This will be the thread to document the 5th 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.

As always, guest commentary and contributions (see season 104) are always welcomed and encouraged.

SCHEDULE
Game #5:
Florida Southern @ N Colorado
Alaska Fairbanks @ Grand Canyon
Kentucky Wesleyan @ St. Mary's (TX)

Game #6:
N Colorado @ Kentucky Wesleyan
Grand Canyon @ Florida Southern
Alaska Fairbanks @ St. Mary's (TX)

Game #7:
St. Mary's (TX) @ N Colorado
Grand Canyon @ Kentucky Wesleyan
Florida Southern @ Alaska Fairbanks

Game #8:
N Colorado @ Alaska Fairbanks
St. Mary's (TX) @ Grand Canyon
Kentucky Wesleyan @ Florida Southern

Game #9:
Grand Canyon @ N Colorado
Alaska Fairbanks @ Kentucky Wesleyan
St. Mary's (TX) @ Florida Southern


RANKINGS:
Pre-S / Team / Current Rank
#1 Alaska Fairbanks #2
#2 Grand Canyon #5
#4 Florida Southern #11
#7 St. Mary's (TX) #4
#9 Kentucky Wesleyan #9
NR N Colorado #10

PLAYERS TO WATCH


Alaska Fairbanks - Paul Smith, PF, 1^st-Team All American
On a squad with no shortage of scoring options or skilled players, Paul Smith stands out as a guy that will affect other teams’ game plans as they prepare for Alaska Fairbanks. A converted SF to PF that sometimes starts and sometimes contributes off the bench, Smith sports an overall rating of nearly 900. With great speed for the post (54), he causes trouble for defenses by his elite LP (94) along with an unusually good PE (72) for a post player that has helped him hit nearly half of his 3-point attempts and average over 12 points a game. With exceptional athleticism (86) and a team leading defensive rating of 94, coupled with great stamina (92), he is able to be disruptive on the other side of the court as well and wear out the opposing post players.

Grand Canyon - Gary Scott, SG, 1^st-Team All American
While PF Calvin Belt is the leading scorer and actually has a similar profile in some ways to Alaska Fairbanks’ Paul Smith (Belt has 62 spd, 87 LP, and 74 PE), it is SG Gary Smith that really has the potential to create headaches in opposing defenses. First, Scott has elite speed at 91, and of course he is always a threat from downtown where he hits 52% with a 100 rating. However, it is the other factors that make Scott a special player, namely his guard skills that would make any PG envious (92BH, 94P) and the ability to drive the lanes with an exception guard LP rating of 67, although he spends most of his time behind the arch. The one disadvantage Scott brings is mediocre defense and athleticism (52 & 54), which could cause him to leave the game early against top competition.

Florida Southern - Michael Boll, C
While there are several players that all could have been highlighted for Florida Southern given the 4 leading scorers are all within a 1.5 PPG of each other, Boll brings an added dimension to his game, reflected in his award as a junior as the conference defensive player of the year last season in the Sunshine State conf. Boll brings great athleticism (86) and defense (80) to really provide a strong foundation to his rebounding (82) and elite blocking (96) to add a strong post defensive presence to go along with his strong offensive skills (LP 89) that help him average 12 points a game. Combined with the efforts of Huang Chu (rebounding 98), Fla Southern has established a post rebounding advantage that has resulted in nearly 40% more rebounds than their opponents and enables their scoring guards to be more effective.

St. Mary’s - Mario Vega, C, Honorable Mention
While there could certainly be a case to highlight SG Craig Kesler and his 800+ rating, 5^th year senior Mario Vera is another strong post presence with exceptional athleticism(80), defense (84), rebounding (100), blocking (84) and LP play (93). In addition, Vega is adding over 17 points a game, getting to the line frequently and hitting at over an 80% clip from the charity line. Combined with the efforts of teammates in the post, Albert Neagle REB (85) and Leigh Streicher REB (90), St Mary’s has established a post rebounding advantage like Florida Southern, bringing down 43% more boards than opponents, which is particularly acute when looking at the offensive side, where they grab nearly two-third more boards than opponents.

Kentucky Wesleyan - Bradley Schatz, PG
While other KWC players, like SG Scott Stephens or C Christopher Whitley, or even sophomore PF Nicholas Cavender, each make an enormous contribution, PG Bradley Schatz has thus far driven the team’s success the most so far. While at first glance, he has good but not great skills in critical areas, his total package turns him into a very effective player at the Point. For instance, his athleticism (58) and speed (69) are more pedestrian, and he has solid defense (76). Where he thrives are with a BH (86) and P (82) to go with a B+ FT rating. Coupled with the ability to drive (LP 48), and it drives the type of player that can contribute in multiple critical ways. The results, a team leading 1.3 steals a game, a team leading 4.8 assists a game, and 10.3 PPG, good for second on a strong roster. While there are better individual players on the KWC roster, no one’s role is more important than Schatz. Essentially, no one else on the roster can do what he can at perhaps the most important position.

N. Colorado - Jeffery Boldt, SF
While Boldt isn’t the sort of player that will be on pre-season awards lists, his versatility and effective use make him a dynamic player and difference maker. For example, he has excellent speed at the SF position (78) while at the same time having good enough rebounding (64) skills to move to PF if needed. He also has good enough BH (72) and P (82) to play PG if needed. The result is that you have a SF contributing across the board, with the team’s second highest PPG (13.5), the team’s second highest assists (3.0/G), and the team’s second highest rebounds (4.5/G). In addition, he has the stamina to stay on the court longer, wear the opponents down, and get to the line. In general, he makes other players around him, like SG Billy Rogers (92PE) or C James Zubik (85LP) just a little better.

Getting top teams into the tournament rarely work out as well as this. All teams going into the Classic are ranked in the top 11, and it looks like we have 6 contenders for deep NT runs. Here is a brief summary of all the teams and coaches in the tourney this season.

Alaska Fairbanks – In only his 4^th season in coaching this Alaska, mrslam has rapidly turned this program into a top contender. Alaska Fairbanks, representing the very tough North American conf, has gone 70-21 the last three seasons, landing NT bids each year and reaching the S16 last season. In the Allen world, mrslam has won a D2 title, to go along with multiple other F4 and Finals appearances, and this season’s version looks to be a threat to make the longest run in program history since the days of haasdr’s NT title and Finals appearance in seasons 49 and 54. As the pre-season #1 ranked team, expectations are high for a title run and a successful Blue Earth Classic.

Grand Canyon – Entering his 7^th season with Grand Canyon, MonsterTurtl has this Cal CAA team ready to push into elite territory after rebuilding from scratch, winning the PI, and reaching the NT the last 3 seasons, during which time they have a 64-25 record. As the pre-season #2 team, Grand Canyon looks like they have a legitimate shot at winning their first Cal CAA CT in nearly 60 seasons and their first F4 run in over 100 seasons. Notably, while MonsterTurl is looking for his first Naismith NT title, he has collected 5 titles across other words, and is one of a handful of coaches to have won at D1, D2, and D3.

Florida Southern – After leaving Fla Southern for 7 seasons, irrev0cable has returned and is now entering his 4^th season in this stint, but his 24^th season overall. During the earlier tenure at Fla Southern, irrev0cable won titles in seasons 83 and season 88 to contribute to his 7 titles across worlds as he closes in on nearly 1000 wins in Naismith. Worth noting, irrev0cable had a major role in assembling the roster for the Seattle squad that won the 2^nd Blue Earth Classic. Bringing in the pre-season #4 team this season, it looks like Florida Southern might have returned to the elite status they held 20 seasons ago and look to be a contender capable of a F4 run.

St. Mary’s – After 11 full seasons at St. Mary’s WarLeagle might have his best team yet this season, with a squad entering the season ranked #7 and currently ranked #4. During the first 11 seasons at St. Mary’s, WarLeague has made the NT 10 times and over the last 8 seasons, they have finished ranked in the top 20 six times. This is in addition to the D3 stint WarLeague had at Cal Tech, where the squad made two F4 runs and won two NCOY awards. St. Mary’s will be looking to add their 3^rd title and their first since johnsensing’s in season 33, and the tough field in the Blue Earth Classic should be an early test for St. Mary’s.

Kentucky Wesleyan – Representing the powerful GLV conference this season is #9 Kentucky Wesleyan, coached by huskynation, who is entering his 9^th season in Kentucky. After a rebuild that followed a few seasons of simAI coaching, huskynation looks to be turning KWC into a solid contender, as they have made NT bids for of the last 5 seasons and have won 20+ games each of the last two seasons. KWC has not won a CT in the brutal GLV since season 27, the year that they also won the NT under cheato. Since that time, they haven’t gotten past the 2^nd round in the NT, but both the CT title and deep NT run look possible this season for huskynation, who just passed 500 victories in Naismith earlier this season.

N. Colorado – Representing the host North Central conference, bhansalid is entering his 28^th season with NCU. While the school was somehow not ranked in the pre-season, it quickly ascended back to the familiarity of the top 10 just in time for the Classic. With 2 titles to match his 2 from other worlds, bhansalid’s tenure at N Colorado has been dominant. Just picture, an NT run to the E8 or S16 is a bad season for N Colorado. Over the last 20 seasons, NCU has made it to the F4 and beyond more than they have failed to reach the F4, which include 6 times being runner-up. NCU has reached at least the S16 in 21 consecutive seasons now.

I think we have 3 marquee match-ups tonight. #11 @#10, #2 @ #5, and #9 @ #4. Vegas thinks they will all be close. Should be an entertaining start to the tournament…


#11 Florida Southern (0-0) +1 @ #10 N Colorado (0-0)
#2 Alaska Fairbanks (0-0) -1 @ #5 Grand Canyon (0-0)
#9 Kentucky Wesleyan (0-0) +2 @ #4 St. Mary's (0-0)

Really tough group for my first ever Blue Earth Classic. Should be a fun one.

STANDINGS
Alaska Fairbanks 1-0
Florida Southern 1-0
St. Mary's (TX) 1-0
Kentucky Wesleyan 0-1
N Colorado 0-1
Grand Canyon 0-1

ROUND ONE RESULTS

Florida Southern 68 @ N Colorado 57

Key Stat: After taking a lead into halftime, the NCU offense really struggled against the Fla Southern defense throughout the 2^nd half, shooting just 27% and turning the ball over 13 times.
Key Moment: Leading by 3 with under 6 minutes to go in a game that had remained tight throughout, Fla Southern was able to go on a 6-0 run over the next 2 ½ minutes to finally get some separation.
Key Performance: Florida Southern’s PF Ronald Decker earned POG honors off the bench, adding 8 points, but more importantly collecting 5 steals and 8 boards, both highs for the game.

Alaska Fairbanks 65 @ Grand Canyon 59

Key Stat: With Alaska Fairbanks only committing 9 fouls all game, Grand Canyon was only able to get to the line to attempt 3 FT. This helped create an 11-point difference from the line, more than the margin of victory.
Key Moment: Trailing by 3 going into the last minute with a chance to tie it up, Grand Canyon missed two key 3’s in the final minute while Alaska Fairbanks went 6 for 6 from the line to clinch.
Key Performance: This game saw a showcase with two of D2’s top players, Alaska Fairbank’s PF Paul Smith and Grand Canyon’s Gary Scott. Smith won POG honors with 18 points, while Scott added 19, but missed a key 3 in the last minute.

Kentucky Wesleyan 68 @ St. Mary's 72

Key Stat: Despite a higher shooting pct from KWC (48% to 43%), Kentucky Wesleyan’s turnovers (19 compared to SMU’s 11) and St Mary’s 8 steals were enough to make the difference.
Key Moment: Despite hitting two clutch 3’s in the last 25 seconds, Kentucky Wesleyan was unable to get a possession with an opportunity to tie or win, as they were forced to foul and SMU hit all 6 free throws in the last half minute.
Key Performance: St. Mary’s Tom Blake added a game high 19-points to be named POG, a really admirable performance came from KWC’s PF Nicolas Cavender who added 13 points and 8 rebounds, neutralizing SMU star post player Mario Vega, who scored 9, but was limited to 3 rebounds and fouled out.


ROUND TWO

#18 N Colorado (0-1) Pickem @ #12 Kentucky Wesleyan (0-1)
#9 Grand Canyon (0-1) -1 @ #6 Florida Southern (1-0)
#2 Alaska Fairbanks (1-0) +1 @ #3 St. Mary's (1-0)

All the games on the first evening were close affairs and the brutal schedule continues for all the teams tonight. The #2 and #3 teams in the country, Alaska Fairbanks and St. Mary’s, face off tonight for an early 2-0 advantage in the Classic. Vegas has Alaska Fairbanks on the road by 1. #6 Florida Southern faces a test at home to try to keep pace at 2-0 when they face #9 Grand Canyon, who odds-makers see as a 1-point favorite. #18 NCU goes on the road to take on #12 KWC, where both teams face the threat of a 0-2 start and will try to stay in the race.

San Antonio Express

#3 Rattlers fall flat in OT to #2 Alaska Fairbanks in Round 2 of Blue Earth Classic

AP - #3 St. Mary's (TX) fell at home in OT to #2 Alaska Fairbanks last night as the Nanook's presumed all-American PF Paul Smith scored 11 of the team's 19 OT points to put the Rattlers away. "Smith is a talented player and we just couldn't stop him in OT," St. Mary's coach Warleagle said. St. Mary's SF John Grant had given the team a game-tying basket with 28 seconds to go in regulation but the Rattlers just couldn't sustain the momentum in overtime. St. Mary's falls to #4 in the national rankings and heads north to Greeley, CO for round 3 of the Blue Earth Classic against #11 N. Colorado. Both teams are (1-1) in this year's Blue Earth Classic.

Nice commentary WarLeague, didn't realize Smith did so much scoring in OT.

STANDINGS
Alaska Fairbanks 2-0
Florida Southern 1-1
St. Mary's (TX) 1-1
N Colorado 1-1
Grand Canyon 1-1
Kentucky Wesleyan 0-2



ROUND TWO RESULTS

N Colorado 85 @ Kentucky Wesleyan 75 - 2OT

Key Stat: Although Kentucky Wesleyan took 12 more FT attempts than NCU, it only resulted in 1 more point, due to poor FT shooting (53%), where N Colorado was more efficient (80%). With KWC taking more FT attempts, it also impacted the number of shots from the floor, with NCU taking 8 more shots than KWC, which mattered in a game this close.
Key Moment: First, over the last 2 minutes of regulation, Kentucky Wesleyan overcame a 7-pt deficit to tie the game and send the game into OT. Second, with less than two minutes to go in OT, N Colorado held a 2-pt lead before going on a 10-2 run to close out the game.
Key Performance: N Colorado SF Jeffery Boldt got the PG award with his 20 points off the bench. Notably, Boldt’s performance came as 3 NCU players fouled out, where KWC didn’t lose any players to fouls, making the NCU run in the 2^nd OT less probable.

Grand Canyon 68 @ Florida Southern 58

Key Stat: While Florida Southern had an enormous rebounding advantage, with twice as many offensive rebounds (17 to 8), it was Grand Canyon’s 3-pt shooting that made the biggest impact. GCU hit 9 of 22 from behind the arch, where FSC was 0 for 4.
Key Moment: After a tight first half, Grand Canyon went on an 8-pt run to open the second. While they were never able to build on that lead, Florida Southern was never able to make much of a dent on that lead, and that was close to the margin of victory.
Key Performance: Grand Canyon guard Gary Scott won POG with a gam leading 20 points. Also worth pointing out, Fla Southern post duo Chu and Boll pulled down 9 offensive rebounds, more than Grand Canyon had as a team (8).

Alaska Fairbanks 85 @ St. Mary's 77 – OT

Key Stat: Despite St Mary’s taking nearly a quarter more shots from the floor than Alaska Fairbanks (68 to 52), UAF’s shooting pct advantage (.519 to .426) helped give them the edge.
Key Moment: Leading by 1-pt with less than a minute remaining in the OT period, Paul Smith nailed a clutch 3 to give Alaska Fairbanks a 4-point lead with just 42 seconds, resulting in SMU needing to start fouling after missing their next shot.
Key Performance: While Alaska Fairbanks’ Paul Smith was named POG with his 20 points and 8 rebounds, there were several good performances, including SMU’s Mario Vega with his 13 points and 14 rebounds.


ROUND THREE

#4 St. Mary's (1-1) -2 @ #11 N Colorado (1-1)
#7 Grand Canyon (1-1) -3 @ #16 Kentucky Wesleyan (0-2)
#12 Florida Southern (1-1) +8 @ #2 Alaska Fairbanks (2-0)

In about as good of a match-up as you can hope for this early in the season, Alaska Fairbanks and St. Mary’s gave us our money’s worth in the #2 vs #3 showdown, giving us an extra period. Not to be outdone, N Colorado and Kentucky Wesleyan took 2 OT’s to determine the winner. Grand Canyon was able to hold off Florida Southern without needing OT.

Tonight, we again have 3 great contests. While Alaska Fairbanks has the early lead, the tournament is still up for grabs at this point, but tonight could change that. #16 Kentucky Wesleyan, after two narrow losses will host #7 Grand Canyon in a must win game to have a chance to stay in the tourney, where Grand Canyon also is in a must-win scenario to avoid going 1-2 with a tie-break loss to Alaska Fairbanks. #4 St. Mary’s travels to take on #11 N Colorado, where the winner stays in contention and the loser falls to 1-2 and also will be down a key tie-breaker. #2 Alaska Fairbanks will try to move to 3-0 when they host #12 Florida Southern. While a 3-0 start would give UAF a strong edge, losing to Florida Southern would put the tournament in a 3 or 4 way tie, and FSC would hold the tie-breaker against Alaska Fairbanks, so this game is critical in shaping the outcome of the Classic this season.

#2 Alaska Fairbanks lead Blue Earth Classic after OT thriller in Texas

"Coach called me out in the huddle and challenged me to step up and lead this team," Alaska Fairbanks senior forward Paul Smith said when asked about his 11 point overtime performance. "Mario [Vega] beat me on the boards a few times and I had let it affect my effort on offense," Smith continued. Alaska Fairbanks overcame 18 turnovers with efficient shooting and their typically stingy defense to get a win at #3 St Mary's (TX). The Nanooks' leading scorer this season, Junior guard Leslie Honda, added 18 points.

With their overtime win, the Nanooks have now won two straight roads games against top 5 teams and currently sit atop the standings of the prestigious Blue Earth Classic. Alaska Fairbanks returns home and looks to continue their winning ways against a very tough 12th ranked Florida Southern.

Awesome to see the commentaries, keep them coming!

STANDINGS
Alaska Fairbanks 3-0
St. Mary's (TX) 2-1
Florida Southern 1-2
N Colorado 1-2
Grand Canyon 1-2
Kentucky Wesleyan 1-2

ROUND THREE RESULTS

St. Mary's 75 @ N Colorado 72

Key Stat: St. Mary’s built their advantage on shooting pct (.519 to .397) with an effective offense and a stingy defense. It was impressive N Colorado was able to keep the contest close in that context, aided by much better FT shooting (NCU’s .815 to SMU’s .581).
Key Moment: When SMU’s Mario Vega hit a shot to give St. Mary’s a 2-pt lead with less than 30 seconds remaining, N Colorado missed two shots in the last 15 seconds, including a 3 with 8 seconds left that would have out NCU in the lead.
Key Performance: Mario Vega was POG with a game leading 22 points and was complimented by the performance of fellow SMU post player Albert Neagle and his 12 point and 14 rebounds, 6 of which were on the offensive side, as well as adding 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Grand Canyon 51 @ Kentucky Wesleyan 60

Key Stat: With Kentucky Wesleyan playing a -1 defense, Grand Canyon too two-thirds of their shots from behind the 3-pt arch. While effective from 3 (.375), it drove the overall shooting pct down, particularly with low shooting pct from 2 (.312).
Key Moment: After trimming the lead to 6 points multiple times in the 2^nd half, Grand Canyon did so again with just over a minute left. Grand Canyon got the ball back, turned it over, fouled, and KWC hit both free throws to push the lead to 8 with less than 40 seconds remaining.
Key Performance: Playing across from 1^st Team All American Gary Scott, Kentucky Wesleyan PG Bradley Schartz added 12 points and went 10 of 10 from the line when the rest of the team was below 50%. He also held Scott to 4 of 12 shooting.

Florida Southern 44 @ Alaska Fairbanks 77

Key Stat: The assist/turnover ratio was telling as Alaska Fairbanks had 20 assists against 8 turnovers, while Florida Southern had 9 assists against 18 turnovers.
Key Moment: Establishing a solid 11-point lead at halt-time, Alaska Fairbanks ended any chance Florida Southern had of making it a game the first few minutes of the second half, starting on a 14-3 run and pushing the lead to 22.
Key Performance: Overshadowed by star Paul Smith so far in the Classic, Alaska Fairbanks’ PG Leslie Honda won POG honors with 22 points and 6 assists.

ROUND FOUR

#16 N Colorado (1-2) +11 @ #2 Alaska Fairbanks (3-0)
#4 St. Mary's (2-1) -2 @ #10 Grand Canyon (1-2)
#12 Kentucky Wesleyan (1-2) Pickem @ #25 Florida Southern (1-2)

The closest game of the night was St. Mary’s getting past N Colorado, with it going into the last 10 seconds before being decided. Alaska Fairbanks had a surprisingly dominant performance against a very good Florida Southern to move to 3-0 in the Classic. Kentucky Wesleyan was able to get their first Classic win against a Grand Canyon team that needed a win to stay in contention.

Tonight, #2 Alaska Fairbanks has a chance to clinch this season’s Blue Earth Classic at home against #16 N Colorado. While Vegas has UAF by 11 and last night’s performance against Fla Southern has everyone wondering if Alaska Fairbanks can be stopped, N Colorado has played 3 tight games, including one going into double OT. Due to tie-breakers and the standings, Alaska Fairbanks would have to lose both remaining games for another team to have a shot to win the Classic. If N Colorado can knock them off tonight, the next opponent is Kentucky Wesleyan in KY. Despite an 0-2 start, #12 Kentucky Wesleyan would have a shot in this scenario, if they can overcome #25 Florida Southern on the road, as that could give them a shot at finishing 3-2 with a tie-breaker over Alaska Fairbanks. #10 Grand Canyon hosts #4 St. Mary’s in what looks like a fantastic early season match-up and possible F4 preview, although both teams need help to have a chance in the Classic. St. Mary’s could finish 4-1 but need Alaska Fairbanks to lose both remaining games due to the tie-breaker. Grand Canyon would need multiple teams to tie at 3-2.

STANDINGS
Alaska Fairbanks 4-0
St. Mary's (TX) 2-2
Florida Southern 2-2
Grand Canyon 2-2
N Colorado 1-3
Kentucky Wesleyan 1-3


ROUND FOUR RESULTS

N Colorado 51 @ Alaska Fairbanks 65

Key Stat: N Colorado was competitive in a lot of statistical areas, but Alaska Fairbanks had a decided advantage in shooting pct (.360 to .533). UAF also controlled the paint, outscoring NCU 30 to 12.
Key Moment: Midway into the 2^nd half NCU was going toe-to-toe with Alaska Fairbanks, knotting it up at 43. At that point, a series of turnovers and missed shots, along with allowing offensive rebounds led to an 8-point UAF run that N Colorado wasn’t able to recover from.
Key Performance: The Alaska Fairbanks PG and PF, Leslie Honda and Paul Smith combined for 33 points, with Smith adding 9 rebounds and Honda chipping in 5 assists.

St. Mary's 66 @ Grand Canyon 82

Key Stat: Die by the 3, live by the 3. Whereas reliance on the 3 was a factor in the Grand Canyon loss to Kentucky Wesleyan the night before, GCU went back to the 3 tonight against St. Mary’s and got hot, going 12 of 27 (.444).
Key Moment: In the last 5 minutes of the first half, Grand Canyon took a mild 3 point lead and expanded the lead through a 17-4 lead to take a 16-point lead into halftime. St. Mary’s wasn’t able to make a dent in that lead in the second, as 13 points was the closest it got the last 20 minutes.
Key Performance: Off the bench, PG Jeffrey Green put in his season high performance with 21 points to gain POG honors. Notably, he had the hot hand behind the arch, going 6 of 11.

Kentucky Wesleyan 69 @ Florida Southern 79

Key Stat: Statistically, the game looked tight, but Florida Southern captured an early advantage with an 18-point first half lead, fueled by a 61% shooting pct.
Key Moment: After fighting back from an early deficit to make it a 6-point game, Kentucky Wesleyan lost control of the game the last few minutes of the first half when Florida Southern went on a 13-4 run to establish a 15-point lead. Kentucky Wesleyan had a good second half but ran out of time and had too much of a deficit from the first half.
Key Performance: Florida Southern guard Edward Beasley was named POG with 17 points and 8 of 8 from the line. KWC PG Bradley Schatz also put in an admirable performance with 12 points, 6 assists, and a surprising 5 rebounds.


FINAL ROUND

#8 Grand Canyon (2-2) -4 @ #25 N Colorado (1-3)
#2 Alaska Fairbanks (4-0) -13 @ #20 Kentucky Wesleyan
#7 St. Mary's (2-2) -1 @ #15 Florida Southern (2-2)

Last night, Alaska Fairbanks clinched the Blue Earth Classic this season outlasting N Colorado and taking a tied game into a solid victory in just a few minutes. Both Grand Canyon and Florida Southern built impressive halftime leads against St. Mary’s and Kentucky Wesleyan respectively to lead to wins.

While the Classic winner is decided, the finale also holds some competitive contests. This is the first time I remember seeing all teams ranked this late in the tournament. Since good teams are beating each other up early in the season, nearly always a team or two will drop from the top 25 before returning later in the season. Tonight, we have #20 Kentucky Wesleyan hosting undefeated Alaska Fairbanks where the goal will be not to allow UAF to get through the Classic unscathed. #8 Grand Canyon will go on the road to face #25 N Colorado, where both teams will try to end the Classic on a strong note. #7 St. Mary’s will travel to #15 Florida Southern, where both teams have the chance at a winning Blue Earth record and possible second place finish, where Vegas is giving St. Mary’s a 1-point edge on the road.

STANDINGS
Alaska Fairbanks 5-0
St. Mary's (TX) 3-2
Florida Southern 2-3
Grand Canyon 2-3
N Colorado 2-3
Kentucky Wesleyan 1-4


FINAL ROUND RESULTS

Grand Canyon 59 @ N Colorado 66

Key Stat: While Grand Canyon had another good night from 3 (10-22, .455), the number of fouls (NCU 13, GCU 22) erased that advantage by helping N Colorado score 9 more points from the line.
Key Moment: Four times in the last 4 minutes, Grand Canyon trimmed the lead to 4 points. Once with less than 2 minutes, Grand Canyon was able to get the ball back multiple times but unable to further trim the N Colorado lead, and that ended up being the best opportunity. Interestingly, after the first couple of minutes of the 2nd half, the N Colorado lead stayed between 4 and 9 the rest of the way.
Key Performance: While Grand Canyon’s Gary Scott had another strong 19-point performance, N Colorado’s Billy Rogers’ 17 points, fueled by 5 of 10 shooting from 3, helped earn him POG honors.

Alaska Fairbanks 71 @ Kentucky Wesleyan 45

Key Stat: Alaska Fairbanks chipped in 33 points from 3, where Kentucky Wesleyan only attempted 1 shot from long-range. Despite not attempting 3’s, UAF’s stringy defense kept Kentucky Wesleyan shoot pct below 40% (.372).
Key Moment: Already with a solid lead to end the first half, Alaska Fairbanks started the second quickly, going on a 7-point run to open up an insurmountable 17-point lead.
Key Performance: Alaska Fairbanks’s Paul Smith won POG honors with 16 points, C Alan Leddy put in an interesting performance. Despite only 3 points, he added 3 blocks, 3 steals and a couple of assists.

St. Mary's 82 @ Florida Southern 80

Key Stat: St. Mary’s had an outstanding shooting pct (.569), but Florida Southern was able to neutralize that advantage with outstanding FT shooting (25 of 26) and an edge on the boards (12 offensive rebounds to SMU’s 7).
Key Moment: After being down by 7 with less than 2:30 to play, Florida Southern fought back to tie up the game with 21 seconds to go. St Mary’s Albert Neagle nailed the game winner with 0:01 left to win the game.
Key Performance: While Mario Vega won POG with 17 points and no (?!?) rebounds, Albert Neagle’s 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and game winning shot was the difference.

The 5^th annual Blue Earth Classic is now in the books. Thanks to everyone for participating. Hope to see everyone back before long and good luck on making deep NT runs this season. With this field, I think there is a pretty good shot that at least one of the teams that went 2-3 or 1-4 will make a F4 run. Congrats to mrslam and Alaska Fairbanks. Winning this season would be tough for many past champions and going undefeated was no small feat. Alaska Fairbanks will have a rolling auto-invite that they can cash in anytime to return to the tournament. If you want to wait a season or two, that’s totally fine, as the NAAA always has great teams to select from and I try to get that conference (along with Cal CAA and GLV) as frequently as I can. Really exceptional field this year, great job everyone.

Alaska Fairbanks Wins the Blue Earth Classic

Facing what may be the deepest field in the history of the tournament, Alaska Fairbanks finished off their perfect run through the Blue Earth Classic on Tuesday. The Nanooks played exceptional defense throughout, holding their opponents to 39.3% from the field. UAF was led by senior forward Paul Smith, who averaged 18 ppg in the 5 game tournament and took home MVP honors.

"This is just a great group that always plays with a chip on their shoulder, which makes my job easier," Coach Slam said. "The fact that Paul [Smith], Alan [Leddy], and Brett [Phillips] were essentially unrecruited when I arrived has fueled their intensity, especially on the defensive end. It's rare to find one player like that in the second session, let alone three. I told the guys they can have one day to enjoy the win but then it's back to work. There are some great teams in this tournament and we may see them again in the postseason. We need to be ready."

Alaska Fairbanks plays in the always tough NAAA and will face #2 Tiffin on Friday.

Great job running the tournament long_ge. It was really fun and I'm glad we have something like this to spice things up. Your previews and recaps are also really interesting. With these teams I'm sure we'll get at least one rematch in the NT.

I'll have to see how recruiting goes this year and I'll let you know when I want to return.

Great job running everything, Brad. This was a blast to be a part of, as always!