Coach Todd Skrivseth's Fighting Scots could soon be the lone members of a club where you must have 21 to enter.
In the storied history of Monmouth College hoops, which spans well over a century, the record for victories in a season is 20. The Scots will enter Saturday's regular-season finale against Grinnell at Glennie Gym with a record of 19-5. Skrivseth's team is guaranteed at least two more games, both in front of a very supportive crowd - the Senior Day contest against the Pioneers, and a conference tourney semi-final next Friday night.
"Our student support environment has been outstanding," said Skrivseth. "No one else in our league can touch that. The students, the pep band, the cheerleaders - the whole atmosphere has been terrific, and the guys really appreciate it."
Coming into Wednesday's contest against Cornell College, Monmouth knew it had clinched a share of the title, but hosting rights were still up for grabs, as two Monmouth losses and two Grinnell wins would move the setting from Glennie Gym to Iowa.
And beating the Rams was not a given. Monmouth had lost the previous 11 meetings with Cornell, including an 82-65 setback in Iowa on Jan. 14. But the Scots have won every time they've stepped on the court since. They did so again Wednesday, topping the Rams 81-65 behind a signature 31-point, 19-rebound performance by Zay Brown. The freshman so dominated the glass that Cornell had just a single offensive rebound.
Leveling up
In the preseason, league coaches figured Monmouth would be a middle-of-the-pack team, mirroring last season's 13-12 mark. But Skrivseth knew he had Brown and classmate Cam Thomas joining a squad that narrowly missed the postseason a year ago.
"We were sitting in third in the last week, but we had that tough overtime loss at Ripon that knocked us all the way to fifth and out of the playoffs," said Skrivseth. "Coming into this year, I knew we were capable. There were just times last year we struggled to score. We needed to bring in some guys who could create baskets."
Brown and Thomas have done just that, primarily from the inside and the outside, respectively. That dynamic can be reversed, though, as Brown often steps away from the lane to hit shots, while Thomas makes explosive drives to the rim, sometimes punctuated by a highlight-reel dunk.
For the season, Brown - who started college as a preferred walk-on at Ball State after being recruited hard by Skrivseth out of Peoria's Quest Academy High School - is averaging 17.9 points and 8.9 rebounds, while Thomas has scored at an 11.4 clip with 31 three-pointers. In all, five Scots are averaging double digits, including seniors Jordan Hill (11.9) and Declan Flynn (10.9) and junior point guard Kyle Taylor (10.5).Making the jump from fifth place to first place is a daunting task, but Skrivseth said he and his team realized they were on to something special after their MWC opener, a 79-46 victory over talented Lake Forest.
"I'll be honest, we had a soft schedule early," said Skrivseth, whose team was 4-1 prior to the Foresters game. "I'd see flashes of what we could be, but I didn't see consistency. But we really put it on Lake Forest. That's when I started thinking this team could be special, and the kids realized we could be pretty good this year."
It hasn't all been smooth sailing. All-conference big man Turner Plumer was shut down for the season in early January after scoring only a total of 12 points in the five games he was able to play. Freshman Kamran Banks had nine points in that Lake Forest win, but he played only three more times before his season ended Dec. 14.
Helping to counter that adversity has been Flynn, who's moved inside to fill Plumer's void. He's shooting at a 51% clip and can still step outside, too, swishing 19 three-pointers.
"We asked Declan to change positions, and he's done a tremendous job," said Skrivseth. "He was extremely willing to do it, and his skill set complements Zay's a little bit. He's able to stretch it out and shoot the ball."
Outside shooting is Hill's forte, as he leads the team with 33 three-pointers, despite missing two contests. Making the whole engine run is Taylor, a third-year starter who's posted team highs of 74 assists and 40 steals. He also leads the Scots with 101 made free throws on 82.8% accuracy.
"Kyle's a coach's kid, and he's tough as nails," said Skrivseth of Taylor, who played for his father, Sean, at Moline High School. "You can coach him hard. I haven't said anything to him that his own dad hasn't said. You know you're going to get maximum effort from him all the time. He was huge for us at Ripon."
In that 78-73 victory last weekend, Taylor made five treys, shot 5-of-6 from the foul line and scored a team-high 24 points, helping to erase the sour taste from last season's tough loss to the Red Hawks.
Keys to success
The 6-foot-6 Brown's star power - which has resulted in three of the past four MWC Performer of the Week honors - is a big part of the equation for Monmouth's success, but so have been smaller details, such as Flynn's willingness to switch positions.
"We've had some role acceptance for some guys," said Skrivseth, "and we have an appreciation for how we need to play."
And how is that?
"From the inside out. When we're at our best, that's how we play. Defensively, we're getting out and really pressuring people, and we do a great job on the glass," ranking second in the league in rebound margin.
Along with classmate Ganon Greenman, Flynn has seen regular playing time since his freshman year, when Monmouth went 3-21 and finished, as Skrivseth said, "dead last" in the conference. That class has come a long way, and they now have a chance to put that "21" on the other side of the hyphen.