On Saturday (Jan. 11), I visited Gus Young Court at Gustavus Adolphus for the first time ever, where I saw Gustavus stick it to St. Scholastica–112-76 among the men, and 76-41 for the women. I thought that I was a little overdue on an update on the MIAC, and why not Gustavus where both the men and the women remain undefeated and tied for first place. I also expected St. Scholastica to provide a more competitive afternoon for the Gusties, but that did not pan out.
The Saints are the newest MIAC member, of course, having joined 3 years ago when St. Thomas bowed out. The men were 15-61, 13-49 in the conference over those 3 years, while the women were 14-59 and 11-53. But they’re getting better. And they had had some success previously over 40 years of basketball in the MWAC and UMAC. The men won 15 championships (regular season and playoffs) in 9 different seasons, as recently as 2021, and the women won 9 titles in 9 years, but nothing since 2013. More to the point, the women started 4-1 in the conference going into Saturday’s game. The men were 2-3.
Gustavus men 112 St. Scholastica 76
Well, the Gusties men made short work of the Saints, taking an 11-0 lead as 4 different players scored and Evan Wieker, a senior wing from St. Michael-Albertville, scored twice. Soon it was 24-5 and then 35-9. But, the Gusties got stuck at 35 and the Saints scored 14 straight points to get within 35-23. It was 45-32 at the half. Wieker had 11 points and Myles Barnett came off the bench to score 11. Coy Nelson, a junior guard, led the Saints with 12 points while freshman forward Conner Forgue came off the bench to score 11.
The 2nd half was all Gustavus and all Evan Wieker. Wieker’s 11 1st half points consisted of 3-of-3 2-pointers, 1-of-1 3s and 2-of-2 free throws. The 2nd half was more of the same. He made 5-of-5 2s and 3-of-3 3s to finish the day a perfect 14-for-14 shooting, 12 field goals, 4 of them 3s, and 2 free throws, without a single miss of any kind. Wieker’s final basket, a fast break 3 at 6:06, made it 96-58. Wieker finished with 30 points, and starters Adam Biewen added 13 and Spencer Swanson 11. Jake Schmitt and Barnette scored 18 and 14 off the bench. Both are sophomore guards from Wayzata, and they are the heirs apparent to the seniors Wieker and kBrady Kienitz at the Gusties guard spots. Nelson finished with 23 points for the Saints.
The Gusties men remain tied with St. John’s at 5-0 atop the MIAC with Bethel 4-1 and Hamline 4-2. Gustavus and St. John’s will play just once during this regular season and that not until February 15 at Gustavus. The Gusties otherwise have the tougher schedule with road games at Hamline (January 22) and at Bethel (February 8) prior to that, and at Carleton (February 19) to close out the regular season. The Johnnies biggest road challenge prior to February 15 will be at Carleton on February 1. Recalling the chaos of last year’s post-season tournament, there are as yet no givens among the MIAC men.
Gustavus women 76 St. Scholastica 41
This one looked like it would be a better ball game for, oh, about 8 minutes, as Gustavus led just 13-12 after a pair of buckets by the Saints’ Hope Carlson, a 5-11 sophomore wing from Proctor. But Morgan Kelly, Emma Kniefel and Syd Hauger each scored in the final 90 seconds of the 1st quarter to make it 19-12. Yet another Carlson hoop made it 19-14 at the break.
From there, it was all Gustavus, 16-5 in the 2nd, 23-17 in the 3rd and 18-5 in the 4th. The story of the game, and especially of that crucial 2nd period, was the ball defense of Gusties guards Emma Kniefel and Kylie Baranick. The Saints’ primary ballhandlers were a little loosey, goosey, dribbling the ball out away from their bodies a bit, and the Gusties defenders exploited that weakness, forcing 26 Saints turnovers and scoring 27 points on those turnovers. Nobody had more than 2 steals for Gustavus as many of the turnovers were simply passes that sailed out of bounds, but there were also 3 key charging calls against the Saints guards in that 2nd period.
Syd Hauger, a quick senior wing from Springfield, MN, led with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals; Rachel Kawiecki, a strong, efficient post from Holy Angels, added 14 points and 5 boards; and Kniefel, a 5-9 senior guard from Medford, had 11 points, 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. I cannot help but think that Kniefel is the likely MVP of the MIAC, especially if the Gusties repeat as its champions. They are now 6-0 and 13-0, while Bethel is also 6-0 and 10-3 overall. Hamline, St. Ben’s, St. Mary’s and St. Scholastica are 4-2 in the MIAC. The Gusties get Bethel at home next Saturday, January 18, then travel to Bethel for a rematch on February 8.
MIAC Playoffs
I suppose it’s a little early to note that the MIAC post-season playoffs are coming up. Both the men and the women will play on Tuesday, February 25; Thursday, February 27; and Saturday, March 1. Not to play any favorites here, but Gustavus and Bethel are the 2 schools that appear to have a chance of sweeping both the men’s and women’s regular season titles. (OK, Hamline is a darkhorse for that.) I’m hoping for a sweep by somebody because then you’ve also got the chance of a conference playoff championship doubleheader on March 1. That’s where my yellow brick road would go. But, if I had to pick, I’d predict that the championship games will be split between St. John’s (the men, obviously) and Gustavus (the women).