2 Bids, 3 teams, or is there a 4th? Nicholas Xavier Rogers gives us the scoop for this weekends Great Lakes Regional tournament.
Location: Naperville, IL
Date: 04-28-04/29
# of Bids: 2
Full Schedule
Michigan State
Michigan State has once again earned the dubious distinction of being the best team not to earn a regional strength bid. It took a few tournaments for the Burning Couch to come into their own, which resulted in big losses to Ohio and Dartmouth at the Queen City Tune Up. Centex looked to be more of the same as they lost the first three games of pool play and were going up against the winners of the Stanford Invite and the number one seed of the tournament, Oregon. It was not that surprising that Ego went down early, they are a high risk high reward team which allows for a couple of missed connection and their understandable overconfidence led to a hole. What is surprising is that Michigan State managed to hold off a late game surge made by some of the best playmakers in the league. The final score was 13-9 couch, and is the only blemish on Ego’s record. This prompted an absolute tear through the consolation bracket with Whitman, Georgia Tech, and reigning USAU college champion CUT falling to the Burning Couch.
However, the season ended on a mixed note with a convincing win over rival Michigan as well as being routed by Iowa twice during a second place finish at the Chicago Invite. Earning the region’s first seed, and by far the easiest route to Nationals, by defeating MagnUM for a second time at Conference Championships should take some of the sting out of missing out on the bid second strength bid. The primary engine for Burning Couch’s offense is Jake Hochhalter, who combines a large arsenal of throws with size and athleticism. His ability to consistently make big plays drives his team down field. The defense is characterized by Aaron Ziegler, who acts as Couch’s big man. A good cutter and better defender Ziegler has established himself as one of the most imposing cutters in the region.
Michigan
Unlike the other top teams in the region Magnum’s results have been the picture of consistency. Without any impressive wins or any surprising losses they have quietly earned a top twenty ranking. Perhaps too quietly which has resulted in plenty of doubt about the validity of their ranking. The losses to Michigan State and history of being upset by Illinois could be a huge concern, but nothing cures doubt like winning. They certainly have the talent to win starting with handler Jeff Pape. A true distributor with consistency and a large arsenal of throws, Pape is the balancing force of the offense. Possibly the most exciting matchup in the Region will take place between Ziegler and Michigan’s giant Spencer Jolly, a 6’8’’ cutter. Jolly’s height is only part of the problem as he’s made a concerted effort to develop his throws making him a true duel threat.
Illinois
I have been pleasantly surprised by Illinois’ strength in schedule. They have a history of attending tournaments without any top level competition, which is quite the opposite of Centex and Easterns. They managed to get five wins against teams in the top twenty, and were rewarded with a strength bid for the region. Ryan Smith is the beast to watch as he has come from a background of dominating defense to drawing high praise from opponent’s coaches for his play on the other side of the disc. As they prepare to defend their title for the fourth time, they are once again under-seeded thanks to a forfeit at Centex. This is an old hat for Illinois and should only provide them with motivation.
Notre Dame
All of Notre Dame’s wins that should be impressive come with some mitigating factor that takes some of their luster off. Luther was without Johnson, Penn State was in the middle of self-destructing, and Tennessee followed their universe loss to Papal Rage (ND) with a loss to Eastern Michigan. The losses they suffered have equaling mitigating factors. The loss to Western Michigan occurred after the pool had been clinched and they won Conferences despite an early loss to Indiana, who they will face in quarterfinals. They have little chance at an upset in the semi-finals, but keep an eye on the backdoor bracket. The top three teams will be coming into regionals with the intention of winning, and two of them will be disappointed in likely highly contested game. The mental advantage Notre Dame could use is that lack of expectation or disappointment. If utilized properly, they have an outside shot at making a run. While Notre Dame has some standouts, Will Ceranec the primary cutter and Adam Barsella a small quick handler, any success will come from depth allowing players to remain fresh through six competitive games.
Best of the Rest
Western Michigan managed winning 18 games during the regular season, which coupled with their upset over Eastern Michigan gave them the sixth seed. Oddly enough they face the 11th seed Eastern Illinois, a team that defeated them earlier in the season. Eastern Michigan, a team I was very high on at the beginning of the year, managed to get some quality wins during the season before getting upset by Western Michigan. Expect James Highsmith to play well if Eastern Michigan is going to recover from their conference performance.
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