2008 Woodie Awards
Loss to St. John's marks fifth straight for men's basketball
By: Nate Wilson-Traisman, Associate Sports Editor
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: Sports
Flashback to Dec. 5:
A riveting last-second win over St. Thomas had Macalester men's basketball sitting pretty in first place atop the MIAC standings, at 3-0.
For the Scots, those memories couldn't seem more distant. Since that win, Macalester is 1-13 in MIAC play, their two most recent games resulting in an 81-64 loss versus St. Olaf and an 82-69 loss versus St. John's.
Tom Conboy '08 paced the Scots with 27 points versus St. Olaf, becoming the first Scot to eclipse the 1,800-career point total. Conboy now has 1,819 career points. Still, Conboy's record-setting season hasn't translated into wins.
"As competitive as I am, losing is always tough," Conboy said. "I have never been too concerned with expectations, and am not exactly sure what was expected of our team. I have always tried to focus on improving regardless of the situation I face individually or our team faces at a given time."
Macalester looked to snap their four-game skid Wednesday versus St. John's, but came up short, losing 82-69.
"I think it's safe to say that no one on this team expected that we would be 4-12 after a 3-0 start," Abe Woldeslassie '08 said. "To be a senior and realize that I'm not going to be able to represent
Macalester in the playoffs is something that bothers me very much."
Macalester's struggles were most apparent in their eight-game conference-losing streak that followed their win versus St. Thomas. The Scots have allowed over 80 points in eight of their 12 losses since that game, the worst of which was a 100-48 drubbing in their rematch against the Tommies, who currently lead the MIAC.
"Although we have shown the ability to play strong defense at times, our defensive intensity over the course of a game has been very poor," Woldeslassie said.
To the average basketball fan, one might look at individual Scot statistics and be very surprised by their poor record. Macalester has two of the top four scorers in the MIAC: in Conboy (23.4 points per game) and Woldeslassie (19.3 ppg), and posts the league's top rebounder in Conboy (10.8 pg).
A riveting last-second win over St. Thomas had Macalester men's basketball sitting pretty in first place atop the MIAC standings, at 3-0.
For the Scots, those memories couldn't seem more distant. Since that win, Macalester is 1-13 in MIAC play, their two most recent games resulting in an 81-64 loss versus St. Olaf and an 82-69 loss versus St. John's.
Tom Conboy '08 paced the Scots with 27 points versus St. Olaf, becoming the first Scot to eclipse the 1,800-career point total. Conboy now has 1,819 career points. Still, Conboy's record-setting season hasn't translated into wins.
"As competitive as I am, losing is always tough," Conboy said. "I have never been too concerned with expectations, and am not exactly sure what was expected of our team. I have always tried to focus on improving regardless of the situation I face individually or our team faces at a given time."
Macalester looked to snap their four-game skid Wednesday versus St. John's, but came up short, losing 82-69.
"I think it's safe to say that no one on this team expected that we would be 4-12 after a 3-0 start," Abe Woldeslassie '08 said. "To be a senior and realize that I'm not going to be able to represent
Macalester in the playoffs is something that bothers me very much."
Macalester's struggles were most apparent in their eight-game conference-losing streak that followed their win versus St. Thomas. The Scots have allowed over 80 points in eight of their 12 losses since that game, the worst of which was a 100-48 drubbing in their rematch against the Tommies, who currently lead the MIAC.
"Although we have shown the ability to play strong defense at times, our defensive intensity over the course of a game has been very poor," Woldeslassie said.
To the average basketball fan, one might look at individual Scot statistics and be very surprised by their poor record. Macalester has two of the top four scorers in the MIAC: in Conboy (23.4 points per game) and Woldeslassie (19.3 ppg), and posts the league's top rebounder in Conboy (10.8 pg).
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