I am without internet at home for another couple of days due to a move. I'm going to post the dynasty rankings on Sunday. I will have to catch up on the previews and results for the first two games of the tournament on Sunday as well, unless someone wanted to step in as a guest commentator.

Teams in this season's Blue Earth Classic are:
Seattle (Defending Champ - 104)
Minn St. Mankato (Host Conference)
Benedict
Lock Haven
Quincy
San Francisco St.

Apologies I’m running so far behind on this.

This will be the thread to document the 4th annual Blue Earth Classic, held in Mankato, MN and named after Mankato’s county and the river that runs nearby. 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.


SCHEDULE

Game #5:
Lock Haven @ Minn St. Mankato
San Francisco St. @ Benedict
Seattle @ Quincy

Game #6:
Minn St. Mankato @ Quincy
Lock Haven @ San Francisco St.
Benedict @ Seattle

Game #7:
San Francisco St. @ Minn St. Mankato
Quincy @ Benedict
Lock Haven @ Seattle

Game #8:
Seattle @ Minn St. Mankato
Quincy @ San Francisco St.
Benedict @ Lock Haven

Game #9:
Minn St. Mankato @ Benedict
San Francisco St. @ Seattle
Quincy @ Lock Haven

RANKINGS:
Pre-S / Team / Current Rank
#1 Minn St. Mankato #5
#2 San Francisco St. #19
#11 Lock Haven #17
#14 Benedict #6
#22 Quincy NR
NR Seattle NR

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Minn St. Mankato - Jason Byers, PF
Although junior Byers is not among scoring leaders, his presence on the court might make the biggest difference in the outcome of games. A converted SF now playing PF with an overall rating over 800, Byers has elite Athleticism (94) and Defense (100) and brings top speed (71) to a post position. While he is just 6^th on the team, averaging 8.5 points a game, Byers has also found a way to contribute in other ways, collecting 1.5 steals a game while committing less than a foul a game.

San Francisco St. - Paul Sexton, SF
As an honorable mention All-American, junior SF Paul Sexton has turned into a leader and an all-around contributor for San Francisco St. off the bench, leading the team in scoring (13.0/PPG), while adding 6 rebounds a game and a team leader 1 block/game, while also dishing out more than an assist each game. What is impressive about Sexton is that versatility that allows him to function as a guard or post player as necessary, with both adequate speed and ball handling skills along with rebounding to create match-up problems. His elite ath (84), def (93) and LP (89) are what help him establish an advantage against other tired or inferior opponents when he comes off the bench.

Lock Haven - Terry Johnson, C, 1^st Team All-American
With the third highest overall rating in D2 at 830, Johnson is the foundation of Lock Haven and dominates to post, averaging almost 13/PPG while pulling down over 8 boards a game. Combined with PF William Judd (rating of 800+ and 100LP), Lock Haven have a truly remarkable front court duo. What makes Johnson so difficult to defend is that he has such good rating at both LP (86) and PE (68). While he hasn’t shot any 3’s, the 68 at PE is exceptional at Center and help his accuracy against tough defenses, where he is hitting at about a 55% clip. Add in 100 Rebounding and you have a center that will cause a lot of problems for opponents.

Benedict - Bernard Stang, SF
Fifth year Sr Bernie Stang in the early season finds himself among D2 scoring leaders with over 18 PPG. With the speed of a guard (79), Stang causes mismatches at SF, while he has the athleticism (86), stamina (83) and FT shooting (B-) to capitalize. To illustrate, Stang has only committed 5 fouls in 6 games, while he has hit 30 of 41 FTA. While he has the ability to hit outside shots with his 87 perimeter rating, he has not taken an 3’s this season, concentrating on being disruptive and causing fouls, with a 58 post rating which is deadly when paired with that speed.

Quincy - Jesse Hamburg, SF, 2^nd Team All-American
Thus far this season, Hamburg ranks 6^th in scoring in D2 with more than 20 PPG. With PG Gregory Knight setting him up, Hamburg’s 99 PE rating has caused lots of trouble for opposing defenses. What gives Hamburg an edge in addition to the elite perimeter skills are the speed (87), stamina (100) ball handling (84) and FT (B) which make him a lot more than a typical 3pt specialists. He does stretch the court in taking nearly half of his shots behind the arch, but his elite stamina help him to be highly effective in the waning minutes of games.

Seattle - Tyson Almeida, PG
Ranking 7^th in D2 in scoring, Almeida is averaging right at 20 PPG. Not only is he Seattle’s premiere scorer, but he also averages 3.7 assists a game, 1.7 steals a game, and a surprising contribution on the boards with 3.7/game. While Almeida isn’t elite from the perimeter (74) and shoots just over 30% from the arch, his other skills are what make him impactful. Solid athleticism (75) and speed (87) to pair with good defense (74) and elite passing (88) give him an advantage over many others as the first things team have to contend with at the critical PG position.

Here is a preview of the teams and associated coaches that are participating in this season’s Blue Earth Classic.


Minn St., Mankato – (ghost writer I swear, his isn’t long_ge writing in the 3^rd person). Entering his 28^th season at MSUM, long_ge has turned the squad in Mankato into a consistent contender and represents the host North Central conference. His tenure has resulted in 2 titles and 3 additional F4 appearances, including last season, along with a string of 14 straight NT appearances. Fun fact, all 25 players on the all-time steals list for Mankato coming while long_ge has coaches there.

San Francisco – Now in his 30^th season in San Francisco, bandit13 represents the Cal CAA conference and entered this season with the 2^nd ranked team. In recent seasons, bandit has frequently brought his squad into the NT, often making S16 including twice in the last four seasons and has made it as far as the E8 a dozen seasons ago. San Fran also has a PI title under bandit, but this looks like the season they will challenge to be a F4 contender and make their deepest NT run in recent years.

Lock Haven – blackdogg3377 is making his second Blue Earth Classic appearance with Lock Haven and will expect to break 2000 career wins later this season. Blackdogg has had Lock Haven in the NT now for 45 straight seasons, made the E8 just four seasons ago during his appearance in this tournament and has won two NT titles in earlier seasons with Lock Haven, to go along with made E8’s and a few F4’s over the many seasons.

Benedict – After earlier success at Shaw and trips to D1 Marquette and Arizona that resulted in 8 straight NT bids, davis has returned to D2 and taken Benedict to the NT in each of the 10 seasons he has been there, taking them as far as the F4 and achieving a 1-seed last season, while reaching multiple S16’s. After last season’s 1-seed, expect this team to make a deeper run in the NT and push for another F4 as they have achieved an early season #6 ranking.

Quincy – Representing the always elite GLV conference this season, pharrop returns a team that gained a 2-seed in last season’s NT. A former member of the North Central conference, pharrop has amassed over 1500 career victories and is now in his 56^th season with Quincy. While there is the infrequent PI appearance in those seasons, NT bids are the norm, and has made three F4 appearances, including a title game in season 62.

Seattle – Taking over for defending champ presentense from 2 seasons ago, who took over from irrev0cable, tcole23 comes in with a colorful resume that includes nearly 800 wins and long tenures at D1, D2, and D3, but most has been at D2, and the most recent was at Mesa St in 7 of the last 9 seasons, where tcole took a F4 trip just 5 seasons ago to go along with another earlier F4 appearance in season 74 while with Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. Interestingly, while the first 3 seasons of this tournament have seen twice teams go 2-3 win the NT title, we have also seen the defending champ have coaching changes now twice as well.

STANDINGS
Minn St., Mankato 1-0
San Francisco 1-0
Quincy 1-0
Lock Haven 0-1
Benedict 0-1
Seattle 0-1


ROUND ONE RESULTS

Lock Haven 71 @ Minn St., Mankato 87

Key Stat: The shot differential of 71 to 57 in favor of MSUM, combined with the highest shooting pct (.465 vs .386) was too much to overcome. Lock Haven did add more shots from the line (34 vs 26) but not enough to make up this difference.
Key Moment: After coming back from a halftime deficit to stay within 3-4 points midway through the second half, Lock Haven saw MSUM go on a run to extend the lead to 16 with just 7 minutes to go. While MSUM was 3 of 14 from three, they hit all of them during about a five-minute period during this run.
Key Performance: PF Jason Byers gained POG honors with 12 points and 12 boards. More importantly, Byers helped neutralize Lock Haven’s elite post duo and actually saw MSUM collect more rebounds.


Seattle 60 @ Quincy 71

Key Stat: While Seattle went just 1 of 5 from 3-pt land, Quincy was highly effective, going 7 of 15. Where a lot of the numbers were otherwise similar, this helped provide the double-digit margin. Also, despite forcing Quincy into 7 more fouls, it only resulted in 1 extra FT for Seattle.
Key Moment: After a tight early part of the second, Seattle trailed by 5 with under 10 minutes to go. In the next 4 minutes, Quincy pushed that lead to 17, going on a 14-2 run, which was more than the margin of the game.
Key Performance: While not headliners, Goldsberry and Higgins came off the bench to combine for 18 points and going 3 for 4 from 3-pt range to help establish the edge for Quincy.


San Francisco St. 71 @ Benedict 64

Key Stat: While Benedict had the edge in most statistical categories, San Francisco St. was able to etch out a win on the road against #1 rated Benedict with a combination of effective enough 3pt shooting in a long-range strategy (12/31) and creating more fouls (18 versus 12). Both teams shot over 80% from the line, but this resulted in 3 more points for San Fran in a tight game.
Key Moment: After coming back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, San Francisco led by just 2 points with about 3 minutes to go. Then, San Fran went on an 8-point run with 4 different players scoring to push the lead to 10 with less than a minute to go.
Key Performance: While Thomas’ 14 points got player of the game, the biggest differential with two teams playing M2M was at point, where James Romig was effective, 2of 5 from 3, and 4-4 from the line, while his opponent Russel Bangert fouled out with 2 points, although he did collect 6 assists.


ROUND TWO
#4 Minn St. Mankato (1-0) -2 @ #15 Quincy (1-0)
Lock Haven (0-1) +1 @ #9 San Francisco St. (1-0)
#7 Benedict (0-1) -9 @ Seattle (0-1)

STANDINGS
Minn St., Mankato 2-0
San Francisco 1-1
Quincy 1-1
Lock Haven 1-1
Benedict 1-1
Seattle 0-2


ROUND TWO RESULTS


Minn St., Mankato 84 @ Quincy 74

Key Stat: Despite Quincy’s effective play from the perimeter (9-22), Mankato was able to counter that with effective post play with 14 more points from the paint and was able to establish a shooting pct 10% better.
Key Moment: After a game that had remained close throughout the second half, Quincy trailed by just 3 with under 6 minutes to go. A 7-point run over the next minute established a 10-point leads for Mankato, and Quincy was unable to get within 8 points the rest of the way.
Key Performance: Post players Stevens and Engleman set the tone hitting 12 of 18 shots from the floor to help establish a higher team shooting pct.


Lock Haven 60 @ San Francisco St. 58

Key Stat: Lock Haven was able to force twice as many fouls as San Francisco St., leading to 23 more FT attempts than SF, resulting in 14 more points from the line in a 2-point game.
Key Moment: Trailing by 6 with less than 30 seconds, San Fran still made the game go down to the wire, hitting 2 three-pointers while Lock Haven was 50% from the line the last few seconds. It was not until a San Francisco turnover with 2 seconds remaining that Lock Haven clinched.
Key Performance: While All-American C Johnson was given POG with a game-leading 13 points, Thomas Clark might have had the better game, adding 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.


Benedict 85 @ Seattle 75 OT

Key Stat: Statistically, it was as tight of a game as you expect for one going into OT. Two areas stand out though. Despite both teams having even assist/turnover ratios, Benedict was able to gain 10 more points off of turnovers. Also, Benedict turned 8 more Seattle fouls into 10 more points from the line.
Key Moment: While Benedict essentially won the game by going on an 11-2 run to start the OT period, the truly key moment came at the close to regulation when Benedict avoided losing the game by tying it up with a last second shot to send it to OT.
Key Performance: Bernard Stang earned POG with 25 points and 11 boards. He went 9-19 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the line. Combined with Don Matthies, the two accounted for 51 points, and both were outscored by Seattle’s Tyson Almeida and his 29 points.

ROUND THREE

#19 San Francisco St. (1-1) +3 @ #5 Minn St. Mankato (2-0)
Quincy (1-1) +4 @ #6 Benedict (1-1)
#17 Lock Haven (1-1) -6 @ Seattle (0-2)

Early on, the Blue Earth Classic is still wide open. One key game takes place as San Francisco goes on the road to take on MSUM. With a potential 3-0 start looming and associated tie-breakers, it is a must win for the team from California. The Quincy/Benedict match-up also stands as a critical contest, as the loser will have to dig out of a 1-2 deficit, while the winner will be right in the chase, potentially a tie for first. Lock Haven will also try to keep pace at 2-1 and stands as a 6 point favorite, but Seattle just took top ten ranked Benedict into OT and is playing at home, while trying to claw back into the tournament, so this could be a very intriguing match-up.

Thanks for the expert analysis...we are trying to hold up the "elite" part of the GLV description.

STANDINGS
Minn St., Mankato 3-0
Lock Haven 2-1
Benedict 2-1
San Francisco 1-2
Quincy 1-2
Seattle 0-3


ROUND THREE RESULTS

San Francisco St. 63 @ Minn St., Mankato 65

Key Stat: The 25 three-point attempts from San Francisco drove the results multiple ways. Hitting 8, one more would have been good for the win, but 8 of 25 drove the shooting pct lower. Also, the number of 3’s limited the FT attempts for SF, where MSUM had 17 more shots from the line.
Key Moment: In a game that stayed extremely close the last few minutes, the game was not decided until the buzzer when C David McCleery missed a shot from the paint, allowing Mankato to survive a home scare.
Key Performance: Interestingly, Mankato SF gained POG honors with a game high 14 points, but he also only played 17 minutes before fouling out with over 7 minutes remaining.


Quincy 61 @ Benedict 69 OT

Key Stat: Neither team shot well from the perimeter, a combined 7 of 34. However, it impacted Quincy negatively pushing their shooting pct below 40%. Plus, having 2 starters foul out and having Benedict attempt 15 more FT’s was tough to overcome.
Key Moment: As the OT period got close to the 1-minute mark with teams still locked in a tie, Benedict’s Don Matthies hit a key 3-pointer, followed by a missed 3 from Quincy’s Gregory Knight, which forced Quincy to have to start fouling.
Key Performance: In a defensive battle that resulted in poor shooting overall, Benedict PF Robert Richmond was the exception going 11 of 17 from the floor and 7 of 9 from the line. Without Richmond, the rest of Benedict was close to 35% shooting.

Lock Haven 73 @ Seattle 68

Key Stat: Most statistical categories were quite close between the two teams. The only notable difference was the 24 fouls by Seattle compared to the 15 by Lock Haven, resulting in 8 more points from the line for Lock Haven, more than the game’s margin.
Key Moment: In a game that went inside the last 2 minutes tied, Seattle trailed by 2 in the last 30 seconds and had to foul that helped Lock Haven build their lead to 3. When Seattle had the chance to answer, they missed their chance with 14 seconds left, which led to the clinching FT’s for Lock Haven.
Key Performance: The impressive post duo of Johnson and Judd were a force, collectively contributing 30 points, with 13 boards and 4 blocks. To be fair, Seattle’s post held their own, adding 18 and actually out-rebounding and matching their blocks of the Lock Haven pair in fewer minutes.


ROUND FOUR

Seattle (0-3) +17 @ #4 Minn St. Mankato (3-0)
Quincy (1-2) Pickem @ San Francisco St. (1-2)
#5 Benedict (2-1) -2 @ #13 Lock Haven (2-1)

Last night saw three exciting Blue Earth Classic games each get decided in the final seconds. That leads to the marquee match-up tonight that has huge implications for the tournament standings, #5 Benedict at #13 Lock Haven. The winner moves to 3-1. Since Lock Haven loses the tie-breaker to Mankato and Benedict has yet to play them, Lock Haven also needs additional help to win the Classic, whereas Benedict still controls their own destiny. Vegas is giving Benedict a slight 2-pt nod on the road. In a battle between two of the premier conferences in Naismith, GLV’s Quincy travels to Cal CAA’s San Francisco St. where the oddsmakers are giving even odds. Finally, Mankato will host a Seattle team that has 3 close losses. Whereas Vegas seems to firmly favor MSUM, this could easily turn into a trap game to throw the tournament wide open moving into the final night. However, that said, a MSUM victory and a Lock Haven win over Benedict would clinch the Classic for the host team.

Damn. Wretched free-throw shooting in that one.

Sorry I'm being an absentee host here. Second phase of a move had me out of commission the last couple of days...but everything will get update by Thursday night. I only move to a different state once every year or two. Instead of taking vacations, I just get a job in another state, so this should be a one-time event until at least 2020. Seriously, I'll get this all updated and it shouldn't be a recurring thing. Sorry this tourney didn't have the same spirit as the last three.

Don't beat yourself up long-ge - you do a GREAT job on this tourney- its fun, its engaging, and your analysis is spot on.

STANDINGS
Minn St., Mankato 4-0
Lock Haven 3-1
Benedict 2-2
San Francisco 2-2
Quincy 1-3
Seattle 0-4


ROUND FOUR RESULTS

Seattle 68 @ Minnesota St., Mankato 95

Key Stat: The assist/turnover ratios, particularly in the decisive second half, is where the game turned. Seattle had 10 more turnovers than assists in the second half, where in the same time frame Mankato was plus 8.
Key Moment: Only a 1-point game early in the second half, Mankato went on a 10-point run over the next 3 minutes to push the lead to double-digits and never looked back.
Key Performance: MSUM guard Milton Natali earned POG honors with a 20 point performance, where he also added 3 steals.


Quincy 64 @ San Francisco St. 77

Key Stat: In a game that saw a lot of three-point attempts, it was SF’s dominance from 2 that made the difference. While Quincy also shot relatively well from 2 at 50%, San Francisco was over 60%.
Key Moment: Leading by only 1 with under 2:30 remaining, San Francisco went on a 10-point run to put it away, as Quincy had a series of missed 3’s and turnovers in the final couple of minutes.
Key Performance: While SF’s Michael Thomas won POG with his 19 points 4 assist and 2 steals, it is worth mentioning Paul Sexton’s game off the bench going 7 of 11 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the line for 20 points, while adding 3 offensive rebounds.


Benedict 68 @ Lock Haven 72 OT


Key Stat: In a game that lived up to its hype, the difference that put Lock Haven in the win column was rebounding. As it was designed with this strong post, Lock Haven pulled down 12 more rebounds than Benedict 7 more offensive rebounds. It is worth noting Benedict held a similar edge in steals, 11 to 5, led by Don Matthias and his 4 steals.
Key Moment: What could have been the key stat was the difference in free throw efficiency. Benedict shot .577 and Lock Haven shot .833. This played into the key moments in the OT period, when trailing by 1 with 18 seconds to go, Don Matthies missed both free throws. Three seconds later, Lock Haven’s William Judd hit both.
Key Performance: Again, the post duo of Johnson and Judd was a lethal combo, contributing 40 points, 19 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 steals.


FINAL ROUND

#2 Minn St. Mankato (4-0) -1 @ #7 Benedict (2-2)
#19 San Francisco St. (2-2) -8 @ Seattle (0-4)
Quincy (1-3) +5 @ #10 Lock Haven (3-1)

STANDINGS
Minn St., Mankato 5-0
Lock Haven 4-1
San Francisco 3-2
Benedict 2-3
Quincy 1-4
Seattle 0-5


ROUND RESULTS

Minnesota St., Mankato 105 @ Benedict 94

Key Stat: Despite Benedict shooting .075 better from the floor, two factors gave Mankato the edge. 13 more points were added from the charity stripe by MSUM, and the assist/turnover number was positive 5 for Mankato, but negative 11 for Benedict.
Key Moment: Where Benedict held a narrow lead most of the first half and early second, Mankato went on an 8-point run starting with the game tied. Benedict was never able to get closer than 5 points after that run.
Key Performance: No player was more dominant than Benedict’s Bernard Stang. With both starting guards fouling out, Stang tried to carry Benedict, shooting better than 50% on the way to a 34-point night.


San Francisco St. 82 @ Seattle 62

Key Stat: San Francisco St had a good shooting night both from 3-point land (11 of 26) and the line (17 of 19).
Key Moment: Trailing by 2 in the early second, San Francisco St went on a 14-point run in abut 4 minutes to change to complexion of what had been a tight game.
Key Performance: Another stellar performance off the bench, Paul Sexton with his 20 points, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals was named POG.


Quincy 57 @ Lock Haven 60


Key Stat: In a tight game with relatively even statistical categories, a couple of points jump out. Quincy was about to have a distinct edge in points off turnovers 18-8. Lock Haven, on the other hand, was able to sustain an advantage with second chance points 18-9.
Key Moment: After a nice comeback from Quincy to tie the game after being down double-digits, Center Terry Johnson, who is a threat from the perimeter, knocked down a clutch 3 in the final seconds with a pass from guard-like PF William Judd.
Key Performance: The combination of Quincy’s Gregory Knight and Jesse Hamburg fueled the comeback that fell just shot. Those two were 7 of 16 from three and added 36 points out of the 57 Quincy scored in total.


Just wanted to give a quick thanks to everyone for participating in this seasons’ Blue Earth Classic. Again, apologies this one didn’t quite run as well on my end as the last 3, but I still hope everyone enjoyed taking part in the tournament and that it will be good preparation for the NT. Since the host conference won this year, we rotate teams anyway in the North Central, as we take turns hosting. One thing that we were changing as of last season that I didn’t go into detail is that the defending champ has a rolling invite to choose when they come back to the tournament. Too often, a team isn’t as strong 2 years after a Blue Earth title, and they then return as both defending champs and underdogs. It would be better if they choose what year they are ready to return. Coker, DC from last year, choose not to be in next year’s tournament and allowed me to add another really strong team into the field, but topdogg will return as soon as he thinks his squad is most competitive to try to defend the title. Anyway, good luck to everyone in the post-season later this year, and I hope to see everyone back in the Classic at some point in the future.

Thanks for inviting us to the your tournament and thanks for putting in all the work. Finally, your analysis is insightful and entertaining. Good luck to you this season.

After my improbable NT run, Is Dowling on the radar for the invitational? (Smile)