MVC Discussion

[LukeFeddersen]

Who is the best team this winter in the MVC? A lot of interesting results making this question tougher than I'd assume in the preseason.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Iowa City West. Losses to two MN. powers and against Wahlert which shot 100% from the three (8- 8) and three starters only missed one basket among them.

 

[HawkRugged17]

Iowa City West. Losses to two MN. powers and against Wahlert which shot 100% from the three (8- 8) and three starters only missed one basket among them.

Agreed on IC West. They also beat Linn Mar at home by 6 with two starters (C.McCaffrey and T.Lohaus) sitting out.

 

[makelovenotwar]

Of the teams I have seen, IC West. Hands down the best team I have seen. I do not think Wahlert can beat them again, certainly not how Wahlert is playing now. IC is just deep.

The team the could beat IC is North Scott. I am not predicting it, but give me good odds and I will do it.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Even though IC West is the obvious best team in the 14- team league (and will get even better), I am amazed by the depth/number of decent teams in the MVC. I've seen many of the top-- and the bottom-- teams play and even the bottom teams will give most teams in the league a good run on certain nights. I think that is what makes the MVC so good. I think that when the conference has such a perennial power (like West) at the top, it takes a bit of luster off the rest of the teams, which really doesn't give a completely fair view of the toughness of this conference as a whole. Right now, it looks like CR Xavier is the second best team after their win over Linn-Mar, which I think is the third-best team, despite their lack of height. The Lions have incredible guards in JoBo and Printy, but the Saints have super balance and shooting from all the starters. Dub. Wahlert is down two of their top six players right now with injuries, but it may be a blessing in the long run as the smaller lineup with essentially three or four guards (if you count Kluck and Till) seems to be a lot smoother and they handle the ball better than the bulkier/taller lineup. Wahlert doesn't have one single sure-fire win game the rest of the schedule and, yes, I see a loss at IC West, and probably a few more, unless they get healthy, and shore up the unforced turnovers and perimeter defense. Dubuque Senior will get sophomore Justin Blackman back in a week or two, which should make the young Rams a very tough out the rest of the way. It would not shock me if they made state this year. Iowa Preps had Blackman in the top 5 super freshmen last season. The Rams don't overpower anybody, but they can shoot and take care of the ball. Iowa City City High and Cedar Falls are the teams you don't want to play because they can beat almost anybody when they are "on." There is some real talent on those rosters. And, I really feel that if a team doesn't play its "A" game against any of the lower teams, a loss could easily be the reward. I absolutely love this conference, and even if the divisions are a little unbalanced, I feel each division has one of the two top teams at the top, followed by five or six true assassin teams.

 

[HawkRugged17]

Even though IC West is the obvious best team in the 14- team league (and will get even better), I am amazed by the depth/number of decent teams in the MVC. I've seen many of the top-- and the bottom-- teams play and even the bottom teams will give most teams in the league a good run on certain nights. I think that is what makes the MVC so good. I think that when the conference has such a perennial power (like West) at the top, it takes a bit of luster off the rest of the teams, which really doesn't give a completely fair view of the toughness of this conference as a whole. Right now, it looks like CR Xavier is the second best team after their win over Linn-Mar, which I think is the third-best team, despite their lack of height. The Lions have incredible guards in JoBo and Printy, but the Saints have super balance and shooting from all the starters. Dub. Wahlert is down two of their top six players right now with injuries, but it may be a blessing in the long run as the smaller lineup with essentially three or four guards (if you count Kluck and Till) seems to be a lot smoother and they handle the ball better than the bulkier/taller lineup. Wahlert doesn't have one single sure-fire win game the rest of the schedule and, yes, I see a loss at IC West, and probably a few more, unless they get healthy, and shore up the unforced turnovers and perimeter defense. Dubuque Senior will get sophomore Justin Blackman back in a week or two, which should make the young Rams a very tough out the rest of the way. It would not shock me if they made state this year. Iowa Preps had Blackman in the top 5 super freshmen last season. The Rams don't overpower anybody, but they can shoot and take care of the ball. Iowa City City High and Cedar Falls are the teams you don't want to play because they can beat almost anybody when they are "on." There is some real talent on those rosters. And, I really feel that if a team doesn't play its "A" game against any of the lower teams, a loss could easily be the reward. I absolutely love this conference, and even if the divisions are a little unbalanced, I feel each division has one of the two top teams at the top, followed by five or six true assassin teams.

The bolded part accurately describes this conference. Linn Mar didn't play its' best game last night, but give Jefferson credit. The J-Hawks played well (and have been lately), hung around, and was able to make the play at the end of the game (see the Gazette story from the Linn Mar topic from Luke) to win the game. Jefferson is athletic and really played a smart game from start to finish. Linn Mar led most of the way, but could not extend the lead to more than 7 or so.

Kennedy just about beat IC West on the road as well. The Cougars led by 10 at half and was down one with 16 seconds to go. Diggins drove and made a bucket with 4 seconds to go, but was called for the offensive foul. West was that close to possibly losing at home to a team that has struggled, but has potential all throughout their lineup. Story below.

http://www.thegazette.com/schools/no-3-ic-west-ramps-up-pressure-in-comeback-win-20160129

 

[will7499]

CRX plays at ICW on Tuesday. (weather permitting) Should be a fun game. Mims sprained an ankle Friday vs CR Wash. No idea if he will be ready.