A dream season came to an end exactly seven days ago when Wash U stormed back to throttle the previously undefeated Tommies in the Elite 8. The Bears are currently on the verge of their second straight national title.

Is this news late? Absolutely, but that was a little by design. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to write. I didn't want to gloat about the collapse and run the risk of turning into the D3 equivalent of Mercury Morris — Don't call me when you're in my neighborhood, call me when you're on my block — while cracking a Mountain Dew in celebration. But I didn't want to rush to pat the Tommies on their collective backs, either. The Minnesota media had done enough of that for my taste. So I abstained...until now.

As I tried to collect my thoughts over the previous week, I ran into a couple coaches who offered their own opinions.

1. Mark Hanson asked how our runner-up Gustie squad would fare against these Tommies. As I hemmed and hawed, he spoke the obvious — we wouldn't have had trouble with their press. Wash U might be the only team UST played this year that can make that statement, if only for a half. We all saw how that turned out.
2. A Division II coach of some reknown also shared this quip: I don't care what anyone says, there's no way in hell this Tommie team is better than that Gustie team that played for the title.

So what's the truth? I'm of the opinion that my 02-03 Gusties would win roughly 60 percent of the games in this fantasy matchup. I could accept arguments as high as 70 and as low as 50. As I've stated before, I think the teams are extremely comparable in their styles and personnel. I simply like GAC's post combo of Newell/Nelson and Espo's presence off the bench as the deciding factors.

Some might point to the Bracket of Death as the reason why UST fell short, but GAC survived a comparable path. Nothing is ever easy. The six teams the Gusties played in their postseason run had a combined record of 131-17 (.885).

So what's the final verdict? Both teams are left with the frustrating feeling of "What if?" after blowing solid leads against great teams. In that sense, I feel their pain. Unfortunately, that feeling returns every March.

Minnesota Wrap
• D3hoops corrected the MIAC coaches with its postseason awards. I wonder if Zach Johnson feels vindicated?
• The Gustavus men's hockey team is playing for the Division III national title this afternoon. I hope the Strib has that back page reserved again!
• SJU football coach John Gagliardi will give the keynote address at the April 19 College Football Hall of Fame banquet. It will be held at St. Thomas and include such figures as Randall McDaniel, John Randle and former Concordia football coach Jim Christopherson.

Both Puget Sound and St. Thomas ran the table in their respective conferences, but only one emerged unscathed in Friday's Sweet 16 showdown. The Tommies shot 54 percent in their 86-69 victory. It's apparently the first road victory in St. Thomas history, a fact I find stunning.

The top-ranked Tommies advance to Saturday's game against No. 2 Washington University, the defending national champion.

I don't have any details since I was "stuck" doing my day job, but St. Thomas Vice President Doug Hennes went all newspaper guy on his recap. SID Gene McGivern was busy updating his blog and doing an in-game blog.

What's next? The Tommies are three wins from the greatest basketball season in MIAC history, and one of the most impressive seasons in the history of college basketball. If you believe the rankings, Saturday's game is the de-facto national championship game. Too bad the crowd will likely be small and quiet compared to what it deserves.

Naturally, I'll be working again and miss all the fireworks. Perhaps even worse, I'll be watching a stud headed to St. Thomas next year tear apart "my" team. The rich get richer, I guess.

What was Tubby Smith doing five hours after coaching his way out of the NCAA tournament? He was giving pre-game speeches to both St. Thomas and Steven's Point, apparently.

I didn't make an official sighting, but the stats can't be mere coincidence. How else do you explain the horrendous perimeter shooting (22.5 percent), rash of missed layups and general offensive malaise on display? The Tommies scored 26 points less than their average and shot almost 20 percent below their season average. The Pointers finished 24 points below their average and shot 14 percent worse than normal.

Plain and simple, it was Tubby Time in the final game ever played at The Shoe. It made for an ugly display of basketball between two of the best teams in the nation, though the Tommies survived and that's all that matters in March. They travel to Wheaton next weekend to play Puget Sound, who finished the #7 in the final D3Hoops.com poll.

Joking aside, was the slow start by design? Tommie assistant coach Johnny Tauer had asked Gustavus coach Mark Hanson for advice in beating the Pointers earlier in the week. The response was classic Hans.

"Let them get ahead by 10 early so they don't take you seriously. Being up at halftime certainly didn't work for us."

The Tommies tried to follow that advice. Here's a glance at their possessions over the first eight minutes of the game: turnover, miss, miss, miss, MAKE, turnover, turnover, miss, turnover, miss, turnover, miss. The Pointers were equally as inept, leaving the score at a very Gophers-like 6-5 with 11:52 remaining. It never really got much better. Somewhere Tubby had to be smiling.

Even on crutches, I'm pretty sure I could have played a more aesthetically pleasing game of 1v1 with former Macalester scrapper Adam Denny. Assuming no fouls would get called, anyway. We were hackers.

For the first time in awhile, I've got no major beef with the way things were officiated. The fouls and free throws were almost exactly even and there were no egregious mistakes. But that doesn't really tell the whole story, judging by the reactions from the UWSP coach and the various MIAC coaches sitting in my section.

Every game is filled with 50/50 calls, some of which are called and some that aren't. As a largely unbiased observer, I'd say the Tommies owned the 50/50 calls by a count of at least 80/20. I'm not sure that it changed the outcome, but it certainly was a factor — the Pointer big men battled foul trouble all night. You could literally see the Steven's Point coach begin to boil as every close call went against him, particularly down the stretch.

So what's the bottom line? The Tommies claimed an ugly, impressive win over one of the best programs in Division III. In many ways, it finally legitimized the product St. Thomas has been putting on the court all year.

As I reflected on the performance while crutching down the stairs, Hanson disappeared for a few minutes. I've got to imagine he either spotted Tubby or wanted to help pull the playoff gorilla off Fritz's back.

St. Thomas has the worst fans in the MIAC. It's the worst kept secret in Minnesota. The Tommies have the largest enrollment, the most local graduates and the only undefeated Division III team in the nation...but the fans don't seem to care. At least Friday's game against Aurora is almost sold out.

Really? What else does this team have to do to earn a devoted following? St. Thomas has won four straight conference titles, including a record-setting performance this season. It's cheap entertainment and they play the game the right way. But are the Tommies winning in spite of the lazy crowd? Consider the following numbers.

Overall record from 2005-09
97-15

Home record from 2005-09
50-5

Home record in national tournament from 2005-09
1-2

The competition level is always raised in the postseason and the crowd participation needs to follow suit. I recall a Sweet 16 game back in 2001-02 where our crowd started the classic "This is our house" chant on the road. From the hallway. In the final 30 seconds of a tight game before ours even started. How did the other team's fans respond? They'd printed off a couple hundred sketchy mug shot of a teammate and chanted "Stalker" at him every time he touched the ball. March Madness, right?

(Full disclosure: We lost the game and the bus ride home in a blizzard was the worst thing ever...but the atmosphere at the gym was unreal.)

Is this the year the Tommies finally emerge as a serious title contender? Can they finally clear that hurdle? Perhaps more importantly, will the stands be packed with those who actually want to be there? While they deserve a true home court advantage, it's not hard to imagine things remaining status quo.

The front row across from the visitor's bench will be filled by good-looking coeds in extremely short jean skirts, apparently convinced that Minnesota's winter is over. They'll be wearing ridiculous boots with the fur, playing with their hair and paying more attention to their phones than anything that takes place right in front of them on the court.

To their immediate left will be a group of fellas who do their best to make up for the rest of the crowd. Sure, they fake bake more than the grandma in There's Something About Mary and they may or may not be on ARod's workout regiment...but they bring the noise. Shirts are also optional, though Brady Ervin is bound to create an inferiority complex any time he's in the area.

Behind the Tommie bench is a group of, well, let's say St. Thomas veterans. They've religiously said their Hail Marys for decades, but complain when "Hail Mary" comes on during warmups. Fritz and his team have never done anything wrong in their eyes — and woe be to the ref who disagrees. They'll speak their minds, even if it means yelling at opposing players or coaches.

The section across from the St. Thomas bench is a study in diversity. With four African-Americans in the rotation — the most in the MIAC — the appeal is obvious. They watch the game intently, waiting for the chance to start woofing at opponents. With Al McCoy as the fan favorite, it makes for good theatre.

The rest of the crowd is typically filled with frosted tips, popped collars and trendy ripped jeans. As a devoted wearer of t-shirts and sweatpants, the scene tends to make me more than a little sick.

But some important changes could be on tap this year. With Schoenecker's swan song imminent, perhaps the fans will finally show they care. Perhaps they'll create signs, do a little dance and storm the court. Perhaps the Tommies will even defend their home court all the way to Salem.

It's a pleasent fantasy, right?

Disclaimer: The last two links are PG-13. Funny, but not appropriate for everyone. View at your own risk.

Gustavus coach Mark Hanson seemed satisfied in his team's performance on the radio after Saturday's 13-point loss to top-ranked St. Thomas. While is may sound weird coming from a coach who rarely loses on its home court, it's also a telling statement about what the current Tommies have done to expectations around the league.

With two games remaining — which UST will be heavily favored in both — they are on the cusp of becoming the second MIAC team to ever run the table at 20-0. How have they done it? In a word, defense. Barring an implosion, the Tommies are about the join elite company — in the last 20 years, five St. Thomas teams have held opponents to under 60 PPG. The other 10 teams in the conference have combined for the same number during that span (2 Gustavus, 2 St. Olaf, 1 Carleton).

The Gusties fell just short of 60 in the 72-59 loss. They shot well below their season average and almost everyone I've talked to marveled at how St. Thomas was able to dictate the flow of the game. It made me wonder how this Tommie defense stacks up in a historical sense. As a starter on *the* best defensive team in MIAC history, I feel uniquely qualified to offer an assessment.

First, let's compare some numbers.

GAC 2003-04
(League rank listed first)
1st 54.0 PPG
1st +14.6 margin
1st 38.3% Opp FG
1st 30.2% Opp 3 pt
1st +2.9 rebounding
3rd 3.35 blocks
6th 8.40 steals
5th +1.30 turnover margin

UST 2008-09
1st 58.1 PPG
1st +21.7 margin
5th 43.1% Opp FG
7th 34.8% Opp 3pt
3rd +3.8 rebounding
10th 1.94 blocks
1st 12.06 steals
1st +8.5 turnover margin

Clearly, both teams provide quality in numbers. Each team benefitted familiarity from years of playing together. But it's also readily apparently that we went about it different ways.

My Gusties were a boa constrictor, slowly choking opponents out with a reliable half-court defense. While we had pressed extensively in the previous three seasons, it was basically ignored this season. We relied heavily on the perimeter duo of Eric Nelson and Chris TeBrake, while bringing all-everything Doug Espenson off the bench. Each was named to at least one All-Defensive team in his career.

The Tommies take a more aggressive approach to their defense. They employ a devastating press and have waves of quality reserves to keep everyone fresh. Their opportunistic defense has often created a layup drill setting against the best of the rest. The only comparison that makes sense is a boxer trying to stay upright against Mike Tyson in his prime...or a reporter standing unfazed by his interviews. B.J. Viau and Lonnie Robinson made the All-Defensive team a year ago and figure to return.

However, both teams had/have problems inside. My Gustavus teams started no one taller than 6-foot-4 and it cost us in a couple big games. We lost at Buena Vista early in the year and in the second round of the national tournament to Stevens Point, who went on to win two straight titles. The Tommies start a 6-foot-3 center and the bench behind him has been unreliable.

Could the same shortcomings that held us back also cost St. Thomas? They might, but I fully expect the Tommies to run the table against MIAC opponents and take their place among the great teams in league history. In fact, I wouldn't surprise me to see a few comments here from conference rivals before everything is said and done.

Minnesota Wrap
• SMU grad Maddy Loftus is discussed by former teammates in a neat CNN.com article.
• National free throw record held by Concordia's Jamie Visness is broken.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Coleman, D3sports.com

St. Thomas has lost just thrice in its last 39 games, but one of those losses came last season at Gus Young Court. While the Tommies have owned the league of late, breezing to three straight conference titles, the Gusties have actually won five of the last six home games between the two squads. Three of those wins have come as heavy underdogs. Each time the Tommies left the court hearing the familiar Gustie battle cry of "This is our house!"

Does that mean the Black and Gold has any right to be cocky heading into Saturday's important showdown? Confident maybe, but not cocky. Tyler Kaus, who hit the game-winning layup last year (shown above) and is now helping coach the JV team, declined to guaranSheed me a victory Thursday night. As much as it pains me to admit it, it was a smart decision on his part.

The Tommies brought their C- game (or worse) in the previous meeting this year, yet still won by 21. They've won 20 straight MIAC games and are currently the top-ranked team in the nation. Despite being undefeated, UST still has plenty to play for — the top seed in the West region and the second perfect 20-0 record in league history are currently hanging in the balance.

The Gusties have turned things around after a particularly ugly stretch that culminated in an 11-point loss at home to Hamline last weekend. That uneven play has lowered expectations, but another upset remains possible, if unlikely.

Here are three keys to making that happen:

1. Solve the press

This is THE key to the game. The Tommies forced 29 turnovers with their mundane we're-more-athletic-than-you press last time, including 17 in a brutal first half to watch. The Gustie guards consistently were hung out to dry when traps came and rarely had an easy pass to beat the pressure. The bigs failed to serve as outlets for the pressure, turning everything into chaos. "They're just athletic as hell," Carleton coach Guy Kalland recently told The Carletonian.

UST scored 27 points off turnovers, with most of that coming on transition layups. I can't recall a single time the Gusties beat the pressure for an easy hoop. Gustavus doesn't want to turn the game into a track meet, but it needs to take advantage of its opportunities for easy baskets. It can't allow the press to be without consequences.

2. Defensive pressure

St. Thomas is a very athletic team that thrives in transition. Anders Halvorson was the only Tommie who really excelled in the halfcourt in the first game. If you take away the 10 easy layups off turnovers (guesstimating), Gustavus held the Tommies to under 40 percent shooting. Though St. Thomas is shooting a robust 55 percent from the floor and averaging 80 PPG — both good for the league lead — I don't see UST as a particularly polished offensive team.

That's a ridiculous way of finding a positive in a blowout, but it may hold some merit. Gustavus held the Tommies to 5-for-18 shooting from beyond the arc, which is about in line with its league-leading defensive percentage. GAC held its own on the boards, despite constantly being on its heels. The Gusties need to rely on teamwork, communication and fundamentals if they hope to stick with the top-ranked team in the country. The defensive intensity needs to be a constant, because the offense is likely to ebb and flow.

3. Finding an offensive groove

The guards looked lost. The posts looked confused. The wings looked hesitant. Honestly, I'm not sure how Gustavus could have played any worse in the previous meeting — but that doesn't mean things HAVE to change in the rematch. Have DesLauriers and Schmidtknecht figured things out at PG? Can Paulson own the paint against the undersized Tommies? Can movement and crisp passing overcome physical limitations against a great defensive team? These are important issues that will decide the outcome on Saturday.

Gustavus doubled its turnover average in the first meeting and dug itself a quick hole. Can the Gusties get off to a better start and hang around for an exciting finish? That's exactly what happened last year, when Kaus capped a dramatic rally with a layup at the buzzer.

Am I predicting an upset? If the Gusties can cut their turnovers in half, I see this being a close game...but I'm not sure that's possible. Would I accept the same bet as last time, taking the Gusties with 15 points? Absolutely!

Player To Watch: Dan Schmidtknecht
Since the first UST game, he's worked his way into a time-share situation at PG. DLo was completely ineffective against the Tommies last time, so the ball-handling duties may fall entirely on his shoulders. That's a daunting task.

Prediction
Tommies 68, Gusties 60


Minnesota Wrap
• The Tommies getting some more love from the media with a D3hoops.com story.
• UST has posted a list of 25 random things about Tomme athletics.
• Cobber women's coach "Thinks Pink" and former men's coach Sonny Gulsvig was recently honored.
• Zach Johnson will soon become Carleton's all-time leading scorer. Rumor has it he also set the school record for flops early in his sophomore year.