MIAA Men's Conference Play

[TigerAlum]

As conference play begins tonight here are the current "standings" with the overall record being the determining factor. What do we currently know about these teams??

Fort Hays State	0-0	0.000	4-0	1.000	W4
Rogers State	0-0	0.000	5-0	1.000	W5
Northwest Missouri	0-0	0.000	6-1	0.857	W4
Emporia State	0-0	0.000	5-1	0.833	W4
Northeastern State	0-0	0.000	5-1	0.833	W4
Central Oklahoma	0-0	0.000	4-1	0.800	W1
Central Missouri	0-0	0.000	3-1	0.750	W2
Nebraska Kearney	0-0	0.000	3-2	0.600	L1
Newman	0-0	0.000	3-2	0.600	W3
Missouri Southern	0-0	0.000	3-3	0.500	W1
Washburn	0-0	0.000	3-3	0.500	W1
Missouri Western	0-0	0.000	4-4	0.500	W2
Lincoln	0-0	0.000	1-4	0.200	W1
Pittsburg State	0-0	0.000	1-5	0.167	W1

If neccessary, the MIAA will apply its Weighted Index Formula to adjust the men's basketball standings in the final weeks leading up to the 2021 MIAA Basketball Tournament.

[Alfred33]

I know Washburn has been banged up, so their early season record means very little. Northwest has played a tough schedule to start, so they've already been somewhat tested. Rogers beat a team (SMSU) that beat the team that beat Northwest. I know that doesn't really mean anything, but we'll find out how good they are when they come to Maryville on Saturday. Western has played a pretty good schedule to start as well and knocked off a couple of ranked teams, but is sitting at .500. They've played a lot of close games, so their record could be a lot shinier than it is or it could be a lot worse, so who knows. With Carroll gone, Q Mays has been lighting it up. They open with Rogers. I haven't paid a lot of attention to anyone else.

[Btech#3]

I don't think we know a ton yet. I think the most impressive win is NWMS's win over Truman St. The most impressive exhibition performance was Central Oklahoma's 8pt defeat at Oklahoma St. Based on scores I think Fort Hays St, Emporia St and Rogers St are all much improved. Missouri Western has some nice wins but has had some injuries and Washburn has been decimated by injuries which is why those two teams are 4-4 and 3-3 respectively. I think it is going to come down to NWMS, UCO, Washburn (if they get healthy), MO Western and MO Southern. FHSU, Rogers and Emporia St will be pushing to get in that top group. The jury is out on NSU, UCM, UNK, Newman, Lincoln and Pitt St. My opinion and really hard to get a handle on it due to the toughness of the schedules being all over the place. We should know a bunch by Dec, 20 when the conference season is 5 or 6 games into it.

[Btech#3]

Most intriguing match-ups for me for the 1st week of conference play are: Wed, Dec. 1st--FHSU @ Washburn. Hays looks much improved and Washburn will be short-handed. Should be interesting. Thurs, Dec. 2nd--Rogers St. @ MO Western. Rogers is off to a 5-0 start and MO West has a lot of fire power. Should be a good one. Thursday, Dec. 2nd--Central Oklahoma @ MO Southern will be another competitive one. Two Sat. games will be interesting as well. Hays @ Emporia St. (how improved in Emporia) and Rogers at NWMS. Is 5-0 Rogers for real? Can't wait for conference play to start.

[Mule4ever]

Some of these records are legitimate while others were achieved playing NAIA teams that good Junior College teams could beat. In other words some teams played tough competition to get ready for the rigors of conference play.

[TigerAlum]

Fort Hays State	2-0	1.000	6-0	1.000	W6
Northwest Missouri	2-0	1.000	8-1	0.889	W6
Missouri Southern	2-0	1.000	5-3	0.625	W3
Missouri Western	2-0	1.000	6-4	0.600	W4
Central Missouri	1-0	1.000	4-1	0.800	W3
Emporia State	1-1	0.500	6-2	0.750	L1
Central Oklahoma	1-1	0.500	5-2	0.714	W1
Washburn	1-1	0.500	4-4	0.500	W1
Pittsburg State	1-1	0.500	2-6	0.250	L1
Lincoln	0-1	0.000	1-5	0.167	L1
Rogers State	0-2	0.000	5-2	0.714	L2
Northeastern State	0-2	0.000	5-3	0.625	L2
Nebraska Kearney	0-2	0.000	3-4	0.429	L3
Newman	0-2	0.000	3-4	0.429	L2

If neccessary, the MIAA will apply its Weighted Index Formula to adjust the men's basketball standings in the final weeks leading up to the 2021 MIAA Basketball Tournament.

Update after the weekend. What did we learn? Any surprises?

[Alfred33]

Trevor Hudgens is good. ;)

I think we learned that Rogers wasn't as good as their 5-0 record, but they do have some guys. Their big guy is a BIG ole boy and I'd like to see him play against another true big guy. He's not as good as Clausing, but them banging might measure on the Richter scale.

[Btech#3]

I think we learned that Northwest is still Northwest. They might be more dependent on one player that they used to but the Bearcats have some other capable players that will be stepping up in the future as they get more experience. I think Fort Hays getting two gritty wins on the road was big and I think MO West and MO Southern started strong with two nice home wins each was a nice start to the conference season for them. The schedule is light this week with only 4 games during the week and then a full slate of games on Saturday. The most intriguing match-up for me during the week is Washburn at UCO. UCO lost a tough one on the road at the buzzer to MO Southern. They have two home games this week against Washburn and Emporia State. I think UCO is one of the most talented squads in the league and expect that to be tough sledding for the Ichabods and the Hornets this week. I think the UCM game at MO West will be interesting. Don't know a ton about UCM but they have a lot back and they started with a nice win at home against Lincoln to start the season. MO West has a really good chance to start 4-0 in the conference after playing at Lincoln and at home against UCM.

[NWFanatic]

[Randy]

Lincoln looks to be down this season. They did not look good at all Sunday @ the Multi. The loss drops them to 0-5 against D2 competition. Their program is in a weird transition. The head coach has accepted the Interim President job at Lincoln so an assistant is the Interim Head Coach.

[Btech#3]

How did UCM look?

[MisterWizard]

Lincoln looks to be down this season. They did not look good at all Sunday @ the Multi. The loss drops them to 0-5 against D2 competition. Their program is in a weird transition. The head coach has accepted the Interim President job at Lincoln so an assistant is the Interim Head Coach.

[Randy]

How did UCM look?

It's hard to tell, the competition has been so bad for the most part. Only 3 of the their games have been against D2 opponents and they lost to the only D2 opponent with a winning record (Maryville). I'd say they look about the same as the last few seasons. I hope I'm wrong.

[Btech#3]

I would think they are going to be better. They lost nothing and they have a couple of nice additions. I know they picked up the kid from Augustana(Todd) and Okeke. Both have started all of their games and are solid contributors.

[Alfred33]

Btech#3 How close is Washburn to getting healthy? I may try to tune in tonight.