Olafeso brothers (Peter and Kenny) have a ton of athleticism to go with Brent Barz in the low post. One thing I am surprised by is the lack of production from Barz. Barz is currently only averaging 9.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG. I do believe those numbers will go up as we get into NSIC play, but he'll need them to go up if the Golden Bears want to have any sort of success in the NSIC. It could be a rough road trip for the Golden Bears as they start off the season at Mary and Northern State. I'd say that's the toughest road trip of all...certainly up there with going to MSU-Mankato and SW Minnesota State...
10. Bemidji State 3-1 (0-1 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. UW-Stout 89-87
LG - W @ Jamestown 75-60
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (3-1), vs. UM-Crookston (3-0)
Note - Are they 'G? They certainly could be. Their only loss was in Houghton, Michigan...which is not an easy place to play. Not to mention they have been without Lance Rongstad so far this season. He did make his comeback against Jamestown even though he saw limited minutes. The one player that is putting the 'G factor back into Bemidji is James Ellisor, who is looking like one of the best newcomers to the NSIC. Ellisor is currently averaging 20.5 PPG (3rd in NSIC) and 8.0 RPG (5th in NSIC). Did I mention this guy hasn't missed a free throw yet (21-of-21)? I believe he gives the Beavers a dynamic that they might not have had last year. Granted, it's tough to replace a player like Seth Haake, but it looks like the Beavers have done just that. I believe with Rongstad back in the lineup and the current rotation the Beavers have, they could be a pretty scary team. Bryce Tesdahl is just as dynamic as he's ever been and Patrick Cassidy has really stepped up his game as an inside-outside scoring threat. The Beavers have an opportunity to get the season started on a high note as they host MSU-Moorhead and UM-Crookston this weekend.
11. MSU-Moorhead 3-1 (0-0 D2) (+2)
PG - L @ Concordia-Moorhead 83-78
LG - W vs. Gustavus Adolphus 68-57
UG - @ Bemidji State (3-1), @ UM-Duluth (2-2)
Note - If there's a mystery team to me in the NSIC, it's the MSU-Moorhead Dragons. The reason why I say that is they have size, athleticism and a balanced scoring effort. However, they are 3-1 with a REALLY bad loss to Concordia-Moorhead. They seem to turn the ball over a lot as well, being only one of three teams in the NSIC that has a negative turnover margin against their opponents. However, they do have scorers...and a lot of them. They are the only team in the NSIC that has five players averaging double-figures per game (granted there is a HUGE dropoff after those five players). This team doesn't get much from their bench but their starters do score a lot. I think the Dragons could clear a lot of mystery about them under new head coach Chad Walthall if they can go into Bemidji and Duluth and come away with wins. Granted, those aren't exactly "powerhouse" teams in the NSIC but I think it might be a way to prove they aren't a bottom tier NSIC team.
12. UM-Crookston 3-0 (0-0 D2) (+2)
PG - W @ Mayville State 78-76
LG - W vs. Crossroads College 105-42
UG - @ UM-Duluth (2-2), @ Bemidji State (3-1)
Note - Okay, maybe the Golden Eagles aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. Mayville State barely lost to Northern State and MSU-Moorhead and UM-Crookston did what they didn't do...won in their place. On top of that, they kicked Crossroads College around like the Sisters of the Poor (sorry, I had to get one Gordon Gee comment in this). Right now, the bottom tier in the NSIC is hard to figure out because the Golden Eagles have a few guys I didn't think of would be big time contributors for them (or at the very least last year). Larry Brown has been solid, averaging 17.7 PPG (8th in NSIC). Adam Hendricks has also stepped up his game, averaging 15.7 PPG (15th in NSIC). The question is, can the Golden Eagles get out of the cellar in the NSIC? It'll be interesting to see since they start off the year with two road games but right now it is wait-and-see with this team.
13. Upper Iowa 1-3 (0-2 D2) (-1)
PG - L vs. Academy of Arts (CA) 63-61 (N)
LG - W vs. Valley City State 88-59 (N)
UG - vs. Winona State (4-0)
Note - I really don't know what to think of this Peacocks team. I see they still play a ridiculous amount of players in one game. I still know Matt Lesan is "the man" on this team, averaging 18.5 PPG (T-4th in NSIC). However, the truth is, it is hard to gauge the Peacocks because they've played a really tough schedule so far and haven't really played any "middle of the road" teams. The closest team to that "middle of the road" would be Academy of Arts and it was a close loss for Upper Iowa. For the Peacocks to succeed, the need somebody outside of Lesan, Tucker Wentzien and Dan Bestul to step up. Upper Iowa is truly comparative to a box of chocolates. There's a lot of variety and you just don't know what you're going to get...all I know is most of the time, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth and you'll be wanting to demand a refund. We'll see with this team though. They brought back a lot of players from last year and we'll see how they handle NSIC teams this year. I don't think they could've asked for a worse NSIC opponent to start off with than at Winona State. I guess that's just the tough luck the Peacocks have.
14. UM-Duluth 2-2 (0-2 D2) (-4)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65-60 (N)
LG - W vs. UW-Superior 78-74
UG - vs. UM-Crookston (3-0), vs. MSU-Moorhead (3-1)
Note - Well, I wonder what Bulldogs team we'll see this week since they've had a week off from their game against UW-Superior. You might be wondering, why did I drop the Bulldogs four spots when they didn't play a game? It was basically a matter of getting a better evaluation of the teams I placed ahead of them. All-in-all, I just think teams like Upper Iowa and UM-Crookston have played better than UM-Duluth, granted the Bulldogs played Dominguez Hills pretty tough. In general, the bottom four teams are really hard to rank because of the early season. Obviously Crookston won't go undefeated and I'll be really surprised if the Bulldogs finish .500 after the conference season has come and gone. However, the Bulldogs do have a good opportunity to boost their record to 4-2 with two of the "bottom feeders" coming to their house this weekend. UM-Duluth better hope somebody other than Adam Rasmussen or Dylan Rodriguez steps up for them this weekend. If the non-conference is any indication, Jake Hottenstine and Riley Walker could make a big name for themselves in this weekend's games.
1. Winona State 4-0 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W @ Barry 83-75 (OT)
LG - W vs. Clarke College 111-66
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (1-3)
Note - I would be lying to myself if the Warriors didn't look like the best team in the NSIC right now. They are coming off a blowout home win against Clarke College. They didn't look good in the first half, going into half with only a 13 point lead and turned the ball over 10 times. However, they had an outstanding second half performance, outscoring Clarke by 32 and not turning the ball over at all in the second half. There are two things that have really surprised me about the Warriors at this point in the season. The first being how well they have gelled at this point in the season. With the players they have and brought in, I thought their chemistry would be bad to start off with. Not so. The second being the emergence of their D1 transfers Anthony Tucker and Clayton Vette. Tucker is currently averaging 21.5 PPG (1st in NSIC) and Vette is averaging 14.8 PPG (18th in NSIC). These were the two guys I expected that needed to step up for the Warriors to be successful and so far they have been. They start off NSIC play nice and easy with one home game against Upper Iowa.
2. U-Mary 4-0 (4-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Saginaw Valley State 51-36 (N)
LG - W vs. PR-Rio Piedras 98-63 (N)
UG - vs. St. Cloud State (1-3), vs. Concordia-St. Paul (3-1)
Note - The Marauders have certainly got their season off on the right foot. They had a very successful trip down to Florida, picking up a victory over a very solid Saginaw Valley State team. Most importantly, they are 4-0 against D2 opponents, which looks very good if the Marauders want to make a push for the NCAA tournament. Part of the reason behind the Marauders early season success is the emergence of a third scorer. Anthony Moody and Eric Erdmann were proven stars but the one guy that's stepped up his game is Jordan Wilhelm. Wilhelm is currently averaging 16.8 PPG (T-9th in NSIC) along with Moody averaging 18.3 PPG (6th in NSIC). With Moody's driving and passing ability, Wilhelm's outside shot and Erdmann's inside game, the Marauders are looking like a force to be reckoned with. The Marauders are looking to start off NSIC play on the right foot as they host St. Cloud State and Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.
3. MSU-Mankato 4-0 (3-0 D2) (+1)
PG - W vs. Michigan Tech 63-61
LG - W vs. Eureka College 120-44
UG - vs. Wayne State (4-0), vs. Augustana (3-1)
Note - Just like Winona State, I am surprised at how well things are going for the Mavericks to start off the season. After losing some great players from last year's squad, I thought it'd take them a few games to adjust, but they look just fine to me. They didn't play particularly well against Michigan Tech and still won, which is worth saying something considering the Huskies are 4-1 to start off the season. Jefferson Mason isn't WOWING anyone yet, but he's putting up some solid all-round stats, while notable Marcus Hill and Cameron Hodges are putting up some good numbers. With some surprising bench play out of Joe Drapcho and Jimmy Whitehead, as well as Andre Gilbert coming back and showing some signs of promise, I think the Mavericks could be a team to watch out for in the NSIC. They start off the season with two tough home games against Wayne State and Augustana. If they can get off to a 2-0 start with those two teams, all the more power to them.
4. SW Minnesota State 3-1 (2-0 D2) (+1)
PG - W vs. Minnesota-Morris 87-65
LG - W vs. NW Missouri State 47-46
UG - vs. Augustana (3-1), vs. Wayne State (4-0)
Note - The Mustangs are heading in the right direction as they swept the home-and-away series with NW Missouri State. Sure, they weren't impressive wins but they are wins nonetheless. Their only loss was at D1 South Dakota State, which certainly wasn't a bad loss by any means. Jordan Miller and Scott Roehl have been absolute monsters for the Mustangs thus far in the early season and Roehl is nearly averaging a double-double a game at 16.5 PPG (12th in NSIC) and 9.0 RPG (3rd in NSIC). However, the Mustangs might need someone else to pick up the scoring load, however Matt Zager has looked poised to fill that position as a redshirt freshman. What's scary is this team has yet to see Vinard Birch step up...trust me, I think he will too. If Birch can get going and this team can find a 3rd and 4th scorer, look out, they'll be tough. This weekend should provide a good test for the Mustangs as they host Augustana and Wayne State.
5. Augustana 3-1 (0-0 D2) (-2)
PG - W vs. Valley City State 65-53
LG - L vs. Dakota State 52-51
UG - @ SW Minnesota State (3-1), @ MSU-Mankato (4-0)
Note - I really don't know what to think of the Vikings. To be honest, I almost feel like I'm rating them too high...and then again, I feel like I'm rating them too low. It's tough to get a read on a team that's expected to be one of the best teams in the conference, but then lose a game at home to Dakota State. No offense to Dakota State, but they had no business beating Augustana...but they did. Even though Augie is loaded with talent, they sort of remind me a lot of Winona State last year. It is a team full of inexperienced players and are asking two players to carry the load. So far, Cody Schilling and Cameron McCaffrey have been outstanding, yet mediocre. They are terrific scorers but it also feels like they are trying too much to score and now allowing their teammates to get into the mix. To be honest, Augie NEEDS to find a guy outside of Schilling and McCaffrey to contribute on the offensive end. I thought that guy would be Nathan Truex since he averaged 6.0 PPG in 15.6 MPG on a talented scoring team. However, Truex has fallen off the map with this team, averaging 1.3 PPG in 11.8 MPG. Overall, Augie needs to fix things fast because they could be looking at 3-3 if this road trip doesn't go well in Marshall and Mankato.
6. Northern State 4-0 (0-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Jamestown 86-80
LG - W vs. Mayville State 74-68
UG - vs. Concordia-St. Paul (3-1), vs. St. Cloud State (1-3)
Note - While the Wolves aren't playing as well as I expected them to, they still have a very solid, athletic team that I think can make some noise in the NSIC. I dare you to find many players that are playing better than Colin Pryor right now. Pryor is currently scoring 17.8 PPG (7th in NSIC) and averaging 10.5 RPG (1st in NSIC). I think what's scary about the Wolves is that they are deep. I'd say they are probably coming close to matching the Warriors in the depth department. With guys like Dustin Tetzlaff, Tydan Storrusten and Bojan Todorovic coming off the bench, it's hard not to say that. Granted, I think we'll see Todorovic start sooner or later, as he is recovering from a knee injury. Northern State has an opportunity to show that they are a team to be reckoned with when Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State come to town. This will be a particularly good opportunity to perhaps kick the Huskies while they're down and on their home turf.
7. Wayne State 4-0 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. York College 75-64
LG - W vs. Dakota State 84-80 (OT)
UG - @ MSU-Mankato (4-0), @ SW Minnesota State (3-1)
Note - I'll be honest, I feel like I am underrating Wayne State. To me, it feels like they are playing better than the 7th best team in the NSIC. On top of that, they did something Augustana could not...beat Dakota State at home. Granted, it took OT to do it, but they still did it. There are two things that are surprising me about the Wildcats. For one, they are extremely balanced with their scoring. They have five players scoring 9.8 PPG or more. To me, that bodes well if you can have somebody else step up on your team when somebody else is struggling. On top of that, after losing key players like Brett Spiker and Brian Metz, to have balance like that is incredible. The second thing that's surprising me about the Wildcats is the play of Amry Shelby. Granted, he led the team in scoring last year at 13.8 PPG, he's taken his game to another level, averaging 18.5 PPG (T-5th in NSIC) and has a 2.60 A/TO ratio (2nd in NSIC). He's a dangerous player in the NSIC. We'll see if the Wildcats can prove they deserve to be in the forefront when they go to Mankato and Marshall this weekend.
8. St. Cloud State 1-3 (0-2 D2) (-)
PG - L vs. Grand Canyon 71-65 (N)
LG - W vs. St. Scholastica 88-54
UG - @ U-Mary (4-0), @ Northern State (4-0)
Note - While the Huskies maybe 1-3, that's no reason to take the Huskies for granted. With how things have gone in St. Cloud to start the year, it should come as no surprise they are 1-3. They lost Tim Bergstrasser for the rest of the season (torn ACL), they've missed Andrew Bernstetter and Josh Ortmann for a few games this season (both are back in the lineup now), Nate Phillips was suspended for the first 2 games of the season due to violating a team rule and now Theo Rothstein appears to have an injured ankle (missed 1 game vs. St. Scholastica). If there is some good news, most of these players are back and playing for the Huskies but it should be needless to say that all these guys were sorely missed during their non-conference games. If there is a bright spot for the Huskies, it has been the emergence of freshman center Ben Bucholz. Bucholz is currently averaging 11.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG, not bad for a frosh. I do feel kind of bad for St. Cloud considering they are only playing one home game in their first six games. Of course, I am including the current road trip to Mary and Northern State. I believe the Huskies would be more than happy to split this road trip...but an 0-2 start to the conference season would not bode well for the Huskies.
9. Concordia-St. Paul 3-1 (1-0 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. Valley City State 69-63
LG - W vs. Academy of Art (CA) 77-67
UG - @ Northern State (4-0), @ U-Mary (4-0)
Note - I REALLY don't know what to think of the Golden Bears. They are more hot-and-cold than Katy Perry. They looked good at UW-Parkside but AWFUL against St. Thomas. They looked AWFUL against Valley City State but good against the Academy of Art (which may not be a D2, play a lot of D2 schools). I guess it should be understandable when you have the turnover the Golden Bears had. They have almost a completely different starting five than they had last year. The one thing the Golden Bears have a lot of compared to prior years teams is athleticism. Tyler Courtney, Isiah Thomas and the Olafeso brothers (Peter and Kenny) have a ton of athleticism to go with Brent Barz in the low post. One thing I am surprised by is the lack of production from Barz. Barz is currently only averaging 9.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG. I do believe those numbers will go up as we get into NSIC play, but he'll need them to go up if the Golden Bears want to have any sort of success in the NSIC. It could be a rough road trip for the Golden Bears as they start off the season at Mary and Northern State. I'd say that's the toughest road trip of all...certainly up there with going to MSU-Mankato and SW Minnesota State...
10. Bemidji State 3-1 (0-1 D2) (-)
PG - W vs. UW-Stout 89-87
LG - W @ Jamestown 75-60
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (3-1), vs. UM-Crookston (3-0)
Note - Are they 'G? They certainly could be. Their only loss was in Houghton, Michigan...which is not an easy place to play. Not to mention they have been without Lance Rongstad so far this season. He did make his comeback against Jamestown even though he saw limited minutes. The one player that is putting the 'G factor back into Bemidji is James Ellisor, who is looking like one of the best newcomers to the NSIC. Ellisor is currently averaging 20.5 PPG (3rd in NSIC) and 8.0 RPG (5th in NSIC). Did I mention this guy hasn't missed a free throw yet (21-of-21)? I believe he gives the Beavers a dynamic that they might not have had last year. Granted, it's tough to replace a player like Seth Haake, but it looks like the Beavers have done just that. I believe with Rongstad back in the lineup and the current rotation the Beavers have, they could be a pretty scary team. Bryce Tesdahl is just as dynamic as he's ever been and Patrick Cassidy has really stepped up his game as an inside-outside scoring threat. The Beavers have an opportunity to get the season started on a high note as they host MSU-Moorhead and UM-Crookston this weekend.
11. MSU-Moorhead 3-1 (0-0 D2) (+2)
PG - L @ Concordia-Moorhead 83-78
LG - W vs. Gustavus Adolphus 68-57
UG - @ Bemidji State (3-1), @ UM-Duluth (2-2)
Note - If there's a mystery team to me in the NSIC, it's the MSU-Moorhead Dragons. The reason why I say that is they have size, athleticism and a balanced scoring effort. However, they are 3-1 with a REALLY bad loss to Concordia-Moorhead. They seem to turn the ball over a lot as well, being only one of three teams in the NSIC that has a negative turnover margin against their opponents. However, they do have scorers...and a lot of them. They are the only team in the NSIC that has five players averaging double-figures per game (granted there is a HUGE dropoff after those five players). This team doesn't get much from their bench but their starters do score a lot. I think the Dragons could clear a lot of mystery about them under new head coach Chad Walthall if they can go into Bemidji and Duluth and come away with wins. Granted, those aren't exactly "powerhouse" teams in the NSIC but I think it might be a way to prove they aren't a bottom tier NSIC team.
12. UM-Crookston 3-0 (0-0 D2) (+2)
PG - W @ Mayville State 78-76
LG - W vs. Crossroads College 105-42
UG - @ UM-Duluth (2-2), @ Bemidji State (3-1)
Note - Okay, maybe the Golden Eagles aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. Mayville State barely lost to Northern State and MSU-Moorhead and UM-Crookston did what they didn't do...won in their place. On top of that, they kicked Crossroads College around like the Sisters of the Poor (sorry, I had to get one Gordon Gee comment in this). Right now, the bottom tier in the NSIC is hard to figure out because the Golden Eagles have a few guys I didn't think of would be big time contributors for them (or at the very least last year). Larry Brown has been solid, averaging 17.7 PPG (8th in NSIC). Adam Hendricks has also stepped up his game, averaging 15.7 PPG (15th in NSIC). The question is, can the Golden Eagles get out of the cellar in the NSIC? It'll be interesting to see since they start off the year with two road games but right now it is wait-and-see with this team.
13. Upper Iowa 1-3 (0-2 D2) (-1)
PG - L vs. Academy of Arts (CA) 63-61 (N)
LG - W vs. Valley City State 88-59 (N)
UG - vs. Winona State (4-0)
Note - I really don't know what to think of this Peacocks team. I see they still play a ridiculous amount of players in one game. I still know Matt Lesan is "the man" on this team, averaging 18.5 PPG (T-4th in NSIC). However, the truth is, it is hard to gauge the Peacocks because they've played a really tough schedule so far and haven't really played any "middle of the road" teams. The closest team to that "middle of the road" would be Academy of Arts and it was a close loss for Upper Iowa. For the Peacocks to succeed, the need somebody outside of Lesan, Tucker Wentzien and Dan Bestul to step up. Upper Iowa is truly comparative to a box of chocolates. There's a lot of variety and you just don't know what you're going to get...all I know is most of the time, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth and you'll be wanting to demand a refund. We'll see with this team though. They brought back a lot of players from last year and we'll see how they handle NSIC teams this year. I don't think they could've asked for a worse NSIC opponent to start off with than at Winona State. I guess that's just the tough luck the Peacocks have.
14. UM-Duluth 2-2 (0-2 D2) (-4)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65-60 (N)
LG - W vs. UW-Superior 78-74
UG - vs. UM-Crookston (3-0), vs. MSU-Moorhead (3-1)
Note - Well, I wonder what Bulldogs team we'll see this week since they've had a week off from their game against UW-Superior. You might be wondering, why did I drop the Bulldogs four spots when they didn't play a game? It was basically a matter of getting a better evaluation of the teams I placed ahead of them. All-in-all, I just think teams like Upper Iowa and UM-Crookston have played better than UM-Duluth, granted the Bulldogs played Dominguez Hills pretty tough. In general, the bottom four teams are really hard to rank because of the early season. Obviously Crookston won't go undefeated and I'll be really surprised if the Bulldogs finish .500 after the conference season has come and gone. However, the Bulldogs do have a good opportunity to boost their record to 4-2 with two of the "bottom feeders" coming to their house this weekend. UM-Duluth better hope somebody other than Adam Rasmussen or Dylan Rodriguez steps up for them this weekend. If the non-conference is any indication, Jake Hottenstine and Riley Walker could make a big name for themselves in this weekend's games.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
NSIC Men's Basketball Weekly Recap (Nov. 21 - 30)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
York College 64
Wayne State 75
Team Leaders
Jason Jensen 17 pts 5-of-9 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 4-of-4 FT
Ben Tasa 14 pts 6-of-8 FG 8 reb
Amry Shelby 10 pts 6 ast
Derrell Williams 10 pts 4-of-8 FG
Vontrell Seroyer 10 pts
Elijah Miller 7 pts 12 reb
UM-Crookston 78
Mayville State 76 OT
Team Leaders
Larry Brown 21 pts 9-of-13 FG
Eric Dearden 18 pts 6-of-13 FG
Jacolby Anderson 12 pts 4-of-6 FG 5 stl
UW-Stout 87
Bemidji State 89
Team Leaders
Patrick Cassidy 18 pts 7-of-9 FG
James Ellisor 13 pts 11 reb
Noah Sheperd 13 pts 6-of-8 FG
Jake Lindstrom 13 pts
Bryce Tesdahl 11 pts 3-of-6 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 7 ast
Burke Lendl 10 pts 7 reb
MSU-Moorhead 78
Concordia-Moorhead 83
Team Leaders
Dennis Williamson 18 pts 5-of-11 FG 8-of-8 FT 11 reb
Alex Novak 17 pts 7-of-10 FG 8 reb
Tarell Clark 15 pts
Charlie Chapman 13 pts 4-of-9 FG 3-of-6 3ptFG
Jake Driscoll 10 pts
UW-Superior 74
UM-Duluth 78
Team Leaders
Ryan Rasmussen 18 pts
Jake Hottenstine 13 pts 6-of-7 FT 7 reb
Dylan Rodriguez 10 pts 5-of-9 FG
Wednesday, Nov. 24
Valley City State 53
Augustana 65
Team Leaders
Cody Schilling 19 pts 7-of-12 FG 2-of-4 3ptFG
Cameron McCaffrey 19 pts 6-of-13 FG 3-of-6 3ptFG
Friday, Nov. 26
Academy of Arts 63
Upper Iowa 61
Team Leaders
Dan Bestul 19 pts 7-of-12 FG
Matt Lesan 19 pts 9-of-11 FT
Tucker Wentzien 3 pts 7 reb
Saganaw Valley State 36
U-Mary 51
Team Leaders
Anthony Moody 16 pts 6-of-13 FG 3 stl
Eric Erdmann 16 pts 7-of-16 FG
Cameron Lee 10 pts 4-of-8 FG
Jordan Wilhelm 1 pt 9 reb
Michigan Tech 61
MSU-Mankato 63
Team Leaders
Marcus Hill 14 pts 7 ast
Jefferson Mason 11 pts 4-of-7 FG 7 reb
Cameron Hodges 8 pts 7 reb
Dakota State 52
Augustana 51
Team Leaders
Cody Schilling 21 pts 7-of-16 FG 6-of-7 FT 9 reb
Cameron McCaffrey 17 pts 3-of-7 3ptFG
Valley City State 63
Concordia-St. Paul 69
Team Leaders
Tyler Courtney 20 pts 8-of-12 FG 4-of-7 3ptFG
Kenny Olafeso 12 pts 4-of-6 FG 4-of-5 FT
Peter Olafeso 11 pts 3-of-8 FG 5-of-6 FT 7 reb
Jamestown 80
Northern State 86
Team Leaders
Colin Pryor 25 pts 10-of-12 FG 11 reb
Tydan Storrusten 12 pts 2-of-5 FG 8-of-9 FT
Dustin Tetzlaff 11 pts 4-of-5 FG
Bojan Todorovic 10 pts 4-of-5 FG
David Lane 8 pts 8 ast 3 stl
Saturday, Nov. 27
Crossroads College 42
UM-Crookston 105
Team Leaders
Adam Hendricks 26 pts 12-of-15 FG 7 reb
Jacolby Anderson 16 pts 6-of-9 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG
Larry Brown 14 pts 6-of-6 FG
Eric Dearden 12 pts 4-of-7 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG 7 ast
Trent Graves 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Mike Boebel 7 pts 7 reb
Almir Krdzalic 3 pts 7 ast 5 stl
Eureka 44
MSU-Mankato 120
Team Leaders
Jimmy Whitehead 17 pts 7-of-12 FG 3 stl
Marcus Hill 14 pts 5-of-8 FG 4-of-6 3ptFG
Connor O'Brien 13 pts 5-of-5 FG 11 reb
Andre Gilbert 13 pts 5-of-11 FG 8 reb
Cameron Hodges 12 pts 5-of-6 FG 3 stl
Jefferson Mason 10 pts 4-of-6 FG 3 blk
Steven Kirschbaum 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Joe Drapcho 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Alex Hanks 10 pts 5-of-8 FG 3 stl
NW Missouri State 46
SW Minnesota State 47
Team Leaders
Jordan Miller 13 pts 4-of-5 FT 10 reb
Nick Smith 0 pts 7 reb
Valley City State 59
Upper Iowa 88
Team Leaders
Matt Lesan 18 pts 5-of-10 FG 8-of-8 FT
Tucker Wentzien 15 pts 5-of-9 FG 5-of-6 FT 7 reb
Alex Kramer 11 pts 3-of-6 FG
Dan Bestul 11 pts 4-of-7 FG
UPR-Rio Piedras 63
U-Mary 98
Team Leaders
Jordan Wilhelm 21 pts 6-of-12 FG 4-of-9 3ptFG 5-of-6 FT
Anthony Moody 19 pts 7-of-11 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG 6 ast 3 stl
Cameron Lee 13 pts 4-of-6 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG
Eric Erdmann 11 pts 10 reb
Damon Smith 8 pts 7 reb
Academy of Art 67
Concordia-St. Paul 77
Team Leaders
Peter Olafeso 19 pts 5-of-12 FG 9-of-12 FT 9 reb
Tyler Courtney 12 pts 5-of-9 FG
Brent Barz 10 pts 7 reb
Kenny Olafeso 10 pts
Mayville State 68
Northern State 74
Team Leaders
Colin Pryor 24 pts 8-of-14 FG 7-of-8 FT 11 reb 3 stl
Tydan Storrusten 13 pts 4-of-9 FG 3-of-7 3ptFG
David Lane 8 pts 7 ast
Sunday, Nov. 28
Dakota State 80
Wayne State 84 OT
Team Leaders
Amry Shelby 25 pts 7-of-13 FG 10-of-10 FT 8 reb
Jason Jensen 15 pts
Ben Tasa 13 pts 6-of-7 FG
Derrell Williams 5 pts 7 reb
Gustavus Adolphus 57
MSU-Moorhead 68
Team Leaders
Charlie Chapman 15 pts 5-of-6 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG
Tarell Clark 14 pts 5-of-8 FG
Dennis Williamson 13 pts 5-of-10 FG
Jake Driscoll 12 pts 4-of-9 FG 6 ast
Alex Novak 11 pts 5-of-7 FG 7 reb
Monday, Nov. 29
St. Scholastica 54
St. Cloud State 88
Team Leaders
Ben Bucholz 17 pts 5-of-7 FG 6-of-7 FT 4 stl
Brett Putz 15 pts 4-of-9 FG
Taylor Witt 14 pts 5-of-8 FG
Josh Ortmann 14 pts 3-of-7 FG 6-of-6 FT
Kenquane Brown 1 pt 8 reb
Clarke College 66
Winona State 111
Team Leaders
Anthony Tucker 20 pts 6-of-10 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 5-of-5 FT
Ben Fischer 14 pts 5-of-5 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG 6 ast
C.J. Erickson 11 pts 5-of-8 FG 4 blk
Clayton Vette 10 pts 5-of-8 FG
Brad Meyer 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Bemidji State 75
Jamestown 60
Team Leaders
James Ellisor 23 pts 9-of-13 FG 8 reb
Bryce Tesdahl 16 pts 2-of-5 FG 11-of-14 FT 6 ast
Patrick Cassidy 14 pts 5-of-8 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG 7 reb
Ryan Kinnell 0 pts 7 reb
York College 64
Wayne State 75
Team Leaders
Jason Jensen 17 pts 5-of-9 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 4-of-4 FT
Ben Tasa 14 pts 6-of-8 FG 8 reb
Amry Shelby 10 pts 6 ast
Derrell Williams 10 pts 4-of-8 FG
Vontrell Seroyer 10 pts
Elijah Miller 7 pts 12 reb
UM-Crookston 78
Mayville State 76 OT
Team Leaders
Larry Brown 21 pts 9-of-13 FG
Eric Dearden 18 pts 6-of-13 FG
Jacolby Anderson 12 pts 4-of-6 FG 5 stl
UW-Stout 87
Bemidji State 89
Team Leaders
Patrick Cassidy 18 pts 7-of-9 FG
James Ellisor 13 pts 11 reb
Noah Sheperd 13 pts 6-of-8 FG
Jake Lindstrom 13 pts
Bryce Tesdahl 11 pts 3-of-6 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 7 ast
Burke Lendl 10 pts 7 reb
MSU-Moorhead 78
Concordia-Moorhead 83
Team Leaders
Dennis Williamson 18 pts 5-of-11 FG 8-of-8 FT 11 reb
Alex Novak 17 pts 7-of-10 FG 8 reb
Tarell Clark 15 pts
Charlie Chapman 13 pts 4-of-9 FG 3-of-6 3ptFG
Jake Driscoll 10 pts
UW-Superior 74
UM-Duluth 78
Team Leaders
Ryan Rasmussen 18 pts
Jake Hottenstine 13 pts 6-of-7 FT 7 reb
Dylan Rodriguez 10 pts 5-of-9 FG
Wednesday, Nov. 24
Valley City State 53
Augustana 65
Team Leaders
Cody Schilling 19 pts 7-of-12 FG 2-of-4 3ptFG
Cameron McCaffrey 19 pts 6-of-13 FG 3-of-6 3ptFG
Friday, Nov. 26
Academy of Arts 63
Upper Iowa 61
Team Leaders
Dan Bestul 19 pts 7-of-12 FG
Matt Lesan 19 pts 9-of-11 FT
Tucker Wentzien 3 pts 7 reb
Saganaw Valley State 36
U-Mary 51
Team Leaders
Anthony Moody 16 pts 6-of-13 FG 3 stl
Eric Erdmann 16 pts 7-of-16 FG
Cameron Lee 10 pts 4-of-8 FG
Jordan Wilhelm 1 pt 9 reb
Michigan Tech 61
MSU-Mankato 63
Team Leaders
Marcus Hill 14 pts 7 ast
Jefferson Mason 11 pts 4-of-7 FG 7 reb
Cameron Hodges 8 pts 7 reb
Dakota State 52
Augustana 51
Team Leaders
Cody Schilling 21 pts 7-of-16 FG 6-of-7 FT 9 reb
Cameron McCaffrey 17 pts 3-of-7 3ptFG
Valley City State 63
Concordia-St. Paul 69
Team Leaders
Tyler Courtney 20 pts 8-of-12 FG 4-of-7 3ptFG
Kenny Olafeso 12 pts 4-of-6 FG 4-of-5 FT
Peter Olafeso 11 pts 3-of-8 FG 5-of-6 FT 7 reb
Jamestown 80
Northern State 86
Team Leaders
Colin Pryor 25 pts 10-of-12 FG 11 reb
Tydan Storrusten 12 pts 2-of-5 FG 8-of-9 FT
Dustin Tetzlaff 11 pts 4-of-5 FG
Bojan Todorovic 10 pts 4-of-5 FG
David Lane 8 pts 8 ast 3 stl
Saturday, Nov. 27
Crossroads College 42
UM-Crookston 105
Team Leaders
Adam Hendricks 26 pts 12-of-15 FG 7 reb
Jacolby Anderson 16 pts 6-of-9 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG
Larry Brown 14 pts 6-of-6 FG
Eric Dearden 12 pts 4-of-7 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG 7 ast
Trent Graves 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Mike Boebel 7 pts 7 reb
Almir Krdzalic 3 pts 7 ast 5 stl
Eureka 44
MSU-Mankato 120
Team Leaders
Jimmy Whitehead 17 pts 7-of-12 FG 3 stl
Marcus Hill 14 pts 5-of-8 FG 4-of-6 3ptFG
Connor O'Brien 13 pts 5-of-5 FG 11 reb
Andre Gilbert 13 pts 5-of-11 FG 8 reb
Cameron Hodges 12 pts 5-of-6 FG 3 stl
Jefferson Mason 10 pts 4-of-6 FG 3 blk
Steven Kirschbaum 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Joe Drapcho 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Alex Hanks 10 pts 5-of-8 FG 3 stl
NW Missouri State 46
SW Minnesota State 47
Team Leaders
Jordan Miller 13 pts 4-of-5 FT 10 reb
Nick Smith 0 pts 7 reb
Valley City State 59
Upper Iowa 88
Team Leaders
Matt Lesan 18 pts 5-of-10 FG 8-of-8 FT
Tucker Wentzien 15 pts 5-of-9 FG 5-of-6 FT 7 reb
Alex Kramer 11 pts 3-of-6 FG
Dan Bestul 11 pts 4-of-7 FG
UPR-Rio Piedras 63
U-Mary 98
Team Leaders
Jordan Wilhelm 21 pts 6-of-12 FG 4-of-9 3ptFG 5-of-6 FT
Anthony Moody 19 pts 7-of-11 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG 6 ast 3 stl
Cameron Lee 13 pts 4-of-6 FG 3-of-4 3ptFG
Eric Erdmann 11 pts 10 reb
Damon Smith 8 pts 7 reb
Academy of Art 67
Concordia-St. Paul 77
Team Leaders
Peter Olafeso 19 pts 5-of-12 FG 9-of-12 FT 9 reb
Tyler Courtney 12 pts 5-of-9 FG
Brent Barz 10 pts 7 reb
Kenny Olafeso 10 pts
Mayville State 68
Northern State 74
Team Leaders
Colin Pryor 24 pts 8-of-14 FG 7-of-8 FT 11 reb 3 stl
Tydan Storrusten 13 pts 4-of-9 FG 3-of-7 3ptFG
David Lane 8 pts 7 ast
Sunday, Nov. 28
Dakota State 80
Wayne State 84 OT
Team Leaders
Amry Shelby 25 pts 7-of-13 FG 10-of-10 FT 8 reb
Jason Jensen 15 pts
Ben Tasa 13 pts 6-of-7 FG
Derrell Williams 5 pts 7 reb
Gustavus Adolphus 57
MSU-Moorhead 68
Team Leaders
Charlie Chapman 15 pts 5-of-6 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG
Tarell Clark 14 pts 5-of-8 FG
Dennis Williamson 13 pts 5-of-10 FG
Jake Driscoll 12 pts 4-of-9 FG 6 ast
Alex Novak 11 pts 5-of-7 FG 7 reb
Monday, Nov. 29
St. Scholastica 54
St. Cloud State 88
Team Leaders
Ben Bucholz 17 pts 5-of-7 FG 6-of-7 FT 4 stl
Brett Putz 15 pts 4-of-9 FG
Taylor Witt 14 pts 5-of-8 FG
Josh Ortmann 14 pts 3-of-7 FG 6-of-6 FT
Kenquane Brown 1 pt 8 reb
Clarke College 66
Winona State 111
Team Leaders
Anthony Tucker 20 pts 6-of-10 FG 3-of-5 3ptFG 5-of-5 FT
Ben Fischer 14 pts 5-of-5 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG 6 ast
C.J. Erickson 11 pts 5-of-8 FG 4 blk
Clayton Vette 10 pts 5-of-8 FG
Brad Meyer 10 pts 4-of-6 FG
Bemidji State 75
Jamestown 60
Team Leaders
James Ellisor 23 pts 9-of-13 FG 8 reb
Bryce Tesdahl 16 pts 2-of-5 FG 11-of-14 FT 6 ast
Patrick Cassidy 14 pts 5-of-8 FG 3-of-3 3ptFG 7 reb
Ryan Kinnell 0 pts 7 reb
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Adam Stanek's Men's Basketball NSIC Power Rankings (Early Edition)
I know we are only a handful of games into the season, but I thought I'd get an early jump on the NSIC Power Rankings and later on in the season, it will become a "Central Region" power ranking. I can honestly tell you, there are going to be a lot of surprises in this week's rankings. Some teams are much higher than you'd expect, while others are much lower.
1. Winona State 3-0 (1-0 D2)
PG - W @ Northwood (Fla.) 88-84 (OT)
LG - W @ Barry 83-75 OT
NG - vs. Clark College
Note - The Warriors have looked solid out of the gate and picked up two tough road wins in Florida over the weekend. Northwood is one of the best NAIA teams around and Barry is coming off a 2010 D2 NCAA tourney campaign. Anthony Tucker was sensational over the weekend, scoring 50 points, shooting 15-of-30 from the floor and 12-of-16 from the free throw line and tallying seven steals. Clayton Vette's weekend shouldn't be overshadowed either. He scored 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting and gathering 14 rebounds. The Warriors have one more non-conference contest before conference play starts up against Clark College.
2. U-Mary 2-0 (2-0 D2)
PG - W @ Montana State-Billings 70-68
LG - W vs. Chadron State 75-69
NG - Florida Southern Tourney
Note - The Marauders have picked up two nice D2 wins to start out the season. They had a tough contest in Billings, Montana against the GNAC's third best team, but came away with a 70-68 victory. They followed it up with a tough win at home against the RMAC's 12th best team, Chadron State. While these might not be the prettiest of victories, picking up two D2 wins is important for Mary if they want to claim an NCAA tourney spot. If anything, the Marauders need to be happy with the production of Jordan Wilhelm. Can anyone else believe Wilhelm is leading the Marauders in scoring at 22.5 PPG through the first two games? I thought he would be their third scorer but he's turned on the offensive firepower through the first two games. The Marauders have another opportunity to prove themselves when they play in the Florida Southern tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend.
3. Augustana 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Jamestown 75-65
LG - W @ Sioux Falls 69-53
NG - vs. Valley City State
Note - While the Vikings might not have had two of the most impressive wins to open up the season, they still need to be taken very seriously for a potential NSIC conference title. Why do I say that? Outside of Cameron McCaffrey, this team has yet to peak offensively. Although, we can't sell C-Mac^2 short. He's currently averaging 23.5 PPG through his first two starts. We all know Cody Schilling, who is averaging 10.0 PPG will heat up. All-in-all, this is going to be a VERY tough defensive team. DeZeeuw is perhaps the best defensive post in the NSIC, Chad Hettermann is the Augie equivalent of Chris Kramer from Purdue, and Cody Schilling has the defense to match the offense. I think there will be a lot of teams that struggle to score 70 points against the Vikings this year.
4. MSU-Mankato 2-0 (2-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Dominican (CA) 64-51 (neutral)
LG - W vs. Notre Dame de Namur (neutral)
NG - vs. Michigan Tech
Note - Perhaps I was wrong about the Mavericks. Perhaps they are better than I give them credit for. They are 2-0 in D2 games, that's worth something in my book. However, I think they'll be kidding themselves if that will help their SOS. Last year, Dominican was 10-17 and Notre Dame de Namur was 4-23. I know last year was last year, but if that trend continues this year, that doesn't help the Mavericks. Still, the Mavericks are probably the fourth best team in the NSIC right now and it certainly helps that the Huskies are struggling because that too, helps the Mavericks. They have a home game coming up against Michigan Tech...considering they are a 3-0 team in D2, that WILL help the Mavericks if they come away with a win.
5. SW Minnesota State 2-1 (1-0 D2)
PG - L @ South Dakota State 94-80
LG - W vs. UM-Morris 87-65
NG - NW Missouri State
Note - This spot really had me beside myself. There are three teams I thought I could stick here. I just had to go with my gut and say the Mustangs. Why? Because they are consistently an upper half team in the NSIC and the play of Scott Roehl scares me. Roehl is currently averaging 19.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG, all the while shooting 67% from the floor. Jordan Miller has turned his play up a notch too averaging 18.0 PPG but they'll need to see more out of Huseby if this team wants to stay up in this spot.
6. Northern State 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Presentation College 108-63
LG - W vs. Mount Marty 70-62
NG - vs. Jamestown
Note - The Wolves seem like an improved team, even though they haven't exactly faced tough competition so far in their non-conference games. So far, it seems as though their go-to guy is Colin Pryor, who has shown great improvement over last year. The three transfer additions of Tom Parks, Dustin Tetzlaff, and David Lane seem to be paying off, while the freshman Tydan Storrusten and Jared Hannigan will help with the depth. To think this team has depth to boot considering Bojan Todorovic should see more playing time in the coming weeks and Marko Filipovic could cause some problems as well for defenses. Jamestown should provide an interesting test for the Wolves considering they played Augustana tough on their home court.
7. Wayne State 3-0 (1-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Nebraska-Kearney 72-71 (OT)
LG - W vs. York College 75-64
NG - vs. Dakota State
Note - After losing their two best players to graduation last year, it seems as though the Wildcats are poised to surprise a few teams in the NSIC this year. Wayne State's guard play has been outstanding this year, especially the play of Amry Shelby. They are still seeing a lot of scoring from Jason Jensen and Brad Starken naturally, but I am surprised by how well the big guys Ben Tasa and Derrell Williams have been playing so far this year. It really looks like the Wayne State bigs have not lost a step from last year and if they can put together a good inside-outside game, they'll be tough to stop.
8. St. Cloud State 0-3 (0-2 D2)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 78-65
LG - L @ Grand Canyon 71-65
NG - vs. St. Scholastica
Note - Whether its the roster or the schedule, nobody has got off to a tougher start than the Huskies. They are currently plagued by injuries and suspensions. On top of that, they are one of few NSIC teams that have yet to play a home game this year. For all the expectations that were laid upon him, Taylor Witt has seen better days as well. In his first three games, Witt is averaging 12.0 PPG, but he's shooting 30% from the field, 13% from the arc and has committed 11 turnovers (almost 4 a game). The opponents they are playing are no pushovers either. Tim Bergstrasser is going to miss the entire season with an ACL tear, Andrew Bernstetter has missed the first three games due to a high ankle sprain, Josh Ortmann missed the last two games with a knee injury and Nate Phillips has missed the first three games due to violating a team rule. All-in-all, it spells a disastrous 0-3 start for the Huskies as things have falen apart at the seems. The good news is they will be getting Bernstetter and Phillips back but will those two be enough to make things right in St. Cloud? Only time will tell...
9. Concordia-St. Paul 1-1 (1-0 D2)
PG - W @ UW-Parkside 69-64
LG - L vs. St. Thomas 76-72
NG - vs. Valley City State
Note - The Golden Bears have been hit-or-miss thus far in the 2010-2011 season and what startles me is the play of their bigs. Brent Barz, who was an all-NSIC performer last year, has only averaged 8.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in the first two games and Dan Vandervieren has picked up two technical fouls already (this was a problem last year for him). However, it's not all gloom-and-doom for the Golden Bears. They should be more than happy with the play from the Olafeso boys. They are averaging 13.0 PPG and 11.5 PPG respectfully and Isiah Thomas seems to be taking his game to another level. To me, the jury is still out on the Golden Bears because they haven't looked very impressive so far in the two games they played.
10. Bemidji State 2-1 (0-1 D2)
PG - W @ Finlandia 84-63
LG - W vs. UW-Stout 89-87
NG - @ Jamestown
Note - Despite getting off to a tough start to the season to Michigan Tech, the Beavers have rebounded with two wins, including a tough home win against UW-Stout. They've been doing it without starting guard Lance Rongstad to boot. The one guy that has really given Bemidji State a boost is James Ellisor. He leads the team in scoring (19.7 PPG) and rebounding (7.7 RPG) through the first three games. Patrick Cassidy and Bryce Tesdahl have more than carried their own weight and the Beavers are starting to see Burke Lendl, Mason Walters and Jake Lindstrom break into the scoring column. I'll be interested in seeing this team when Rongstad gets back, because I think they'll have some of the best guard play in the league when he does with Rongstad, Tesdahl and Ellisor leading the charge.
11. UM-Duluth 2-2 (0-2 D2)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65-60
LG - W vs. UW-Superior 78-74
NG - vs. UM-Crookston
Note - Color me surprised, but the Bulldogs have not looked as bad as I thought they'd look to start out the season. Granted, their two wins came against nobodies like UW-Superior and Northland, but they haven't looked bad against quality competition like Grand Canyon and Cal State-Dominguez Hills. They played Cal State tough and they only had one bad half against Grand Canyon. What amazes me is the poor play of Ryan Rassmussen and how this team has overcome it. Granted, it seems as though Rassmussen is starting to come around after a 20 point game against UW-Superior. I think you can credit that to the play of Jake Hottenstine and Dylan Rodriguez for the Bulldogs surprising play. I'll be interested to see how this team does in NSIC play though before I put too much stock on the Bulldogs "improvement".
12. Upper Iowa 0-2 (0-2 D2)
PG - L @ Drury 88-69
LG - L vs. Quincy 74-61
NG - vs. Academy of Arts (neutral)
Note - Say what you will about the Peacocks, but they have so played by far-and-away the toughest schedule of any NSIC team. A road game and a home game against the #1 and #2 teams in the GLVC, one of the premiere conferences in D2. I'm just amazed that they didn't lose by 20+ to either opponent, even though they came close against Drury. What does it mean for the Peacocks? They might be the most "NSIC ready", but that doesn't mean they'll have success in the NSIC. I think its ridiculous that the Peacocks have 12 players averaging 10+ minutes a game. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Coach Dolan HAS to find a rotation and stick with it if he wants to have success in the NSIC. Very few can pull off the Don Meyer line change and you need to have talented players up-and-down your roster to pull it off. The Peacocks don't have that. Matt Lesan is a great player and they have some solid guys in Tucker Wentzien and Dan Bestul...but everyone else is an average NSIC player at best and that's being Mother Theresa-esque generous.
13. MSU-Moorhead 2-1 (0-0 D2)
PG - W @ Mayville State 77-73
LG - L @ Concordia-Moorhead 83-78
NG - vs. Gustavus Adolphus
Note - I'm not going to lie, it's tough to rate MSU-Moorhead right now. I could have them as high as 11th and as low as well...13th. Due to a HORRIBLE loss to Concordia-Moorhead, I felt I just had to put the Dragons here for now. I find there are a few positive things about the Dragons and a few negative things. The good news is they are BALANCED! They have five players averaging double-figures through their first three games. They also are an efficient offensive team, averaging 78.7 PPG. However, their problem is they turn the basketball over A LOT. They've turned the ball over 42 times in these first three games, averaging 14 TOs a game. That might not sound like much, but considering they've turned it over 33 times in the last two games, you can see its starting to become a problem. Right now, I consider the Dragons a bottom feeder until they can show me they can beat somebody and not lose to teams in their own town.
14. UM-Crookston 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W @ Finlandia 84-58
LG - W @ Mayville State 78-76
NG - vs. Cross Roads College
Note - I'm laughing at myself for putting a 2-0 basketball team at the bottom of the league. Honestly, I don't know how good (or bad) the Golden Eagles are this year, but I can tell you they are off to a good start. Larry Brown feels like the Cubie replacement, averaging 19.5 PPG in his first two games and Eric Dearden is just what the doctor ordered for Cubie averaging 14.0 PPG. Still, this team turns the basketball over A LOT. They are averaging 20 TOs per game, including a 26 TO performance against Mayville State. TOs killed the Golden Eagles last year and they'll kill the Golden Eagles again this year if they don't get that corrected. Guys like Anthony Tucker, Chad Hettermann and Brad Starken are sharks circling when they take on the Golden Eagles with how turnover prone they are.
1. Winona State 3-0 (1-0 D2)
PG - W @ Northwood (Fla.) 88-84 (OT)
LG - W @ Barry 83-75 OT
NG - vs. Clark College
Note - The Warriors have looked solid out of the gate and picked up two tough road wins in Florida over the weekend. Northwood is one of the best NAIA teams around and Barry is coming off a 2010 D2 NCAA tourney campaign. Anthony Tucker was sensational over the weekend, scoring 50 points, shooting 15-of-30 from the floor and 12-of-16 from the free throw line and tallying seven steals. Clayton Vette's weekend shouldn't be overshadowed either. He scored 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting and gathering 14 rebounds. The Warriors have one more non-conference contest before conference play starts up against Clark College.
2. U-Mary 2-0 (2-0 D2)
PG - W @ Montana State-Billings 70-68
LG - W vs. Chadron State 75-69
NG - Florida Southern Tourney
Note - The Marauders have picked up two nice D2 wins to start out the season. They had a tough contest in Billings, Montana against the GNAC's third best team, but came away with a 70-68 victory. They followed it up with a tough win at home against the RMAC's 12th best team, Chadron State. While these might not be the prettiest of victories, picking up two D2 wins is important for Mary if they want to claim an NCAA tourney spot. If anything, the Marauders need to be happy with the production of Jordan Wilhelm. Can anyone else believe Wilhelm is leading the Marauders in scoring at 22.5 PPG through the first two games? I thought he would be their third scorer but he's turned on the offensive firepower through the first two games. The Marauders have another opportunity to prove themselves when they play in the Florida Southern tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend.
3. Augustana 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Jamestown 75-65
LG - W @ Sioux Falls 69-53
NG - vs. Valley City State
Note - While the Vikings might not have had two of the most impressive wins to open up the season, they still need to be taken very seriously for a potential NSIC conference title. Why do I say that? Outside of Cameron McCaffrey, this team has yet to peak offensively. Although, we can't sell C-Mac^2 short. He's currently averaging 23.5 PPG through his first two starts. We all know Cody Schilling, who is averaging 10.0 PPG will heat up. All-in-all, this is going to be a VERY tough defensive team. DeZeeuw is perhaps the best defensive post in the NSIC, Chad Hettermann is the Augie equivalent of Chris Kramer from Purdue, and Cody Schilling has the defense to match the offense. I think there will be a lot of teams that struggle to score 70 points against the Vikings this year.
4. MSU-Mankato 2-0 (2-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Dominican (CA) 64-51 (neutral)
LG - W vs. Notre Dame de Namur (neutral)
NG - vs. Michigan Tech
Note - Perhaps I was wrong about the Mavericks. Perhaps they are better than I give them credit for. They are 2-0 in D2 games, that's worth something in my book. However, I think they'll be kidding themselves if that will help their SOS. Last year, Dominican was 10-17 and Notre Dame de Namur was 4-23. I know last year was last year, but if that trend continues this year, that doesn't help the Mavericks. Still, the Mavericks are probably the fourth best team in the NSIC right now and it certainly helps that the Huskies are struggling because that too, helps the Mavericks. They have a home game coming up against Michigan Tech...considering they are a 3-0 team in D2, that WILL help the Mavericks if they come away with a win.
5. SW Minnesota State 2-1 (1-0 D2)
PG - L @ South Dakota State 94-80
LG - W vs. UM-Morris 87-65
NG - NW Missouri State
Note - This spot really had me beside myself. There are three teams I thought I could stick here. I just had to go with my gut and say the Mustangs. Why? Because they are consistently an upper half team in the NSIC and the play of Scott Roehl scares me. Roehl is currently averaging 19.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG, all the while shooting 67% from the floor. Jordan Miller has turned his play up a notch too averaging 18.0 PPG but they'll need to see more out of Huseby if this team wants to stay up in this spot.
6. Northern State 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Presentation College 108-63
LG - W vs. Mount Marty 70-62
NG - vs. Jamestown
Note - The Wolves seem like an improved team, even though they haven't exactly faced tough competition so far in their non-conference games. So far, it seems as though their go-to guy is Colin Pryor, who has shown great improvement over last year. The three transfer additions of Tom Parks, Dustin Tetzlaff, and David Lane seem to be paying off, while the freshman Tydan Storrusten and Jared Hannigan will help with the depth. To think this team has depth to boot considering Bojan Todorovic should see more playing time in the coming weeks and Marko Filipovic could cause some problems as well for defenses. Jamestown should provide an interesting test for the Wolves considering they played Augustana tough on their home court.
7. Wayne State 3-0 (1-0 D2)
PG - W vs. Nebraska-Kearney 72-71 (OT)
LG - W vs. York College 75-64
NG - vs. Dakota State
Note - After losing their two best players to graduation last year, it seems as though the Wildcats are poised to surprise a few teams in the NSIC this year. Wayne State's guard play has been outstanding this year, especially the play of Amry Shelby. They are still seeing a lot of scoring from Jason Jensen and Brad Starken naturally, but I am surprised by how well the big guys Ben Tasa and Derrell Williams have been playing so far this year. It really looks like the Wayne State bigs have not lost a step from last year and if they can put together a good inside-outside game, they'll be tough to stop.
8. St. Cloud State 0-3 (0-2 D2)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 78-65
LG - L @ Grand Canyon 71-65
NG - vs. St. Scholastica
Note - Whether its the roster or the schedule, nobody has got off to a tougher start than the Huskies. They are currently plagued by injuries and suspensions. On top of that, they are one of few NSIC teams that have yet to play a home game this year. For all the expectations that were laid upon him, Taylor Witt has seen better days as well. In his first three games, Witt is averaging 12.0 PPG, but he's shooting 30% from the field, 13% from the arc and has committed 11 turnovers (almost 4 a game). The opponents they are playing are no pushovers either. Tim Bergstrasser is going to miss the entire season with an ACL tear, Andrew Bernstetter has missed the first three games due to a high ankle sprain, Josh Ortmann missed the last two games with a knee injury and Nate Phillips has missed the first three games due to violating a team rule. All-in-all, it spells a disastrous 0-3 start for the Huskies as things have falen apart at the seems. The good news is they will be getting Bernstetter and Phillips back but will those two be enough to make things right in St. Cloud? Only time will tell...
9. Concordia-St. Paul 1-1 (1-0 D2)
PG - W @ UW-Parkside 69-64
LG - L vs. St. Thomas 76-72
NG - vs. Valley City State
Note - The Golden Bears have been hit-or-miss thus far in the 2010-2011 season and what startles me is the play of their bigs. Brent Barz, who was an all-NSIC performer last year, has only averaged 8.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in the first two games and Dan Vandervieren has picked up two technical fouls already (this was a problem last year for him). However, it's not all gloom-and-doom for the Golden Bears. They should be more than happy with the play from the Olafeso boys. They are averaging 13.0 PPG and 11.5 PPG respectfully and Isiah Thomas seems to be taking his game to another level. To me, the jury is still out on the Golden Bears because they haven't looked very impressive so far in the two games they played.
10. Bemidji State 2-1 (0-1 D2)
PG - W @ Finlandia 84-63
LG - W vs. UW-Stout 89-87
NG - @ Jamestown
Note - Despite getting off to a tough start to the season to Michigan Tech, the Beavers have rebounded with two wins, including a tough home win against UW-Stout. They've been doing it without starting guard Lance Rongstad to boot. The one guy that has really given Bemidji State a boost is James Ellisor. He leads the team in scoring (19.7 PPG) and rebounding (7.7 RPG) through the first three games. Patrick Cassidy and Bryce Tesdahl have more than carried their own weight and the Beavers are starting to see Burke Lendl, Mason Walters and Jake Lindstrom break into the scoring column. I'll be interested in seeing this team when Rongstad gets back, because I think they'll have some of the best guard play in the league when he does with Rongstad, Tesdahl and Ellisor leading the charge.
11. UM-Duluth 2-2 (0-2 D2)
PG - L vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65-60
LG - W vs. UW-Superior 78-74
NG - vs. UM-Crookston
Note - Color me surprised, but the Bulldogs have not looked as bad as I thought they'd look to start out the season. Granted, their two wins came against nobodies like UW-Superior and Northland, but they haven't looked bad against quality competition like Grand Canyon and Cal State-Dominguez Hills. They played Cal State tough and they only had one bad half against Grand Canyon. What amazes me is the poor play of Ryan Rassmussen and how this team has overcome it. Granted, it seems as though Rassmussen is starting to come around after a 20 point game against UW-Superior. I think you can credit that to the play of Jake Hottenstine and Dylan Rodriguez for the Bulldogs surprising play. I'll be interested to see how this team does in NSIC play though before I put too much stock on the Bulldogs "improvement".
12. Upper Iowa 0-2 (0-2 D2)
PG - L @ Drury 88-69
LG - L vs. Quincy 74-61
NG - vs. Academy of Arts (neutral)
Note - Say what you will about the Peacocks, but they have so played by far-and-away the toughest schedule of any NSIC team. A road game and a home game against the #1 and #2 teams in the GLVC, one of the premiere conferences in D2. I'm just amazed that they didn't lose by 20+ to either opponent, even though they came close against Drury. What does it mean for the Peacocks? They might be the most "NSIC ready", but that doesn't mean they'll have success in the NSIC. I think its ridiculous that the Peacocks have 12 players averaging 10+ minutes a game. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Coach Dolan HAS to find a rotation and stick with it if he wants to have success in the NSIC. Very few can pull off the Don Meyer line change and you need to have talented players up-and-down your roster to pull it off. The Peacocks don't have that. Matt Lesan is a great player and they have some solid guys in Tucker Wentzien and Dan Bestul...but everyone else is an average NSIC player at best and that's being Mother Theresa-esque generous.
13. MSU-Moorhead 2-1 (0-0 D2)
PG - W @ Mayville State 77-73
LG - L @ Concordia-Moorhead 83-78
NG - vs. Gustavus Adolphus
Note - I'm not going to lie, it's tough to rate MSU-Moorhead right now. I could have them as high as 11th and as low as well...13th. Due to a HORRIBLE loss to Concordia-Moorhead, I felt I just had to put the Dragons here for now. I find there are a few positive things about the Dragons and a few negative things. The good news is they are BALANCED! They have five players averaging double-figures through their first three games. They also are an efficient offensive team, averaging 78.7 PPG. However, their problem is they turn the basketball over A LOT. They've turned the ball over 42 times in these first three games, averaging 14 TOs a game. That might not sound like much, but considering they've turned it over 33 times in the last two games, you can see its starting to become a problem. Right now, I consider the Dragons a bottom feeder until they can show me they can beat somebody and not lose to teams in their own town.
14. UM-Crookston 2-0 (0-0 D2)
PG - W @ Finlandia 84-58
LG - W @ Mayville State 78-76
NG - vs. Cross Roads College
Note - I'm laughing at myself for putting a 2-0 basketball team at the bottom of the league. Honestly, I don't know how good (or bad) the Golden Eagles are this year, but I can tell you they are off to a good start. Larry Brown feels like the Cubie replacement, averaging 19.5 PPG in his first two games and Eric Dearden is just what the doctor ordered for Cubie averaging 14.0 PPG. Still, this team turns the basketball over A LOT. They are averaging 20 TOs per game, including a 26 TO performance against Mayville State. TOs killed the Golden Eagles last year and they'll kill the Golden Eagles again this year if they don't get that corrected. Guys like Anthony Tucker, Chad Hettermann and Brad Starken are sharks circling when they take on the Golden Eagles with how turnover prone they are.
NSIC Men's Basketball Weekly Recap (Nov. 19 - Nov. 20)
Friday, Nov. 19
St. Cloud State 65
Cal State-Dominguez Hills 78
The Huskies injury problems continue as not only did they lose to Toros, but they lost Josh Ortmann for the weekend due to a knee injury. Taylor Witt was one of two Huskies to break double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The other was freshman center Ben Bucholz with 10 points and nine rebounds. Despite a poor shooting performance, Brett Putz added nine points with five assists and three steals and Jordan Johnsrud scored nine points and six rebounds.
MSU-Mankato 64
Dominican (CA) 51
It wasn't pretty, but the Mavericks came away with a W against Dominican on a night they only shot 35-percent from the floor. Jefferson Mason led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Hill and Steven Kirschbaum each added 10 points.
MSU-Moorhead 77
Mayville State (NAIA) 73
The Dragons improved to 2-0 with a win on the road against Mayville State. Five players broke double-figures for the Dragons, led by Jake Driscoll with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Charlie Chapman scored 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from the arc and Dennis Williamson added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds. Alex Novak tallied a double-double with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 13 rebounds and three steals. Tarell Clark rounded out the scoring with 10 points and eight rebounds.
UM-Duluth 54
Grand Canyon 72
After getting down big in the first half, the Bulldogs couldn't recover in a demoralizing loss. Jake Hottenstine led the Bulldogs with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Dylan Rodriguez was the only other Bulldog to come close to double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Saturday, Nov. 20
Winona State 83
Barry 75 OT
The Warriors had a tough battle against Barry in regulation but pulled away in overtime to win. Despite a slow start, Anthony Tucker led the Warriors with 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 9-of-11 from the charity stripe with three steals. Clayton Vette was a soothing presence on the inside with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds. Joel Armstrong was the only other Warrior to break double-figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Quincy 74
Upper Iowa 61
The Peacocks were outmatched on a night they struggled from three and the charity stripe. Dan Bestul led the way with 17 points 6-of-10 shooting and 3-of-5 from the arc. Tucker Wentzien was the only other Peacocks in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds. Matt Lesan struggled, scoring nine points on an abysmal 1-of-7 shooting and 1-of-6 from the three-point arc.
UM-Morris (D3) 65
SW Minnesota State 87
The Mustangs rebounded after losing to SDSU with a convincing win over UMM. Matt Zager led the way off the bench with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and coming away with three steals. Scott Roehl continued his double-double tear with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jordan Miller added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five assists and Taylor Huseby scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
UM-Duluth 60
Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65
The Toros dispatched their second NSIC team in two days with a five point win over the Bulldogs. Riley Walker led the Bulldogs with a double-double, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4-of-8 from the three-point arc, while ripping down 11 rebounds. Phil Homere was the only other Bulldog to break double-figures with 10 points.
Chadron State 69
U-Mary 75
The Marauders had no problem with scoring depth, as four players broke double figures in the win. Jordan Wilhelm led the way with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 4-of-9 from three-point range. Eric Erdmann added 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, 5-of-6 from the free throw line and tallying nine rebounds. Anthony Moody scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and Damon Smith added 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Notre Dame de Namur 63
MSU-Mankato 88
The Mavericks turned things around on the offensive end to win convincingly over their Hawaiian opponent. Jefferson Mason led the way with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds. Cameron Hodges added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting while dropping 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Freshman center Connor O'Brien dropped 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Joe Drapcho added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the bench.
St. Cloud State 65
Grand Canyon 71
The Huskies losing streak increased to three as they dropped a tough battle to Grand Canyon. Brett Putz was the only Husky in double-figures with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting but was 7-of-11 from the arc. Theo Rothstein scored seven points but led the team in rebounding with 10. Taylor Witt struggled mightily, scoring six points on 1-of-11 shooting but ripped down six rebounds and dished out six assists.
St. Cloud State 65
Cal State-Dominguez Hills 78
The Huskies injury problems continue as not only did they lose to Toros, but they lost Josh Ortmann for the weekend due to a knee injury. Taylor Witt was one of two Huskies to break double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The other was freshman center Ben Bucholz with 10 points and nine rebounds. Despite a poor shooting performance, Brett Putz added nine points with five assists and three steals and Jordan Johnsrud scored nine points and six rebounds.
MSU-Mankato 64
Dominican (CA) 51
It wasn't pretty, but the Mavericks came away with a W against Dominican on a night they only shot 35-percent from the floor. Jefferson Mason led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Hill and Steven Kirschbaum each added 10 points.
MSU-Moorhead 77
Mayville State (NAIA) 73
The Dragons improved to 2-0 with a win on the road against Mayville State. Five players broke double-figures for the Dragons, led by Jake Driscoll with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Charlie Chapman scored 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from the arc and Dennis Williamson added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds. Alex Novak tallied a double-double with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 13 rebounds and three steals. Tarell Clark rounded out the scoring with 10 points and eight rebounds.
UM-Duluth 54
Grand Canyon 72
After getting down big in the first half, the Bulldogs couldn't recover in a demoralizing loss. Jake Hottenstine led the Bulldogs with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Dylan Rodriguez was the only other Bulldog to come close to double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Saturday, Nov. 20
Winona State 83
Barry 75 OT
The Warriors had a tough battle against Barry in regulation but pulled away in overtime to win. Despite a slow start, Anthony Tucker led the Warriors with 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 9-of-11 from the charity stripe with three steals. Clayton Vette was a soothing presence on the inside with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds. Joel Armstrong was the only other Warrior to break double-figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Quincy 74
Upper Iowa 61
The Peacocks were outmatched on a night they struggled from three and the charity stripe. Dan Bestul led the way with 17 points 6-of-10 shooting and 3-of-5 from the arc. Tucker Wentzien was the only other Peacocks in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds. Matt Lesan struggled, scoring nine points on an abysmal 1-of-7 shooting and 1-of-6 from the three-point arc.
UM-Morris (D3) 65
SW Minnesota State 87
The Mustangs rebounded after losing to SDSU with a convincing win over UMM. Matt Zager led the way off the bench with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and coming away with three steals. Scott Roehl continued his double-double tear with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jordan Miller added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five assists and Taylor Huseby scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
UM-Duluth 60
Cal State-Dominguez Hills 65
The Toros dispatched their second NSIC team in two days with a five point win over the Bulldogs. Riley Walker led the Bulldogs with a double-double, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4-of-8 from the three-point arc, while ripping down 11 rebounds. Phil Homere was the only other Bulldog to break double-figures with 10 points.
Chadron State 69
U-Mary 75
The Marauders had no problem with scoring depth, as four players broke double figures in the win. Jordan Wilhelm led the way with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 4-of-9 from three-point range. Eric Erdmann added 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, 5-of-6 from the free throw line and tallying nine rebounds. Anthony Moody scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and Damon Smith added 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Notre Dame de Namur 63
MSU-Mankato 88
The Mavericks turned things around on the offensive end to win convincingly over their Hawaiian opponent. Jefferson Mason led the way with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds. Cameron Hodges added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting while dropping 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Freshman center Connor O'Brien dropped 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Joe Drapcho added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the bench.
St. Cloud State 65
Grand Canyon 71
The Huskies losing streak increased to three as they dropped a tough battle to Grand Canyon. Brett Putz was the only Husky in double-figures with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting but was 7-of-11 from the arc. Theo Rothstein scored seven points but led the team in rebounding with 10. Taylor Witt struggled mightily, scoring six points on 1-of-11 shooting but ripped down six rebounds and dished out six assists.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
NSIC Men's Basketball Weekly Recap (Nov. 12 - Nov. 18)
Saturday, Nov. 13
Concordia-St. Paul 69
UW-Parkside 64
The Golden Bears opened their season on a high note with a Division II road win at UW-Parkside. Four Golden Bears scored in double figures, led by Peter Olafeso with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Kenny Olafeso added 12 points, Brent Barz added 11 points and Courtney Tyler off the bench added 10 points.
Upper Iowa 69
Drury 88
The Peacocks season got off to a rough start with a 19 point loss at Drury. However, Matt Lesan had a masterful performance, scoring 28 points 9-of-14 shooting and 5-of-8 from the arc. Tucker Wentzien was the only other Peacock to break double figures with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Alex Kramer crashed the glass with eight rebounds.
Jamestown (NAIA) 65
Augustana 75
It wasn't pretty, but the Vikings got their season off to a good start with a win. Cameron McCaffrey led the way with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and Cody Schilling added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
St. Mary's (D3) 50
Winona State 84
The Warriors came out on fire and dispatched their crosstown rival to open their season. Newcomer Anthony Tucker led the Warriors with 17 points, going 6-of-7 from the arc. Jon Walburg added 16 points off-the-bench while C.J. Erickson chipped in 10 points.
Sunday, Nov. 14
Dickinson (NAIA) 68
MSU-Moorhead 81
The MSU-Moorhead Dragons open their season with a 13 point win at home against Dickinson. Charlie Chapman made his Dragon debut a good one with 20 points 7-of-14 shooting with 5-of-10 coming from behind the arc. Alex Novak continues to show improvement, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, ripping down 11 boards and blocking 3 shots. Dennis Williamson added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds and Jake Driscoll rounded out double-figure scorers with 11 points, five assists and two steals.
SW Minnesota State 72
NW Missouri State 67
It wasn't easy, but the Mustangs came away with a five point win on the road to open the year. Jordan Miller paced the Mustangs with 21 points, shooting 6-of-12 on the game and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Scott Roehl added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds.
Monday, Nov. 15
UM-Crookston 84
Finlandia (D3) 58
The Golden Eagles had five players break into double figures, led by Larry Brown with 18 points and seven rebounds. Adam Hendricks added 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Eric Dearden, Almir Krdzalic and Jacolby Anderson each added 10 points for the Golden Eagles.
Presentation College (D3) 63
Northern State 108
The Wolves lit up the scoreboard with four players in double figures, led by South Dakota transfer Dustin Tetzlaff. Tetzlaff scored 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting while ripping down 14 rebounds. Sophomore forward Colin Pryor also broke a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Thomas scored 14 points while Tom Parks added 10. David Lane made his presence felt scoring eight points with 10 assists and three steals.
St. Cloud State 65
St. John's (D3) 70
On a night the Huskies were without three key players, they dropped a road loss to D3 perennial power St. John's. Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Brett Putz with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Taylor Witt added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, but only shot 5-of-18 from the floor. Ben Bucholz added 11 points while Josh Ortmann scored 10.
Northland (D3) 48
UM-Duluth 84
The Bulldogs started the season off on a high note with a big win over Northland College. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures with Dylan Rodriguez leading the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Jake Hottenstine scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four steals. Ryan Rasmussen and Riley Walker added 12 points a piece with Peter Crawford rounding out the leading scorers with 10.
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Bemidji State 88
Michigan Tech 101
The Beavers had their problems on defense on this night as they drop their season opener. Four Beavers scored in double figures, led by James Ellisor with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe with six rebounds. Patrick Cassidy added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Mason Walters added 13 points and Burke Lendl scored 12 points.
Morningside (NAIA) 74
Wayne State 76
In the Wildcats debut, Amry Shelby made his presence felt. Shelby scored 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 3-of-4 from three and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Derell Williams made his Wildcat debut a strong one with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Brad Starken added 16 points and seven rebounds in the effort.
Mount Marty (NAIA) 62
Northern State 70
Despite a disappointing performance, the Wolves came away with their second win of the season on back-to-back nights. David Lane led the Wolves with 20 points 8-of-15 shooting. Tydan Storrusten scored 11 points with seven rebounds and three steals and Tom Parks added 11 points as well in the effort.
St. Thomas (D3) 76
Concordia-St. Paul 72
Division III perennial power St. Thomas took the fight to the Golden Bears and came away with a victory in their house. Isiah Thomas led the way for CSP with 19 points, going 5-of-10 from the three-point arc. The Olafeso brothers made their presence known. Peter Olafeso scored 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Kenny Olafeso scored 11 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals.
U-Mary 70
Montana State-Billings 68
The Marauders faced a scare on Tuesday night but escaped Billings with a win. Jordan Wilhelm led the Marauders with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 6-of-8 from the three-point arc. Anthony Moody added 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting with seven assists and three steals.
Wednesday, Nov. 17
Bemidji State 84
Finlandia (D3) 63
The Beavers rallied after a season-opening loss at Michigan Tech with a non-conference win at Finlandia. Leading the way for the Beavers was Bryce Tesdahl with 23 points, shooing 11-of-11 from the charity stripe while dishing out 10 assists. James Ellisor stayed hot with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while ripping down six boards. Patrick Cassidy also scored in double figures with 13 points.
Winona State 88
Northwood (Fla.) (NAIA) 84
The Warriors faced a scare in Florida but came away with a tough four point win. Ben Fischer paced the Warriors with 24 points on 5-of-7 shooting, shot 2-of-3 from three, knocking down 12-of-13 from the charity stripe all with six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Anthony Tucker followed suit with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from the arc while tallying five steals. Clayton Vette scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with two blocks and C.J. Erickson was solid scoring eight points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Augustana 69
Sioux Falls (NAIA) 53
The Vikings with a balanced effort dispatched their "cross town" rival and potential future NSIC opponent Wednesday night. Only one Viking scored in double figures but had a masterful peformance. Cameron McCaffrey scored 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from the arc. Chad Hettermann had a solid performance with eight points and four steals.
Thursday, Nov. 18
Nebraska-Kearney 71
Wayne State 72 OT
Despite blowing a late lead in regulation, the Wildcats held on to win a one-point overtime thriller. Brad Starken led the Wildcats with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and hit 5-of-8 from downtown, while grabbing four steals. Amry Shelby scored 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including the game-winning shot with 34 seconds to go in OT. Jason Jensen was solid, scoring 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Ben Tasa added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in his return from injury.
SW Minnesota State 80
South Dakota State (D1) 94
The Mustangs put in a valiant effort, but came up just short against the Jackrabbits. Scott Roehl led the way with a double-double, scoring 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds. Jordan Miller added 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the three-point arc. Trent Carlson was the only other Mustang to break double figures with 12 points.
Concordia-St. Paul 69
UW-Parkside 64
The Golden Bears opened their season on a high note with a Division II road win at UW-Parkside. Four Golden Bears scored in double figures, led by Peter Olafeso with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Kenny Olafeso added 12 points, Brent Barz added 11 points and Courtney Tyler off the bench added 10 points.
Upper Iowa 69
Drury 88
The Peacocks season got off to a rough start with a 19 point loss at Drury. However, Matt Lesan had a masterful performance, scoring 28 points 9-of-14 shooting and 5-of-8 from the arc. Tucker Wentzien was the only other Peacock to break double figures with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Alex Kramer crashed the glass with eight rebounds.
Jamestown (NAIA) 65
Augustana 75
It wasn't pretty, but the Vikings got their season off to a good start with a win. Cameron McCaffrey led the way with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and Cody Schilling added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
St. Mary's (D3) 50
Winona State 84
The Warriors came out on fire and dispatched their crosstown rival to open their season. Newcomer Anthony Tucker led the Warriors with 17 points, going 6-of-7 from the arc. Jon Walburg added 16 points off-the-bench while C.J. Erickson chipped in 10 points.
Sunday, Nov. 14
Dickinson (NAIA) 68
MSU-Moorhead 81
The MSU-Moorhead Dragons open their season with a 13 point win at home against Dickinson. Charlie Chapman made his Dragon debut a good one with 20 points 7-of-14 shooting with 5-of-10 coming from behind the arc. Alex Novak continues to show improvement, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, ripping down 11 boards and blocking 3 shots. Dennis Williamson added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds and Jake Driscoll rounded out double-figure scorers with 11 points, five assists and two steals.
SW Minnesota State 72
NW Missouri State 67
It wasn't easy, but the Mustangs came away with a five point win on the road to open the year. Jordan Miller paced the Mustangs with 21 points, shooting 6-of-12 on the game and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Scott Roehl added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds.
Monday, Nov. 15
UM-Crookston 84
Finlandia (D3) 58
The Golden Eagles had five players break into double figures, led by Larry Brown with 18 points and seven rebounds. Adam Hendricks added 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Eric Dearden, Almir Krdzalic and Jacolby Anderson each added 10 points for the Golden Eagles.
Presentation College (D3) 63
Northern State 108
The Wolves lit up the scoreboard with four players in double figures, led by South Dakota transfer Dustin Tetzlaff. Tetzlaff scored 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting while ripping down 14 rebounds. Sophomore forward Colin Pryor also broke a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Thomas scored 14 points while Tom Parks added 10. David Lane made his presence felt scoring eight points with 10 assists and three steals.
St. Cloud State 65
St. John's (D3) 70
On a night the Huskies were without three key players, they dropped a road loss to D3 perennial power St. John's. Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Brett Putz with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Taylor Witt added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, but only shot 5-of-18 from the floor. Ben Bucholz added 11 points while Josh Ortmann scored 10.
Northland (D3) 48
UM-Duluth 84
The Bulldogs started the season off on a high note with a big win over Northland College. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures with Dylan Rodriguez leading the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Jake Hottenstine scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four steals. Ryan Rasmussen and Riley Walker added 12 points a piece with Peter Crawford rounding out the leading scorers with 10.
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Bemidji State 88
Michigan Tech 101
The Beavers had their problems on defense on this night as they drop their season opener. Four Beavers scored in double figures, led by James Ellisor with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe with six rebounds. Patrick Cassidy added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Mason Walters added 13 points and Burke Lendl scored 12 points.
Morningside (NAIA) 74
Wayne State 76
In the Wildcats debut, Amry Shelby made his presence felt. Shelby scored 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 3-of-4 from three and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Derell Williams made his Wildcat debut a strong one with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Brad Starken added 16 points and seven rebounds in the effort.
Mount Marty (NAIA) 62
Northern State 70
Despite a disappointing performance, the Wolves came away with their second win of the season on back-to-back nights. David Lane led the Wolves with 20 points 8-of-15 shooting. Tydan Storrusten scored 11 points with seven rebounds and three steals and Tom Parks added 11 points as well in the effort.
St. Thomas (D3) 76
Concordia-St. Paul 72
Division III perennial power St. Thomas took the fight to the Golden Bears and came away with a victory in their house. Isiah Thomas led the way for CSP with 19 points, going 5-of-10 from the three-point arc. The Olafeso brothers made their presence known. Peter Olafeso scored 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Kenny Olafeso scored 11 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals.
U-Mary 70
Montana State-Billings 68
The Marauders faced a scare on Tuesday night but escaped Billings with a win. Jordan Wilhelm led the Marauders with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 6-of-8 from the three-point arc. Anthony Moody added 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting with seven assists and three steals.
Wednesday, Nov. 17
Bemidji State 84
Finlandia (D3) 63
The Beavers rallied after a season-opening loss at Michigan Tech with a non-conference win at Finlandia. Leading the way for the Beavers was Bryce Tesdahl with 23 points, shooing 11-of-11 from the charity stripe while dishing out 10 assists. James Ellisor stayed hot with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while ripping down six boards. Patrick Cassidy also scored in double figures with 13 points.
Winona State 88
Northwood (Fla.) (NAIA) 84
The Warriors faced a scare in Florida but came away with a tough four point win. Ben Fischer paced the Warriors with 24 points on 5-of-7 shooting, shot 2-of-3 from three, knocking down 12-of-13 from the charity stripe all with six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Anthony Tucker followed suit with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from the arc while tallying five steals. Clayton Vette scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with two blocks and C.J. Erickson was solid scoring eight points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Augustana 69
Sioux Falls (NAIA) 53
The Vikings with a balanced effort dispatched their "cross town" rival and potential future NSIC opponent Wednesday night. Only one Viking scored in double figures but had a masterful peformance. Cameron McCaffrey scored 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from the arc. Chad Hettermann had a solid performance with eight points and four steals.
Thursday, Nov. 18
Nebraska-Kearney 71
Wayne State 72 OT
Despite blowing a late lead in regulation, the Wildcats held on to win a one-point overtime thriller. Brad Starken led the Wildcats with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and hit 5-of-8 from downtown, while grabbing four steals. Amry Shelby scored 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including the game-winning shot with 34 seconds to go in OT. Jason Jensen was solid, scoring 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Ben Tasa added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in his return from injury.
SW Minnesota State 80
South Dakota State (D1) 94
The Mustangs put in a valiant effort, but came up just short against the Jackrabbits. Scott Roehl led the way with a double-double, scoring 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds. Jordan Miller added 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the three-point arc. Trent Carlson was the only other Mustang to break double figures with 12 points.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Adam Stanek's Week 10 NSIC Football Power Rankings
It is that time of the week again. The NSIC Power Rankings are a little more clear cut than the past few weeks...
1. #1 UM-Duluth 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Northern State 27-7
LG - W vs. #25 St. Cloud State 40-17
UG - @ UM-Crookston (1-8)
Note - I think most people are coming to terms that no one is going to knock off the UM-Duluth Bulldogs this year. I said that I thought St. Cloud would keep it a close game for a while but the Bulldogs would pull away and win by 17-21 points. I was close...UMD won by 23 and it was a 13-10 game at halftime. Statistically, the two teams were pretty close...UMD had 21 first downs to 19 for St. Cloud and UMD only had 23 more yards of total offense. However, the big difference in this game was turnovers. The Huskies had five turnovers in this game while the Bulldogs, who were coming off a four turnover performance against NSU, had none. A lot of times, I talk about a UMD offensive player that had an outstanding performance but how about LB Kiel Fechtelkotter? 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble? You can't ask for a much better defensive performance than that. I wonder if the Bulldogs will treat next week's game like a bye week for the starters because one of the best teams in D2 college football is about to play one of the worst teams in D2 college football when UMD travels to Crookston on Saturday.
2. #7 Augustana 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ MSU-Moorhead 47-17
LG - W vs. MSU-Mankato 17-13
UG - @ Wayne State (5-4)
Note - Well, it wasn't pretty but Augie stole a potential road victory from the Mavericks...or would it be safe to say MSU-Mankato gave the game away? In either case, Augustana came up with the big play with 26 seconds left. With starting quarterback Josh Hanson knocked out of the game earlier, backup QB Ryan Schuetz completed a 36-yard pass to none other than wideout Tyler Schulte for the game-winning TD. It was interesting what happened just three plays before this one. The Mavericks had Augie stopped on 3rd and 15 at the Augie 49-yard line. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Augustana a first down and new life. I guess this is what happens when you're undefeated...everyone is going to give you their best shot and sometimes one or two plays will be the difference between an undefeated season and a bitter home loss. Right now, the health of Josh Hanson might be a concern because we only have three more weeks until the D2 playoffs begin. A potential loss at Wayne could be devastating but at the same time, I don't see how Wayne can win with the way they are playing.
3. #25 St. Cloud State 7-2 (7-1 NSIC) (-)
PG - W vs. UM-Crookston 49-6
LG - L @ #1 UM-Duluth 40-17
UG - vs. Bemidji State (6-3)
Note - The Huskies had an opportunity to make a big statement on the road against UM-Duluth. The fact that they built themselves a 10-0 hole midway through the first quarter and still managed to make it a 13-10 game at halftime was impressive. However, two Huskies turnovers setup easy UMD scores in the second half led to a 27-7 pounding of the Huskies in the second half. In order to compete with UMD, the Huskies had to take care of the football and five turnovers certainly doomed them in that aspect. QB Phillip Klaphake had a game to forget as he was intercepted twice, fumbled three times, losing two of those fumbles. Overall, the Huskies managed to play a fairly even game with the Bulldogs but whenever you lose the turnover margin 5-0...it will almost never play into your favor. If there is any good news for St. Cloud, this was a game that they were probably supposed to lose. They go home to take on a tough Bemidji State Beavers squad...if they can get by that game and finish the season 9-2, they have a decent shot at the playoffs.
4. Winona State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Concordia-St. Paul 31-28
LG - W @ SW Minnesota State 45-19
UG - vs. Mary (2-7)
Note - After watching Winona State play the last two weeks, I've noticed that they've done two things that has helped their play considerably the last two weeks. Obviously one was the quarterback change from Evan Aber to Bryan Bradshaw but the other is giving more touches to Rayon Simmons. It obviously paid off against SW Minnesota State as he received NSIC Offensive Player of the Week with his performance. He carried the ball 22 times for 196 yards and 5 TDs, as well as caught three passes for 54 yards. Overall, a 250-yard day and 5 TDs would be an unbelievable performance, especially considering he was taken out early in the 4th quarter. Again, Bradshaw was solid, going 15-of-23 for 209 yards and only one interception. With the way this Winona State team is playing, it seems as though they have a lot of confidence going into their final two games of the season. If there is a concern the last two weeks, it is their lack of ability to stop the run. They'll need to do a better job of it this Saturday when Jamal Lomax and the University of Mary come to Maxwell Field.
5. Concordia-St. Paul 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - L vs. Winona State 31-28
LG - W @ UM-Crookston 41-7
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (2-7)
Note - As expected, the Golden Bears rebounded off a tough home loss to Winona State with a blowout road victory at UM-Crookston. This game was never really close as Concordia-St. Paul had a 20-0 halftime lead and a 41-0 lead after the 3rd quarter. Starting quarterback Spencer Ohm didn't play a snap into the 4th quarter, as he played a nearly flawless three quarters completing 12-of-17 passes for 217 yards and 3 TDs. It wasn't like the running game wasn't working either. Sam Campbell rushed 14 times for 113 yards and a TD. I'm sure we might have expected a bigger blowout than this but I've noticed that St. Cloud and Concordia hardly played their starters into the 4th quarter against UM-Crookston. It is probably a wise move because the Golden Bears are competing for a potential Mineral Water Bowl spot and they'll need to be healthy down the stretch if they want a shot at it. They host Upper Iowa next week, a team coming off a confidence boosting win at home against Wayne State. If they play like they did against Wayne, the Golden Bears could have a challenge...or they could have a cake walk. It really depends which Peacocks team shows up this week.
6. Bemidji State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (+2)
PG - W vs. Mary 23-22
LG - W vs. Northern State 41-13
UG - @ #25 St. Cloud State (7-2)
Note - After two consecutive weeks of squeaking out wins against inferior opponents, the Beavers finally righted the ship and manhandled Northern State. The Beavers punched them in the mouth early, building a 27-0 lead and if not for a late score by the Wolves, it wouldn't have been 27-6 going into halftime. The Beavers were excellent on the ground, rushing for 350 yards with RB Dustin Kroeplin rushing 23 times for 200 yards and 2 TDs as well as Steven Battle rushing seven times for 91 yards. This is the Bemidji State team we expected to see the past three weeks and just hadn't seen it up until this point. Even though this was a big win for the Beavers, their game this Saturday would certainly give them their biggest win of the season if they pull off the upset. They travel to St. Cloud for the battle for second place in the NSIC North Division. Even though the Huskies are coming off a demoralizing loss, I'm sure they will give the Beavers all that they can handle.
7. MSU-Mankato 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - W @ Wayne State 13-3
LG - L @ #7 Augustana 17-13
UG - vs. SW Minnesota State (4-5)
Note - I'm sure the Mavericks thought they had this game in hand. They had Augustana at 3rd and 15 and it looked as though the Vikings magical run at being undefeated would come to an end. However, leave it to more stupid mistakes to doom the Mavericks yet again this season. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Vikings a 1st down and they delivered the game-winning touchdown three plays later with 26 seconds left to win. It had to be a heartbreaking loss for MSU because there were so many factors going into this game. They could've spoiled Augie's perfect season. They could've put themselves in the driver's seat for a potential Mineral Water Bowl. However, all became lost after two demoralizing plays on Augustana's final possession. As much as Augustana's quarterback situation was a mess, MSU QB Steve Pachan had a nightmarish game, completing 10-of-25 passes for 143 yards with a TD and three interceptions. The performance would've had me begging for Will Brogan back but injuries kept him out of this game. Overall, the Mavericks will still have an opportunity to finish above .500 this season when they host SW Minnesota State on Saturday.
8. Wayne State 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. MSU-Mankato 13-3
LG - L @ Upper Iowa 21-20
UG - vs. #7 Augustana (9-0)
Note - What more can I say about the Wayne State Wildcats other than they are on the biggest slide since downhill skiing became a sport. Three straight losses, two at home and one on the road to what was a one-win football team. How they lost this game was something to laugh at because with two minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, it was a 14-14 ball game. With 1:47 to go, UIU QB Ben Curran completed a 24-yard pass to Jessie Hubbard for a TD that gave the Peacocks a 21-14 lead. However, the Peacocks had blown last week's game late and it seemed it would be much of the same this week. On the ensuing kickoff, WSC returner Kevin Paulsen had an 86 yard return that was brought back to the Peacocks three yard line. One play later, Nick Pulcher plunged into the endzone on a three-yard carry to make it a 21-20 game. Wildcats kicker Nick Bell shanked the extra point and the Peacocks would hold on to a 21-20 win after a scoreless 4th quarter. Overall, this is what seems to be happening to Wayne State lately. They can't get plays to go their way and being decimated by injuries certainly doesn't help. The Wildcats don't have an easy finish either. They host Augustana this week and then travel to Winona State next week. It will be hard to believe if Wayne State finishes with a losing record but with the way things are going, it wouldn't be surprising.
9. SW Minnesota State 4-5 (3-5 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Upper Iowa 40-34
LG - L vs. Winona State 44-19
UG - @ MSU-Mankato (5-4)
Note - After coming off an intense road victory in Fayette the week before, the Mustangs had some confidence and perhaps a belief that they could upset the Warriors in Marshall again this year after doing it two years ago. However, the Warriors quickly showed them that they are not Upper Iowa. The Warriors built a 31-7 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Mustangs could not stop the WSU rushing attack at all. The Warriors rushed for 362 yards and had 571 yards of total offense. It was a bad game offensively and defensively for the Mustangs, but if there was a bright spot, it was running back Warren Matthews. Matthews carried the ball 14 times for 114 yards and a TD. Part of the reason why he didn't carry the ball that much was due in part to getting behind early and resorting to the pass to try and get back in the game. Ryan Ratekin was far from sharp, completing 14-of-28 passes for 127 yards and a TD. However, he faced a ferocious Warriors pass rush and his receivers had a hard time getting open against the Winona State secondary. The Mustangs travel to Mankato this Saturday to take on a very tough MSU-Mankato team...not to mention they are playing a hot team at the wrong time.
10. Mary 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L @ Bemidji State 23-22
LG - W vs. MSU-Moorhead 43-17
UG - @ Winona State (6-3)
Note - It looks like I should have went with my gut and picked Mary at #10 last week because their game with MSU-Moorhead was far from what I'd call "a game". They built a 28-0 lead going into halftime and the Dragons were never even able to make it remotely close. Lomax was a work horse, carrying the ball 30 times for 169 yards and two TDs. He also caught three passes for 33 yards, giving him 202 total yards on the day. Mary has played a lot of close games this season and could be 4-5 or even possibly 5-4...its just that they've had some bad breaks go their way. They might need that sort of confidence if they want to go into Winona and compete. If they can play with the same mentality that they had against Bemidji State, they might be able to pull it off but then again, Bemidji State has been one of the bigger Jeckyl & Hyde teams all season. Winona State is no push over and when they are playing a game they are favored in, they typically win pretty handily. All I will say is Mary has a tall order ahead of them.
11. MSU-Moorhead 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L @ #7 Augustana 47-17
LG - L @ Mary 43-17
UG - @ Northern State (1-8)
Note - With these past few games and upcoming games, not only are we finding out who the "best of the best" in the NSIC are, but we are slowly starting to figure out who is the "worst of the the worst." I did think that there is the possibility that MSU-Moorhead is one of those teams but after playing a competitive game with Bemidji State and stunning Augustana for a quarter and a half, I thought that they might not be all that bad of a team...boy was I wrong. They were downright awful against Mary. I'm still trying to figure out why they threw 60 pass attempts in that game. I know Mary's secondary is suspect, but not THAT suspect. Of course, when you carry the ball 26 times for 40 yards, I can somewhat understand why you'd want to give up on the run. It is pretty amazing that MSU-Moorhead ran 86 plays in the game and only scored 17 points. While Mary only ran 69 plays and scored 43 points, 33 of those plays went through Lomax and he couldn't be stopped. Overall, I'd have to say MSU-Moorhead is a pretty poor team and if they lose next week's game at Northern State, I could possibly drop them to #13 in the NSIC rankings.
12. Upper Iowa 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L vs. SW Minnesota State 40-34
LG - W vs. Wayne State 21-20
UG - @ Concordia-St. Paul (6-3)
Note - I guess I should congratulate Upper Iowa on getting out of the proverbial cellar in the NSIC since UM-Crookston is a given. The last two weeks, the Peacocks have played much better football and were able to get their second conference victory against a decent team in Wayne State. It's hard to take some credit away from the Peacocks, but they did beat a Wildcats team that has been down on its luck and playing its worst football of the season. Still, it was good for the Peacocks to finally get that win so they can hang their hat on something. Wins won't be much easier to come by the rest of the way as they travel to St. Paul this Saturday and finish off the year at Augustana. Right now, 2-9 is looking pretty probable but if the Peacocks can bring the same intensity that they brought to last Saturday's game, they might give themselves a shot...but I'm doubting it.
13. Northern State 1-8 (1-7 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. #1 UM-Duluth 27-7
LG - L @ Bemidji State 41-13
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (2-7)
Note - Just when I think Northern State really isn't that bad, they somehow appall me by getting trounced by Bemidji State in a game where they gave up 350 yards rushing. I just don't know what to think of this Northern State team. With the way Bemidji State played in the weeks coming up to this game, I thought Northern had a decent shot to pull the upset. I don't know if Bemidji executed their game plan that well or if Northern just didn't show up to this one. Perhaps the difference between their game against UMD and their game against BSU was turnovers. They forced five Bulldogs turnovers the week before, whereas Bemidji didn't commit a single turnover. As a result, they buried the Wolves. We'll have an interesting game on our hands next week when MSU-Moorhead travels to Northern State. To me, this is probably the battle for last place in the NSIC (not named UM-Crookston).
14. UM-Crookston 1-8 (0-8 NSIC) (-)
PG - L @ #25 St. Cloud State 49-6
LG - L vs. Concordia-St. Paul 41-7
UG - vs. #1 UM-Duluth (9-0)
Note - Well, this might not be the most appropriate quote but, "Same old $#!t, different day," pretty much sums up the Golden Eagles in a nutshell. Concordia-St. Paul pulled its starters before the end of the 3rd quarter and they were up 41-0 at that point. That's one thing I'll comment about the upper tier NSIC teams...at least they aren't running up the score on UM-Crookston...that shows some class. After this game, I couldn't help but laugh at QB Josh Perea's seasonal stat line. 76-of-154 (49.4%) 3 TDs 12 INTs and a 77.2 QB Rating. Then again, it's not like backup Tim Ennis is lighting things up. He's 28-of-55 (50.9%) 2 TDs 7 INTs for a 86.33 QB Rating. I guess if there is one thing we can say about UM-Crookston, it wasn't designed to be a treasure trove for NSIC quarterbacks if neither of their QBs can perform in their system. They play in a game in which they should really forfeit when they host UM-Duluth. Really, does anyone want to see this massacre?
1. #1 UM-Duluth 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Northern State 27-7
LG - W vs. #25 St. Cloud State 40-17
UG - @ UM-Crookston (1-8)
Note - I think most people are coming to terms that no one is going to knock off the UM-Duluth Bulldogs this year. I said that I thought St. Cloud would keep it a close game for a while but the Bulldogs would pull away and win by 17-21 points. I was close...UMD won by 23 and it was a 13-10 game at halftime. Statistically, the two teams were pretty close...UMD had 21 first downs to 19 for St. Cloud and UMD only had 23 more yards of total offense. However, the big difference in this game was turnovers. The Huskies had five turnovers in this game while the Bulldogs, who were coming off a four turnover performance against NSU, had none. A lot of times, I talk about a UMD offensive player that had an outstanding performance but how about LB Kiel Fechtelkotter? 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble? You can't ask for a much better defensive performance than that. I wonder if the Bulldogs will treat next week's game like a bye week for the starters because one of the best teams in D2 college football is about to play one of the worst teams in D2 college football when UMD travels to Crookston on Saturday.
2. #7 Augustana 9-0 (8-0 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ MSU-Moorhead 47-17
LG - W vs. MSU-Mankato 17-13
UG - @ Wayne State (5-4)
Note - Well, it wasn't pretty but Augie stole a potential road victory from the Mavericks...or would it be safe to say MSU-Mankato gave the game away? In either case, Augustana came up with the big play with 26 seconds left. With starting quarterback Josh Hanson knocked out of the game earlier, backup QB Ryan Schuetz completed a 36-yard pass to none other than wideout Tyler Schulte for the game-winning TD. It was interesting what happened just three plays before this one. The Mavericks had Augie stopped on 3rd and 15 at the Augie 49-yard line. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Augustana a first down and new life. I guess this is what happens when you're undefeated...everyone is going to give you their best shot and sometimes one or two plays will be the difference between an undefeated season and a bitter home loss. Right now, the health of Josh Hanson might be a concern because we only have three more weeks until the D2 playoffs begin. A potential loss at Wayne could be devastating but at the same time, I don't see how Wayne can win with the way they are playing.
3. #25 St. Cloud State 7-2 (7-1 NSIC) (-)
PG - W vs. UM-Crookston 49-6
LG - L @ #1 UM-Duluth 40-17
UG - vs. Bemidji State (6-3)
Note - The Huskies had an opportunity to make a big statement on the road against UM-Duluth. The fact that they built themselves a 10-0 hole midway through the first quarter and still managed to make it a 13-10 game at halftime was impressive. However, two Huskies turnovers setup easy UMD scores in the second half led to a 27-7 pounding of the Huskies in the second half. In order to compete with UMD, the Huskies had to take care of the football and five turnovers certainly doomed them in that aspect. QB Phillip Klaphake had a game to forget as he was intercepted twice, fumbled three times, losing two of those fumbles. Overall, the Huskies managed to play a fairly even game with the Bulldogs but whenever you lose the turnover margin 5-0...it will almost never play into your favor. If there is any good news for St. Cloud, this was a game that they were probably supposed to lose. They go home to take on a tough Bemidji State Beavers squad...if they can get by that game and finish the season 9-2, they have a decent shot at the playoffs.
4. Winona State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Concordia-St. Paul 31-28
LG - W @ SW Minnesota State 45-19
UG - vs. Mary (2-7)
Note - After watching Winona State play the last two weeks, I've noticed that they've done two things that has helped their play considerably the last two weeks. Obviously one was the quarterback change from Evan Aber to Bryan Bradshaw but the other is giving more touches to Rayon Simmons. It obviously paid off against SW Minnesota State as he received NSIC Offensive Player of the Week with his performance. He carried the ball 22 times for 196 yards and 5 TDs, as well as caught three passes for 54 yards. Overall, a 250-yard day and 5 TDs would be an unbelievable performance, especially considering he was taken out early in the 4th quarter. Again, Bradshaw was solid, going 15-of-23 for 209 yards and only one interception. With the way this Winona State team is playing, it seems as though they have a lot of confidence going into their final two games of the season. If there is a concern the last two weeks, it is their lack of ability to stop the run. They'll need to do a better job of it this Saturday when Jamal Lomax and the University of Mary come to Maxwell Field.
5. Concordia-St. Paul 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (-)
PG - L vs. Winona State 31-28
LG - W @ UM-Crookston 41-7
UG - vs. Upper Iowa (2-7)
Note - As expected, the Golden Bears rebounded off a tough home loss to Winona State with a blowout road victory at UM-Crookston. This game was never really close as Concordia-St. Paul had a 20-0 halftime lead and a 41-0 lead after the 3rd quarter. Starting quarterback Spencer Ohm didn't play a snap into the 4th quarter, as he played a nearly flawless three quarters completing 12-of-17 passes for 217 yards and 3 TDs. It wasn't like the running game wasn't working either. Sam Campbell rushed 14 times for 113 yards and a TD. I'm sure we might have expected a bigger blowout than this but I've noticed that St. Cloud and Concordia hardly played their starters into the 4th quarter against UM-Crookston. It is probably a wise move because the Golden Bears are competing for a potential Mineral Water Bowl spot and they'll need to be healthy down the stretch if they want a shot at it. They host Upper Iowa next week, a team coming off a confidence boosting win at home against Wayne State. If they play like they did against Wayne, the Golden Bears could have a challenge...or they could have a cake walk. It really depends which Peacocks team shows up this week.
6. Bemidji State 6-3 (5-3 NSIC) (+2)
PG - W vs. Mary 23-22
LG - W vs. Northern State 41-13
UG - @ #25 St. Cloud State (7-2)
Note - After two consecutive weeks of squeaking out wins against inferior opponents, the Beavers finally righted the ship and manhandled Northern State. The Beavers punched them in the mouth early, building a 27-0 lead and if not for a late score by the Wolves, it wouldn't have been 27-6 going into halftime. The Beavers were excellent on the ground, rushing for 350 yards with RB Dustin Kroeplin rushing 23 times for 200 yards and 2 TDs as well as Steven Battle rushing seven times for 91 yards. This is the Bemidji State team we expected to see the past three weeks and just hadn't seen it up until this point. Even though this was a big win for the Beavers, their game this Saturday would certainly give them their biggest win of the season if they pull off the upset. They travel to St. Cloud for the battle for second place in the NSIC North Division. Even though the Huskies are coming off a demoralizing loss, I'm sure they will give the Beavers all that they can handle.
7. MSU-Mankato 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - W @ Wayne State 13-3
LG - L @ #7 Augustana 17-13
UG - vs. SW Minnesota State (4-5)
Note - I'm sure the Mavericks thought they had this game in hand. They had Augustana at 3rd and 15 and it looked as though the Vikings magical run at being undefeated would come to an end. However, leave it to more stupid mistakes to doom the Mavericks yet again this season. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Vikings a 1st down and they delivered the game-winning touchdown three plays later with 26 seconds left to win. It had to be a heartbreaking loss for MSU because there were so many factors going into this game. They could've spoiled Augie's perfect season. They could've put themselves in the driver's seat for a potential Mineral Water Bowl. However, all became lost after two demoralizing plays on Augustana's final possession. As much as Augustana's quarterback situation was a mess, MSU QB Steve Pachan had a nightmarish game, completing 10-of-25 passes for 143 yards with a TD and three interceptions. The performance would've had me begging for Will Brogan back but injuries kept him out of this game. Overall, the Mavericks will still have an opportunity to finish above .500 this season when they host SW Minnesota State on Saturday.
8. Wayne State 5-4 (4-4 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. MSU-Mankato 13-3
LG - L @ Upper Iowa 21-20
UG - vs. #7 Augustana (9-0)
Note - What more can I say about the Wayne State Wildcats other than they are on the biggest slide since downhill skiing became a sport. Three straight losses, two at home and one on the road to what was a one-win football team. How they lost this game was something to laugh at because with two minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, it was a 14-14 ball game. With 1:47 to go, UIU QB Ben Curran completed a 24-yard pass to Jessie Hubbard for a TD that gave the Peacocks a 21-14 lead. However, the Peacocks had blown last week's game late and it seemed it would be much of the same this week. On the ensuing kickoff, WSC returner Kevin Paulsen had an 86 yard return that was brought back to the Peacocks three yard line. One play later, Nick Pulcher plunged into the endzone on a three-yard carry to make it a 21-20 game. Wildcats kicker Nick Bell shanked the extra point and the Peacocks would hold on to a 21-20 win after a scoreless 4th quarter. Overall, this is what seems to be happening to Wayne State lately. They can't get plays to go their way and being decimated by injuries certainly doesn't help. The Wildcats don't have an easy finish either. They host Augustana this week and then travel to Winona State next week. It will be hard to believe if Wayne State finishes with a losing record but with the way things are going, it wouldn't be surprising.
9. SW Minnesota State 4-5 (3-5 NSIC) (-)
PG - W @ Upper Iowa 40-34
LG - L vs. Winona State 44-19
UG - @ MSU-Mankato (5-4)
Note - After coming off an intense road victory in Fayette the week before, the Mustangs had some confidence and perhaps a belief that they could upset the Warriors in Marshall again this year after doing it two years ago. However, the Warriors quickly showed them that they are not Upper Iowa. The Warriors built a 31-7 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Mustangs could not stop the WSU rushing attack at all. The Warriors rushed for 362 yards and had 571 yards of total offense. It was a bad game offensively and defensively for the Mustangs, but if there was a bright spot, it was running back Warren Matthews. Matthews carried the ball 14 times for 114 yards and a TD. Part of the reason why he didn't carry the ball that much was due in part to getting behind early and resorting to the pass to try and get back in the game. Ryan Ratekin was far from sharp, completing 14-of-28 passes for 127 yards and a TD. However, he faced a ferocious Warriors pass rush and his receivers had a hard time getting open against the Winona State secondary. The Mustangs travel to Mankato this Saturday to take on a very tough MSU-Mankato team...not to mention they are playing a hot team at the wrong time.
10. Mary 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L @ Bemidji State 23-22
LG - W vs. MSU-Moorhead 43-17
UG - @ Winona State (6-3)
Note - It looks like I should have went with my gut and picked Mary at #10 last week because their game with MSU-Moorhead was far from what I'd call "a game". They built a 28-0 lead going into halftime and the Dragons were never even able to make it remotely close. Lomax was a work horse, carrying the ball 30 times for 169 yards and two TDs. He also caught three passes for 33 yards, giving him 202 total yards on the day. Mary has played a lot of close games this season and could be 4-5 or even possibly 5-4...its just that they've had some bad breaks go their way. They might need that sort of confidence if they want to go into Winona and compete. If they can play with the same mentality that they had against Bemidji State, they might be able to pull it off but then again, Bemidji State has been one of the bigger Jeckyl & Hyde teams all season. Winona State is no push over and when they are playing a game they are favored in, they typically win pretty handily. All I will say is Mary has a tall order ahead of them.
11. MSU-Moorhead 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L @ #7 Augustana 47-17
LG - L @ Mary 43-17
UG - @ Northern State (1-8)
Note - With these past few games and upcoming games, not only are we finding out who the "best of the best" in the NSIC are, but we are slowly starting to figure out who is the "worst of the the worst." I did think that there is the possibility that MSU-Moorhead is one of those teams but after playing a competitive game with Bemidji State and stunning Augustana for a quarter and a half, I thought that they might not be all that bad of a team...boy was I wrong. They were downright awful against Mary. I'm still trying to figure out why they threw 60 pass attempts in that game. I know Mary's secondary is suspect, but not THAT suspect. Of course, when you carry the ball 26 times for 40 yards, I can somewhat understand why you'd want to give up on the run. It is pretty amazing that MSU-Moorhead ran 86 plays in the game and only scored 17 points. While Mary only ran 69 plays and scored 43 points, 33 of those plays went through Lomax and he couldn't be stopped. Overall, I'd have to say MSU-Moorhead is a pretty poor team and if they lose next week's game at Northern State, I could possibly drop them to #13 in the NSIC rankings.
12. Upper Iowa 2-7 (2-6 NSIC) (+1)
PG - L vs. SW Minnesota State 40-34
LG - W vs. Wayne State 21-20
UG - @ Concordia-St. Paul (6-3)
Note - I guess I should congratulate Upper Iowa on getting out of the proverbial cellar in the NSIC since UM-Crookston is a given. The last two weeks, the Peacocks have played much better football and were able to get their second conference victory against a decent team in Wayne State. It's hard to take some credit away from the Peacocks, but they did beat a Wildcats team that has been down on its luck and playing its worst football of the season. Still, it was good for the Peacocks to finally get that win so they can hang their hat on something. Wins won't be much easier to come by the rest of the way as they travel to St. Paul this Saturday and finish off the year at Augustana. Right now, 2-9 is looking pretty probable but if the Peacocks can bring the same intensity that they brought to last Saturday's game, they might give themselves a shot...but I'm doubting it.
13. Northern State 1-8 (1-7 NSIC) (-1)
PG - L vs. #1 UM-Duluth 27-7
LG - L @ Bemidji State 41-13
UG - vs. MSU-Moorhead (2-7)
Note - Just when I think Northern State really isn't that bad, they somehow appall me by getting trounced by Bemidji State in a game where they gave up 350 yards rushing. I just don't know what to think of this Northern State team. With the way Bemidji State played in the weeks coming up to this game, I thought Northern had a decent shot to pull the upset. I don't know if Bemidji executed their game plan that well or if Northern just didn't show up to this one. Perhaps the difference between their game against UMD and their game against BSU was turnovers. They forced five Bulldogs turnovers the week before, whereas Bemidji didn't commit a single turnover. As a result, they buried the Wolves. We'll have an interesting game on our hands next week when MSU-Moorhead travels to Northern State. To me, this is probably the battle for last place in the NSIC (not named UM-Crookston).
14. UM-Crookston 1-8 (0-8 NSIC) (-)
PG - L @ #25 St. Cloud State 49-6
LG - L vs. Concordia-St. Paul 41-7
UG - vs. #1 UM-Duluth (9-0)
Note - Well, this might not be the most appropriate quote but, "Same old $#!t, different day," pretty much sums up the Golden Eagles in a nutshell. Concordia-St. Paul pulled its starters before the end of the 3rd quarter and they were up 41-0 at that point. That's one thing I'll comment about the upper tier NSIC teams...at least they aren't running up the score on UM-Crookston...that shows some class. After this game, I couldn't help but laugh at QB Josh Perea's seasonal stat line. 76-of-154 (49.4%) 3 TDs 12 INTs and a 77.2 QB Rating. Then again, it's not like backup Tim Ennis is lighting things up. He's 28-of-55 (50.9%) 2 TDs 7 INTs for a 86.33 QB Rating. I guess if there is one thing we can say about UM-Crookston, it wasn't designed to be a treasure trove for NSIC quarterbacks if neither of their QBs can perform in their system. They play in a game in which they should really forfeit when they host UM-Duluth. Really, does anyone want to see this massacre?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Adam Stanek's NSIC Men's Basketball Preview
With exhibition play just a few days away, it's time to take a look at this year's NSIC Men's Basketball season. All-in-all, the talent seems better and better and the league should be deeper in talent. Here's my preview...
1. Winona State
09-10 Record: 20-10
The Warriors are coming off a somewhat down season, where injuries plagued the Warriors all season, including losing Clayton Vette for the first half of the season and David Johnson for the NSIC and NCAA Tournament. Johnson graduated this year and it might have left a void for scoring in Winona State's offense. However, like most great programs, Winona State doesn't rebuild, they reload. Anthony Tucker, a D1 transfer from Iowa and Caleb Palkert from South Carolina-Upstate solidify a solid incoming class. The Warriors also bring back an experienced roster, headlined by Ben Fischer, C.J. Erickson, Jon Walburg, Xavier Humphrey, Brad Meyer, Joel Armstrong and of course Vette. Coming off a redshirt season, there are also high hopes for Kellen Taylor, who is considered a "Quincy Henderson-esque" player. There's no doubt that Winona State is the most talented team in the league, but the biggest question is can head coach Mike Leaf get this team gel? It seemed as though last season they did not play together as a team and relied too much on Johnson's scoring. WSU will need to find a rotation that works if they want to claim the NSIC title.
2. Augustana
09-10 Record: 24-7
Despite Augustana losing David Foster, Lee Stephens, Eliot Thomas and Jordan Dalton to graduation, this team looks poised to claim an NSIC title. They bring back the best all-round guard/forward in the NSIC in Cody Schilling as well as the dynamic scoring point guard Cameron McCaffrey to run the point. The one area where I believe Augustana has a big advantage over many teams in the NSIC is in the low post, where they have two seasoned veterans, each with their own style of play. Derrick DeZeeuw isn't afraid to get down and dirty in the low post and Nathan Truex has a solid jumper and touch on his shots that make him a tough guy to guard when he moves away from the block. One player that the Vikings will be asking more of will be Chad Hettermann, who despite starting many games last year, only averaged 2.1 PPG. He's a defensive dynamo but due to losing four key contributors, he'll need to step up his offensive game. The Vikings have some concern with depth. They have talent on their bench, but the problem is lack of experience. There aren't many guys on that bench that have much experience. I won't be surprised to see freshman forward Yuriy Malashenko get a lot of playing time as a freshman. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling head coach "Texas" Tom Billeter will have his team ready for another great season.
3. St. Cloud State
09-10 Record: 29-6
The Huskies are coming off a fantastic season in which they made a deep run to the Elite Eight, coming off a tough Final Four loss to Indiana (PA). Obviously, they bring back one of the most talented teams in the NSIC, only losing All-NSIC center Matt Schneck and Michael Riley to graduation. Head coach Kevin Schlagel will have a hole to fill because losing Schneck to graduation is a big loss for the Huskies, as he was their only real low post threat. Jesse Fisher is the only real low post threat they bring back but even then, his knees are not healthy. It's almost hard for me to believe that it took me five sentences to even mention the named, Taylor Witt, but don't let that fool you...he is by far one of the most talented players in the league and is expected to be the Player Of The Year in the NSIC. The Huskies have a very nice set of role players, including Brett Putz, Nate Phillips, Theo Rothstein, Josh Ortmann and of course, Andrew Bernstetter. With Schneck gone, look for Bernstetter and Tim Bergstrasser to be the foundation in the low post. I also believe we might see a lot of play from freshman center Ben Bucholz, who is one of the few guys with some size on the Huskies' bench.
4. MSU-Mankato
09-10 Record: 25-5
The Mavericks have had their tough goings the last several seasons in the NCAA Tournament. Even though they hosted the Regional Tournament last year, they still couldn't make it out of the second round. There was a bit of a "if we're not going to do it this year, we're not going to do it at all" sort of feel to MSU's season and I'm sure head coach Matt Margenthaler is feeling the heat. The Mavericks lost a lot in the offseason, including All-NSIC center Travis Nelson, Curt Greeley, Jermain Davis and Jesse Clark to graduation. Don't let that fool you though, this team is still loaded with talent. Jefferson Mason is still the best small forward in the NSIC and he has a good supporting cast around him with Marcus Hill, Joe Drapcho, Cameron Hodges, and Taylor Morrow. The additions of D1 transfers A.J. Wilson from Murray State and Andre Gilbert from South Dakota State should be very welcome to an already talented team. Much like St. Cloud, a lot will be asked of the Mavericks relatively unexperienced low post guys, headlined by Mitch Grundman and Mike Bisenius. They'll need those two to show up in the worst way if the Mavericks want to contend for an NSIC title.
5. Mary
09-10 Record: 15-13
Don't let Mary's record fool you, they had one of the better teams in the NSIC last season under first year head coach Randall Herbst and losing six of their last eight games did not help things. The big thing about Mary this season apart from a lot of the other big name teams in the NSIC is that they bring back just about everyone for the 2010-2011 campaign. The only real significant losses were Danny Sandvig and U.T. Udo. Nothing against Danny and U.T., but they are replaceable. This team's headline players are without a doubt Anthony Moody and Eric Erdmann, both all NSIC performers. Moody is an electrifying point guard with a knack for scoring while Erdmann is an undersized forward that seems to manhandle even guys who are bigger than him in the low post. To be a great team this year, the Marauders will be asking for more out of their role guys like Jordan Wilhelm, Cameron Lee and Baley Johnson to support Moody and Erdmann. The biggest question mark for the Marauders is their lack of size and it became apparent toward the end of last season. A lot could be asked of Alex Dorr and CC transfer Damon Smith to help out in the low post. I'm also intrigued to see what sort of roles freshman Shaun Condon and Jalen Jaspers will have on this team.
6. Northern State
09-10 Record: 13-14
You can call me crazy, but I think the Wolves are going to have a bounce back season. I look at this team and they have a lot of nice pieces to build around. Bojan Todorovic is back from a season-ending injury last season and he'll rejoin fellow Serbian Marko Filipovic, Marty Gregor, D1 South Dakota transfer Dustin Tetzlaff, and D1 Youngstown State transfer Tom Parks in what could be the best set of forwards in the NSIC. Northern State has always been known for their depth and line-change mentality and this year should be no different. A bulk of the offensive scoring will probably be carried by small forward Colin Pryor and shooting guard Derek Hoellin. Brett Newton will be running the point again this season after missing most of the 09-10 season and Alex Thomas as well as Casey Becker should provide a healthy spark off the bench. One newcomer I am interested in seeing is Jared Hannigan. With a lack of depth at the guard position, it will not be surprising if he sees a lot of playing time this season. It'll also be interesting to see if CC transfer David Lane sees a lot of playing time this year as well. It'll be interesting to see what first year head coach Paul Sather has in store for this year's team.
7. SW Minnesota State
09-10 Record: 17-12
The Mustangs made a strong push toward the end of last year but much like the 07 and 08 seasons, they fell just a little short of making the NCAA Tournament. It wouldn't surprise me if the same situation happened to the Mustangs this year. They should have a solid team, but will it be enough to make the tourney? They have perhaps the best tandem at the forward position in Taylor Huseby and Scott Roehl. Jordan Miller and Lavionne West are two solid sophs that should be key contributors as well. Trent Carlson is another solid returner for the Mustangs but I will be interested in seeing what the SMSU newcomers have to provide. Tranfer PG Jimmy Abraham, CC PG transfer Jimmy Wallace, Jordan Buddenhagen and freshman Vinard Birch could all be competing for the starting point guard job (from what I hear, Birch could have a slight lead). To me, SMSU is sort of a mystery team because they have a lot of new faces and redshirts that haven't seen much court time due to the great deal of talent that graduated from SMSU the last three years. I hear a few good things about Matt Zager, who was a heck of a HS baller. I'll admit, this was a tough team to break down because I haven't seen this team practice and I'm not even really sure who their solid starting five will be...let alone who will be the key pieces off the bench. In a sense, that might be a good thing for Head Coach Brad Bigler...the less the opposition knows about you, the better.
8. Wayne State
09-10 Record: 14-15
I have to give a lot of credit to head coach Paul Combs last year because he was given an awful situation in Wayne State last year and managed to do the best with what he was given. He developed a team identity in less than a year and Wayne State managed to play a lot better than what I expected. However, the team finds themselves in another tough position because Combs stressed solid, physical interior play and they lost the two biggest pieces, Brett Spiker and Brian Metz. The good news for Wayne State is their trifecta of guards return in Amry Shelby, Jason Jensen, and Brad Starken. I think in order for Wayne to have a successful season, they'll need more out of Ben Tasa. Tasa was the backup center last year and with both Spiker and Metz gone, he'll need to be beefed up and more physical this year to help compensate for those losses. I could be wrong (the WSC website being down doesn't help), but I believe they also get Zane Abner back this season. They'll need him healthy if they want to make a run at the top 8 in the NSIC.
9. Concordia-St. Paul
09-10 Record: 13-15
When I look at the Golden Bears, I just see too much of a turnover in talent for them to stick around in the top 8 in the league. What's funny is they have the best big man in the league in Brent Barz. However, the question therein lies, who else do they have? They lost their leading scorer in Craig Heiman as well as Mike Cunningham, Sammy Ricks and Thomas Bassett. It also seemed like they bring back a lot of underperformers from last year. Dan "Birdman" Vandervieren was an enormous disappointment and seemed to be a distraction for the team. Matt Hackl had a down year last year and the only other real scoring threats that they have back this year are Andrew Kuderer and Courtney Tyler. They'll be asking more from sophomore Isiah Thomas and backup forward Chris Hamblin if this team wants to crack the top 8. Much like SMSU, there's a lot of mystery shrouded in the Golden Bears and I'm curious to see if head coach Kelly Boe can keep his team up because they tend to be disappointments every year despite the talent.
10. Bemidji State
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Beavers are going to be a curious team this year because after last year's "hotel debacle", it threw a lot of inexperienced players into the rotation and it seemed apparent that some guys weren't ready to play. Losing all-conference performer Seth Haake to graduation isn't going to help the Beavers, but they do bring back a good chunk of their team. The guard play should be solid, led by super soph Lance Rongstad and Bryce Tesdahl. Patrick Cassidy is a solid forward for them and Jake Lindstrom is a solid player at the guard position. Noah Shepherd as a sophomore and Mason Walters, David Berthene and Burke Lendl should all be improved after seeing a lot of playing time in their freshman seasons. All-in-all, Bemidji has a young team and I'm intrigued to see who else will come to the fray of Bemidji State's rotation. They did bring in some Arizona CC transfers in forward James Ellisor and center Ryan Kinnell who could see some playing time this year. Overall, I think head coach Matt Bowen could have an intriguing team on his hands and one that could pull off some upsets...but it'll be important for Rongstad to stay healthy.
11. MSU-Moorhead
09-10 Record: 10-17
The Dragons are a team that have me scratching my head because they appear to have a lot of talented players. They could be offensively one of the better set teams in the NSIC because they bring back five of their six top scorers from last season, with the lone exception being Jerome Nelson. First year head coach Chad Walthall has a lot of young talented options to work with. I say young because this team does not have one senior on its roster...thus unless they have someone transfer or leave the team, they'll have this roster for years to come. It is headlined by point guard Jake Driscoll, who puts up big points for a small guy. Dennis Williamson and Andrew VanHavermaet are two guys that can light up the scoreboard and sophomore center Alex Novak shows some promise to be an elite center in the NSIC. Xavier Reed, Chad Thompson, Eric Olsen and Jordan Driscoll are also guys that should see significant playing time in the Dragons' lineup. As for the new faces, Tarell Clark, Charlie Champman and D.J. Hamilton are three transfers that will likely be competing for playing time.
12. Upper Iowa
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Peacocks are just one of those teams that are literally like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're going to get. Three years ago, they looked like a team that might just compete in the NSIC but the last two years have been somewhat of a disappointment. Of course, the team revolves around the play of senior guard Matt Lesan, or who I like to call the human free throw machine. The guy is a master at his craft at drawing fouls. Overall, the Peacocks do bring back quite a few players from last year's team, although they lost their second and third leading scorers (not huge losses when they have seven guys averaging between 11 and five points per game). Some key returners include Jake Hughes, Tucker Wentzien, Mike LaFrentz, Dan Bestul, Alex Kramer and Brad Arnold just to name a few. However, head coach Brian Dolan's big dilemma is he needs to find a rotation that works. He tends to play a line change-esque rotation that is somewhat similar to Northern State's. However, the problem being is there are lots of guys that really aren't talented enough to compete against most NSIC teams and it hurts the team when they are on the floor. Dolan needs to solidify his rotation if he wants to crack the top 8 in the NSIC.
13. UM-Duluth
09-10 Record: 7-20
I am having a hard time convincing myself that the Bulldogs are not the second worst team in the conference. They finished second to last this past year and I don't see this year being any better. It's bad enough they lost Ron White and Steve Duncan to graduation. I guess if there is some good news, the Bulldogs bring back scoring machine Ryan Rasmussen and a talented athlete in Dylan Rodriguez. I'm sure the Bulldogs will be asking for more production out of sophomore guard Jake Hottenstine and senior guard Rhett McDonald. For once, the Bulldogs might be struggling for depth at center but Erik Powers does return and will likely see a lot more playing time than he did this past season as well as UM-Crookston transfer Joe Paschka. One nice edition to the Bulldogs lineup this year is D1 transfer Riley Walker from UW-Milwaukee, who saw some playing time in the Panthers lineup. Overall, head coach Gary Holquist better get a grip and focus his attention to the basketball floor because he has a lot of new faces and takes "criticism" a little too seriously.
14. UM-Crookston
09-10 Record: 5-22
They were last year's worst team in the NSIC...and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that. They are the worst team in the NSIC every year and this year will be no different. I thought that they could possibly get out of the cellar last year with Damarius Cruz and Akeem Cubie until they lost both those players due to injury. With Cruz transferring to St. Cloud State and Cubie leaving the program, I don't see how the Golden Eagles will even stand a snowball's chance. They even lost their top scorer after those two went down, Matthew Heier to graduation. If we look beyond those two guys, they do bring back starting forward Adam Hendricks, point guard Jason Servaty, forward Mike Larsen and center Trent Graves. Much like UMD, the Golden Eagles have a lot of new faces and more than likely, the headliner will be Eric Dearden, a transfer from D1 Utah Valley State. He should be significant playing time, if not, start for UM-Crookston this year. All-in-all, head coach Jeff Oseth has a tall order to try and get this Golden Eagles program out of the cellar.
1. Winona State
09-10 Record: 20-10
The Warriors are coming off a somewhat down season, where injuries plagued the Warriors all season, including losing Clayton Vette for the first half of the season and David Johnson for the NSIC and NCAA Tournament. Johnson graduated this year and it might have left a void for scoring in Winona State's offense. However, like most great programs, Winona State doesn't rebuild, they reload. Anthony Tucker, a D1 transfer from Iowa and Caleb Palkert from South Carolina-Upstate solidify a solid incoming class. The Warriors also bring back an experienced roster, headlined by Ben Fischer, C.J. Erickson, Jon Walburg, Xavier Humphrey, Brad Meyer, Joel Armstrong and of course Vette. Coming off a redshirt season, there are also high hopes for Kellen Taylor, who is considered a "Quincy Henderson-esque" player. There's no doubt that Winona State is the most talented team in the league, but the biggest question is can head coach Mike Leaf get this team gel? It seemed as though last season they did not play together as a team and relied too much on Johnson's scoring. WSU will need to find a rotation that works if they want to claim the NSIC title.
2. Augustana
09-10 Record: 24-7
Despite Augustana losing David Foster, Lee Stephens, Eliot Thomas and Jordan Dalton to graduation, this team looks poised to claim an NSIC title. They bring back the best all-round guard/forward in the NSIC in Cody Schilling as well as the dynamic scoring point guard Cameron McCaffrey to run the point. The one area where I believe Augustana has a big advantage over many teams in the NSIC is in the low post, where they have two seasoned veterans, each with their own style of play. Derrick DeZeeuw isn't afraid to get down and dirty in the low post and Nathan Truex has a solid jumper and touch on his shots that make him a tough guy to guard when he moves away from the block. One player that the Vikings will be asking more of will be Chad Hettermann, who despite starting many games last year, only averaged 2.1 PPG. He's a defensive dynamo but due to losing four key contributors, he'll need to step up his offensive game. The Vikings have some concern with depth. They have talent on their bench, but the problem is lack of experience. There aren't many guys on that bench that have much experience. I won't be surprised to see freshman forward Yuriy Malashenko get a lot of playing time as a freshman. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling head coach "Texas" Tom Billeter will have his team ready for another great season.
3. St. Cloud State
09-10 Record: 29-6
The Huskies are coming off a fantastic season in which they made a deep run to the Elite Eight, coming off a tough Final Four loss to Indiana (PA). Obviously, they bring back one of the most talented teams in the NSIC, only losing All-NSIC center Matt Schneck and Michael Riley to graduation. Head coach Kevin Schlagel will have a hole to fill because losing Schneck to graduation is a big loss for the Huskies, as he was their only real low post threat. Jesse Fisher is the only real low post threat they bring back but even then, his knees are not healthy. It's almost hard for me to believe that it took me five sentences to even mention the named, Taylor Witt, but don't let that fool you...he is by far one of the most talented players in the league and is expected to be the Player Of The Year in the NSIC. The Huskies have a very nice set of role players, including Brett Putz, Nate Phillips, Theo Rothstein, Josh Ortmann and of course, Andrew Bernstetter. With Schneck gone, look for Bernstetter and Tim Bergstrasser to be the foundation in the low post. I also believe we might see a lot of play from freshman center Ben Bucholz, who is one of the few guys with some size on the Huskies' bench.
4. MSU-Mankato
09-10 Record: 25-5
The Mavericks have had their tough goings the last several seasons in the NCAA Tournament. Even though they hosted the Regional Tournament last year, they still couldn't make it out of the second round. There was a bit of a "if we're not going to do it this year, we're not going to do it at all" sort of feel to MSU's season and I'm sure head coach Matt Margenthaler is feeling the heat. The Mavericks lost a lot in the offseason, including All-NSIC center Travis Nelson, Curt Greeley, Jermain Davis and Jesse Clark to graduation. Don't let that fool you though, this team is still loaded with talent. Jefferson Mason is still the best small forward in the NSIC and he has a good supporting cast around him with Marcus Hill, Joe Drapcho, Cameron Hodges, and Taylor Morrow. The additions of D1 transfers A.J. Wilson from Murray State and Andre Gilbert from South Dakota State should be very welcome to an already talented team. Much like St. Cloud, a lot will be asked of the Mavericks relatively unexperienced low post guys, headlined by Mitch Grundman and Mike Bisenius. They'll need those two to show up in the worst way if the Mavericks want to contend for an NSIC title.
5. Mary
09-10 Record: 15-13
Don't let Mary's record fool you, they had one of the better teams in the NSIC last season under first year head coach Randall Herbst and losing six of their last eight games did not help things. The big thing about Mary this season apart from a lot of the other big name teams in the NSIC is that they bring back just about everyone for the 2010-2011 campaign. The only real significant losses were Danny Sandvig and U.T. Udo. Nothing against Danny and U.T., but they are replaceable. This team's headline players are without a doubt Anthony Moody and Eric Erdmann, both all NSIC performers. Moody is an electrifying point guard with a knack for scoring while Erdmann is an undersized forward that seems to manhandle even guys who are bigger than him in the low post. To be a great team this year, the Marauders will be asking for more out of their role guys like Jordan Wilhelm, Cameron Lee and Baley Johnson to support Moody and Erdmann. The biggest question mark for the Marauders is their lack of size and it became apparent toward the end of last season. A lot could be asked of Alex Dorr and CC transfer Damon Smith to help out in the low post. I'm also intrigued to see what sort of roles freshman Shaun Condon and Jalen Jaspers will have on this team.
6. Northern State
09-10 Record: 13-14
You can call me crazy, but I think the Wolves are going to have a bounce back season. I look at this team and they have a lot of nice pieces to build around. Bojan Todorovic is back from a season-ending injury last season and he'll rejoin fellow Serbian Marko Filipovic, Marty Gregor, D1 South Dakota transfer Dustin Tetzlaff, and D1 Youngstown State transfer Tom Parks in what could be the best set of forwards in the NSIC. Northern State has always been known for their depth and line-change mentality and this year should be no different. A bulk of the offensive scoring will probably be carried by small forward Colin Pryor and shooting guard Derek Hoellin. Brett Newton will be running the point again this season after missing most of the 09-10 season and Alex Thomas as well as Casey Becker should provide a healthy spark off the bench. One newcomer I am interested in seeing is Jared Hannigan. With a lack of depth at the guard position, it will not be surprising if he sees a lot of playing time this season. It'll also be interesting to see if CC transfer David Lane sees a lot of playing time this year as well. It'll be interesting to see what first year head coach Paul Sather has in store for this year's team.
7. SW Minnesota State
09-10 Record: 17-12
The Mustangs made a strong push toward the end of last year but much like the 07 and 08 seasons, they fell just a little short of making the NCAA Tournament. It wouldn't surprise me if the same situation happened to the Mustangs this year. They should have a solid team, but will it be enough to make the tourney? They have perhaps the best tandem at the forward position in Taylor Huseby and Scott Roehl. Jordan Miller and Lavionne West are two solid sophs that should be key contributors as well. Trent Carlson is another solid returner for the Mustangs but I will be interested in seeing what the SMSU newcomers have to provide. Tranfer PG Jimmy Abraham, CC PG transfer Jimmy Wallace, Jordan Buddenhagen and freshman Vinard Birch could all be competing for the starting point guard job (from what I hear, Birch could have a slight lead). To me, SMSU is sort of a mystery team because they have a lot of new faces and redshirts that haven't seen much court time due to the great deal of talent that graduated from SMSU the last three years. I hear a few good things about Matt Zager, who was a heck of a HS baller. I'll admit, this was a tough team to break down because I haven't seen this team practice and I'm not even really sure who their solid starting five will be...let alone who will be the key pieces off the bench. In a sense, that might be a good thing for Head Coach Brad Bigler...the less the opposition knows about you, the better.
8. Wayne State
09-10 Record: 14-15
I have to give a lot of credit to head coach Paul Combs last year because he was given an awful situation in Wayne State last year and managed to do the best with what he was given. He developed a team identity in less than a year and Wayne State managed to play a lot better than what I expected. However, the team finds themselves in another tough position because Combs stressed solid, physical interior play and they lost the two biggest pieces, Brett Spiker and Brian Metz. The good news for Wayne State is their trifecta of guards return in Amry Shelby, Jason Jensen, and Brad Starken. I think in order for Wayne to have a successful season, they'll need more out of Ben Tasa. Tasa was the backup center last year and with both Spiker and Metz gone, he'll need to be beefed up and more physical this year to help compensate for those losses. I could be wrong (the WSC website being down doesn't help), but I believe they also get Zane Abner back this season. They'll need him healthy if they want to make a run at the top 8 in the NSIC.
9. Concordia-St. Paul
09-10 Record: 13-15
When I look at the Golden Bears, I just see too much of a turnover in talent for them to stick around in the top 8 in the league. What's funny is they have the best big man in the league in Brent Barz. However, the question therein lies, who else do they have? They lost their leading scorer in Craig Heiman as well as Mike Cunningham, Sammy Ricks and Thomas Bassett. It also seemed like they bring back a lot of underperformers from last year. Dan "Birdman" Vandervieren was an enormous disappointment and seemed to be a distraction for the team. Matt Hackl had a down year last year and the only other real scoring threats that they have back this year are Andrew Kuderer and Courtney Tyler. They'll be asking more from sophomore Isiah Thomas and backup forward Chris Hamblin if this team wants to crack the top 8. Much like SMSU, there's a lot of mystery shrouded in the Golden Bears and I'm curious to see if head coach Kelly Boe can keep his team up because they tend to be disappointments every year despite the talent.
10. Bemidji State
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Beavers are going to be a curious team this year because after last year's "hotel debacle", it threw a lot of inexperienced players into the rotation and it seemed apparent that some guys weren't ready to play. Losing all-conference performer Seth Haake to graduation isn't going to help the Beavers, but they do bring back a good chunk of their team. The guard play should be solid, led by super soph Lance Rongstad and Bryce Tesdahl. Patrick Cassidy is a solid forward for them and Jake Lindstrom is a solid player at the guard position. Noah Shepherd as a sophomore and Mason Walters, David Berthene and Burke Lendl should all be improved after seeing a lot of playing time in their freshman seasons. All-in-all, Bemidji has a young team and I'm intrigued to see who else will come to the fray of Bemidji State's rotation. They did bring in some Arizona CC transfers in forward James Ellisor and center Ryan Kinnell who could see some playing time this year. Overall, I think head coach Matt Bowen could have an intriguing team on his hands and one that could pull off some upsets...but it'll be important for Rongstad to stay healthy.
11. MSU-Moorhead
09-10 Record: 10-17
The Dragons are a team that have me scratching my head because they appear to have a lot of talented players. They could be offensively one of the better set teams in the NSIC because they bring back five of their six top scorers from last season, with the lone exception being Jerome Nelson. First year head coach Chad Walthall has a lot of young talented options to work with. I say young because this team does not have one senior on its roster...thus unless they have someone transfer or leave the team, they'll have this roster for years to come. It is headlined by point guard Jake Driscoll, who puts up big points for a small guy. Dennis Williamson and Andrew VanHavermaet are two guys that can light up the scoreboard and sophomore center Alex Novak shows some promise to be an elite center in the NSIC. Xavier Reed, Chad Thompson, Eric Olsen and Jordan Driscoll are also guys that should see significant playing time in the Dragons' lineup. As for the new faces, Tarell Clark, Charlie Champman and D.J. Hamilton are three transfers that will likely be competing for playing time.
12. Upper Iowa
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Peacocks are just one of those teams that are literally like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're going to get. Three years ago, they looked like a team that might just compete in the NSIC but the last two years have been somewhat of a disappointment. Of course, the team revolves around the play of senior guard Matt Lesan, or who I like to call the human free throw machine. The guy is a master at his craft at drawing fouls. Overall, the Peacocks do bring back quite a few players from last year's team, although they lost their second and third leading scorers (not huge losses when they have seven guys averaging between 11 and five points per game). Some key returners include Jake Hughes, Tucker Wentzien, Mike LaFrentz, Dan Bestul, Alex Kramer and Brad Arnold just to name a few. However, head coach Brian Dolan's big dilemma is he needs to find a rotation that works. He tends to play a line change-esque rotation that is somewhat similar to Northern State's. However, the problem being is there are lots of guys that really aren't talented enough to compete against most NSIC teams and it hurts the team when they are on the floor. Dolan needs to solidify his rotation if he wants to crack the top 8 in the NSIC.
13. UM-Duluth
09-10 Record: 7-20
I am having a hard time convincing myself that the Bulldogs are not the second worst team in the conference. They finished second to last this past year and I don't see this year being any better. It's bad enough they lost Ron White and Steve Duncan to graduation. I guess if there is some good news, the Bulldogs bring back scoring machine Ryan Rasmussen and a talented athlete in Dylan Rodriguez. I'm sure the Bulldogs will be asking for more production out of sophomore guard Jake Hottenstine and senior guard Rhett McDonald. For once, the Bulldogs might be struggling for depth at center but Erik Powers does return and will likely see a lot more playing time than he did this past season as well as UM-Crookston transfer Joe Paschka. One nice edition to the Bulldogs lineup this year is D1 transfer Riley Walker from UW-Milwaukee, who saw some playing time in the Panthers lineup. Overall, head coach Gary Holquist better get a grip and focus his attention to the basketball floor because he has a lot of new faces and takes "criticism" a little too seriously.
14. UM-Crookston
09-10 Record: 5-22
They were last year's worst team in the NSIC...and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that. They are the worst team in the NSIC every year and this year will be no different. I thought that they could possibly get out of the cellar last year with Damarius Cruz and Akeem Cubie until they lost both those players due to injury. With Cruz transferring to St. Cloud State and Cubie leaving the program, I don't see how the Golden Eagles will even stand a snowball's chance. They even lost their top scorer after those two went down, Matthew Heier to graduation. If we look beyond those two guys, they do bring back starting forward Adam Hendricks, point guard Jason Servaty, forward Mike Larsen and center Trent Graves. Much like UMD, the Golden Eagles have a lot of new faces and more than likely, the headliner will be Eric Dearden, a transfer from D1 Utah Valley State. He should be significant playing time, if not, start for UM-Crookston this year. All-in-all, head coach Jeff Oseth has a tall order to try and get this Golden Eagles program out of the cellar.
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