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| Congrats to the regular season champs - Concordia! |
Hard to believe that another regular season has come to a close so here's my final MIAC Power Rankings for this season:
1. Concordia
2. GAC
3. Hamline
4. Bethel
5. SMU
6. St. Scholastica
7. CSB
8. St. Kate's
9. Carleton
10. (tie) St. Olaf, Augsburg & Macalester
The Cobbers finished out the regular season in style and the way you would expect the newly-crowned regular season champs to do as they easily raced past St. Olaf at home in cavernous Memorial Auditorium this last Wednesday night before running over to the frigid, snowy shores of Gitche Gumee and throwing St. Scholastica into said body of water yesterday with an easy twenty-point victory. With the regular season crown theirs as well as the top seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs, Concordia can now get healed up, refueled, re-energized, refocused and ready for Thursday night's semifinal action........GAC put an exclamation mark on a fabulous run since the first of the year that - even with the win over Bethel - started quietly enough but they finished with a fury as they first took out St. Scholastica in a snow-delayed affair this last Thursday night before claiming a huge win in the monster game with SMU yesterday that gives them the number-two seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs. The scary thing about the Gusties is that they may just be starting to play their best basketball of the season.
Speaking of scary, I honestly don't know if there's a scarier team out there than the Pipers right now. True, I've long had doubts about the Pipers in years past and they found ways to live up to some of the mediocre expectations that many had for them. And there was every reason to think in late January after their ten-game win streak came to a halt that they might go into their annual February swoon. Instead, Hamline went 5-1 in the month of February and picked up a lot of steam in the process and that was more than evident as a huge home win against SMU this last Wednesday night coupled with yesterday's romp down the road at Leonard Center against Macalester validates them being in the third spot in my Power Rankings on this Sunday. True, they "only" got the fifth-seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs as a reward for their hard work but trust me when I tell you, this is the last team ANYONE wants to play right now........Bethel meanwhile is, well, Bethel and they did the work they needed to do this last week in racing past Augsburg this last Wednesday night over at Si Melby Hall and then pounding St. Kate's into submission on Senior Day at home in Butler Center yesterday. But there's still some lingering doubts and reservations that I've been having about them over the last couple of weeks - especially after the loss to said Hamline team back on 2-11 and even with the third seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs at their disposal, the Royals are the one team that has the most question marks swirling about them.
Just a mere week ago, things were looking oh so good for the Cardinals as they not only had the inside track to the number-two seed in the MIAC Playoffs but a reasonably strong NPI ranking to go with it as well with visions of an NCAA Tournament dancing through their heads. But the party preparations proved to be premature as this young team ran into basketball's version of Stalingrad this last week as they not only got beat but beat up as well at Hamline this last Wednesday night before yesterday's tough loss at GAC. SMU still has the fourth seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs in their back pocket but this young team hit the roughest of spots at precisely the worst time and now you have to wonder how much they have left in the tank........You certainly can't accuse the Saints for a lack of effort in any way these last two weeks. More than anything, I think reality caught up with them more than anything as their last three losses came against SMU, and then more recently this last week against GAC this last Thursday night and yesterday against Concordia. Still, it's a big step forward for this St. Scholastica team that's done a lot this season and they've got the sixth-seed in the MIAC Playoffs to show for it.
Two teams that fell just short this season - CSB and St. Kate's. The Bennies figured at the very least to be in the mix and they certainly had a path but the three-game skid in late January/early February proved to be a killer and losing a great piece in the starting lineup in Megan Morgan hurt too. The Wildcats meanwhile just couldn't seem to find any traction at all this year. They had their moments - a big upset win over SMU at home in early January and knocking off Hamline on 1-31 over at venerable Hutton Arena but they just couldn't find any consistency this year.
Things were tough this season for the two teams in Northfield - St. Olaf and Carleton. But the Oles have a young roster and should be better next season under Head Coach Megan Lueck. And they ended the season on a good note with a home win over crosstown rival Carleton. Speaking of the Knights, they mirror their crosstown rival with very young roster and with only two seniors graduating, it will be interesting to see who Head Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen can bring in to the program in terms of recruits.
Augsburg is another team where youth is prevalent and it was arguably a struggle for Head Coach Mallie Doucette and her staff to find consistency. But there's potential with these younger members and if the Auggies can develop some depth, they could return to their winning ways. Despite their 3-21 overall record, Macalester proved to be a thorn in the side for many opponents this last season and with players like Mary Daley, Sydnee Smith and Kendall Bernbaum all slated to return for their senior seasons next year, the Scots will continue to be dangerous.
Later on today, I'll have a look at the bigger picture and then tomorrow, I'll be providing my annual handicaps for the upcoming MIAC Playoffs. I'll say this much - I've never seen a season quite like this in the MIAC where you had seven - maybe even eight - teams competing for six spots in the MIAC Playoffs and if anything, it only shows how truly tough and competitive this conference really is and I'm glad I get the opportunity to talk about it.
We're getting into the REALLY fun time of the year now. Buckle up everyone.
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