Welcome to the New Year of 2016! Hope everybody rang in the new year with cheer - unlike my alma mater, Iowa, which got destroyed by Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The fact that the Rose Bowl is UCLA's home field anyway made this one even harder to swallow.
Okay, so as we look forward to the rest of the MIAC season, what should we expect? Let's take a synopsis of each team and see where we're at so far:
1. SMU - Sitting currently at 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC, I clearly undervalued this team. I thought that, with the change in the coaching staff and new system in place plus the fact that this team does not have a lot of size, they might struggle out of the gate. Instead, they have exceeded my wildest expectations - so far anyway - with the only blemish on the record coming at the hands of UW-Stevens Point on the road. They have another non-conference game coming up on Friday (1-2) at UW-Stout before they delve into the meat of the MIAC season. The first five conference games are tricky ventures to be sure but the good news is that the Cardinals get both Concordia and UST at home in Winona this month. If they can get through this stretch relatively unscathed, they'll be tough to beat the rest of the way.
2. UST - While most teams would be content with a 9-2 record at this point, by UST standards anyway, this is something of a letdown. But keep in mind that the All-American candidates that were on the squad last year have since graduated so naturally there's going to be some growing pains with the younger, inexperienced players. This was demonstrated in their loss to St. Kate's back in early December and, though they were bounced at the Wartburg Tournament in Waverly on Tuesday (12-29) by Wheaton (IL), they came back the next day and dumped UW-Oshkosh. Their first three conference games of 2016 are stern tests - against GAC, Bethel and CSB but all three of those games will be in the friendly confines of Schoenecker Arena.
3. GAC - The Gusties are kind of where I expected them to be with a 9-3 overall record and 3-1 in the MIAC although a couple of their losses bug me a little - the home loss to UW-River Falls and then getting knocked off by Coast Guard down in Puerto Rico on Tuesday (12-29). The early January schedule is favorable for the most part but they open up January with a date at UST next Wednesday night - a place where they haven't won since 2010.
4. St. Olaf - Another team I may have undervalued is the Oles who are currently sitting with an 8-3 record overall and, considering where they have been over the last few years, it's not a bad start. They did suffer back-to-back home losses to both UW-River Falls and Concordia at Skoglund Center in December so I'm not entirely sold yet but if they can get the month of January off to a good start, they could have something going. But the first two conference games are challenging: At Bethel and then home against SMU.
5. Concordia - While their overall record of 6-4 is somewhat disappointing at this stage, consider that three of those four losses came against decent non-conference competition and their only MIAC loss was against UST. They've already knocked off Bethel at Robertson Center and while I still wonder if Head Coach Jessica Rahman might tinker with her lineup from time to time, one encouraging sign has been the emergence of junior forward/post Jenna Januschka. You have to think that, while the Cobbers probably won't wind up winning the conference, they will likely have something to say about who does.
6. Bethel - Clearly the biggest disappointment so far has to be the Royals; currently saddled with a 5-5 overall record and only 2-2 in MIAC play. For a team that had such high expectations and hopes, you have to wonder - pardon my French - WTF went wrong; especially with all the talent that they have at their disposal. True, they were without junior Kalli Zimmerman for a good chunk of the early part of the season. But now, even with her back, I can't help but wonder if it's already too late for this team. The Royals were out in Vegas for the D3Hoops.com Classic and, although they downed Millsaps in their opening game, they were unceremoniously dumped by George Fox in their next game on Tuesday (12-29). They have a tough non-conference game coming up on Monday night at home against next door neighbor Northwestern at home in Robertson Center before they host St. Olaf on Wednesday (1-6). Sadly for Bethel, they've pretty much used up all of their lifelines wrt another at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament and the thought of the Royals turning it around and taking the conference by storm seems like a pipe dream at this juncture.
7. CSB - The Blazers are in decent shape at the moment with a 7-3 overall record and 2-2 in the MIAC. I have yet to catch them in action save for a scrimmage at Northwestern so I'm a little hesitant to heap too much praise on this squad just yet. They closed out 2015 with an impressive win at UM-Morris and will host IIAC opponent Buena Vista at Claire Lynch on Sunday (1-3). From there CSB gets both Macalester and Concordia at home and if they can get two wins out of that, they'll certainly have a head of steam going into the big roadie at UST.
8. St. Kate's - Another surprise so far this season has been the Wildcats who have a 7-3 overall record and are 2-2 in conference play. The signature win so far was the win over UST at Butler Center but they followed that up with a loss at Northwestern a week later so consistency is still something of an issue for this team. The 'Cats have three of the first four conference games at home but those games include SMU, GAC and St. Olaf. St. Kate's will have to make the most of their opportunities if they want to have a realistic shot of making the MIAC playoffs but I definitely do think that they're considerably better than they were a year ago.
9. Hamline - The Pipers are adjusting to the AS (After Sammons) era and their 3-8 overall record (1-3 in MIAC play) reflects that. This is simply a very young team that doesn't have a lot size and isn't very deep either.
10. Augsburg - Another team that has disappointed mightily so far has been the Auggies who are 5-6 overall and 0-4 in MIAC play. While I didn't necessarily expect them to take the world by storm, the way they've lost some of their games has been truly puzzling as they've simply folded late in a lot of these contests. I like the talent that this team has but they've GOT to find a way to turn things around in January before it becomes a total lost cause. They've got a chance to do that as a roadie at Hamline and a home date with Carleton await early on.
11. Macalester - The Scots have definitely taken a step forward so far in the 2015-16 season with a 5-5 overall record and 1-3 in MIAC play. How many more steps forward they take will be up to them but I do like the direction this team has taken under second-year Head Coach Kelly Roysland.
12. Carleton - Another year of struggles for the Knights who currently sit with a 3-7 overall record and 0-4 in MIAC play. They do host IIAC opponent Coe on Saturday (1-2) which I intend to cover so it's a chance for the Knights to get a bit of momentum before delving into conference play.
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