MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 2-2-20

After a wild week and weekend of action, there's a significant amount of reshuffling in my latest Power Rankings on this Super Bowl Sunday. 


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


There remains little doubt about the top spot as Bethel cruised to easy victories this last week over both St. Kate's on Wednesday night and Macalester yesterday.  That trend should continue this coming week with Concordia coming to town on Wednesday night and a trip down U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway's River Sub mainline to Winona to face SMU next Saturday......You have to wonder sometimes if this Augsburg team is just really good or super lucky after this last week.  In reality, it's probably a bit of both as the Auggies held off a strong challenge from UST in Si Melby Hall on Wednesday night and then escaped West Gym yesterday with a wild 97-90 overtime win over Carleton yesterday.  You have to wonder how much more drama the Auggie faithful can stand after yesterday.  On paper anyway, things SHOULD be somewhat calmer this week with the Auggies going down the River to Winona on Wednesday night to take on SMU before returning home to face CSB this next Saturday. 

I had made mention last week that the logjam that existed near the top of my Power Rankings would untangle after this last week and UST clearly was the beneficiary of some good fortune and some solid play when it counted.  True, they dropped a tough one to Augsburg this last Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall but rebounded from that disappointment by going down to St. Peter and stealing a tough roadie over GAC yesterday 68-67 in a game that arguably could have gone either way.  But there's little time to celebrate as the Tommies face another hurdle on Wednesday night when they go to the north side of town to face a hot Hamline team before hosting Concordia next Saturday......Speaking of the Pipers - wow.  Is there anyone is this conference who's hotter than this team at the moment?  Consider:  Hamline got a tough road win at St. Olaf on Wednesday night and then went up to St. Joe yesterday to hold off CSB in what must have been one ugly defensive bloodbath.  But while style-points may be nice, it's the "Ws" and "Ls" that count in the end and the Pipers are sitting in a very good spot right now at 13-5 overall and 8-5 in the conference.  This coming week, however, will be a taxing one for Hamline.  They go up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead to face Concordia with playoff implications galore for both squads before the big showdown with UST at home in Hutton Arena on Wednesday night plus a visit by St. Kate's next Saturday.  The realists will be hoping for a two-out-of-three deal but I wouldn't put it past this Piper team to snag all three and cause total chaos in the MIAC. 

Oh my goodness....WHAT a heartbreaking week for those heartbreak kids from St. Peter.  When you stop and consider that everything was laying out there for the Gusties this last week to put themselves in a great position with TWO home games, they instead come out and lay and egg against CSB this last Wednesday night and then lose in the last minute yesterday to UST.  I hated to do it but I simply had no choice as GAC tumbled badly from a tie in the second spot all the way down to the fifth spot.  Now, there's still a lot of basketball to play and you certainly can't count the Gusties out BUT let's also be realistic here:  Any high-flying hopes of the Gusties somehow snaring an at-large bid for the Dance probably went out the window after this last week and if they're still hopeful of getting in, they'll have to do it the old-fashioned way and win the whole damn thing.  It's that simple, really.  In the short-term, they have to get ready for Wednesday night as a very tricky Carleton team comes to town before running over to Northfield next Saturday to face a St. Olaf team that is now backed into a corner wrt their playoff hopes.  In short, the Gusties have no lifelines left and they have to bring it from here on out. 

I've got a tie in the sixth spot.  First off, for the Cobbers, they suffered a costly loss on the road to Carleton this last Wednesday night but they at least had enough left in the tank yesterday to down visiting SMU.  But this coming week is where the wheels could start coming off the Concordia Express:  Hamline pays a visit tomorrow night before back-to-back trips down U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to the Twin Cities - at Bethel on Wednesday night and then at UST on Saturday.  And the one team that will be following these developments closer than anyone is the team currently tied with them - St. Kate's.  The Wildcats got dumped as expected at Bethel this last Wednesday night but looked sharp yesterday in downing St. Olaf.  With in-town road games this next week - at nearby Macalester on Wednesday night and then up on the north side of town at Hamline on Saturday - coming away with at least a split would put St. Kate's in a good spot wrt that coveted sixth spot. 

I, along with (I'm assuming anyway) several others, probably don't know whether to praise CSB or criticize them unmercifully after this last week.  They went down to St. Peter this last Wednesday night and pulled off perhaps the biggest shocker of the week in downing GAC but then dropped a three-point game in what must have been an absolute bloodbath yesterday with Hamline.  A win yesterday would have really created a logjam for that sixth spot but the Blazers continue to find more ways than one to disappoint.  St. Olaf is also effectively between a rock and a hard place after losses this last week and the upcoming game between the Blazers and the Oles in Northfield on Wednesday night will almost certainly pull the respirator off the loser's playoff hopes.  I have to at least mention Carleton after knocking off Concordia this last Wednesday night before coming within an eyelash of pulling off the biggest upset of the season yesterday against Augsburg.  This Knight team is probably the last team anyone wants to see right now and they've got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.  MIAC women's basketball - be afraid, be VERY afraid of this Carleton team.