Yeah, I figured I had to get that out of the way early. Sorry for those who aren't Packers fans.
But also happening on Saturday was plenty of conference basketball games. So without further ado, lets get to those games.
WIAC
Game I watched: UW-Stevens Point 54, UW-Eau Claire 50. Top scorer UWSP: Joe Ritchay (13). Top scorer UWEC: Lewis Mau (12).
The Skinny: The Blugolds kept the Pointers at bay for much of the first half, finding themselves just down three at half.
Finally, the Pointers got on a roll in the second half, going on a spurt to take a 15-point lead.
But Eau Claire wasn't done, cutting back into that lead but they just ran out of time and couldn't complete the comeback against Stevens Point.
Point 1: Struggling Without Tillema
This was the fourth straight game that Stevens Point played without Tyler Tillema and second conference game. This is the first time it showed in conference.
Where it was really evident was in the second half when Eau Claire made their run back at the Pointers. The offense went awry and there wasn't much semblance of cohesion or confidence in their offensive possessions during this time, which helped the Blugolds back into the game.
This is where having an All-American like Tillema helps out. In certain situations when Tillema is on the floor, Point will just get him the ball and because he is so talented he'll create offense for himself or others.
If Tillema was on the floor -- and I had this discussion with one of my Twitter followers -- that game wouldn't have been nearly as close as it was at the end because he would have taken over in those late game situations.
But for right now, they just don't have that kind of player. They have a bunch of players that can run the system and play off of a Tillema like player. But they don't have another player that can just take over the offense when it is needed.
If Tillema is out a couple of more games, this could get Stevens Point in trouble. It almost did on Saturday.
Point 2: Finish, Finish, Finish
If you are to pull off an upset. You have to be able to finish plays.
Down the stretch, Eau Claire just didn't finish well enough.
This was especially true when Stevens Point extended their lead back out to seven at one point late in the second half. Eau Claire twice got stops on the defensive end.
And twice they missed layups on their offensive end that were moderately contested by the Pointers.
If they make those layups, it's a three-point game. Instead, they failed to put any more pressure on Stevens Point and they actually ended up being the difference in the game.
For a team that executed their game plan to perfection, it's tough when you don't finish the plays to get the job done. This is Eau Claire's feeling.
Point 3: Silver Linings Playbook
There is a silver lining to not having Tillema in the lineup. Everybody else is finding their games in his absence.
Joe Ritchay has turned into a bona fide stud. Jordan Giordana has finally found his shot. Trevor Hass has been solid and Austin Ryf has found his game, as well.
This should bode well for the Pointers when they get Tillema back as they have plenty of players that are now capable of hurting the opposing defense
It's just really to scary to think that they are still winning playing at less than 100 percent and not playing the greatest. Just imagine how good that team will be come March.
Game I peeked at: UW-La Crosse 65, UW-Oshkosh 49. Top scorer UWL: Luke Tweed (19). Top scorer UWO: Dylan Wurtz (12).
The Skinny: UW-La Crosse controlled the game from the end of the first half, when they went on a 10-2 run to close the frame to take a 35-26 lead into the break.
UW-Oshkosh couldn't get closer than nine the whole way as the Eagles held them to just 33 percent fro the field for the game.
Point 1: Hot, Hot, Hot
In my opinion, there isn't a team playing better basketball right now in the WIAC than UW-La Crosse.
And it all started with their loss to No. 1 North Central in Vegas last weekend. Since then they have impressively beaten their last three opponents, including a big win during the week against UW-Platteville.
And they've been doing it with some hot shooting from deep, shooting around 40 percent from the 3-point line in all three of their victories.
They have also been playing exceptional on the defensive end, holding teams to 55 points or under in all three contest, which is very impressive for any team.
It will be important to keep up this kind of play with games against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout coming up. But if they can keep up this play the rest of the season, there isn't a doubt in my mind they will be near the top of the conference and a very solid bet at a Pool C slot.
MWC
Game I watched: Carroll 119, Grinnell 109. Top scorer CAR: Jake Bast (27). Top scorer GRIN: Jack Taylor (48).
The Skinny: Carroll did a wonderful job against The System, jumping out to a double digit lead in the first half.
But Grinnell wasn't out of it cutting the lead to one at one point early in the second half.
However, Carroll was able to halt the momentum and extend their lead back out and take home a key win in the Midwest Conference race.
Point 1: Don't Go Breaking My Press
In all of the teams I have seen play against Grinnell this year, no one has done a better job than Carroll, especially against the halfcourt pressure.
They kept their spacing in the halfcourt, which caused Grinnell's trap to become over extended. Then Carroll would slide someone into the high post and basically create a 3-on-2 situation between the three Carroll offensive players and the two Grinnell bigs, which Carroll won more often than not as they shot nearly 60 percent from the field.
Another thing that helped Carroll beat the press was their athleticism. They are one of the more athletic teams in the conference and that seemed to help them as far as playing the Grinnell pace.
For seeing that kind of style only twice, maybe three times during the season, Carroll sure seemed at ease with it, which is more than I can say for a lot of teams in the Midwest Conference.
Point 2: Down, but Never Out
The scary thing about Grinnell is that their offense is built in a way that no lead by an opposing team is too big.
I found this out the hard way watching the game. Twice I thought that Carroll was going to go run away and hide with double-digit leads.
Both times Grinnell got back into the game, however. No lead is safe when a team is jacking three's like Grinnell does.
This makes The System an almost unbeatable style, because it doesn't afford a comeback to those teams that do get down to them, while leads like the one that Carroll got on Grinnell are never safe.
It didn't quite happen against Carroll, but one can see why playing against The System is so difficult because of this game.
Point 3: Getting Back to It
This was a win that Carroll needed to get back on track in the Midwest Conference.
The win put Carroll into a tie for first place with Grinnell, Beloit and St. Norbert, which means that it makes the rest of the season a race for all three teams to get the conference title.
More importantly, it seems as Carroll has settled back into the groove that they were in when they started the season 3-0 in conference and looked unbeatable.
Confidence is a wonderful thing when it comes to basketball, and now that they have their confidence back, they could go on another run like they had at the beginning of the season.
Game I peeked at: Beloit 79, Illinois College 61. Top scorer BEL: James Lazarcik (19). Top scorer IC: Isaac Grapperhaus (15).
The Skinny: Beloit and Illinois College were virtually deadlocked at half.
But the Buccaneers came out on fire in the second half, hitting all of their 3-pointers and shooting 65 percent from the field to take home the victory over the Blueboys.
Point 1: It's Just Not Going to Happen
It's one thing to try and beat a team on the road in the first place.
But when that teams is shooting 58 percent for the game and 58 percent from beyond the 3-point line, it's just not going to happen.
This is what Beloit did to Illinois College on Saturday, especially in an impressive second half, where the Buccaneers scored 48 points while shooting a gaudy 65 percent from the field.
Beloit also put the clamps on defense, especially from beyond the arc, where they forced Illinois College into shooting just 2-of-12 in the second half.
For the Buccaneers, this was important game to get back into the win column and go into the four-way tie atop the conference.
They need to keep winning games like this if they want to stay in one of the four spots for the conference tournament.
NAC
Game I watched: Marian 65, Rockford 60. Top scorers MAR: Alex Stecker, Sam Koslowski (11). Top scorer ROCK: Scott Suchy (16).
The Skinny: The Sabres jumped out to a 19-9 lead early in the first half.
They would need all of that lead in this one as Rockford, kept within striking distance the rest of the way, cutting the lead to three at one point late in the second half.
But alas, Marian would lead the entire game to take a big game to start the the new year of conference play.
Point 1: Stuck in Neutral
Rockford is a very athletic and quick team and love to play that way.
However, for much of the day against the Sabres, they just couldn't get out into transition like they wanted to for much of the game.
Marian was able to control the pace by playing very deliberately on offense and getting very solid looks on the offensive end.
By making a fair amount of those shots, they were able to neutralize at least to a certain degree, Rockford's ability to get out and run, which made Rockford have to play a halfcourt game, in which they aren't quite as effective as they are in the open court.
Point 2: Keeping it Balanced
One thing that marks the Sabres on the offensive end this year is balance.
That was very evident on Saturday against the Regents.
Marian only had two players in double figures (Alex Stecker, Sam Koslowski), but had four players who finished with either nine or eight points. (Cody Veleke and Jake Coenen each had nine points and Drew Binversie and Mark Keller each had eight.)
You can see why they are so balanced because of how their offense is set up. It's high in motion and everyone seems to touch the ball on the offensive end. This give everyone a shot to get theirs throughout the game.
It's also because they have people who can score at all five positions on the floor as well.
If Marian gets on a winning streak, it will be because of their ability to stay balanced on the offensive end of the floor and play their pace.
Point 3: The Start of Something?
Marian had somewhat of a disappointing start to the beginning of their season, starting out only 1-3 in conference.
However, they seemed to have figured it out after their loss to St. Norbert over the holidays, picking up an impressive victory over Northwestern (Minn.) in the third-place game of that tournament and now a win over a pretty solid Rockford team.
And they have winnable games coming up against Edgewood and Wisconsin Lutheran before they start their tough stretch.
If they can gain confidence by getting two more wins before their tough stretch, they have the capability of getting back to where they thought they would be at the start of the season.
Game I peeked at: Concordia-Wisconsin 61, Benedictine 53. Top scorer CUW: Steve Zielinski (17). Top scorers BEN: Dale Renshaw, Tim McGinty (9).
The Skinny: The Eagles held the halftime lead 33-28 over the Falcons.
But CUW came out ready to go in the second half, shooting 48 percent from the field while holding BenU to under 20 percent shooting in the second half for only 20 points.
Point 1: Don't Forget About Us
Concordia-Wisconsin has very quietly stayed around the top of the North standings and picked up two wins this week against Concordia-Chicago and BenU.
And they have plenty of talent, especially at the four and five positions to stay up there and make it a close race at the top of the North division.
Steve Zielinski has been a monster down low and Mark Pace has played very solidly at the four position for the Falcons.
They are always tough defensively, too, with their length. This was obvious when they held the Eagles to under 20 percent shooting, which is very disappointing to see for a BenU alumnus like me.
But for the Falcons, if they can keep doing what they did in the second half against BenU, they will keep winning and make things pretty interesting in the North division.
Thanks for tuning in again. As always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and stayed tuned for my midweek blog coming up.
And as always Go Pack Go!
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