St. Olaf Gameday Preview

Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: December 10

Complete Game Program in Printable PDF

Game 6

St. Olaf College (4-2/2-1 MIAC)

Concordia College (2-3/2-1 MIAC)

December 10, 2005

Memorial Auditorium

Moorhead, Minn.

GAMEDAY BASICS

GAME TIME: 3:15 PM
LAST YEAR: The two teams split the series last season. In the first meeting in Northfield, Concordia held a 10-point half time lead but could not hold on and lost 53-52. Pat Fraser made a jumper for the Oles that tied the game with four seconds remaining and was also fouled on the play. The subsequent made free throw turned out to be the game-winner for the Oles. In the second game, Concordia held a similar 10-point lead at the break but then extended the lead and cruised to an 81-59 win.
SERIES: Cobbers lead 52-49
SERIES HISTORY: Concordia has won seven of the last eight games in the series and eight of the last 10 meetings between the teams. The Cobbers also hold a four-game winning streak at home against the Oles. The last time St. Olaf won in Memorial Auditorium was back on Feb 12, 2000. The Cobbers have a 9-6 record against St. Olaf in the last 15 games played in the “Aud”...the most points scored by a team in a single game in the series is 100. St. Olaf bettered the Cobbers 100-59 in 1975.

GAMEDAY TIP-OFF
(What you need to know about today's Concordia-St. Olaf match-up)
The First of 3 – A Long Way to X-Mas!
Today’s game is the first of three contests for the Cobbers in the next four days. Concordia will play at MSU-Moorhead tomorrow night at 7:30pm and then return home to host UM-Morris on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7:30pm in their final game before the Christmas break. The Cobbers are 2-1 in the MIAC and would like nothing more than to find a 3-1 start in the MIAC neatly wrapped up and put underneath the Christmas tree for a present.
30
The Keith Eckhoff watch for 1,000 points is now down to 30. Eckhoff needed 43 points heading into Wednesday’s game against St. Mary’s and came away with 13 on the night. Simple math tells the Gameday staff that he now needs 30 points to become the 10th player in Cobber men’s basketball history to reach the milestone. The 13-point output was a season low for Eckhoff, who has scored in double figures in all five Cobber games this season and currently leads the team in scoring with a 20.8 points per game average.
Takin’ It To The Rack
One of the early success stories for the Cobbers in the 2005-06 season has been their ability to drive the ball to the basket, draw a foul and make a trip to the free throw line. Three Cobbers have been especially adept at finding their way to the charity stripe. Seniors Mark Dixon and Keith Eckhoff and sophomore Luke Linz lead the team in free throw attempts. Eckhoff has made 30 of his 38 attempts, Dixon has been successful on 20 of his 26 tries and Linz has made 13 of his 18 free throw shots. They have also combined to shoot 66 free throws in the three conference games. That is more than the total amount that seven TEAMS in the MIAC have attempted during league games!
Make No Mistake
Concordia sophomore point guard Eric Meichsner continues to give head coach Duane Siverson mistake-free minutes handling the basketball. Meichsner has only committed eight turnovers in the team’s first five games this year. He has made only one turnover in the team’s first three league games.
Scouting the Oles
If there could be “a biggest surprise” in the early stages of the 2005-06 season in the MIAC, St. Olaf would have to be in the running. The Oles, picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches poll, have shook off an opening-game loss at Luther (Iowa) and have won four of their last five. St. Olaf is tied with the Cobbers at 2-1 in the MIAC and has posted league wins over Augsburg, and most recently, Macalester. Their win over the Scots was the most impressive of the season, as they put up 77 points and won by 15.
Fearsome Foursome
St. Olaf has four players who are averaging in double figures this season. Junior guard Jon Butala leads the Oles with a 12.2 points per game average. He is followed closely by Chad Norberg (11.5 ppg) and Steve Banick (11.3 ppg). Banick led the Oles in their win over Macalester with a game-high 17 points. Jon Bain rounds out the quartet. Bain is averaging 10.0 points per game. He is also leading the team in rebounding (7.0 rebounds/game).
The First Half Crystal Ball
Today’s game should be stopped at half time, because in all five of the Oles’ previous games, whichever team was leading at the break, ended up winning the game. St. Olaf is 3-0 when leading after the first 20 minutes and 0-2 when trailing at intermission. Their biggest lead at half time came in the game against Macalester when then bolted to a 20-point lead.