MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 1-15-17

A bit of a shake-up in the middle and bottom portions of my latest power rankings for this Sunday after a very interesting week of action:


1.  (tie) UST & GAC
2.  Bethel
3.  SMU
4.  CSB
5.  St. Kate's
6.  Macalester
7.  St. Olaf
8.  Concordia
9.  Hamline
10.  Carleton
11.  Augsburg


No change at the top spot as both the Tommies and Gusties have unblemished records but the way GAC handled things this last week - knocking off Bethel at Robertson Center on Wednesday night and then absolutely demolishing old rival Carleton yesterday down in Northfield - is incredibly impressive and I'm glad that D3 Hoops has finally decided to give the Gusties a little bit of respect by ranking them 24th in the nation although I can tell you that they're definitely a LOT better than that. In fact, I flirted with the idea of leaving GAC all alone in the top spot but it'd be unfair to UST because they've done nothing to lose their share of it despite the fact that a few red flags went up after their ten-point win down in Northfield on Wednesday night against St. Olaf.  The Tommies methodically picked apart the Corn yesterday in Schoenecker Arena so they're still good in my book. And everything still seems to point to a February 1 showdown in St. Peter that should be a battle of epic proportions.  Both teams have very doable schedules this coming week so I don't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen.

Bethel remains solidly in second place and the Royals recovered nicely from the heartbreaking loss to GAC by laying a beatdown on St. Kate's at Butler Center yesterday afternoon and the remaining regular season schedule for the Royals looks very good on paper anyway after getting through the roughest portion and while the loss of senior forward Kalli Zimmerman is definitely huge, Bethel has a very exciting group of young players stepping up so while a MIAC regular season title may be a bridge too far this time around, they can still wind up doing big things.  SMU came away with a split this last week with two very close games - an 81-79 squeaker at Augsburg on Wednesday night and then a 47-45 heartbreaker to CSB up at Claire Lynch yesterday.  That loss to the Blazers may prove more costly in the long run for SMU as this next week is a daunting one for the Cardinals - Wednesday night at UST (gulp) and then a long, long roadie up to Moorhead to face always-dangerous Concordia.

Okay.  So I was a little hard on the Blazers a week ago - and maybe rightfully so.  But they responded this last week with two very important wins, including yesterday's 47-45 thriller over SMU at home in Claire Lynch.  And the beat should continue for CSB as they get Hamline at home on Wednesday night and go down to Northfield to face Carleton on Saturday.  A bit of a rough week for St. Kate's as they fall a notch after getting pummeled by Bethel yesterday at home.  The Wildcats have been battling injuries and other problems as of late and they can ill-afford another seemingly annual January swoon.  But I think it's a little early to panic just yet and I want to see if they can get things turned around.  But this coming week will be a tough one for the 'Cats.  They go down to St. Peter to face GAC on Wednesday night (gulp) and then take on a very unpredictable St. Olaf team in Northfield on Saturday.  The real surprise here may be the sudden emergence of Macalester as a possible player in all of this as the Scots recorded a nice win at home against Hamline yesterday.  This next week, they step out of the comfort of Leonard Center and venture on the road over to Minneapolis on Wednesday night to face Augsburg and then make the trek down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline to face GAC at Lund Arena.  While no one expects any heroics by the Scots in St. Peter, it's certainly conceivable that they could at least come away with a split.

St. Olaf snapped a three-game skid with a big win at Augsburg yesterday and the always-unpredictable Oles have a big opportunity to make up some ground with a game Wednesday night at crosstown rival Carleton and then a home date at Skoglund Center against St. Kate's.  Meanwhile, what can you say about a slumping Concordia team that dropped an overtime heartbreaker at home on Wednesday night to Carleton and then got predictably picked apart by fourth-ranked UST at Schoenecker Arena yesterday?  That's eight losses in the last ten games for the Corn; something almost unheard of in Moorhead.  It's a good news/bad news proposition for the Cobbers as they start a three-game homestand beginning this coming Wednesday night.  The bad news?  The opponents include the likes of Bethel, SMU and GAC.  As Dirty Harry said in "The Enforcer" when his supervisor (McKay) told him that he had worked in personnel for ten years - "Yeah....."