Well, I'm fresh off a throughly invigorating experience of watching two, top-10 teams battle it out in UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater.
And since this is one, if not THE, premier NCAA Division III matchup this December, I figured, "Why not start my midweek blog off with that."
So that's what I'm going for the midweek blog. It'll be done in the form of my three points weekend analysis.
1 Big Thing
Game I watched: UW-Stevens Point 72, UW-Whitewater 61. Top scorers UWSP: Austin Ryf, Trevor Hass (18). Top scorer UWW: Eric Bryson (15).
The Skinny: The first half was a typical top-10 dogfight. Both teams went at each other hard and physical. Both teams came out and executed on the offensive end quite well, running their attacks smoothly and crisply and that led to a tight game at the break.
The second half was a much different story. The Pointers played without leading scorer Tyler Tillema, who left the game with what appeared to be a right ankle injury.
But the Pointers never broke stride, going on a run to start the second half, keyed by Austin Ryf, jumping out to the lead.
This forced Whitewater to try and play catchup which they could never do the rest of the half and the Pointers took home a huge WIAC victory on the road.
Point 1: Hey, We're Pretty Good, Too
Leading up to the game, I thought it would take one of those monster games from Tillema for the Pointers to come out of Whitewater with a win.
Turns out, they were just fine without him.
After going down with an injury late in the first half (albeit, after scoring 10 first half points), Tillema didn't return to the game. Instead, the keys were handed over to Austin Ryf and Trevor Hass.
And both preformed beautifully, especially Ryf, who had a breakout game for the Pointers. He scored 18 points and ran the Stevens Point offense very comfortably from the point. The Pointers have been waiting for a performance like this out of their sophomore guard. Tonight, they got it in a big spot.
Hass also stepped up in the second half to provide some of the lost scoring when Tillema went down.
This is a great sign for the Pointers, especially if Tillema is down for any time with the injury. They know that they have plenty of firepower outside of him and that he doesn't have to carry the team on some nights when he does return.
Point 2: A Case of Poor Shot Selection
My BenU coach Keith Bunkenburg (or Bunks, yeah, lets just call him that) always told us that you never come back in a game by jacking the quick three or shot. (I mean that should be common knowledge for a basketball player, but I had never thought about that until he said it in a huddle one time)
Instead, the inverse is true. It hinders your comeback and often puts you in a deeper hole.
That is what happened to the Warhawks on Wednesday night. As soon as the Pointers got up 37-30 in the second half, Whitewater started settling for contested, deep 3-pointers to try and get back in the game, instead of working the lane and getting easier looks.
They are much better team anyway when the ball hits the paint, whether with the drive, which Quardell Young did a lot in the first half when they were successful, or with the post touch.
They went away from their paint game and started taking poor shots from the perimeter, which allowed the Pointer lead to balloon and put the game out of reach.
This led to a second half 3-point shooting percentage of 14 percent (2-of-13). Not, and I'm quoting Seth Davis on this one, how you get Capone.
Point 3: Do You Have My Number?
Yes, I believe the Pointers do have the Warhawks number. Stevens Point has beat Whitewater quite a few times in recent years, including twice last year during Whitewater's epic run.
Now, I have no doubt that the Warhawks are one of the best teams in the country still. But this has to be a disturbing trend for Whitewater that they would like to end.
And it looked like the Pointers were the better teams from start to finish. They executed better, especially in the second half, their length caused Whitewater problems on defense and on the glass (Whitewater got out rebounded 36-27, including 24-15 in the second half and 10-7 on the offensive glass).
Those pictures and the fact that Point now has a leg up in the conference race with the win, makes the picture a little bleak for Whitewater's hope at a repeat WIAC crown and if these teams were to meet up in the tournament at sometime, which could very well happen with how good both teams are.
2 Small Things
-Can anyone in the NAC challenge Lakeland and Aurora?
My firm belief is that there is absolutely no other team in the NAC that can compete with either of these two teams for the championship of their respective divisions. They are head and shoulders above the rest and each dominate the games in their own specific ways.
Lakeland comes at you with a offensive onslaught for the ages. They have big men who can step outside and play like guards at times. They have guards who can stroke it from deep. You blink and they go on a 10-0 run. It's just unbelievable how offensively gifted the Muskies are.
Their only problem is that they've let teams hang around too long at times, which could come back an bite them for a loss here or there but it shouldn't be an overarching problem, as they know when to flick the switch and close out games.
As for Aurora, they do it with their length and athleticism. They might be the most athletic team in conference and they can use it in a lot of different ways. They can do it defensively, contesting shots and getting steals. They can do it on the glass both offensively and defensively. They score on penetration and kick to the shooters they do have.
I have no doubt that these teams will take losses at some point during the season, but the Division titles and who represents the NAC in the NCAA tournament really comes down to these two teams.
-Will UW-Stout continue to be the surprise team of the WIAC
The Blue Devils weren't picked to do a ton in the conference this year.
But they have been one of the most surprising teams of all three of the conferences to this point, going 3-1 in the league. They took Whitewater to the wire in their only loss and beat a really solid Platteville team on the road, taking it to the Pioneers.
They do it with a solid, balanced attack, led by their two forwards Jarvis Ragland and Alex Oman. Oman leads the team at 14 points per game, while Ragland averages 11. Both compliment each other well. Oman can go inside and out and is a capable 3-point shooter. Ragland is a very athletic 4-man who can get to the rack and beat you with his athleticism.
They also have rock solid guards in Aaron Jenny and Erik Olson, a volume shooter/scorer off the bench in Chris Hortman, who is third on the team in points, and a capable big man in Josh Kosloske.
They have a lot of solid veteran pieces on this team and if they continue to play with confidence they could be a very dangerous team.
3 Performances of the Week
Cory Nickel, UW-Oshkosh (against UW-River Falls)
The junior guard was on fire from deep, knocking in 8-of-14 from behind the arc and totaling 27 points, as the Titans picked up their first conference win in over a year over the Falcons.
Nathan Kohler, Illinois College (against Grinnell)
The Blueboy guard helped take down the previously conference unbeaten by pouring in 28 points, including 6-of-8 from 3-point land. He also totaled five assists and six rebounds in the win.
Jake Schwarz, Lakeland (against Marian)
The Muskie became the conference's all-time leading scorer in the win over the Sabres, as he poured in 26 points and grabbed a gaudy 17 rebounds for Lakeland.
4 Power Teams in Two Words
WIAC
1. UW-Stevens Point (8-0, 3-0 WIAC) Words: Whitewater's Kryptonite
2. UW-Whitewater (7-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Still good
3. UW-La Crosse (8-1, 2-1 WIAC) Words: Weed laying
4. UW-Stout (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Extremely surprising
MWC
1. Carroll (7-1, 3-0 MWC) Words: Top dog
2. Beloit (5-3, 4-1 MWC) Words: Grinding away
3. Grinnell (7-2, 4-1 MWC) Words: System loss
4. Illinois College (4-4, 3-2 MWC) Words: Southern sleeper
NAC
1. Lakeland (6-0, 4-0 NAC) Words: Offensive juggernaut
2. Aurora (5-3, 4-0 NAC) Words: Athleticism wins
3. Rockford (3-4, 3-0 NAC) Words: Wild card
4. MSOE (5-4, 3-1 NAC) Words: Chugging along
5 Worth the Price of Admission
1. MWC, St. Norbert at Lawrence, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $6
This is a matchup between two middling teams who probably though higher of themselves earlier in the season.
St. Norbert is coming off their loss last Saturday to Grinnell at home. They are trying to right their ship back to where they thought it would be at this point in the season.
As for Lawrence, they beat Cornell last weekend, but have been up and down during conference play to this point.
Both teams have had a week to prepare for this game and both are looking for a signature win to get them back on the right track toward the top of the conference standings.
2. MWC, Ripon at Carroll, 3 p.m. Price I would pay: $4
It's pretty easy to look at Carroll and see that they seem to be the class of the MWC this year. They have inside scoring. They have outside scoring. They get points off their bench.
And it has shown in the results, going 3-0 to start conference play.
Ripon has had an up-and-down start to their season, with their big win coming against Lawrence. They have the capability of getting hot and taking down a team like Carroll, especially if the Pioneers aren't careful and are looking ahead to next week's Norbert matchup.
3. Non-conference, North Central (Ill.) at Benedictine, 4:15 p.m. Price I would pay: $3
I guess the reason I put this game on here is that it holds a special place in my heart since I've played in the game once or twice. It's the old Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue.
It's also worth it to see the No. 4 team in the nation. The Cardinals sport an unbelievable front line in Derek Raridon, Landon Gamble and Aaron Tiknis that can match up with anyone in the country.
It'll be a tall order for the boys from Benedictine, who are struggling coming into the matchup having lost their last three conference games before getting a week off. They will need their A games from Michael Woolf and Tim McGinty to pull it out.
The Eagles have won two of the last three (Yep, I was a part of the last two wins, interestingly enough against this years group of Cardinals), but it will be a tall order come Saturday to make it three of four.
4. Non-conference, Rockford at Loras, Sunday, 4 p.m. Price I would pay: $2
The only reason this one is on here is because I want to see what Rockford is about.
The Regents were picked to be third in the South Division of the NAC behind Benedictine and Aurora. But so far they have performed pretty well, with clutch 2-point wins over Dominican and BenU to slide into the second spot behind Aurora.
They also have one of the top scorers in the conference in Scott Suchy, who is averaging nearly 20 points a contest. It will be interesting to see what they can do out in Loras on Sunday.
5. Non-conference, Edgewood at UW-Stevens Point, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $2
The only reason I'm paying to see this one is if Tyler Tillema will be playing for the Pointers in this one after his injury against Whitewater.
If he is playing, I want to see if it affects him at all. If he's not, I want to see of the Pointers can be as efficient as they were on Wednesday.
The Eagles on the other hand, have really been struggling and are in dire need of something to turn their season around. If they could even get a moral victory out of this game, it could do something to spark the rest of the season.
Stay tuned for my weekend blog and you can always follow me on Twitter for my basketball (and other) comments at @turkdigg40.
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