Okay, so here we are a little less than a half hour away for the starts for the UST vs Calvin and Concordia vs UW-Stevens Point first round NCAA Tournament games. It's always an exciting time and I apologize for not getting this on sooner. Tough doing work, then high school games at night and then trying to do whatever I have to do at home. Oh well, better late than never!
Let's see if I can break down each team's chances and what they have to do:
UST - This game in Mt. Vernon, Iowa (home of host Cornell College) against Calvin is a what you would term the "rubber" game as these teams have met twice just recently already. In the NCAA Tournament last year, UST claimed an 83-72 win in the Elite Eight that sent the Tommies to the Final Four. Then, in the season opener in a tournament hosted by Millikin, it was the Knights claiming a measure of revenge as they took a tough 78-72 win over the Tommies. While I don't know a lot about the MIAA Conference in general, I do know that Calvin (along with their arch-rival Hope College) is a perennial powerhouse and has had numerous NCAA Tourney appearances in the past so this is old hat for them. The Tommies made their run to the Final Four last year so they know what this is all about now, too. That in mind, this has all the makings for an incredibly great game and, in many ways, it's too bad they have to meet in the first round. Okay, so, what do the Tommies have to do to prevail here? In my mind, they've got to (1) hound Calvin with that pressure defense that they're so famous for and (2) they've got to find a way to somehow contain Calvin standout post player Carissa Verkaik. That means that there's going to be a huge burden on sophomore center Anna Smith in this game. Also, I do feel good about Kellie Ring just being Kellie Ring; solid and taking care of the rock; making good decisions. Oh, and let's not forget about Taylor Young here either. If she can get opportunities to MAKE plays, the Tommies can do this.
Concordia - When I saw the pairings and saw that the Cobbers drew UW-Stevens Point in the first round, my knee-jerk reaction was "Oh no, not ANOTHER first-round loss." However, in the last couple of days I've lightened up on my thoughts on all this and how the Cobbers can somehow pull this off and advance. Look, when you play the Pointers, you know the main weapon they have is Sam Barber who can literally take over a game at the drop of a hat. That means it's really going to be up to the two seniors; the main cogs on this team - Emily Thesing and Tricia Sorensen - to try and find a way to stop her while at the same time finding some opportunities for themselves to score. It's as simple as that. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt at all if 6'4" junior center Alexandra Lippert can dominate down low with rebounds AND scoring. She's got to be tough in this game and not let herself get pushed around by a physical UW-Stevens Point team - and not get into foul trouble, either. Especially early on. The "X-Factor" in this game might very well be sophomore Erin Januschka off the bench. If she can score down low, it gives the Pointers something else to think about.
Well, here we go. Let's go Tommies and Cobbers. Do the MIAC proud!!!!!
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