Out of the way

The Tigers got the first one out of the way. DWU started out a little slow in the game but got it going with some 3's, where they have struggled at times this year. They had a 9 point lead at halftime and extended that to about 15 but McPherson wouldn't go away. It got scary with about 6 minutes left when the lead was only four but the Tigers pulled away for the win in the end. Highlight of the the game: Brady Wiebe got a pass on the baseline from Darrin Dorsey and tried to dunk it! I've never seen Brady jump like that before. He was definitely high enough and just barely missed it off the back of the rim as two players from McPherson fouled him on the arm and on the body. Probably the hardest foul all game and it was not even called! Still... very impressive. Brady, Preston, Darrin, and Mitch all turned in very efficient games going a combined 21-31 from the field for 62 points. Tigers did, however, have quite a few unforced turnovers that they need to clean up before Friday night's game.

Speaking of Friday's game, it sets up for a game against Cornerstone. Once again, if you want more information on the games, the tournament, and the team, I continue to encourage you to check up Matt Higgins blog, http://www.dwutigertalk.blogspot.com/. He has more links that I have the time to do and has some cool pictures too. Also keep looking at the DWU website, http://www.dwu.edu/, and look at athletic links.

The Tigers also had the best showing of fans that they've had in at least the last two years. Let's hope that the Tigers making it to the weekend will bring more fans down to Branson and they'll have even more support. For the ones that are already down at Branson, keep up the great work! Game tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. GO TIGERS!

Updates

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Have been very busy. But for those of you who didn't read the comments of the last post, Logan Anderson (a Morningside fan, but we'll give him a break :D ) has a new website that does a great job and he has regular podcasts that are great to listen to. One of the newer ones is with Darrin Dorsey. Those are usually on the top right hand corner of the page. His website is http://www.lasportsriot.com/

For more information on the National tournament I encourage you to keep up to date with the Tigers through http://www.dwutigertalk.blogspot.com/ , Matt Higgins' blog that does a great job of keeping up with the Tigers down in Branson. He is down there with the team and updates frequently and has many other links to keep you in the know. As for keeping up with the rest of the tournament, I encourage you to check the links of interest on the right hand side of this blog and click on the NAIA forums, as there is regular posting this time of year and many great games to keep up with. Just a few hours until tip-off. GO TIGERS!

All-GPAC

Sorry for being so late. As most of you probably know, the All-GPAC team came out with 5 Tigers receiving recognition. Darrin Dorsey's spectacular regular season earned him GPAC player of the year and co-defensive player of the year. He was joined on the first team by teammates Brady Wiebe and Preston Broughton. Mitch Bain recieved second team honors and Chase Walder recieved honorable mention. Coach Hemenway did not recieve Coach of the year. I guess the Tigers were picked first pre-season and that's what they did. Hastings was rated #5 preseason and had a chance at the regular season title going into the last week of the regular season so Lance Creech recieved Coach of the year. However, it was only by a slim 7 to 5 voting margin over Coach Hemenway. To read more about the end of the year GPAC honors here are a few articles.

DWU article
GPAC release

It is also getting closer to the day we've been waiting for. The Tigers leave tomorrow morning for Branson, Missouri. There are a couple events planned for the national tournament. One for those of you making the trip down to Branson (a pep rally at the team's hotel) and one for those of you who are unable to make it down there (free broadcast of the game in the Sherman Center on DWU's campus). To learn more about these two events, go here: http://www.dwu.edu/athletics/pressreleases/2010/mar05.htm

GO TIGERS!

Radio

Not much going on, just waiting for the National Tournament to begin. In case you wanted to stay up to date, Matt Higgins, DWU's Sports Information Director, is doing a great job of keeping up to date on the latest basketball news and stuff dealing with the national tournament. I encourage you to keep up to date on his blog at: http://www.dwutigertalk.blogspot.com/

Tomorrow morning (Saturday morning) at 9:30 a.m. DWU players Preston Broughton, Darrin Dorsey, Brady Wiebe, Mitch Bain, and Chase Walder will be on KMIT radio 105.9 fm. So if any of you want to listen to that, tune in tomorrow morning. You can also tune in online tomorrow morning here: KMIT radio internet broadcast

First Round

Sorry I did not get the link posted for the NAIA selection show. They streamed it over the internet and it was pretty fun to watch. DWU ended up getting McPherson in the first round. They are 20-8 and out of a conference in Kansas. Not much knowledge on them as of now. Will do some research to try to provide more information. The game is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. on Wednesday. I will also post more on how to can watch that game if you are unable to make it down to Branson for the tournament. As for now, here are some links to inform you further and keep you in the know.

National Tournament bracket
Article on National Tournament bracket

With that second link at the bottom of the write up there is information about watching the games via the internet. Any questions about the tournament or anything else, be sure to ask through a comment, I will most likely be able to figure it out or point you to where you can get the answer.

KWSN

After the game last night, Coach Hemenway, Darrin Dorsey, and Chase Walder were interviewed by KWSN Sioux Falls sports radio and it will be broadcast today from 3-6 p.m. If you'd like to listen here's the link: KWSN sports broadcast

The Augustana women's basketball coach is speaking first followed by the Coach Hemenway, Darrin, and Chase. Not sure what time that will be, probably around 3:30 or 4:00, but that's only a guess.

Indescribable

There is no word or words that could describe last night's game, so therefore, you get that title. DWU vs USF. 3,000 people. If you were there, you know what it felt like. If you weren't, I'm sorry, but there are no words to encompass and describe even a fraction of the atmosphere. I am going to post 4 articles on the game and you can get all the details from the game from those. I'm not a reporter, so I'll stick to the stuff the paper doesn't cover. Like Preston Broughton being a man down the stretch. Also Darrin Dorsey and Brady Wiebe. Come to think of it, the entire team. I'm not sure if it started with one person, but somebody had the mentality that "we are not losing this game" and without words, it spread through the team like wildfire. DWU wanted it last night. The fans wanted it, the coaches wanted it. Cutting down the nets seems like it never gets old. I'm lost for words... read about it here...

DWU's article
Daily Republic's article
Argus Leader's article
USF's article
GPAC sports article

Lost blog

I recently found out about an old blog that is hopefully being "resurrected". It's DWU Tiger Talk, and Matt Higgins, the DWU Sports Information Director is the man behind it. He does an excellent job of providing insights and also other links. I posted the link under "Links of Interest" on the right hand side a little ways down the page. Also the url is http://www.dwutigertalk.blogspot.com/

DE-FENSE!

The Tigers cruised past Briar Cliff in the semifinal, thanks largely in part to their defense. Coach Hemenway must have challenged them to get better defensively (which is good, cause they need to be consistent defensively to do anything in Branson), especially the guards, and they responded. DWU won 73-55 and held Briar Cliff's two best guys to 10 points for Chase Vanderfeen and Kyle Semprimi only scored 6. Both players came in averaging almost 15 points per game. Vanderfeen was the only Briar Cliff player in double digits. DWU's offense was very balanced in the contest being led by what has been come to be known as "The Big 3" in Brady Wiebe, Darrin Dorsey, and Preston Broughton. Preston had 19 on 7-8 shooting and 9 rebounds, Darrin had 16, and Brady had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Mitch Bain also had 12. Here are some other articles on the game.

DWU's article
Daily Republic's article
Briar Cliff's article

Well the win sets up the GPAC championship. And you couldn't have wrote the script any better if you were producing a movie. #1 seed, #2 seed. Bitter rivals, split the season series and get a rubber match in the conference championship game. That's right, USF is coming to the Corn Palace on Tuesday night for what could be the fullest Corn Palace, definitely the craziest, anybody has seen for one game between two teams in a very long time. I would not be surprised to see extra police force at the game tomorrow night. There are no words to describe this matchup or what the Corn Palace atmosphere will be like or feel like on Tuesday. Game is at 7 p.m. All I can say is... be there in blue and white.

Webcast of game - 7 p.m. - I'm pretty sure they are webcasting it, although not positive. You'll have to check it out around gametime.

Catching up

A lot going on with the conference tournament. Not much time in between games, and less time for blog writing. However, I will cover as much as I can in this post. Game vs. Doane - DWU came out on fire, taking a lead with alley oops, dunks, and other things that got the Tiger faithful on the edge of their seat or out of their seat. However, the Tigers could not keep up the intensity (as is hard against opponents such as Doane) and the last 10 or 12 minutes were a wash and DWU only led by 12 at halftime. The second half, the Tigers could never really pull away. They used one spurt to get ahead by 18 and held on for a 73-58 victory. The details and more can be seen at these links:

DWU's article
Daily Republic's article

With the win, the Tigers now host Briar Cliff Saturday at 3 p.m. In the first meeting this year the game was 31-27 at half, but DWU really stepped it up in the second half and walked out of Briar Cliff with a 77-58 win. However, DWU played excellent defense, especially Darrin Dorsey and Mitch Bain on their two leading scorers Kyle Semprini and Chase Vanderfeen. It will take a defensive effort at least equal to the first one to beat Briar Cliff tomorrow. They are going to be playing for their basketball lives, as it is almost impossible for them to make the national tournament without winning the conference tournament. A loss tomorrow would most likely end their season. Also, something special for the student section tomorrow. For more information on that, the game, and the webcast:

DWU's article
Webcast of game

Game tomorrow at 3 p.m. GO TIGERS!

Links

Sorry, forgot to post the link for the webcast tonight:

Webcast of DWU/Doane game

Also, here is an article from the Daily Republic previewing tonight's game and the Tiger's tournament:

DWU opens GPAC tournament tonight

Doane, not Morningside

Although most probably thought that the Tigers would be playing Morningside the first round, Doane upset (not much of an upset, #8 vs #9) the Mustangs in the first round of the conference tournament. Their reward... they get to come to the Corn Palace and play the Tigers who are rolling. DWU won the first matchup about a month and a half ago. However, I don't think DWU is going to be worried (or relaxed for that matter) with having already beat them once. DWU did not play extremely well vs Doane the first time, especially defensively, and I think this team has the bigger picture to look at and knows they need to be focused every game and play defense at the top level to get ready for Branson. The Tigers need to take every game as an oppurtunity to improve and start a habit of not taking any defensive possessions off. If the Tigers can combine focused, hard nose defense every possession with a balanced offense that works the ball into the post before jacking up 3's or pull up jumpers, then they will be a very hard team to beat. Game tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Let's see if the Tigers can't bring home another GPAC championship trophy.

DWU vs Hastings recap

A great day at the Corn Palace yesterday. First of all, the girls played good defense, held Hastings down and was in position to pull of the upset vs the #1 ranked team til late in the game, but Hastings pulled away in the end. Good effort on their part. Prior to the men's game it was a very special time as they honored the team and presented the trophy on wining the GPAC regular season championship. It was also senior day as Kevin Ball, Mitch Bain, and Preston Broughton were honored. Kevin has worked very hard in his four years and always had a good attitude and was honored and started the game at guard for the Tigers. Mitch Bain, all the way from the Bahamas, did not have his parents there to walk out with him. However, he was joined by the team at half court when the p.a. announcer said "Mitch is joined by his family on the court." And Preston has been great for Dakota Wesleyan, signing with the Tigers when they weren't even winning 10 games a year, and being a huge part in helping Coach Hemenway turn the program around. Speaking of Coach Hemenway, here is an article with some question and answer from Coach Hemenway. And you can finally find out what Coach Hemenway thinks of the popular subject of him leaving for a job at a bigger school.

Daily Republic's article with Coach Hemenway

The game was not going good for the Tigers in the first half. At one point they were down by 14 points. The Tigers got it together and closed the gap to just 6 going into halftime. They pulled away in the second half and ended their regular season with a great win. Brady Wiebe, Darrin Dorsey, and Preston Broughton had huge games for the Tigers as Brady had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Dorsey had 25 points and 7 rebounds, and Prestong had 17 points and 7 rebounds. And after the game DWU cut down the nets in celebration of their championship. A nice gesture by the players, giving pieces of the net to trainer Jarod Guthmiller, their #1 fan Junior, and women's basketball players Ashley and Allison Johnson's mom Carol Johnson, who was at her first Tiger game in almost a month after receiving cancer treatment at Mayo Clinic.

Looking forward to the GPAC tournament, DWU obviously has the #1 seed and a first round bye. Here is a link talking about the seedings and bracket for the entire tournament: GPAC article on postseason tournament

The cheerleaders do a great job of getting the crowd going. However, a couple of them almost were not able to cheer at the game. For a touching story that you need to read, go to: DWU cheerleader's article

And if there isn't enough links for you, here is one more about the Tigers' season with quotes from players Preston and Brady. Daily Republic article

DWU vs Hastings

Well, the game lost some of it's importance when DWU won Wednesday night and Hastings lost. DWU wins the conference no matter what happens tomorrow. However, it sure would be nice to win the last regular season game. And although it has lost some importance in dealing with the conference champion, this game may have just become even more important for Hastings. If they win on Saturday, they remain #2 in the conference, probably still get a decent national ranking, and regardless of how they do in the conference tournament, most likely get an at large bid to the national tournament. However, if they lose, they have the same conference record as both USF and Briar Cliff. Both of those teams, through many different tie breakers involving head to head and beat the top teams in the conference, win the tie breakers against Hastings (that is, of course, if USF and Briar Cliff both win on Saturday). And if that were the situation, Hastings would possibly drop out of the top 25, become the #4 seed in the conference tournament, and then the only way for them to go to the national tournament would be to win the conference championship, which would mean beating DWU at the Corn Palace in the semi-finals. So the game may have lost some of it's luster, but it really became more important for Hastings.

About Hastings... they can score, and shoot, and score. They average over 84 points per game on the season and besides their loss to Dana on Wednesday, they had been averaging just a point or two shy of 100 per game in their previous 6. DWU's guards will have all they can handle defensively as their top three scorers are guards. Vontz (21), Slough (5), and Fletcher (13) are the guys to watch out for. But the other guys can shoot it also and like to. Hastings attempted 45 3-point field goals vs Dana on Wednesday night.

The girls will have their hands full as they host #1 rated team in the country. Come support the DWU women and men at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. If you absolutely can't make, you can watch it here:

Webcast of game - courtesy of Daily Republic

GPAC CHAMPS!

Wow, where to start. Well, obviously the Tigers are GPAC Champions. Hastings lost to Dana last night and DWU's win put the 2 games ahead of the next contender with only 1 game left. However, it was not easy. The Tigers were not as good or as focused on defense last night as they showed they can be. Not a good night to do that vs a team who can put up over 50 points in a half, which Northwestern almost did last night, scoring 46 in the first half. The Tigers regrouped a little at halftime and stepped up the defensive effort, at least a little bit. Darrin Dorsey had a great game with 34 points and 6 assists. The Tigers did do a good job again on Walker Seim limiting him to 7 points with 3 of those being on a ridiculous 3 pointer in which Jake Kneeland may not have been able to guard any better, unless he blocked the shot. Northwestern's student section was a little rowdy, giving Brady Wiebe and Preston Broughton special attention by yelling and harassing them. They also started chanting "Nice head, nice head" at one point which I'm guessing was aimed towards Chase Walder. How fitting that the model team for the GPAC for so many years during the late 90s and early and mid 00's is where Dakota Wesleyan won their first every GPAC title. After losing 16 (yes, sixteen) in a row to Northwestern, DWU has now beat them 4 times in a row. Hopefully their is some symbolism like "passing the torch" and DWU can be the model team for the GPAC now for a while and that this GPAC championship is just one of many. Congratulations to Coach Hemenway on a great milestone.

But this does not just belong to the coaches and players on the team. Obviously the fans are great as well, but some unsung heroes are the guys who got the program to the level that it is at. This conference championship belongs to guys like Brock Seim, Kevin Talley, Andrew Lasche, Marcus Vontz, Scott Nelson, Colby Fitzgerald, and Ike Muoneke.

Bigger things ahead though. Even though the game on Saturday lost some of its luster it still has huge ramifications, which we will talk about later. But as for now, it's a great day to be a Tiger.

DWU's article on GPAC Championship

Article in Daily Republic

GPAC sports write up

DWU vs Northwestern

Second to last game of the regular season for the Tigers tomorrow. They travel to Orange City, Iowa to take on Northwestern. Northwestern is very young (their 3 leading scorers are a sophomore and 2 freshman) and they have not enjoyed as much success this year as they have in the past, being just a few games over .500. However, the game is in Northwestern which a young team will obviously play much better at home, maybe not having the experience to play well on the road. They are also, when they are on, probably one of the two most explosive offensives in the GPAC (the other being Hastings, but we'll deal with that when it gets here). DWU will have to have a great defensive effort just like they did last time these two teams met in mid-January. Whoever is guarding Walker Seim cannot let him get going as he can catch fire very fast and have a dozen points in minutes. DWU has to make somebody other than him beat them. Van Kalsebeek is a force to be reckoned with on the inside and is leading their team averaging over 19 points a game. Offensively, DWU has to do what I've been saying the whole time, go inside first before outside. When DWU doesn't shoot too many 3's, they are hard to beat. As for those of you who cannot make it to the game, I suggest turning the radio onto Tim Smith while watching the webcast at this link:

Northwestern's webcast of the game

Moving on up

The NAIA Division 2 ratings came out this afternoon. DWU moved up 3 spots from #10 to #7. This is the highest in-season ranking that Dakota Wesleyan has recieved in quite a while, possibly this decade, maybe ever. DWU was ranked #4 earlier this year, but that was in the preseason rankings.

Looking forward to the rest of this week, it is obviously a very important week. The Tigers travel to Northwestern on Wednesday to take on the Red Raiders. Winning at Northwestern is never an easy task. Then on Saturday DWU will play for the conference regular season title against Hastings at home at 3 p.m. More to come on those two games later. As for now, here are some links to the rankings for this week:

NAIA's rankings and article

DWU's article on NAIA rankings

In other news, DWU held a classic this last Saturday that featured 6 games and 7 of the top 10 ranked teams in class B. If you weren't there, you missed quite a treat with some good basketball. One of the players playing was Patrick Draisey. If you'd like to read more about Patrick and DWU's first inking for the 2010 recruiting class, here is a link for articles about it from last week:

Daily Republic's article on Patrick Draisey signing

DWU's article on Patrick Draisey signing

Also, if you have some time take a look at the top 2 links under "Links of Interest". There are some good forums about the GPAC on both.

Pesky Mt. Marty

Mt. Marty sure has a way of playing DWU close. They are just one of those teams, they are good at slowing the game down, and for the lack of talent they have, they are, in my opinion, fairly well coached. He puts about as good of a game plan together as can be put together for the personnel he has. Mt. Marty was trapping the posts fast and hard at the beginning of the game that gave the Tigers a little trouble. However, being so focused on the All-American posts left too much open for Darrin Dorsey who had a huge game with 30 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

In relation to the conference, it became a two team race. USF got blew out by Briar Cliff and Concordia lost to Dana, AT CONCORDIA, which makes it so that only Hastings or DWU can win the GPAC regular season conference championship. Oh, and in case you didn't know, those two teams play each other in the final game of the regular season at the Corn Palace on February 20, 2010. If you know anybody that plays for DWU, anybody that coaches for DWU, anybody that is a trainer for DWU, anybody that is a student for DWU, anybody that is faculty or staff at DWU, or if you know what the letters D, W, and U together stand for, you like basketball, and live without 500 miles of Mitchell you have to be in the Corn Palace that day wearing Blue and White. Point proven, hopefully. If not, there will be more posts to reiterate the game.

However, given the magnitude of that game, it is imperative that DWU does not overlook Northwestern at Northwestern. More to come on that game later. As for now, here's some links on the game last night.

DWU's article on Mt. Marty game

Yankton Press & Dakotan's article on Mt. Marty game

Staying focused

Big game tonight. Although every game is magnified from here on out the rest of the season. They all play such a critical role in what the Tigers want to accomplish. I was just thinking yesterday that all the team that have ever been underdogs are probably really upset with the person that came up with the phrase "trap game". Because it now seems that it is getting used and it's a word that can help motivate and help focus the better team to make it not a trap game. At least I hope that's what DWU men have done with this game, realized that anybody can still beat anybody and they need to come out every night, no matter the opponent, and play with the same intensity, focus, and determination as if the GPAC Title was on the line. Because it really is. Mt. Marty's record can be deceiving, as they have not had a bad loss at home all season, and I'm sure they'd like nothing better than to ruin DWU's chances at the regular season championship just like they did to USF earlier in the year. After all that, it seems the game just went from a regular game against a below average opponent to the biggest game of DWU's season, because every game is the biggest game of DWU's season. Take it one game at a time, one possession at a time, focused liked it's your last game of your career, and relaxed like you are going to play a thousand more before you are done.

Not sure about webcast or anything tonight. Could not find anything on Mt. Marty's website. You can tune into KMIT and listen to Tim Smith as always though.

GPAC Player of the Week - Preston Broughton

Congratulations to Preston on a great week leading the Tigers to two huge wins against then ranked opponents USF and Concordia. Links are below for all the details.

DWU article on Preston's Player of the Week Honor

GPAC Sports article on Preston's Player of the Week Honor

Ratings/links/boredom

Moved up one spot this week to #10. Not much losing going on with the teams in front of DWU. But I'm posting some new links to the side. Some web forums for anybody bored and wanting to read or talk about basketball in NAIA/GPAC.

NAIA division 2 National Rankings - February 8, 2010

Concordia recap

What a win. Huge win for DWU, having the tie breaker against Concordia. But DWU still needs to win two of the next three with one of those wins being against Hastings to win the GPAC. Would be a lot better to just win all three. Concordia game though for those of you either not there or didn't watch the webcast - was a very physical game. Referees did not seem used to how Dakota Wesleyan plays. However, not being used to how a team plays is no excuse for missing plain fouls as they did with Brady Wiebe about 6 or 7 times and also with Darrin Dorsey a couple times. But enough complaining about the refs, DWU won. Preston Broughton had a monster game with 26 points and Mitch Bain also stepped up going 8-11 from the field for 19 points.

Now, looking ahead, DWU plays Mt. Marty on Wednesday. No matter the record, this is never a game to sleep on. Mt. Marty almost beat DWU at the Corn Palace earlier this year. Mt. Marty always plays well against DWU and especially at Mt. Marty. DWU guards will have to do a better job defending the 3 than they did the first time they played.

Other than that, let's see if DWU can move up a couple spots in the NAIA poll that comes out tomorrow. Two wins should get them into the top 10 from their #11 ranking last week.

Concordia's article on the game

DWU vs. Concordia

Talk about one of the biggest games of the year. Given the circumstances of recent wins for Dakota Wesleyan, you could possibly say the biggest game of the year. Concordia's coach said, and I quote, "Wait til we play down in Nebraska", referring to the ref's, believing that they were unfair to Concordia when they played DWU the first time in the Corn Palace. So that should be interesting. But more importantly, the teams...

Concordia is not as athletic as DWU. They play disciplined basketball, run their offense, have some strong, thick kids, and try to beat you up and slow the game down. DWU is a lot of the opposite. They like to get the tempo up, are known more for their speed than their strength, and want a high scoring game that favors their speed, athleticism, and the way they can substitute kids in fast for 1-2 good minutes and good breaks. So obviously the keys to DWU winning are being able to play defense for 20-30 seconds at a time. They need to get the tempo up, but not get impatient. Meaning - if they can get transition, take it, otherwise be content with reversing the ball and running their offense from the inside-out.

Other big games in the GPAC this weekend - Briar Cliff at Hastings (Want Briar Cliff to win), and Morningside at USF. I know morningside is far below their average team this year but still may be able to pull off a big win (Go morningside!).

Women at 2 p.m., Men at 4 p.m.

Website providing links to watch and/or listen to the games today

It's a great day to be a Tiger

It sure is fun to beat USF. I'm not sure if there is any team that DWU likes to beat more. The talk last night in Mitchell was all about how fun the game was last night. A hard played game by both teams, kind of physical as was expected with two ranked teams. DWU had a hard time getting the ball in the post early in the game but did not give up and Wiebe and Broughton eventually got more open and led the Tigers with great games. Darrin Dorsey also did a great job, especially towards the end of the game when defenders found it almost impossible to stay in front of him.

Talking about standings, a win last night was huge for DWU so that USF doesn't have the tie breaker if they have the same record at the end of the year. Also, it was amplified when Concordia lost to Hastings so now DWU is alone at #1 in the GPAC. However, the celebration cannot last very long as the conference lead is on the line immediately this weekend when DWU travels to Concordia on Saturday for another huge game. More on that game later. But for today, even if the team can no longer celebrate the win last night as they prepare for Concordia, the fans can still celebrate. It's a great day to be a Tiger.

DWU's article on last night's game

Daily Republic's article on last night's game

Catching Up - Guest Blog

Hello all, Guest blogger here. Helping out with the blog while Mr. Mueller is getting settled in with his new job. Anyways, DWU basketball...

Dakota Wesleyan took care of business on Saturday in what could have been a terrible "trap game" sandwiched in between to huge conference games - Briar Cliff and USF. But they took care of business, Darrin Dorsey put on a nice aerial display with 3 dunks and Mitch Bain played very well in the first half, knocking down some open 3 pointers.

Onto to the game tomorrow: USF. And just in case you've either been on another planet, on the bottom of the ocean, or living under a rock for the past week, wear white to the game tomorrow. WHITE OUT  at the Corn Palace! And tell everybody you know, just in case they haven't heard. Now, more down to business about the game. It's no secret that these two teams aren't each other's favorites. Players, fans, coaches, stat keepers, cheerleaders... The closest each side probably gets to liking the other is Matt and Maggie Malloy's parents, and that's because their son and daughter play on USF and DWU, respectively.

If Dakota Wesleyan can keep from shooting too many three pointers and feed the guys inside (particularly Broughton and Weibe), that always bodes well for DWU. Defensively, they have to stop penetration from USF's guards and have a good effort defensively, especially on Malloy and Frames. DWU has proven that they can play defense this year when they want to. Let's see if they can come out focused and remain focused and show the defense that has shone at times this year.

Women at 6 p.m., Men at 8 p.m.

Webcast of USF game - Courtesy of Mitchell Daily Republic

DWU's article previewing DWU vs. USF games

Wow. That was impressive.

Just got done watching the Briar Cliff/DWU game online. Anyone else got a feeling DWU is starting to hit their stride?!

At one point the announcers said, Briar Cliff just is not playing well at all tonight. I think it was more of the Tigers playing that well. GO TIGERS!

Catching Up With Tigers

First of all I have to admt/apologize I have been a terrible blog creator the past few weeks. Between studying for a new career, finishing our basement, and getting a Netflix box for Christmas my nights have been occupied. If anyone would like to be a guest blogger I am taking applications! :)

DWU moved up from #21 to #17 in the newest NAIA Div II poll. A win over Morningside tomorrow night and a win at Nebraska Wesleyan and they should be back in the top 15 next week. In a previous blog I said that that the team needed to finish 5-1 on the current homestand to be in the drivers seat to make the national tournament. A win over Morningside will accomplish that.

Darrin Dorsey was named GPAC player of the week. In three games he averaged nearly a triple-double. He is really coming into his own and learning how to play with his new teammates. You can see a transformation in his game the past few weeks. He is learning when to pass, when to take it to bucket, and when to pull up. Early on in the season you could see he had the ability to be something special - now he is becoming something special. Here is a great article on his transformation from the JUCO ranks to Dakota Wesleyan.
Darrin Dorsey Article

It was nice to see the Tigers put a complete game together against Northwestern. I still am not sure if the Red Raiders know what hit them. We now know how dangerous this team can be even if they make 30% from three point range.

Northwestern's Walker Seim must still be seeing Chase Walder in his nightmares. Chase gave him no room to breathe all night and held him well below his season average. It was one of the best defensive performances I have seen all season.