MIAA Volleyball, the Real Standings

Well in the MIAA this year there appears to be 6 very good volleyball  teams.  Right now it looks like there might be two tiers. Emporia State, Washburn, and Central Missouri are all ranked in the top 10, while Pittsburg State, Truman State, and Nebraska-Omaha are all in the 15-25 range.

That said, anyone of these teams could probably conceivably win the conference, and the standings are going to be fun to watch all year. Right now UNO is on top at 4-0, the only undefeated team in conference, but UNO has played 3 home games to 1 away, and that away game was against a fairly beatable Missouri Southern. So how can we know who really is winning the conference right now…

I’d say that if you want to win the MIAA this year you need to beat all 5 teams not in this top level group (Northwest Missouri State, Missouri Western, Missouri Southern, Southwest Baptist, and Fort Hays State).  Home and away you need to win to keep pace.   Additionally you need to win your home games against the other big competitors.  Any wins you pick up on the road at competitors are gravy on top.

So I’m scoring it -1 for any loss at a bottom level team, -1 for any home loss to a top level team, and +1 for a road win at a top level team.

So far this year the only teams to get a road win at a top level team were Pittsburg State @ Central Missouri and Emporia State @ Truman State.  So my standings are as such.

• Emporia State and Pittsburg State (+1)
• Nebraska-Omaha and Washburn (0)
• Central Missouri and Truman State (-1)

This weekend will give us Central Missouri @ Washburn, Pittsburg State @ Truman State, and Nebraska-Omaha @ Emporia State, so we’ll see where this goes.  This ranking helps give a picture of how a team has done in comparison to a team that finishes sweeping the lower level and splitting the top level teams.

D2 Softball – Conference Title Watch – 4/11

Well our one chance to see a Conference clinched Friday got pushed back til Saturday… we’ll see what happens this time.

Lone Star Conference

Midwestern State is just barely hanging on at 10-8.  If they lose tomorrow to Southeastern Oklahoma State, the current leader, they will be eliminated.  Southeastern Oklahoma State could clinch the title by Tuesday.

Conference Carolinas

Mount Olive is your clubhouse leader having finished the season at 11-5.  Two teams are left on the course, and all need to reach 14-6 to win the title over Mount Olive.

Pfeiffer’s series with Anderson (S.C.) was cancelled.  As a result they are knocked out of contention for the conference title.

Limestone split with Erksine on Friday.   Limestone continues to control their own destiny and gets to take the next step on April 13th.  They must go 3-1 in the final 4 games to clinch a share of the conference and title and 4-0 to clinch the conference title outright.

Queens (N.C.) will host Anderson (S.C.) on Friday. If Queens gets swept, they will be eliminated.

Mount Olive now needs to see the following happen to stay in the lead and win the conference:

• See Queens (N.C.) go 4-2 or worse
• See Limestone go 1-3 or worse

If any of those don’t happen, they will be eliminated.

Peach Belt Conference

Tomorrow could be the day for North Georgia as they travel to Georgia Southwestern for two games.  North Georgia is currently up 2 games on Georgia College and will clinch a share of the conference title with a split in this series, and the outright conference title with 2 wins.

D2 Softball – 4/2

4/1 Review

Atlantic Region

St. Augustine’s @ Fayetteville State – Fayetteville State wins 13-0 (5), 10-1 (5)

Two dominating wins for Fayetteville State including a no-hitter by Tracy Brighter in the first game. They now host Shaw, one of the two teams in the Western Division who started conference play 2-0 (the other being St. Augustine’s) on Friday.

(#4) West Chester @ Shippensburg

Postponed until Thursday.

(#6) Indiana (Pa.) @ (#1) Lock Haven

Postponed until Thursday.

Central Region

(#5) Wayne State (Neb.) @ (#1) Winona State – Northern Sun Intercollegiate Coneference (NSIC) GOTW

April Fools… apparently this game is Thursday.

Augustana @ (#10) Upper Iowa – Augustana wins 3-0, 10-0

Great sweep for Augustana as they move to 4-0.  They were 5-16 in the non-conference so them gettting into the regional rankings is probably a stretch.

East Region

(#9) Dominican (N.Y.) @ Caldwell – Caldwell wins 5-0, 2nd game postponed

Caldwell now 9-0 in conference. They play a non-conference doubleheader at New York Institute of Technology on Thursday, big chance to pick up some more wins and really stake a claim to a regional ranking.

(#1) Le Moyne @ New Haven – Northeastern-10 (NE-10) GOTW – Le Moyne wins 4-0, 2-1

Le Moyne continues their strong play and runs their conference record to 4-0 to take a 1 game lead on New Haven. Le Moyne has another tough test Thursday @ Assumption.

Midwest Region

(#4) Wayne State (Mich.) @ (#5) Ashland – Wayne State (Mich.) wins 6-1, 3-0

Great result for Wayne State (Mich.) with a strong performance here to end Ashland’s perfect conference record.

(#1) Ferris State @ (#9) Saginaw Valley State – Ferris State wins 5-2, loses 4-5

Ferris almost got the sweep here but with 2 on and 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th Saginaw Valley State scored 2 runs to salvage a split.

South Region

Fort Valley State @ Albany State – Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) GOTW – Fort Valley State wins 9-8 (12), loses 3-2 (8)

No one gets the edge in conference (both now at 5-1) but two fantastic games were played.  Fort Valley won game 1 in the bottom of the 12th on a walk off steal of home plate.

(#9) Saint Leo @ (#3) Florida Southern – Florida Southern wins 2-1, 10-8

Florida Southern gets the 3 game sweep of Saint Leo.  Florida Southern still 1 game back of Tampa, but Saint Leo is now 4 games back. Huge defense of the home field by Florida Southern.

South Central Region

(#5) Midwestern State @ Cameron – Midwestern State wins 7-3 (8), loses 9-1 (5)

Cameron almost had the sweep here. Were up 3-2 going into the 7th but gave up 1 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th to drop game 1.  Still, a  great response by mercy-ruling Midwestern State in game 2.  Strong showing by Cameron.

Southeast Region

(#1) North Georgia @ (#4) Georgia College – Peach Belt Conference (PBC) GOTW – Game of the Day

Postponed until April 11th!  Ugh.  Great series, hopefully it still is when we get there .

(#2) Lenoir-Rhyne @ Mars Hill

Postponed until April 13th.

(#9) Catawba @ (#5) Wingate – South Atlantic Conference (SAC) GOTW – Wingate wins 2-1, 2-1

Good home sweep for Wingate, Catawba missed a good chance here. Wingate up 2 games on Catawba now in the conference.

West Region

(#2) Hawaii Pacific @ (#6) Cal State Stanislaus – Cal State Stanislaus wins 3-1, loses 0-7

A split that will probably sound alright to both teams.  Cal State Stanislaus and Hawaii Pacific now both head for the weekend Tournament of Champions featuring many of the best teams in the West Region.

4/2 Preview

These are the big games around the country today…

Atlantic Region

(#4) West Chester @ Shippensburg

West Chester was just swept by Kutztown at home and now faces a tough road trip to Shippensburg. Like California (Pa.) yesterday, this is a series where West Chester does not have much room for error. Two straight sweeps would be tough to recover from already trailing Kutztown by 4 games.

(#6) Indiana (Pa.) @ (#1) Lock Haven

After a split vs. Mansfield, Indiana (Pa.) must now travel to Lock Haven to take on the #1 team in the region.  They could fall to 1-5 on the year and see their divisional title hopes take a major blow here if they get swept.

Elizabeth City State @ Shaw

Elizabeth City State started off 3-1 in the East while Shaw was 2-0 in the West.  These games will quickly reveal who the top teams are in the CIAA.

Central Region

(#5) Wayne State (Neb.) @ (#1) Winona State – Northern Sun Intercollegiate Coneference (NSIC) GOTW

Wayne State (Neb.) and Winona State both were tied at 2-0 entering the week.  This is a big time matchup between possibly the top 2 teams in the conference.

East Region

Caldwell @ (#5) New York Institute of Technology

Caldwell is 12-7, (9-0) and a couple wins against NYIT would make a strong push for a regional ranking.

Bridgeport @ Dowling

Both teams started off 2-0 in conference, but don’t have the regular season records to go along with those conference starts.  Good matchup to see which teams might be contenders.

(#1) Le Moyne @ Assumption

After sweeping New Haven, Le Moyne travels to Assumption to take on another team that started conference play 2-0.

South Region

(#5) Valdosta State vs. Arkansas Tech (GSC Crossover Tournament)

(#6) West Alabama vs. (#10) Arkansas-Monticello (GSC Crossover Tournament)

(#2) West Florida vs. Delta State (GSC Crossover Tournament)

The GSC Crossover Tournament will be taking place the next 3 days as the West teams play the East teams.

This could most benefit Arkansas-Monticello, the only ranked team in the West, who will get some games against the ranked Eastern teams.  Arkansas Tech is 9-3 in conference and Delta State 3-1 (both in the West) so this also gives them some games to stake claims to regional spots.

Win Score and the Mavs

Well I discoverd something interseting Sunday over on Bluejay Basketball, http://bluejaybasketball.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/player-effectiveness-midseason/, called the win score.  What is it?  A way of computing how much a player is contributing to the team.  Thought it might be a fun way to take a look at the UNO team and what comes out.

First the formula.  

“Formula:  (Points + Rebounds + Steals + ½Assists + ½Blocked Shots – Field Goal Attempts – Turnovers – ½Free Throw Attempts – ½Personal Fouls) / Minutes = Win Score per Minute”

And then there are adjustments…

 

• Centers: 0.225
• Power Forwards: 0.215
• Small Forwards: 0.152
• Shooting Guards: 0.128
• Point Guards: 0.132

 

This is done because Centers should get a higher score with more rebounds.  So basically we want to compare everyone to their positions average.

So I classified Matt Akins and John Ring as Centers, Justin Petersen and Dion Curry as Power Forwards, Matt Newman as a Small Forward, a whole heck of a lot of guys (Michael Jenkins, Mitch and Tyler Albers, Jeff Martin and Aaron Terry [I know he's playing PF a lot but he really is a SG at best] at Shooting Gaurd, and Andrew Bridger and Nate Owen at Point Gaurd.

Anyways, here’s the ranking on this season raw.  No adjustments.  The centers and power forwards should have better numbers

1. Jeff Martin -.281
2. Matt Newman – .278
3. Dion Curry – .238
4. Justin Petersen – .235
5. Michael Jenkins – .219
6. Matt Akins – .195
7. Andrew Bridger -.189
8. Aaron Terry – .189
9. Mitch Albers – .131
10. Tyler Albers – .117
11. John Ring – .071
12. Nate Owen – .020

We see from this list that apparently Jeff Martin would really help this team.  No surprise, his stats where phenomenal while he was still healthy.  Matt Newman has also put up very good numbers in limited minutes.  He’s also rewareded for handling the ball pretty well and not wasting shots.  Our two PF come in next, both helped by the rebounds they pick up.  Michael Jenkins come in after that, his ability to score a ton of points without shooting too many shots help him on this list.  As many points as Mitch Albers with 80 less shots.  Getting to the FT line is huge.  After Michael is Matt Akins, another player helped by playing down low.  Andrew Bridger and Aaron Terry tie for the next spot, followed by Mitch and Tyler Albers, and finally John Ring and Nate Owen.  Mitch’s numbers seem surprisingly low, but he doesn’t pick up a ton of rebounds (he’s close to even with Bridger) and takes a lot of shots.  He also doesn’t get to the line as much.  He’s a pure scorer, but that’s a very very large part of his game.

Now let’s look at their adjusted numbers.  These are in times better or worse than the average player at their position.

1. Jeff Martin – 2.197 * the average SG
2. Matt Newman – 1.850 * the average SF
3. Michael Jenkins – 1.831 * the average SF
4. Aaron Terry – 1.475 * the average SG
5. Andrew Bridger – 1.431 * the average PG
6. Dion Curry – 1.106 * the average PF
7. Justin Petersen – 1.092 * the average PF
8. Mitch Albers – 1.025 * the average SG
9. Tyler Albers – 0.913 * the average SG
10. Matt Akins – 0.868 * the average C
11. John Ring – 0.317 * the average C
12. Nate Owen – 0.151 * the average PG

Intersting things, Jenkins’ stats look really good here.  Playing well above what his average should be for a SG.  A lot of this is due to his ability to get to the line.  Michael consistently is able to score double the number of shots he takes.  Very impressive.  Aaron Terry is higher than you might expect because he plays like a 4 but is really a 2.  Bridger looks a lot more reasonable here, probably about right.  Dion Curry and Justin Petersen both are about where I’d expect them.  Solid PF, but with the size they have to play against (playing as centers) I think their numbers are a bit lower. Mitch is still surprisingly low. I guess he just doesn’t contribute as much as I think to a game. 

For comparision here are some other numbers. 

• Mitch’s game against Washburn on Saturday was 1.850 * the average for a SG.  This makes sense as he had an absolutley killer game.  But note he was still below Jeff Martin’s season average.  That’s how good Jeff Martin played in those games before he got hurt.
• Last year’s Mitch Albers (who I considered a statisical wonder) was 1.534 * the average for a SG.   I looked back at his numbers and did notice that he had a lot more shots than I originally noticed, almost 1 every 2 minutes.  This helps explain why even with the great numbers he was still below Michael’s season this year.
• For comparison… here are the 5 starters from last year’s team.   Lowest is Andrew Bridger at 1.083 * the average for a PG (brought it up nicely this year).  Then Justin Petersen at 1.241 * the average for a PF.  This is actually a bit higher than this year… not surprisingly actually I felt Justin had a stronger year last year.  The biggest reason is without Jerry Bennet inside, Justin is really playing more of a co-4 role along with Dion Curry.  It’s just a different game without Jerry. Next is Jerry Bennet at 1.353 * the average for a Center.  Jerry’s raw win score of .304/min is very very good.  He’s hurt by the fact that he’s a center though.  Still a great player and a treat to watch. Next is Michael Jenkins at 1.432 * the average for a SG.  Awesome season for Michael last year.  On the top is Denny Johnston at 1.800 * the average for a SF.  Great player, I don’t think I ever realized how good he was until watching him in Summer League this last year.  Such a treat to watch.  Still don’t realize how good he was I think.  Michael Jenkins has a chance to top that mark this year.

Remember numbers don’t mean everything, but they do mean a lot in basketball.  It’s one sport in my mind where stats can tell you a whole heck of a lot.

Men’s Basketball Record Watch

In the records watch, Michael Jenkins (1379 career points) is still at #5 all time.  Up next on the charts is #4 (Mike Simons with 1387) and then probably #3 (Pihl Cartwright with 1457).  Michael needs to average just 9 points per game to reach #3 in the regular season.  Assuming 3 Post season games and his current average, Michael will end up with 1578.  #2 is Dennis Forrest with 1660 and #1 is Dean Thompson Jr. with 1816. He has already climbed as high as 5th place in Career 3’s with 144 and is on pace to finish with 163. He has 386 career field goals, and should enter the top 20 list soon.  He is projected to finish with 428, good for 14th all time.  His 217 career assists ranks in a tie for 13th, and he is projected to finish the year with 253, good for 11th alltime.  His 102 steals now is tied for 14th place, and he is projected to finish with 121, good for a tie for 9th all time.  He’s the all time leader in FTs attempted (463) and FTs made (547).  He’s projected to end up with 547 of 648. He has 101 games played, and with a 3 game post season would reach the top 10 in that catergory with 113). He’s also started 77 career games, 9th all time, and is projected to reach 89, good for 3rd most all time, with a 3 games post season.  His 2683 minutes is good for 9th all time, and he’s projected to finish with 3050, good for 5th all time.  Basically, he’s going to be all over the Career record books.  One of the all-time bests. 

 

This year Michael is on pace for 497 points, good for 13th all time.  Michael is also on pace for 47 3-pointers, tied for 17th best in school history.

 

Andrew Bridger (667 career points) has a good shot at joining the 1000 point list.  He is projected to end his junior season with 808 points.  Andrew Bridger now has 100 career 3’s, only the 10th Maverick to hit that many in a career, and is projected to finish the season with 123, 8th all time.  He’s on pace to finish with 180, the 5th most of all time.  He could reach the top 3, Dan Morrow is currently #3 with 186) and will go down as one of the best 3 point shooters in UNO history. He’s also already reached #10 on the all time assists list, with 269, and is projected to end the year with 323, 7th all time.  He’s projected to end his career with 458 (3rd all time behind Derrick Jackson’s 463 and just ahead of Dean Thompson Jr.’s 447).  Bridger’s 108 career steals ranks him 11th all time.  He’s projected to end the year with 135 steals, good for 8th of all time.  He’s projected to end his career with 203, good for the all time career lead. He needs to average 2 per game to reach 192 and top Calvin Kapels’ 191. Andrew will also go into the books as one of the best players in UNO history.

 

This year Andrew is on pace for 57 3-pointers, tied for the 10th best season in school history. He’s on pace for 135 assists, the 8th highest single season total in history. He’s on pace for 68 steals, the 2nd most in school history.  

 

Mitch Albers now has 671 career points, now the 2nd most points by an active player, and is projected to finish his sophomore season with 873. He should easily become the 31st Maverick to score 1000 points sometime next year.  He’s on pace for 503 points this year, good for 11th best in school history. He’s on pace for 198 field goals, the 9th best in school history. Mitch is on pace for 47 3-pointers, tied for 17th best in school history.

 

Mitch might also see himself high on Career Field Goals Chart, currently projected to finish #2 all time on that list, the 3 Point Career Field Goal Chart, (currently tied for 17th with 76 and on pace for 169 and a 5th place finish).  Again, one of the best in school history.

 

I think we’ve got 3 of the best players in school history together right now. 5 more home games.  Don’t miss them!

Men’s Basketball Has Destiny in Their Hands Once Again

Thanks to Southwest Baptist going down once again, this time on the road at Central Missouri, the UNO Men’s Basketball team once again has destiny in their hands.  Win out, and the Mavericks will be in 1st place.  Easier said than done of course, but it’s good to see that now 1 game into the 2nd half of the season, and the Mavericks are sitting at 7-4, tied for 3rd, and a game out of 1st.  I think Maverick fans have to be pretty happy with this performance after entering what has proven to be a much tougher league than the NCC was.  The effect of playing 20 conference games, a grueling schedule for any team, let alone one coming off a season featuring 12 conference games, hasn’t hurt the Mavericks too much yet.  UNO has yet to see an easy win, with just 3 wins decided by double digits (by 11 @ Missouri Western, by 11 vs. Truman State, and by 10 vs. Missouri Southern).  Every night out is a fight, a battle to see who will emerge the victor.  The Mavericks are 2-4 on the road, but 3 of the 4 losses were very close (by 1 to Washburn on a foul at the end, by 6 to Emporia State in a game that the Mavericks led by as much as 14 and as late as with 5:45 to go, and by 2 to Pittsburg State on a shot with under 5 seconds to go in Overtime).  Even the 13 point loss to Central Missouri isn’t too embarassing consdiering the Mavericks were without the services of Justin Petersen and had to start a 6-3 guard at the PF spot.  

 

I don’t think I’m out of place to say the Mavericks are THIS close to being 16-2 and in the top 10. 3 of their 5 losses were by 2 points or less.  This team is pretty dang good, and definitely has the talent to make a run in Kansas City at the MIAA Tournament and at the South Central Regional, wherever that may be (I’m just gonna tell you now you might want to book a hotel near Oklahoma City and Central Oklahoma University).  

 

The Mavs had a huge home win on Saturday over Washburn.  The Mavericks avenged an earlier one point road loss with a 93-88 win.  It wasn’t always pretty, but it got the job done.  The Mavericks lost Michael Jenkins to a twisted ankle just 2:13 into the game.  Enter Tyler Albers.  Albers had averaged 14 minutes and 5.8 points per game this year, and only 3 points per game in the MIAA, with just 2 in the first meeting against Washburn.  Tyler though played his best game of the year and went off for 20 points on 7-10 shooting, including 5-8 from 3. He also had 5 assists and 3 rebounds.  Incredible game for Tyler.  

 

Not to be outdone, younger brother Mitch decided to bring it as well.  For the 2nd straight game, Mitch went for a career high.  On Wednesday night it was 28 against Pittsburg.  On Saturday he eqauled his jersey number for the first time with 30 points. It was his 4th game with 20+ points this year. Mitch also added 4 assists before fouling out late in the game (on an interesting note Mitch picked up all 5 of his fouls in the 2nd half, starting with 15:40 to go and fouling out with 20 seconds left). 

 

The Mavericks rode a hot shooting first half (68% from the field, 7-12 from 3) to a 54-41 lead.  Washburn quickly cut into that lead in the 2nd half and had the lead down to 6 just 3 minutes in.  They would eventually take the lead momentarily with 6:29 to go after an old fashioned three point play. But the Albers brothers took over (Mitch with a layup, Tyler with a 3 and a FT (he was fouled), Mitch with another layup) and the Mavericks were back up 5 and would not trail again.

 

The Mavericks were out rebounded by 10 by a tall Washburn lineup (3 starters at 6′5, one at 6′6 and one at 6′9), but saw Justin Petersen pick up 7 and Dion Curry pick up 5. Andrew Bridger continue some solid play with 7 assists (6 in the 2nd half) and only 2 turnovers along with 3 steals.  

 

Looking ahead: the Mavericks take on Fort Hays State on Wednesday.  Fort Hays nearly beat UNO at home, but the Mavericks won 80-77.  The Mavericks have a chance to get hot here.  The next two road games are winnable (At Northwest Missouri State where UNO won last year, and at Truman State, the worst team in the conference).  If the Mavs can pick up those two and defend the Sapp they’d be on a 7 game winning streak heading to SW Baptist in what would then be absolute gigantic matchup. Of course the Mavs could easily lose at NW and probably at Truman too and make this all null.

 

I still think 16-4 probably wins this conference (and that 16-4 is in Bolivar Missouri), but I’m starting to think 15-5 just might cut it… The Mavs would have to go 8-1 from here on out to go 15-5.  Dreams can happen!

Liveblog: UNO Basketball vs. Pittsburg State

First Half

11:14: Just noted we aren’t taking the traditional media timeout after every 5 minutes.  We’ll see if they take one after the 10.  Down 12-8 right now… UNO just commited their 10th turnover.  That won’t win them this game, but you have to feel okay about still being in this.  Also noticed that Pitt State’s student section bleachers have the words “Standing Encouraged” on them.  Is that a MIAA tradition to put up signs saying that?  Washburn had the same thing!

Oh, and the audio is TERRIBLE from this feed.  Lots of background noise. I feel like I’m listening to it on the radio (from Pittsburg)

9:38: Here’s the media timeout!  16-12 Pitt State.

7:08: UNO now given up 6 3’s and 13 Turnovers.  Ugh.  Down 22-12.  Gotta start defending the 3 and taking care of the ball.  Averaging a turnover a minute.. yikes.

3:45: Now down 27-14… doesn’t look like it’s gonna be a good night for the Mavericks.  Would like to see a respectable 2nd half and maybe avoid getting blown out.

Halftime: Three by the Mavs at the buzzer to make it 30-23 Pitt State.  Gotta feel somewhat good about this now.  Great run to end the half (9-3).

Second Half

11:00: UNO getting to the line now some and cutting into the lead.  44-37 Mavs trail.   Good showing.

5:20: Pitt State up 58 to 47.

Women lose 69-56.

Men’s Game First Half

15:16: Matt Akins coming in early tonight, I’m looking for another big game out of him. Michael Jenkins is on fire again tonight.  2 Deep threes already.

14:01: We’re doing the 5 minute media timeouts in the men’s game apparently.  

12:49: Oh, and Justin Petersen can really get moving.  Hops and speed.  But not shoot free throws…  UNO has gotta start defending the 3 or Pitt is gonna hang around all night and have a shot to win.

9:49: Pretty compelling game.  Down 22-20.  Some good flow to the game.  Not a ton of defense.  7 Offensive rebounds given up already (down 14-7 overall).  Gotta eliminate those!  

9:36: Dion Curry has more terrible calls against him then any player I’ve ever seen.   Another insane charging call.

6:56: 3 minutes, 2 points… get it going here.  Down 26-22. Terry, who has an ugly FT motion, misses two . Now Jenkins with an offensive foul (looked questionable to me).  

5:09: Jenkins now 3-3 from 3!!! Down 30-27. Rebounding margin down to 16-12, but 7 turnovers. 

3:27: Down 34-32. Mitch and Michael each with 9. Shooting lights out tonight, but need to cut down on the turnovers and keep hitting the glass.  Keeping this pace up should lead to a win,  I don’t think Pitt can beat us in a track meet/shootout.

Halftime: Down 41-38.  Need to cut out the turnovers and keep hitting the boards, gaurd the 3 and this should turn into a win.

13:41: Tied at 51!  Justin with a huge 3! This game is very very winnable.  Time to make a run and take this thing over.

12:13: JUSTIN with the alley oop slam from Bridger!  Mavs up 57-54!

9:56: Mavs up 64-59 and with the ball.  Mitch with 20 pts and now we’re up 66-59!

7:07: Now 68-64.  Looking good but I’d like to see some more baskets and this lead extended.  

6:06: Make it 68-67.  Offense stalling a bit.  Not good. Thankfully Pitt has been average on offense.  Couple FT’s and the Mavs are down 69-68.

5:08: Jenkins gets so many calls on just running into the lane out of control.  Hits 1 of 2 to tie it at 69.

4:53: Rodney Grace has been solid tonight and fun to watch the former Central star. 

4:01: BRIDGER with a HUGE 3 to put the Mavs back up 72-70

2:00: Mavs are lucky that the Gorillas can’t hit the 3.  Left several open. 

1:25: Dion gets mugged on an attempted rebound/slam.  No call.  No surprise.  Trying to figure out if the ball hit the rim (it didn’t).  Too bad they can’t assign a foul.  Well somehow we got the ball!

0:54: Not a great possession but still up 4.

0:45: Foul on Albers.  Gorillas hit both.

0:38: Jenkins fouled.  Not the guy you want to foul . Jenkins hits the first to put UNO up 77-74.

0:32: Time out.  Pitt state with the ball.  NEED TO GAURD THE 3.  NO FOULS… ESPECIALLY ON THREES!

0:16: Bridger gets elbowed in the face and goes down hard. No call.  Not a bad call in my mind.  Pitt makes a layup. 

0:11: Mitch going to the line up 1.  7-7 on the night.  HIT UM MITCH!!! Both~

0:01: Dion with a BAD foul… not much  contact but it’s called.  Pitt to the line to tie it after a timeout.  Hits it.  OT :-\.

OVERTIME

5:00: I like UNO to win this one still.  I think they are a better offensive team an in the clutch they’ll come through.

4:36: Jenkins called for a charge on a fantastic flop.  Ugh. Albers with a foul on the other side. Both made but Mitch answers with a 3!  PSU answers with a layup.  UNO misses a 3.

2:29: Petersen hits two FT to put UNO up 84-83 but Pitt answers! Jenkins with ANOTHER charge. TERRIBLE call.  INCREDIBLE.

1:30: Mitch with two FTs.  Misses two, lane violation, and third!  HE WAS 9-9!  Jenkins travels.  Ugly.  Mavs can’t buy it here.  Akins with a HUGE board and gets fouled. FT Shooting is KILLING the Mavs.  Misses both. 

0:34: Akins with a foul, misses and makes. Jenkins gets to the rim and makes the shot.  86-86.  Pitt State with the ball and the shot clock off.

0:15: Pitt TO.  Hit a jumper with 3 to go and then Bridger’s running 3 rims out at the buzzer.  TOUGH loss.  Can’t blame the refs, who were not good.  You just won’t win on the road missing 5 FTs in a row in OT.  

The good news… this loss isn’t the end of the world. You lose a game in the conference standings but they are still in good shape to make the NCAA Tourney.  That’s all that matters really.  That and taking a shot at winning the MIAA Tourney.

Top 10 UNO Games of 2008: #9

#9 is UNO football’s 21-33 playoff loss to Pittsburg State on November 15^th. 

The Mavericks, after a tough regular season that saw them start the year a national title contender but stumble 3 times including a 42-0 loss at home to rivals Northwest Missouri State, made the playoffs as the 6 seed in the SW Region (I hate the name Super Region 4). The opponent was Pittsburg State, a team UNO had lost a close game to back in October. 

Pittsburg State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a Brandon Clark TD run, but UNO answered with a TD pass from Zach Miller to Kelvin Nesbit.  As the 2^nd quarter wound down though, UNO looked liked they were in trouble down 20-7 and Pittsburg State driving with the ball.  Jacob Chandler made a great read on a pass though and intercepted it taking it back for 6 to make the halftime score 20-14 Pittsburg State.

In the 3^rd quarter UNO’s Jeff Souder intercepted a pass in the end zone to keep the game close, and then ended the quarter in Pittsburg State territory after a 53 yard Brian McNeill run.  They quickly scored on a 27 yard screen pass from Miller to McNeill to go on top 21-20 with 13:05 to go!

The teams traded possessions until Pittsburg State scored a TD with 5:27 to go to go up 26-21.  After 2 losses on rushes, UNO faced a 3^rd and 18.  They decided to go deep airing it out for Kelvin Nesbit.  The pass was one step too far for Kelvin and he was able to get a hand on it but couldn’t hang on.  The Mavericks were forced to punt.  Pittsburg State drove down the field quickly and scored again to give us the final margin of 33-21.  UNO didn’t even get the ball back as they fumbled the kickoff return.

It was a tough loss for UNO, their 4^th straight year losing their first playoff game, but a fitting end to a season that held more promise than punch.  Things just never fully clicked for the Mavericks. Miscues cost them all year, and this game was no exception with 2 huge fumbles and 5 big penalties.  The defense just didn’t have enough to stop a fantastic Pittsburg State offense that put up 503 yards.

But I’ll never forget this game.  Traveling to Pittsburg State was a lot of fun, their stadium was pretty cool, and we saw a very good football game on a very beautiful afternoon. It was the last football game I’d see in person in 2008 and was a good one to end it with.

I’ll post #8 later today.  The team UNO played was a “big name” this time. 

Top 10 UNO Games of 2008: #10

I decided it’d be interesting to take a look back at some of the best UNO games of 2008. These are all games I was at, and will not forget soon due to one reason or another.  I’ll post one a day.

First up is #10.  UNO Volleyball’s 3-1 win over #7 Washburn on October 29th.

 On the last Wednesday in October UNO’s 12-12 Volleyball team hosted #7 Washburn, a team which had won 12 straight games and had won 36 of 39 sets in October, including 16 in a row.  After Washburn took the first set in dominant fashion, 25-14, few thought UNO had a chance to even take a set from the Lady Blues.

 What happened was an incredible transformation.  UNO stormed out of the gate in the 2^nd set and took a 10-4 lead.  Washburn came back and made the Mavericks fight for it cutting the lead to 11-9 but UNO won the next 3 points to extend the lead again and Washburn wouldn’t get within 3 the rest of the set.

 In set 3 UNO got out to a 6-2 lead, but a Lady Blue come back tied things at 20, but after some big kills by Sara Kampschnieder an attack error by Washburn’s Courtney Wallman gave UNO the 3^rd set 25-21.

 UNO led most of the way in set 4 but fell behind at 19-19.  The Mavericks responded by going on a 6-2 run to end things, including the last 3 points on 2 kills by Kellie Goeser and the game winner on an attack error by Washburn’s Ashley Shepard.  It was an unbelievable end to a game that started off looking very poor for UNO and propelled them to an NCAA tournament berth in a year that was not expected to end that way.

Tomorrow’s game was not a UNO win, but was a fitting end to a season.

 

A tale of two Sophomores in Omaha…

After watching Mitch Albers show once again that he is God’s gift to UNO, and after hearing Travis Justice talk about P’Allen Stinnett’s chances of becoming Creighton’s all-time leading scorer… I decided to take a look at the two talented Sophomores and see how they compare.  It’s kinda interesting.

First of all just a look at the stats. 

Albers,Mitch                     Total         3-Point                    Rebounds
Year      GP-GS   Min/Avg    FG-FGA   Pct   FG-FGA   Pct   FT-FTA   Pct Off-Def  Tot  Avg  PF-FO Ast  TO Blk Stl  Pts/Avg
2007-08   32-0    568/17.8  129-267  .483   48-119  .403   63-75   .840  13-47    60  1.9  60-0   35  33   3  31  369/11.5
2008-09    8-8    254/31.8   51-97   .526   14-31   .452   17-28   .607   8-17    25  3.1  15-0   17  18   4   8  133/16.6
TOTAL     40-8    822/20.6  180-364  .495   62-150  .413   80-103  .777  21-64    85  2.1  75-0   52  51   7  39  502/12.6
Stinnett, P'Allen                Total         3-Point                    Rebounds
Year      GP-GS   Min/Avg    FG-FGA   Pct   FG-FGA   Pct   FT-FTA   Pct Off-Def  Tot  Avg  PF-FO Ast  TO Blk Stl  Pts/Avg
2007-08   33-18   806/24.4  145-320  .453   38-120  .317   88-112  .786  40-71   111  3.4  85-3   60  82   9  53  416/12.6
2008-09    8-6    192/24.0   30-71   .423   9-31    .290   28-39   .718   7-16    23  2.9  17-0   14  15   1  11   97/12.1
TOTAL     41-24   998/24.3  175-391  .448   47-151  .311  116-151  .768  47-87   134  3.3 102-3   74  97  10  64  513/12.5

Do note that I had to calculate P’Allen’s career stats by hand since I couldn’t find a career stat page on their site.  I think I got them alright.

Alright so here’s some things I draw out of the stats.

1.) Both players passed the 500 point mark in their 40th career game (Mitch on Saturday night against Northwest Missouri State, P’Allen on Wednesday night against Dayton).  I think this is pretty interesteing.  P’Allen is the 2nd fast to this number in the last 15 years for Creighton.  I don’t know where Mitch’s number stands in UNO history, but I imagine it’s Top 2 at UNO.

2.) Mitch has been able to put up his points in almost 170 less minutes.  His season last year was unbelivable.  11.5 points per game in just 17.8 minutes.  

3.) Mitch is a better shooter by small margin. Mitch is a better 3 point shooter by a good margin, but both shoot about the same number of 3’s.  I personally believe both are even in FT shooting, though P’s numbers are better this year and Mitch’s were better last year.

4.) P’Allen appears to be a better rebounder, although Mitch has been getting slightly more boards this year.  They both are pretty even in Assists/Turnovers this year, though P’Allen was a little more out of control last year.  

5.) Mitch has the edge in blocks this year, while P’Allen has the edge in career.  P has quicker hands and gets more steals.  At this point, their points per game are sperated by just .038.  Razor thin.

Now everyone wants to think about where these two can go.  Both have a chance to become the all time leading scorer at their school.  P’Allen’s is a bit tougher (he needs to reach 2116 to top Rodney Buford).  Mitch needs only to reach 1816, the number put up by Dean Thompson Jr.

If Mitch were to put up points at his career average, he’d reach the #3 spot in school history at 1613, behind Thompson Jr. and Dennis Forrest (1660).  If he puts up points at his season average of this year, he’d be the all time leading scorer with 1963.  He needs to average just 14.9 from here on out to get to the #1 spot.  To become the first Maverick to reach 2000 points, he needs to average 17 points per game.  These numbers appear to be in range for him.  Think about that, we could be watching the best scorer in UNO basketball history. What a great opportunity to watch history, get out to watch him.  He’s gotta a lot of work left to do it.  He’s become a focal point of this offense, and defenses will not be overlooking him from now on.  After seeing how he’s matured and improved since his freshman year though, I think Mitch has all the tools to do it.

For P’Allen Stinnett, if he were to put up points at his career average, he’d reach the #10 spot in school history at 1650.  If he puts up points at his season average of this year, he’d be in the same place with 1614.  He needs to average 17.6 from here on out to get to the #1 spot.  To become the second Bluejay to reach 2000 points (Bob Harstad put up 2110), he needs to average 16.3 points per game.  For P’Allen… I don’t think this is where he ends up. P’Allen has been asked to develop a more all around game, and has been sharing the scoring load with Booker Woodfox and Cavel witter.   He has also been dealing with some issues fitting in. His minutes have not gone up, he’s been playing worse than last year… and I think we’re seeing a bit of a sophomore slump.  I think P’Allen has good tools, his ability to drive the hoop and get to the line is great, and he has a decent jumper.  He struggles a bit from 3, and forces it a bit to much.  When he’s on though, he’s on.  He’s a better player then Albers, and is playing a totally different level of competition.  If he was at UNO, he’d become the all time leading scorer for sure, but he’s not of course.  

So if you are able to enjoy basketball at multiple levels, catch these two for the next 2.5 years.  Both of them are going to put up points and entertain crowds.  Both have a chance at rewriting the record books and leading their teams to unprecedented success.  I’m thrilled to be able to watch Mitch as a UNO student and P’Allen as a Creighton season ticket holder.  These are going to be two players that I won’t forget getting to watch game after game after game.  What a treat.