if BW is good enough to finish second in that conference they will be hard to beat.  The HCAC is on the upswing but top to bottom not as good s the OAC.  We will see in about a month.  Fortunately the game is at our place

did not know abow the trine name change.  not sure i like it.

Tri State hasnt been a tough out to date for FC but it sounds like they may the toughest Thunder team FC has faced in the last few years since we started playing them.

Butler is a worry because they are hard to guage.  I still think it wnt be easy to get thru the non conference schedule unscathed.  With MSJ on the road again, matching last years record will be tough. 

That said, this FC team at least on paper at this time of year should be Leonard's best to date.  More depth and lots of key folks back.  RB is the biggest question along with replacements in the defensive backfield

I noticed that I didn't review prior and had various spelling errors etc. I dont know my ohio counties very well up north. I just remember paulding county as that is where I had to mail the ticket and the officer was a jacka$$.

I do know the cincy area well as i work there frequently.  plus FC has a chance to go down there and play MSJ on the road again this year.

FC has a tough two games to get started  Baldwin Wallace at home(no slouch and from same conference as Mt Union) and Butler on the road.  Butler is a D2 school (I think) regardless they pounded Hanover last year at Hanover (but so did FC)  should be a close one.

What is the word on MSJ? Compared to last season?

Preseason D3.com Poll

1 Mount Union (19) 14-1 618 2 N/A  Open Date
2 UW-Whitewater (5) 14-1 567 1 N/A  Open Date
3 Wesley (1) 11-2 557 5 N/A  Open Date
4 Mary Hardin-Baylor 12-2 523 3 N/A  Open Date
5 Bethel 12-2 459 4 N/A  Open Date
6 St. John's 10-2 431 9 N/A  Open Date
7 Capital 8-3 413 13 N/A  Open Date
8 Muhlenberg 11-1 394 8 N/A  Open Date
9 Central 12-1 368 6 N/A  Open Date
10 St. John Fisher 11-2 363 7 N/A  Open Date
11 Wabash 11-2 321 10 N/A  Open Date [/b]
12 Salisbury 9-2 314 14 N/A  Open Date
13 Washington and Jefferson 10-1 293 17 N/A  Open Date
14 UW-Eau Claire 9-3 284 12 N/A  Open Date
15 North Central 9-3 265 11 N/A  Open Date
16 Ohio Northern 7-3 163 -- N/A  Open Date
17 Wheaton (Ill.) 8-2 160 -- N/A  Open Date
18 Ithaca 8-3 153 21 N/A  Open Date
19 Case Western Reserve 11-1 135 22 N/A  Open Date
20 Trinity (Texas) 9-2 131 16 N/A  Open Date
21 Franklin 9-2 130 18 N/A  Open Date
22 Cortland State 8-3 122 -- N/A  Open Date
23 Wartburg 8-2 119 20 N/A  Open Date
24 Redlands 8-2 108 25 N/A  Open Date
25 Mississippi College 8-2 72 -- N/A  Open Date
Others receiving votes: Curry 70, New Jersey 66, North Carolina Wesleyan 62, Millsaps 61, Linfield 58, Whitworth 48, Christopher Newport 43, UW-La Crosse 27, Montclair State 24, St. Olaf 23, Hardin-Simmons 20, RPI 18, Wittenberg 17, Rowan 17, Illinois Wesleyan 15, Albright 15, Hartwick 12, DePauw 11, St. Norbert 10, Hobart 9, Delaware Valley 7, Waynesburg 6, Dickinson 4, Concordia-Moorhead 4, Carthage 4, Randolph-Macon 3, Augsburg 3, Mt. St. Joseph 2, Hampden-Sydney 2, Carnegie Mellon 1

Word has it FC will be installing field turf prior to next season.  Hanover gets their turf this season.  HCAC is coming up in the world facility wise.  When will Paulding County's finest team get theirs?

Just so Saints fan can quit worrying, the rest of the FC folks will be on here soon enough. No point dogging MSJ, TM, or Defiance too early in the summer

The stage is set in Lexington.  #2 Seed Franklin takes on #6 Bluffton at 6 with #1 Transy and #4 Mount St Joseph in the 8 pm tilt. Bluffton upset #3 Hanover at Hanover last night. This is a mild upset as Hanover is not that good this year coupled with the ridiculous platoon substitution patterns from coach Beitzel. (over 100 substitutions made at Franklin last Saturday)

Assuming the the top 2 teams win, a FC/Transy championship will occur Sat eve at 7:30 in Lexington. Should be a good battle.

I attended the FC/Anderson game last night in Franklin and the Ravens gave FC a tough battle before falling apart in the last five minutes to lose by 14. The Raven 2-3 zone and slowdown worked for most of the game.

Barring unlikely upsets the top seeds are now set for next week's conference tournament. Transy comes in at 1 and FC/Hanover will get the 2/3 seeds depending on who wins Sat at Franklin. Transy by virtue of homecourt is the favorite with Franklin a close second. Hanover has won some games but is not near the force it has been the last 2 seasons.

FC blew a nine point second half lead at Transy last night and it cost them the top seed.  That is the second time that Franklin has blown a decent lead to Transy and lost this season. Maybe the third time will be the charm if both meet in the final on 2/18.

AU student is correct. All Transy has to do is win one game to get the #1 seed regardless if Franklin wins out due to their 2-0 record against Hanover.  Hats off to Franklin who just might be the hottest team coming into the tourney. It will still be tough to beat Transy in Lexington especially with the 6 seniors in the 7 man rotation.  By my calculations Franklin has locked up either a 2 or 3 seed which would keep them away from Transy if they make the semi finals (a likely rematch with Hanover).

Nick Rogers is out with illness according to the press release on the Anderson website.

"Leading scorer J.D. Clampitt finished with seven points and nine rebounds while second leading scorer and top rebounder Nick Rogers missed his fourth straight game with an illness."

Anyone know the status of Nick Rogers of Anderson? Is he injured or not on the team. He has not played in the last 2-3 games. Nick is an all-state D1 transfer 6'9" center. Without him the Ravens have no real chance. Clampitt can only carry them so far by himself.

MSJ stand no real chance. Transy is hitting on all cylinders now. MSJ cannot play offense for 25-30 seconds nor defense and Transy will force the game to be played in the 60's if possible.  Franklin has the best group to match-up but the expereince of starting 4 seniors and a junior plus 2 seniors off the bench will prove too much.

Transylvania at Anderson  Transylvania, 85-68 
  Hanover at Bluffton  Hanover, 86-78 
  Franklin at Defiance  Franklin, 66-59 
  Manchester at Mt. St. Joseph  Mt. St. Joseph, 74-71 

transy takes the 2 game lead over the field with the schedule favoring the leaders the next two games. Unless someone steps up the conference tournament is heading for Lexington, KY.  Franklin has them on the ropes last wekk and let them back  in it.

I attended the FC and MSJ tilt at Franklin. MSJ was outplayed nearly the entire 40 minutes and lost by 18. MSJ (in my opinion) needs to to settle down and play team basketball. While there is some solid individual talent, MSJ as a team appears to be undisciplined on offense (rushing shots, relying too much on transition scoring).

All the conference favorites won this weekend so no change in the HCAC other than the seperation of the haves from the have nots.

2 big home games upcoming for Franklin. (MSJ on Sat and Transy next Wed) If they can win both they will be in first place (possibly tied) but will have road games left with Transy and Bluffton. If Franklin loses one or both they realistically have no shot the rest of the way.

Franklin doesn't get the press that Transy and Hanover get (need to get back to the NCAA). I for one am not impressed with Hanover this year. They certainly should not be getting top 25 votes. MSJ may be the conference sleeper and certainly are the wild card.  Bluffton is not as good as their record shows. Barely beat Franklin at home and lost to MSJ. They are on the brink of being swept back into the pack.  Transy appears to be quietly rising to the top of the heap.