Another wild, weird week in the MIAC and with that comes some more shuffling of things as we edge closer to the decisive month of February. So, here we go:
1. GAC
2. Concordia
3. Bethel
4. (tie) St. Kate's & CSB
5. Hamline
6. Augsburg
7. St. Scholastica
8. Macalester
9. St. Olaf
10. SMU
It was much more of a routine week for the Gusties who remain firmly entrenched at the top of the mountain as they summarily dispatched St. Olaf last Wednesday in Northfield and then absolutely obliterated St. Kate's yesterday. They do face an improved St. Scholastica team on Wednesday night in the comfy confines of Lund Arena but a big road trip up US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to the Twin Cities looms next Saturday as GAC will get a huge test when they take on a resurgent Bethel team that has been on something of a roll as of late. Oh, and as an update, that debacle with Augsburg that took place the previous weekend will be made up on 2-12 - on a Monday as I had predicted........Now, what could have and probably SHOULD have turned into a relatively routine week for Concordia was anything but that this last week. True, they bounced Macalester this last Wednesday night as everyone expected but the trip down to the Cities yesterday to face Hamline was nothing less than an unadulterated, unprecedented and utter and total disaster for the Cobbers as they got blasted by a suddenly resurgent Hamline team. As someone who was there to watch and cover, this was just about as bad as it gets and I'm still perplexed as to how/why this happened - but it happened. Now, let's be fair here. I won't deny that there was something off with the Cobbers yesterday and anyone who knows this team well knows too well that they simply don't play this badly very danged often. However, what's undeniable now from a Concordia standpoint is that, with this latest debacle yesterday, their margin for error going forward is pretty much nil. The upcoming game with GAC on February 7 up in Moorhead is now an absolute MUST-win game for them. They simply have to have it. It would have been one thing had they snagged that game against UW-Whitewater back in November or had they not blown that double-digit lead they had against GAC in St. Peter right after the first of the year but those ships have both sailed. They have to have that February 7 game against GAC to get a win against a regionally-ranked team and then at LEAST get to the MIAC Championship Game just to have a chance to get to the table (more than likely, they'll probably have to do it the old-fashioned way and win the whole damn thing). So, you kind of have a pretty good idea of what lies ahead for the Cobbers and how they'll have to handle it. The last thing you want if you're Concordia is to have the label of being the Dallas Cowboys of the MIAC affixed to you but damn, yesterday was just brutal. For the near term, the Cobbers have an opportunity to take out their frustrations on SMU on Wednesday night at home in cavernous Memorial Auditorium.
So, what are we to make about this Bethel team? With the overall youth factor playing such a big part, I honestly wasn't expecting them to do that much this season but they've quietly won six of their last eight games - the latest victims being Augsburg last Wednesday night and then SMU down in Winona yesterday which were both convincing wins for the Royals and logic would have it that they'll take care of business when Macalester pays a visit to Robertson Center on Wednesday night before the highly-anticipated clash with GAC on Saturday in said venue. It won't be a disaster for them to come away with a split this week but they could conceivably send the MIAC into total chaos if they somehow pull off the upset next Saturday.
I personally hated having to slide St. Kate's down to the fourth spot but in the end, I really didn't have much of a choice doing so simply because of what Bethel has been doing as of late. We kind of knew that the Wildcats would take care of business over at Macalester last Monday night which they did but they had to hold on for dear life against St. Scholastica two nights later at home in Butler Center and then had yet another "C" note dropped on them for the second time this month - the latest debacle being yesterday at GAC. So, a lot of this was kind of inevitable. And this week looks to be a potentially scary week for the 'Cats as a suddenly-resurgent Hamline team comes a callin' at Butler Center on Wednesday night before a run down to Northfield to take on St. Olaf next Saturday.......Tied into this fourth spot on my Power Rankings today is CSB and they made the most of a relatively light week with a convincing win at Macalester yesterday. And the Bennies have a big opportunity to consolidate on their latest gains with two homes games this coming week - against Augsburg on Wednesday night and then against St. Scholastica next Saturday.
Left for dead a mere week ago, Hamline has defied the naysayers (including yours truly) with two more wins this last week - a tough one down in Winona against SMU and then yesterday's absolutely stunning romp over Concordia that wasn't as close as the final score suggested. But the Pipers still have a lot of things to prove that this latest turnaround isn't a fluke and this upcoming game at St. Kate's on Wednesday night is absolutely huge for both teams before an equally important game at Augsburg next Saturday. I'll say this about Hamline - if they continue to play like they did yesterday, they are going to be a HUGE problem for the rest of the conference.......Last Wednesday's home loss to Bethel had to be incredibly disappointing for Augsburg as they were hoping to ride the coattails of the last-second win they had over St. Scholastica. Fortunately for the Auggies, they bounced back and got a big road win at St. Olaf yesterday. But this upcoming week appears to be a daunting one for Augsburg as they have to travel up to St. Joe on Wednesday night to take on CSB and then come back home to Si Melby Hall for next Saturday's big showdown with Hamline.
Well, that's how things look on this day. As always, please feel free to fire away with thoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment