Midweek Blog 4: Snowmaggedon

Well at the time of this post there is about six inches of snow on the ground in Oshkosh in the biggest snowstorm in about two years has come to the Midwest.

Although some people have been freaking out about this storm, I welcome it. Especially because it makes it a White Christmas and the thought of anything else is just dumb.

The snow also won't stop me from putting out my blog. (Duh, because you are reading it) So sit back, enjoy the snow and take in my thoughts.

1 Big Thing

I was stuck in the office on Monday when I saw a tweet from D3hoops that Eureka College (Ill.) was on the verge of upsetting DI SIU-Edwardsville.

Although they didn't pull it off, they came very close and gave DIII colleges everywhere a good name.

Now, I know DIII gets a lot of disrespect from casual or even NBA/DI college fans. They call it glorified high school ball or something on the order of that.

I, for one, used to be one of those growing up as a basketball player. I thought it was DI or bust when it came to my basketball playing career. I didn't want to be one of those guys playing "glorified high school" ball in college.

But as my senior year continued on, I realized I didn't want to stop playing. That's why when I got three phone calls from three DIII schools (Northland, Lakeland, Benedictine), I listened very carefully. Benedictine was the only one that sparked my interest in that it was far away from my hometown (I wanted to get away. I applied to Gonzaga for heaven's sake) and it was the only one of the three that had my major (although looking back my major could've been applied in those other schools as well).

When I finally hit the floor at Benedictine, I finally realized that DIII college basketball is a damn good level of basketball and that people are missing out. 

There are players who are just as skilled, just as athletic as those that play at the DI college level (I even saw some guys in my time that could've played there). It's just for whatever reason -- skill set, size, athleticism (thats the one that held me back) academics, whatever -- couldn't get a scholarship somewhere.

Which is now why, whenever some talks bad about DIII college basketball, I get peeved. These players are just as skilled and they do it for a lot less (no scholarship) than the players playing DII or DI ball. And in some ways the DIII game is a lot purer form of the sport as well. 

And just as Eureka proved on Monday night, these players can compete with those guys as well. I mean, heck, in my four years and BenU we played a DI school (Northwestern) and a DII school (Lewis) and did just fine against them. We were down to Lewis by only four at the break.

So, it's not like there is exactly a huge difference in the talent level between these divisions as everyone, outside of DIII, make it to be.

And, thank you, Eureka for showing that once again.

2 Small Things

-Can UW-Stevens Point survive a tough stretch without Tyler Tillema

I'm going to start this off by saying that I don't know for sure how long he is out for (if anyone has any inside information, that would be clutch), but he didn't play against Edgewood last weekend which means that the injury is at least serious enough to keep him out a whole week.

If he can't come back for the next three games (there is speculation that Point might hold him out until conference play resumes) it will be interesting to see what the Pointers can do. They have another top-5 matchup against St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday and then they head to Texas for two games.

They showed that the were fine against Whitewater, maybe actually performing better with him out last Wednesday, but struggled a bit when Edgewood came up to their place, finally pulling away for good midway through the second half.

So with that small sample size it will be interesting to see how they handle the Tommies if Tillema can't go or is severely limited. It'll be a tough task for sure if he can't go.

-How many losses will the MWC champ have this year?

The wackiness of the Midwest Conference continued last weekend with Ripon going in to conference-leader Carroll's home gym and pulling out a gutsy victory to give the Pioneers their first loss in conference play.

That means that every team in conference will have at least one loss going into the Christmas break only 5 or 6 games in.

Which begs the question, just how many losses will the champion have this year?

My guess is four and could be five or six, especially with how apparently deep the Midwest is this year, with teams like Ripon, Cornell and Illinois College knocking off the better teams and Beloit near the top of the conference as well after being picked near the middle of the conference.

It will be interesting to see if some of those bottom teams can continue to beat up on the top like they have this year.

3 Performances of the Weekend

Joe Ritchay, UW-Stevens Point (against Edgewood)

Ritchay stepped up in Tillema's absence and dropped in 27 points and grabbed five boards in the win over the Eagles. Ritchay was perfect from behind the arc (3-of-3) and went 11-of-16 overall from the floor.

Taylor Koth, Ripon (against Carroll)

Koth went 12-of-21 from the floor for a game-high 29 points in the Redhawks upset over their Pioneers. Koth also snatched down seven rebounds and tallied three assists in the victory.

Michael Woolf, Benedictine (against Knox)

Woolf poured in 25 points as the Eagles picked up their first win in five games. He knocked in five 3-pointers and was 10-of-14 from the field in the win.

4 Power Teams in Two Words

WIAC

1. UW-Stevens Point (9-0, 3-0 WIAC) Words: No Tillema

2. UW-Whitewater (7-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Still there

3. UW-Stout (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) Words: Nearing top

4. UW-La Crosse (8-1, 2-1 WIAC) Words: Hanging around

MWC

1. Grinnell (7-2, 4-1 MWC) Words: Still Grinnell

2. Beloit (5-3, 4-1 MWC) Words: Surprise contender

3. St. Norbert (5-3, 4-2 MWC) Words: Getting hot

4. Carroll (7-3, 3-2 MWC) Words: Cooling off

NAC

1. Lakeland (7-2, 4-0 NAC) Words: Finally losing

2. Aurora (7-3, 4-0 NAC) Words: Smooth, efficient

3. MSOE (5-4, 3-1 NAC) Words: Grinders, defense

4. Rockford (4-5, 3-0 NAC) Words: Needs defense

5 Worth the Price of Admission

1. Non-conference, UW-Stevens Point at St. Thomas, Friday, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $10

This game is a chance for the Pointers to show what they are really made off without Tyler Tillema (if he is not back).

St. Thomas comes in as a top 5 team in the D3hoops.com polls as well as the Pointers in a pivotal showdown for possible seeding or hosting capabilities come the DIII tournament (although I'm not sure if the Pointers can host this year because of this crazy thing where if both the girls and the guys get in one year the guys have to get preference to host and the other year the girls do, and I'm thinking this year might be the girls turn.)

Either way, it should be an epic showdown that will come down to how well Stevens Point can cope without Tillema if he can't return.

They've gotten some solid contributions from guys while he has been down in Austin Ryf, Trevor Hass and Joe Ritchay, who had 27 in their last game against Edgewood.

What it may come down to is how well the Pointers can get Clayton Heuer involved in this game. They've been waiting for a huge game from him and they'll need it against the Tommies.

2. Non-conference, Beloit at MSOE, Thursday, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $6

This is a game between two surprise contenders in each of their respective conferences.

Beloit has gone 4-1 to start the MWC season, although some would argue that their schedule to this point in the season has been relatively easy. Their only loss has come to preseason favorite St. Norbert and it was pretty handily.

Either way the Buccaneers have been playing with confidence to start and riding their two big men in James Lazarcik and Tyler Butke.

MSOE, meanwhile, has started the NAC season 3-1 and has been doing it with their defense. They only give up 61 points per game and they only have one person on offense scoring in double-digits (that would be Austin Stueck at 10.2).

This could be a very good game against two teams looking to make even more noise in their respective conferences.

3. Non-conference, Aurora vs. UW-Oshkosh in Las Vegas, Friday, 6 p.m. Price I would pay: $4

This is a game I want to see because Aurora has struggled this season with WIAC and CCIW teams this year, although beating up on almost everybody else.

They get another chance against a Titans squad looking to continue to rebuild from an 0-16 WIAC season a year ago and getting another win against a solid Aurora team would be a nice confidence booster when they get back into conference season.

And this is the type of win that Aurora needs to have. It's a team that they should beat from a conference that is bigger and better than theirs. If they can do it, it could be a shot in the arm.

4. Non-conference, UW-La Crosse at North Park (Ill.), Friday, 6 p.m. Price I would pay: $3

La Crosse hasn't played a game in nearly 12 days when they go to the Vikings home gym.

So needless to say this could have the possibility of being one of those "rust games" coming back from a long layoff. It is for that reason that I want to see how well La Crosse handles that and if they can beat a CCIW team on the road.

The Vikings aren't the greatest the CCIW has to offer, but they do have weapons and like any team, if you are having an off night or they are having an on night, they can beat you.

The Eagles need to show that they can do that and pick up a win to get their end of 2012 on a roll before they get another test in North Central.

5. Non-conference, UW-Whitewater at Edgewood, 7 p.m. Price I would pay: $2

Again another long layoff for a WIAC team. By the time this one is played, it will have been 10 days since Whitewater lost to Stevens Point.

So it is key that they pick up a win against Edgewood and forget about that loss in their home gym.

Rust again could be a factor, so don't be surprised if Edgewood hangs around at least for a half, like they did against Point in the prototypical letdown game.

But I do expect Whitewater to pull this one out handily. But if it's close at the end, I wouldn't be entirely surprised.

Thanks for tuning in. However, I will not be doing a weekend blog as most of the games that I would like to see land on Friday and I have plans for that day so I will not be able to watch them.

And besides it is the holidays and I'm sure that all of you will be traveling to see your families or having your family and friends come visit you. So we'll take a break on the weekend blog.

I will be back after Christmas, though, with my midweek blog. So stay tuned for that. And as always you can still check my reactions on Twitter at @turkdigg40.

And with that, it's time for me to go shovel out the car!