This season we are starting a new non-con tourney in Naismith D2 called the Blue Earth Classic. Why the name? Minn St., Mankato hosts (even when we aren’t in the tournament - we'll always have a North Central team as the host). I was trying to find something local to Mankato. While it was interesting to see Primus and Kiss played there recently, the fact that Mankato is the county seat of Blue Earth County with the Blue Earth River flowing nearby ended up causing me to select that name.

The tournament will run games 5-9. We’ll try to rotate some of the better teams into the tournament each season, and hopefully showcasing these strong teams can be a source of pride and competitiveness for conferences with a participating team. Schools in the tournament aren’t just in it for themselves, but they also represent their conference.

For season 103, we have a really elite field of teams to kick things off. All coaches in this first tournament have won NT titles at D2 in Naismith. Apologies to Cal CAA, we’ll normally have a representative from that conference.

As far as the selection process, the Blue Earth Classic winner gets an automatic invite for the season after next (since next season is already scheduled). The rest of the field is by invitation. I try to invite teams where the coach has had some success for a few seasons with their own team. Generally, I’ll try to have a representative from prominent conferences, like the GLV, Cal CAA. Coaches that have been to the F4 I’ll try to get in. I’ll do my best to have teams make appearances when their class structure is favorable to having a good team that year. I obviously cannot see potentials, so if you want to be considered and think you’ll have a strong team in 2 seasons (next year is already scheduled) let me know. Just realize we try to have a tough field, so inevitably elite teams will go 1-4 or 0-5.

This is a new event, so let me know what you’d like to see. I’m not looking to copy the Yarnell over in Iba even if there will be some similarities, so this is a completely different tournament, and we can drive this any way Naismith coaches want.

SCHEDULE
Game #5: N Colorado @ W Chester
S Illinois, Edwardsville @ Abilene Christian
Lock Haven @ West Ga

Game #6:
Abilene Christian @ N Colorado
W Chester @ Lock Haven
S Illinois, Edwardsville @ West Ga

Game #7:
West Ga @ N Colorado
W Chester @ Abilene Christian
Lock Haven @ S Illinois, Edwardsville

Game #8:
N Colorado @ Lock Haven
Abilene Christian @ West Ga
W Chester @ S Illinois, Edwardsville

Game #9:
S Illinois, Edwardsville @ N Colorado
Abilene Christian @ Lock Haven
West Ga @ W Chester


RANKINGS:
Pre-Season Now
#3 – Abilene Christian #1
#6 – W Chester #4
#11 – Lock Haven #25
#19 - N. Colorado NR
NR – S. Ill. Edwardsville #6
NR – West Ga #8

PLAYERS TO WATCH
W Chester - Robert Williams, PG, 2^nd-Team All-American
How much success W Chester has will depend to a large extent to how opposing teams are able to cope with Robert Williams. In the early going, Williams leads W Chester in points (19.3/gm), assists (3.3/gm) and steals (1.3/gm). This senior PG would be an effective power conference D1 player with an 809 overall rating. He’s fast (94), plays strong defense (83), can hit shots from the outside (88), and can handle and pass the ball effectively (82 & 81). Best bet might be to try to get him into foul trouble, if it doesn’t backfire.

Abilene Christian - Mark Zebrowski, PF
While Abilene Christian has a roster of solid players with other more prominent players, shoe’s use of Zebrowski might impact the end result in games between two good teams more so than the rest of their players. Coming off the bench as a senior, Zebrowski is the 3^rd leading scorer on the team (10.8/gm) and leading rebounder (7.3/gm). He also is a defensive presence collecting 1.3 blocks a game and 1.0 steals a game, high for a post player. While Ismael Hudkins might be the best player (820 overall rating, 90ATH, 98 DEF, 95 LP, 1st-Team All-American), it appears the use of the bench of Zebrowski has been very impactful.

West Ga - Xing-Fu Zheng, PG
With the Wolves guard-heavy offensive attack, there are several players that could be highlighted here. Brandon Hinnenkamp, Joseph Schwingel, and Robert Tibbetts are very similar players along with Zheng. What is impressive about Zheng coming off the bench is that he is has a highest shooting pct among West Ga’s guards at 50%, while scoring 16 point a game and still being able to distribute the ball enough to average 4.5 assists a game. What will be tough about West Ga this year is having to cope with four interchangeable guards that will keep constant pressure on the opposition, both offensively and defensively.

Lock Haven - Frank Maxwell, SG, 1st-Team All-American
Blackdog’s squad unquestionably starts with Frank Maxwell. Opposing defenses when game planning for Lock Haven have to account for Maxwell and his 42% accuracy from behind the arch, 18 points a game, and 100PE rating. Maxwell will also give slower guards fits. Even guards with 80 speed would have a distinct disadvantage against Maxwell’s 88 BH and 99SPD. Not only that, but the 54 LP rating as a guard and the B+ free throw rating can make Maxwell both lethal and impossible to game plan against.

S. Illinois, Edwardsville - Joseph Price, SG
If you just played Lock Haven and were frustrated by Maxwell, don’t look now but you have to deal with Price when you play SIEU. While not having the same speed as Maxwell, Price has virtually the same PE rating (99) and is scoring now 22 points a game, hitting nearly 47% of his shots behind the arch…and he shoots from there a lot, 15 times a game thus far. Price opens up the game as well for post-players Larry Donegan and Troy Bryant, both averaging 11 point a game or more to this point.

N. Colorado - Russell Capo, PG
Even though Capo is listed at PG, he has started at SF thus far, where he is quite dangerous with the combination of effective SF speed (64) and the ability to score from the inside (68) or outside (83). To this point, he is averaging 14.8 points a game and is 6^th in the nation with his 2.5 steals a game. Capo’s high athleticism (84) and stamina (90) can make him even more difficult to deal with as the game wears on and opponents start to tire or get into foul trouble.

Here is a brief summary of the teams that are in this year’s inaugural Blue Earth Classic. I was pleased to be able to get 6 very strong coaches, all with D2 titles in Naismith, to get us started on this tournament.


W. Chester – byeags25, in his 19^th season with W Chester, has won 2 NT titles with this program, including one just 5 seasons ago. With a team ranked in the top 10 all season so far and more importantly beating my MSUM team by 23, this looks like a strong contender looking to make another NT run.

Abilene Christian – Entering his 25^th season in Abilene, TX, shoe3 has won 3 national titles, including seasons 4 and 7 years ago. If that isn’t enough, he’s also been in two other title games and five Elite 8’s. Abilene Christian is also currently ranked #1, so good luck to everyone trying to knock them off.

West Georgia – Arfy is in his 12^th season as coach at West Ga. After a 3-season rebuilding period, the team has never won fewer than 24 games and won the NT 3 seasons ago and has also appeared in a Final Four. While they started the season unranked, they have climbed into the top 10 and no game has been closer than 31 points.

Lock Haven – blackdog3377 has been the long-time coach of Lock Haven, with 76 complete seasons under his belt, which have included two national titles and a current 42 season streak of making NT appearances that has included multiple Final 4’s and Elite 8’s. Last season, Lock Haven won 30 games and made the Elite 8 and looks to repeat or better this season.

S. Illinois, Edwardsville – bhbum is in his 19^th season in Edwardsville and won the NT in season 94, beating North Central teams MSUM and NCU on the way. In addition, SIEU has made 3 Final Four appearances in the last 7 seasons. Despite starting the season unranked, this team has quickly climbed to #6 and represents the powerful GLV Conference.

N. Colorado – The representative of the host North Central Conference, bhansaild00 is entering his 24^th season in Greeley, CO. During that time, he has won the title in season 93, but has made 5 additional finals appearances, 2 Final Four appearances, and 3 Elite Eight appearances. While N Colorado is off to a slow start this season, keep in mind the losses have all been very close against highly ranked teams.

Nice job setting this all up. Have fun everyone!

STANDINGS
N Colorado 1-0
Abilene Christian 1-0
West Ga 1-0
W Chester 0-1
S Ill.,Edwardsville 0-1
Lock Haven 0-1


ROUND ONE RESULTS

N Colorado 61 @ W Chester 50

Key Stat: NCU hit 17 of 19 Free Throws. Despite committing more fouls, NCU collected 8 more points at the line than W Chester, most of the game’s margin.
Key Moment: W Chester had trimmed N Colorado’s double-digit lead to 6 points with less than 3 minutes to go. Randy Snyder then completed a 3-pt play after drawing a foul, and then after a missed shot on W Chester’s possession, Snyder hit a 3 to push the lead to 12.
Key Performance: Coming off the bench, PG/SF Russell Capo led all scorers with 16 points, which included 2 of 2 from long range and 4 of 4 from the line, while also picking up assists, rebounds, blocks and steals.


S Illinois, Edwardsville 64 @ Abilene Christian 76

Key Stat: Abilene Christian was able to ramp up defensive pressure on SIEU star Joseph Price to held him to just 6 points while committing 6 turnovers.
Key Moment: With the game still tight at halftime, Abilene Christian opened the second half on a 9-point run to gain a 15-point lead. That was too much for SIEU to overcome, even though they outscored Abilene Christian the rest of the contest.
Key Performance: Rodney Meunier picked up POG honors with a solid game, scoring 16 points, while picking up 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals.


Lock Haven 65 @ West Ga 82

Key Stat: With 19 offensive rebounds, West Ga was able to take 77 shots compared to Lock Haven's 51.
Key Moment: With about 5 minutes to go, Lock Haven had closed in on West Ga’s wider margin to get the game within 6 points. On several key possessions, Lock Haven star Frank Maxwell missed several consecutive shots at critical points including the front end of a 1-and-1, allowing West Ga to pull away.
Key Performance: While West Ga guards got the points, the dominating performance came from center Tony Thompson, who singlehandedly out-rebounded (10) the 3 post players (9) in Lock Haven’s 2-3 zone.

ROUND TWO
#1 Abilene Christian (1-0) @ N Colorado (1-0)
#13 W Chester (0-1) @ Lock Haven (0-1)
#18 S Illinois, Edwardsville (0-1) @ #3 West Ga (1-0)

Top ranked Abilene Christian @ N Colorado is a big game for the early part of the tournament, as the winner will have an early 2-0 edge. Las Vegas considers the host team N Colorado a huge underdog at 20 points. West Ga will try to keep up with the winner of that game as they host #18 S. Illinois, Edwardsville and are only a slight favorite at 2 points. West Chester and Lock Haven will battle to avoid falling out of contention. West Chester is a 5-point favorite on the road in that one.

STANDINGS
Abilene Christian 2-0
West Ga 2-0
N Colorado 1-1
Lock Haven 1-1
W Chester 0-2
S Ill.,Edwardsville 0-2


ROUND TWO RESULTS

Abilene Christian 86 @ N Colorado 65

Key Stat: The two factors that stand out are the ACU shooting pct being over 55% and the NCU committed 10 more fouls than ACU, resulting in 14 more points from the line.
Key Moment: Having led for brief periods of the second half, N Colorado trailed by just 3 points with less than 12 minutes to go when Abilene Christian went on a 13-point run that included knocking down three 3-pt shots.
Key Performance: ACU’s SG Matthews Gregory, who started off the that critical 2^nd half 13-pt run with two 3-pointers, obtained POG honors and led all scorers with 19 points


W Chester 84 @ Lock Haven 85

Key Stat: Lock Haven shot an efficient 7 of 14 from the perimeter, where a good portion of the W Chester offensive effort was from 3-point land and didn’t provide as good of results, 10 of 28.
Key Moment: In the last 14 seconds, trailing by 1, Lock Haven missed two shots and came down with two offensive rebounds before hitting the game winning shot with 2 seconds left.
Key Performance: W Chester’s Robert Williams in a losing effort almost was able to win the game pouring in 25 points while collecting 6 assists.


S Illinois, Edwardsville 62 @ West Ga 76

Key Stat: The combination of poor free throw shooting (14/28) and 28 turnovers for SIEU provided the edge West Ga needed.
Key Moment: Trailing by 3 with six minutes remaining, SIEU did not score on 6 possessions as West Ga built a 10-point lead as 2 critical minutes came off the clock.
Key Performance: As West Ga had what would best be described as a team effort, the biggest factor in the game was SIEU’s SG Joseph Price, who collected 22 points, above his season average, but was less accurate than normal and had 5 turnovers without an assist.

ROUND THREE
#2 West Ga (2-0) @ N Colorado (1-1)
#21 W Chester (0-2) @ #1 Abilene Christian (2-0)
Lock Haven (1-1) @ S Illinois, Edwardsville (0-2)

As we enter the 3^rd night, the question is whether this is going to turn into a #1 versus #2 showdown tomorrow night. Each must win tonight, though, for that to happen. #2 West Ga travels to N Colorado, where they are 14-point favorite. #1 Abilene Christian hosts #21 West Chester, where they are favored by 12. Lock Haven after a thrilling win last night will travel to take of S. Illinois, Edwardsville, and Vegas is giving even odds.

This is great stuff. Great writeups and recaps! It's an honor to participate in this tournament.

Agreed, this is really awesome, and I'm thrilled to be a part of the inaugural tourney!

I agree also. Best thing to happen around here in a while. Even though I might not win game, I have enjoyed this tournament.

Great to hear. I appreciate it and am glad folks are enjoying the tourney. We definitely needed some kind of tournament for Naismith. It would be awesome if we could get D2 more active and with more coaches.

By the way, I'll have the updates posted in the evenings on weekdays.

STANDINGS
Abilene Christian 3-0
West Ga 3-0
N Colorado 1-2
Lock Haven 1-2
S Ill.,Edwardsville 1-2
W Chester 0-3


ROUND THREE RESULTS

West Ga 84 @ N Colorado 58

Key Stat: West Ga’s defense was outstanding, collecting 15 steals, 5 blocks and holding N Colorado to a .373 shooting pct.
Key Moment: Late in the first, N Colorado had cut the deficit to 27-21, when West Ga added 8 points to their lead by halftime, which NCU was unable to cut into the rest of the way.
Key Performance: Whereas West Ga has depended on guard play more to pace their offense early on, C Danny Jones, who took home POG honors, and C James Wooley both had big nights, scoring 14 and 15 respectively.


W Chester 72 @ Abilene Christian 81

Key Stat: With West Chester shooting very well (51% FGP, 40% 3FGP, 89% FT%), the turnover differential was critical. West Chester forced 10, Abilene Christian forced 23.
Key Moment: Although W Chester outscored ACU in the second half and had started to cut into the lead a little too late at the end, what made the biggest impact was the last 5 minutes of the first half. With W Chester within 3, Abilene Christian went on an 18 to 8 run to tilt the momentum in their favor.
Key Performance: ACU guard Douglas Woodland led all scorers due to his 60% from the field to take home POG honors.


Lock Haven 54 @ S Illinois, Edwardsville 55

Key Stat: With two of the best guards in the country leading their respective offenses, neither team hit 40% of their shots from the floor. In this defensive battle, we saw 109 total points scored with neither team slowing down the tempo.
Key Moment: After cutting down a double-digit lead to 1, both teams traded 3’s inside the last minute before Lock Haven had a shot at winning with 6 second left. Unlike last night, the shot didn’t fall.
Key Performance: While SIEU’s Price won POG, Lock Haven’s Frank Maxwell was more efficient. Both scored team leading 15 points.


ROUND FOUR

N Colorado @ Lock Haven
#1 Abilene Christian @ #2 West Ga
W Chester @ #22 S Illinois, Edwardsville

With the remaining teams all with at least 2 losses, tonight’s marquee matchup between #1 Abilene Christian and #2 West Georgia is for all the marbles. The winner will clinch the first annual Blue Earth Classic since no team with 2 losses will be able to catch up with a 4-win team, and the winner of tonight’s game would win the tie-breaker, even if the winner tonight faltered in game 5. West Georgia will play host, but Abilene Christian is a 2-pt favorite. (#3 also plays #4 tonight.)

After two games that have gone down to the wire, Lock Haven will host N Colorado, where the home team is a 2-point favorite. After their exciting win, S Illinois, Edwardsville hosts West Chester with even odds.

STANDINGS
Abilene Christian 4-0
West Ga 3-1
Lock Haven 2-2
S Ill.,Edwardsville 2-2
N Colorado 1-3
W Chester 0-4

ROUND FOUR RESULTS

N Colorado 59 @ Lock Haven 64

Key Stat: With many of the stats and scores close, one game changing number stands out. Trying to take advantage of the Lock Haven 2-3 without a double team, 5^th year senior Randy Snyder took nearly a third of N Colorado’s shots, but Lock Haven’s defense held him to 22% shooting.
Key Moment: A defensive battle for the first 39 minutes, both teams shot quite well the last 47 seconds. Trying to come back, N Colorado hit two 3’s and was 4 of 4 from the line. With N Colorado fouling quickly, Lock Haven was clutch from the line going 8 for 8.
Key Performance: Lock Haven’s junior PF Jeffery Abernethy won POG honors with a team leading 13 points. While he only had 1 rebound, he was able to nab 4 steals out of the post in a slow paced game.


Abilene Christian 90 @ West Ga 78

Key Stat: While ACU shot a little bit better, the assist/turnover ratio looked like the biggest difference. West Ga had 27 turnovers with 10 assists, while Abilene Christian turned the ball over 18 times while collecting 15 assists.
Key Moment: With West Ga battling back and down by 7 with just under 11 minutes to go, West Ga went nearly 4 minutes without a field goal and added just one free throw, as ACU went on a 10-1 run and build a 16-point lead.
Key Performance: While ACU’s Douglas Woodland received POG with 23 point and 4 steals, outstanding games off the bench for West Ga’s post players Danny Jones and Joe Martell have to be noted, as they combined for 39 points, 19 rebounds and 6 blocks.


W Chester 54 @ S Illinois, Edwardsville 65

Key Stat: Taking the same number of shots from the floor, SIEU was just more efficient, hitting 52% to W Chester’s 41%. That said, W Chester was highly accurate from the line, but just didn’t get there enough (10 of 11).
Key Moment: After Robert Williams was getting warmed up with several key shots, W Chest trailed by 2 with less than 5 minutes to go. However, with missed shots and turnovers they only scored once in the next 3 critical minutes as SIEU was able to open up a 9-point lead going into the final 2 minutes.
Key Performance: SIEU’s post player Larry Donegan led all scorers with 16 points and was also able to grab 7 rebounds and 3 steals to be named POG.



FINAL ROUND

#18 S Illinois, Edwardsville(2-2) @ N Colorado (1-3)
#1 Abilene Christian (4-0) @ Lock Haven (2-2)
#4 West Ga (3-1) @ W Chester (0-4)

With Abilene Christian’s victory against West Ga last night, ACU clinches the first Blue Earth Classic title. While the games tonight won’t impact the top of the standings, there are some good match-ups this evening. SIEU tries to finish with a winning record in the tournament when they travel to N Colorado, who looks to end a 3-game skid. ACU hits the road with the FB/FCP to game on zone specialist Lock Haven. West Ga also goes on the road to take on a West Chester team, who is a 7-point underdog.

That ACU team is REALLY good. Congrats on the tournament victory, Shoe.

It’s been an honor, gentlemen. See you in a couple seasons. We’ll be a lot greener.