MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 2-23-20

A little later than I would like but it's time to review my final MIAC Power Rankings for the 2019-20 season as the regular season has now come to a close:


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


No doubt about who rules the roost in the MIAC these days - it's Bethel - easily.  They simply shut down a normally high-octane Augsburg team this last Wednesday night and closed out the regular season with a convincing win over CSB.  The Auggies meanwhile had to hang on for dear life against GAC yesterday so while they hold onto the number two position in my rankings, it's on shaky ground.

UST did what it was supposed to this last week and got routine home wins against both St. Olaf and SMU so they hold onto the third spot without too much fuss or argument.  After that, things start getting very tricky.  I was awfully tempted to shove GAC down as they've ended this regular season in total disarray; losing at SMU in overtime on Wednesday night and then blowing a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth period against Augsburg yesterday.  The thing of it is, there's really nowhere I can realistically move them downward so they finish in the fourth spot by default.  Without question, the team that's been the hottest down the stretch has been Carleton; winners of five straight that includes road wins at both Hamline last Wednesday night and then at St. Kate's yesterday.  Because of the tie-breaker situation, the Knights are done for the year but if anyone looked like a playoff team coming down the stretch, it was Carleton.

The teams that DID snare the last two playoff spots - St. Kate's and Hamline - finish in a tie for the sixth spot in my last Power Rankings release.  The Wildcats knocked off CSB at home this last Wednesday night but couldn't hold off said Carleton team yesterday in that critical fourth period.  Hamline was in the direst of dire straights; mired in a complete tailspin having lost five straights and it took a total team effort to hold off a vastly improved Concordia squad yesterday.

And let's talk about those Cobbers for a bit.....They were coming into this last weekend with a head of steam having won three straight and it was all laying out there for them but they came up short against Hamline in that fourth period yesterday.  And while that understandably must've been a brutal bus ride up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline back to Moorhead last night, Cobber Nation can probably take some solace in the fact that Head Coach Kim Wagers is building a very good program up there with a lot of young players and it won't be long before this team is back on the map again. 

It'd probably be an understatement to say that SMU Head Coach David Foley wishes he could have both December and January back as the Cardinals started to finally figure some things out and won three out of their last five contests.  It was just a rough, disappointing year up in St. Joe as CSB faltered often this season and never showed any consistency since early December when they got off to a good start.  St. Olaf snapped a seven-game skid with yesterday's narrow win over Macalester; their first victory in nearly a month.  It was an even longer season for said Macalester team that finished winless in the conference but this team was a lot better than its record and first year Head Coach Katie Kollar didn't have much in the way of depth. 

Now it's time to focus in on the MIAC Playoffs that start this Tuesday night.  Tomorrow, I'll break things down and try to shed some light on what to expect.