Mavericks vs. Bemidji Beavers

Sorry, no graphics for awhile, my computer took a digger and is currently getting repaired, so without further excuse...

It's that time of the year, classes are out and student's staying in Mankato have nothing to do except work, party, and go to sports events (at least that's what I do). No such luck this weekend at home, but the Maverick hockey team will still be in action.

It's the conference break and this is the time for teams to beef up their resume for an at large bid to the NCAA's. The past two series against Duluth and Wisconsin has raised some hope for the Mavericks, getting more votes in the weekly polls and opposing coaches opening their eyes to this team. But that may raise a couple of questions, were the past two weekends a fluke or is this team actually playing up to its potential? Is this team finally raising to fan expectations?

The WCHA break features no teams in the Top 20, but don't be fooled. This weekend's series against Bemidji has two teams vying for a Top 20 spot. This is the Mavericks chance to show what kind of team they are. A sweep by MSU will set the tone for the rest of the break. I wont be listening on the radio, but remember that if you want to tune in it's AM 1420.

Prediction: Mavericks shouldn't have too much of a problem against Bemidji, I'm looking at a 3 point weekend... win Friday, tie Saturday.

Jamrog Resigns

Wow, big news coming from the Athletic Department. Head football coach Jeff Jamrog resigned as head coach to take on a position back home in Nebraska. Interm Athletic Director Tom Osbourne hired Jamrog to over see football operations at Nebraska. This comes at no suprise really, Jamrog has had a very good relationship with current Nebraska choach Bo Pelini. Now the search is on for a new head coach. What will really interest me is if MSU AD Kevin Buiseman will set up a committee for the coaching search.

Just before I was a freshman at USD, USD set up a committee of football players, alumni, faculty, and current students to narrow the field down. I think this is effective, especially when USD won the football crown in the NCC and made its first playoff appearance in ages after the hiring of Ed Meierkort. Whats going to be really interesting about this job opening is that the new coach will have to play with 12 less scholarships in the Northern Sun, the conference we will move into next year.

I'll try to keep you updated on what's going on, but don't expect too much from now and the new hiring.

Finals suck, but after I get done with my last final on Friday, I'll post a Maverick gameday for the weekend's men's hockey matchup between MSU and Bemidji State.

Maverick Gameday

So the win on Wednesday night over Bethany was a blowout. I thought Bethany could post up 70+ points but apparently they couldn't get over 45. We now come to this afternoon's game against Saint Mary's University Cardinals. This is a game that will measure where the Mavericks are at compared to Winona State. Earlier this year Winona handled the Cardinals 118-53.

Is this going to be another blowout win? Probably but it's important for the Mavericks to know that this is the easiest part of the schedule before playing Winona. What the Mavericks have to do is prioritize each game. First go after the win, thats the most important part. Then go after the execution of plays. These blowout wins could be helpful for preparing us for the big matchup against Winona then North Central Conference play.

Prediction: I'm going to watch the fireworks in a 30 point blowout... 97-66

Wisconsin Gameday

It seems as if every weekend is the toughest test for the Mavericks. Just look at the schedule, first at a new and improved Michigan Tech team (sweep), then a travel up north to an equally matched Alaska Anchorage team (3 point weekend), then down south to Alabama-Huntsville (easy sweep), a sweep to the hands of the Gophers the next weekend, then another sweep against the Mavericks to Denver, and finally a 3 point weekend in favor to the Mavs against a very good Duluth team.

So what does this mean? A sweep from some very talented teams then a turnaround against Duluth. Are the Mavericks finally playing up to expectations from the beginning of the season or are they an inconsistant team looking for a groove? Those questions will be answered when the Badgers come to town for a weekend series.

The #10 Wisconsin Badgers are coming off a good weekend against St. Cloud but will be losing two starters because of the Word Junior Championships in the Czech Republic. The Mavericks as well are coming off a big weekend against #13 Duluth. Both teams should be an equal match for each other.

Prediction: For that very same reason I'm going to say that the Mavs come off the weekend with a split. Gotta start climbing up the rankings somehow.

Maverick Gameday

As most of you know, finals week is upon us and I've been extremely busy with school stuff. This past weekend the Mavericks split on the road losing to Adams State and winning against Ft. Lewis. The Adams State game should have been a Maverick victory but they let the game get away from them in the final minutes.

My reaction from the games in Colorado? We can definatly tell that we are not the same team as last year. Last year's team was able to come back from being down as many as 13 points and still end up the victor. I'm not so sure this team can do that. They are capable of winning the tough games but they cannot afford to be down by more than 8 points per game.

Tonight the Mavericks will take on the other Mankato school, Bethany Lutheran. Bethany is a Division III school that started it's year 1-4. Last year the Mavericks beat the Vikings 93-77 at Bresnan. Every indication shows that this year will not be any different. The Mavericks should be capable scoring more than 90 points in a blowout win.

Prediction: Mavericks win 97-72

Be sure to check out the wrestling match today before the basketball game. MSU takes on a very good Northern State squad.

Happy Thanksgiving

So I go back to South Dakota for Thanksgiving and head to my great aunt's house for Thanksgiving, and of course I had no internet access until Saturday afternoon, just in time to listen to the Michigan Tech - MSU game, and of course I couldn't do Maverick Gameday. Get your leftovers ready, here we go.

Men's Basketball

A split on the weekend up in Duluth in the "it's got three names" Classic. On Friday the Mavericks defeated Northern Michigan in a see-saw battle 67-59. The victory was without a full team performance though. Atilia Santos did not have a very effective game against UNM scoring only 6 points but pulling down 7 rebounds. Jadee Jones scored a team high 18 points in the victory.

Jones' performance on Friday night didn't transfer to Saturday. Atilia and Jadee's performances switched when the Mavericks lost their first game of the season 76-74 to Michigan Tech. One thing that Tech found out is that in order to beat the Mavericks, shut down their star player. Jadee Jones, the D-I transfer, has formulated into LA's replacement, but without him playing a solid game, the Mavericks struggled and eventually lost the game.

The Mavericks hit the road again to Durango, CO where they take on Adams State and Ft. Lewis in important regional action. Both teams made the NCAA regional last year with the Mavericks handling the Skyhawks from Ft. Lewis rather easily. More on that coming on Friday.

Women's Basketball

How does the women's basketball team book a trip to Florida in November? That would have been the best weekend of the year and it was for the women's team. The Mavericks scored a school record 122 points in their win against Ohio Valley, 122-72. Eight players scored in double digits as Heather Johnson lead the way with 15 points and 3 assists.

Saturday night was a mirror image as Friday night as the Mavericks cruised to another big victory beating Palm Beach Atlantic 97-75. Joanne Noreen scored 20 and Liz Trauger pulled down 9 rebounds in the Maverick victory.

Next up for the Mavericks is a showdown tonight against Minnesota-Crookston at the Taylor Center, 7:00pm tip-off.

Women's Hockey

The Hockey team traveled up north to Duluth and got swept in a weekend series that featured a Saturday score of 10-4... yeah, enough said about that.

Maverick Gameday

The Mavericks said it themselves, they didn't play their best basketball this past weekend. On Friday night against Truman State it took them until the second half to get going on their way to a 66-59 victory. The matchup against Pace University really tested how the Mavericks can defend a perimeter game. It pretty much showed that they can't. The Mavericks allowed 32 shots from the arch (10 of which were made). Pace did a great job breaking down the Mavericks zone defense, so for our sake, I hope the coaches broke down the film and found out a better way to defend a perimeter team.

So, with that, guess what we have on tap tonight? Yup, another perimeter team. The Mavericks start their NCAA tournament bid tonight against Concordia-St. Paul. Last year the Mavs traveled up to St. Paul and recieved their first loss of the season. This year the tables have changed, the Golden Bears do not return a single starter from last year.

Tonight the Mavericks hope to keep these winning ways but in order to do that they will need to play a better perimeter defense. The Bears will not be afraid to shoot the three ball, much like Pace. Look for the Mavericks to change some this up offensively. They can't keep relying on Morrow and Jones to score points like they have the first two games. Whitaker and Santos should be getting more chances to shoot the ball or earn an assist on the stat sheet.

Prediction: If the Mavericks play like they did this past weekend, it could be a tough game, but if they play like they say they can, this one could be over midway through the second half. I'll take the Mavericks in a 78-68 victory.