Entering Thursday's exhibition game vs. the Gophers, Abe Woldeslassie at Division III Macalester has legit MIAC championship aspirations — something that once was unheard of at the small liberal arts college in St. Paul.
A former Siena assistant and Macalester graduate, Woldeslassie took over a program in 2018 that had a 19-181 MIAC record in team 10 previous season. He's led the program to 47 victories in his tenure, twice to 15-win seasons, including advancing to the MIAC tournament final two years ago.
This could be a breakthrough year for the Scots, so that adds even more excitement to Thursday's exhibition at Williams Arena. Don't be surprised to see sections filled with Mac faithful.
"It's exciting for me because I'll have a lot of family, friends, and people I've known throughout the years there," Woldeslassie said.
The Gophers and Macalester also haven't officially played in more than 100 years and never at Williams Arena, which opened in 1928. The last meeting was actually won by the Scots 12-11 at the U's Armory in 1922.
"There's a 100-year winning streak on the line," Woldeslassie joked. "I really feel like there's going to be a great Macalester group there. [College] President Suzanne Rivera and AD Donnie Brooks are excited. It's just a really cool thing for us."
Division III teams have zero athletic scholarships (they do provide academic scholarships), but Woldeslassie expressed that the competitive play in the MIAC rivals any level of basketball in Minnesota.
The Scots return the top scorer in the MIAC with junior guard Caleb Williams, who averaged 21.5 points, including a 39-point explosion with eight threes vs. Moorhead.
