NCAA – Page 152 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

UST Football to Head North in May

Posted on March 2, 2012March 2, 2012 by David Shama

Coach Glenn Caruso told Sports Headliners his St. Thomas football team will travel to Winnipeg in late May to play a game against a club team made up of men about 18 to 30 years old.

Division III rules allow teams to play a foreign game every three years. All MIAC teams are permitted seven spring practices but the foreign game policy allows additional practices.

Three years ago Caruso took the Tommies to Winnipeg for a game against another club team. Asked about the score, Caruso didn’t recall but said St. Thomas won by a “pretty good chunk.”

A few extra practices are useful and winning big is better than the alternative but Caruso raved about something else when discussing plans to head across the border. “We’ll play everyone on the squad,” he said. “The benefit (to the trip) is building camaraderie.”

In four seasons under Caruso the Tommies have become a national Division III power. St. Thomas was 13-0 last fall before losing in the semifinal NCAA Division III playoffs to UW-Whitewater.

Next season the Tommies will open at UW-Eau Claire, playing a program that defeated St. John’s last year. The second nonconference game is at home against UW-RiverFalls. “It certainly gets us ready for our conference (schedule),” Caruso said.

The Tommies games will again be broadcast on WCCO Radio. Caruso said he’s heard from various sources including recruits that the broadcasts are making an impact.

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U Looks for Answers Tonight in Champaign

Posted on December 27, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

Although the Gophers are prompting speculation they can be a 2012 NCAA tournament team, Minnesota has plenty to prove starting tonight against Illinois in the Big Ten Conference opening game for both teams.

The Gophers, 12-1 during non-conference play, will need at least a few upset wins over nationally ranked Big Ten teams to persuade the NCAA invite committee they deserve to be in the field of 68. Minnesota defeated major conference schools DePaul, Virginia Tech and USC during a whoopie pie non-league schedule but has no wins over top 25 clubs.

Illinois, after recent losses to UNLV and Missouri, has dropped out of the top 25 since last week but a Minnesota victory in Champaign tonight against the 11-2 Illini will perk up the Gophers resume. A win would also be a surprise.

Not only is Illinois favored, but the Gophers are 10-25 in conference road games during the Tubby Smith era. Road woes in four seasons under Smith is why the coach has a losing record in Big Ten games. He’s 32-40 overall in league play and none of his teams have played .500 basketball in conference away games.

The 2010-11 team for awhile was his best at Minnesota and even climbed to a No. 13 national ranking, but the transfer of guard Devoe Joseph and a season-ending injury to guard Al Nolen ruined the season. Minnesota went 2-7 in Big Ten road games, finished 6-12 overall in the conference and didn’t even earn an NIT invite.

The Gophers completed nonconference play last week with a 63-59 win over North Dakota State, a solid team that lost at Arizona State by three points and will be a contender in the Summit League. Bison coach Saul Phillips saw his team lead 16-5 with nine minutes to play in the first half before the Gophers defensive pressure and offensive togetherness pushed Minnesota ahead by halftime.

“I think they will win their fair share,” Phillips said about the Gophers. “They play solid. They have their roles (and) they play them well. They’ve got a chance to be an NCAA tournament team.

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Worth Noting

Posted on December 16, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

Christian Ponder threw three interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown last Sunday in a 34-28 loss to Detroit. For the season he has 11 interceptions and a lowly passer rating of 73.4. He also had a fumble in the Lions game leading to a touchdown.

It’s difficult to be patient with a rookie quarterback but reality is it requires time to develop efficiency. Four years ago in New Jersey Giants quarterback Eli Manning, then 26, was still learning the NFL game and threw four interceptions — including three returned for touchdowns — in a 41-17 loss to the Vikings. And Manning was in his third season as a full time starter. This season Manning might be headed for a career season and has a rating of 95.5, his best ever in the NFL.

Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin’s 38 receptions since week 10 of the NFL schedule (11/14/11) are the most in the league. His five touchdowns are second best in the NFL during that period.

With 200 career receptions, Harvin ranks third on the franchise’s all-time list for most catches by a wide receiver during the first three seasons.

The 2-11 Vikings have three remaining games on the schedule and will be underdogs in all of them. In franchise history three teams won three games in a season while the 1962 team had a worst ever 2-11-1 record.

The Vikings have chosen 30 prep football players for its All-State team and will recognize them at halftime of Sunday’s home game against New Orleans. Totino-Grace coach Jeff Ferguson has been selected Coach of the Year.

Unlike Rivals.com which lists the projected Gophers 2012 football recruiting class last in the Big Ten, Scout.com has Minnesota ahead of Nebraska and Illinois.

The Twins are sending an electronic holiday greetings card featuring “Gardy Claus.” Poke Gardy in the belly and he announces what he wants for Christmas including “Joe Mauer’s hair” and “lasik” surgery for umpires. Well done.

Minneapolis native and former Mr. Basketball Kevin Noreen, a redshirt freshman forward at West Virginia, is averaging 3.1 points for the Mountaineers. His brother Kyle Noreen is a freshman guard at Radford where he averages 1.7 points per game.

Mike Stehlik announced his resignation after 22 years of directing the women’s soccer program at Gustavus. He had an overall record of 223-137-30 in 22 seasons and ranks 35th in career victories in NCAA Division III women’s soccer.

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