MIAC Power Ranking For Sunday 1-5-25

 That time of the year again when my first Power Rankings come out so let's get to it:

1.  GAC

2.  Bethel

3.  CSB

4.  Concordia

5.  Hamline

6.  (tie) St. Scholastica & St. Kate's

7.  Macalester

8.  SMU

9.  St. Olaf

10.  Carleton

11.  Augsburg

Little doubt as to who's still ruling the roost here as the Gusties didn't necessarily bring their "A" game to Butler Center yesterday but found other means to get the tough dub against St. Kate's.  This coming week doesn't look terribly taxing for GAC as they make a return trip to the Cities to take on Macalester on Wednesday night and then return to the comfy confines of Lund Arena on Saturday to host St. Scholastica.....Bethel meanwhile recovered nicely after that tough home loss to UW-Stout on New Year's Eve by unceremoniously dumping St. Olaf yesterday down in Northfield.  But a tough roadie awaits the Royals on Wednesday night as they head to St. Joe to take on a rejuvenated CSB team before coming back to Butler Center next Saturday to host Macalester......And speaking of the Bennies, I didn't expect them to be 9-2 overall at this point but here they are and they got a big home win yesterday against Hamline.  Now the question is if they can sustain this newfound momentum.  We'll find out more this coming week as they host aforementioned Bethel team in Claire Lynch on Wednesday night before coming down to the Twin Cities on Saturday to take on St. Kate's.

Without question, the biggest disappointment on here at the moment is Concordia.  The four-game losing skid that they endured back in late November and early December was bad enough.  But just when you THOUGHT that the Cobbers were on the verge of making amends for these transgressions by going down to Kentucky and popping both perennial powerhouse Washington & Lee and then Case Western Reserve in succession right before the first of the year, they returned home to cavernous Memorial Auditorium yesterday and somehow lost to SMU.  The one step forward-two steps back approach that the Cobbers have seem to taken up this season is not the way to earn a return trip to the Big Dance.  And if there was still any lingering doubt as to whether or not the Cobbers still had any wiggle room left in terms of an at-large bid, that was taken care of emphatically yesterday as Concordia has now effectively backed itself into a corner that they may not be able to get out of.  The reality now is that if you're the Cobbers, you've got one way - and one way only - of getting back and that's to make sure you get to the MIAC Playoffs and then win the whole ball of wax there.  It would have been one thing if they could have kept their losses strictly to a GAC or a Bethel but that's out the window now and there's simply no more margin for error.  No lifelines left and it's only early January.  For the Cobbers, it has to start this week as they host St. Kate's on Wednesday night and then travel down to Northfield this next Saturday to take on St. Olaf......Hamline meanwhile remains as unpredictable as ever as they've got to find a way to put the heartbreaking loss to CSB yesterday behind them.  Logic would suggest they'll do just that as they go to Carleton on Wednesday night before hosting Augsburg this next Saturday.

The biggest surprise for me - at least so far anyway - is having St. Scholastica in the sixth spot in my Power Rankings.  Granted, it's only early January as I mentioned earlier and we need to see more of this team and how they perform over the next few weeks.  But given where they've been and where they are now certainly suggests that this team is headed in the right direction under Head Coach Jason Schmitz and they found a way to withstand a tough challenge at home from Macalester yesterday.  This coming week appears to be a 50/50 proposition for the Saints as they host St. Olaf on Wednesday night before going down to St. Peter this coming Saturday to take on GAC.  Coming away with a split this next week wouldn't be a terrible proposition at all for this squad.......Sharing the sixth spot this week is St. Kate's as they dropped a defensive slugfest with GAC yesterday and arguably aren't clicking on all cylinders offensively at the moment.  Some key injuries (notably to junior Kaylee Miron) have contributed to that but the Wildcats have got to find a way to pull out of their doldrums and soon.  And this week may be the most taxing yet for the 'Cats as they have to make the trip up US Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead to face a Concordia team that's likely going to be out for blood given what happened to them yesterday before coming back to Butler Center this coming Saturday to host a rising CSB team.

Two other teams to mention here that I wouldn't have necessarily thought to be in this position at this time but are.  Macalester has certainly made some strides thus far this season with a 7-4 overall record and they dropped a heartbreaker yesterday on the shores of Gitche Gumee to St. Scholastica.  Unfortunately for the Scots, they host GAC on Wednesday night before making the run over to Bethel this coming Saturday.  And I have to give props to new SMU Head Coach Courtney Shelton as her team pulled off a huge upset yesterday on the road at Concordia.  This latest conquest could be something of a launching pad for the Cardinals as they make the trip up US Highway 61 and the CPKC River Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to face Augsburg on Wednesday night before hosting Carleton this coming Saturday so definitely a huge opportunity for them.  

So that's how things are shaping up here at the moment.  As always, feel free to fire away with thoughts.