well it looks like the top 8 teams are set for the GNAC playoffs , it's not a given that Emmanuel will breeze through as I orignally thought, having lost to Suffolk and barely beating Emerson and their first round opponent(either Simmons or Rivier) could give them a run in the opening round, especially if they can handle Emmanuels pressure and take care of the ball, both teams can score when they are on. It's no secret that the key to beating Emmanuel is good guard play,  I'm sure the Saints would love to see Suffolk again on their home floor, but there will be some tough challenges for them both to get through, before that can happen. I hope the playoffs make for some interesting basketball for this conference.

The count down is on for the Emmanuel Invitational (aka GNAC conference)  and with the recent results of some of the established teams in the conference including Emmanuel, I'm sure those teams are looking forward to beating up on each other to see who will finish 2-8 (Emmanuel is a lock at #1) with WNEC gone and Norwich obviously down, who will challenge or for that matter give the Saints a game?? any predictions? 

here are mine:
1. Emmanuel
2. Suffolk
3. Emerson
4. Rivier
5. St Joes, ME
6. Johnson & Wales
7. Albertus Magnus (very athletic and talented if they come to play)
8. ???fill in the blank, won't matter they will lose to Emmanuel BIG in first round

What Gives with the power teams of the GNAC thus far, Emmanuel loses back to back in a blowout fashion, Norwich is struggling, losing to Johnson State, Suffolk got pounded by Endicott? with WNEC  gone, the rest of the GNAC playoff seeds are up for grabs, and judging by the recent scores of the remaining teams, like Rivier, Simmons, Emerson, St. Joes, JWU and others the conference playoffs will be up for grab, with Emmanuel favored to win the conference championship again undefeated. The power rankings for this conference have to be abysmal at this point.

Well we finally are ready for the exciting part of the season, post season tournaments, Like Deis, I expect the top seeds to advance on Tuesday. But I think that kudos should also go out ot Emerson for making the tournament again, and for Rivier(when was the last time they were in) ? its always good to see some new faces in the tourney, I think Simmons also deserves some credit for making it back to the conference playoffs, considering what / who they graduated last season. Don't sleep on the Jwu vs Suffolk game, and I will bet the house that Norwich will not take the Sharks lightly this time around. Good Luck to all of the teams, I'll be watching for those scores

Deiscanton,

I have to admit that I was surprised, if nto shocked to see that Simmons vs Norwich was so close, and judging by your posting it was a legit game, no injuries on Norwiches part.  Norwich had better focus on the task at hand, and stop looking at the BIG matchup before they get in trouble. Maybe Simmons will make some noise in this conference? or at best play the spoiler role as they rebuild and look forward to their future. The Emmanuel / Suffolk game looms large on Monday.

Deis,

I can see your perspective, and I agree it looks as if Emerson has turned the corner with their program. The Rams will def have their hands full with Emmanuel, don't forget Jwu and WNEC lurking in the back ground. There may also be other teams who haven't made the playoffs in the past few years, join the party(Rivier).  anyone have any predictions for the playoff seedings?  What happened to St. Joes they were semifinalists last season, and are struggling early, same with Simmons, ALbertus etc?

I wouldn't read to much into the Norwich score, I'm sure they were up big and emptied the bench and coasted, my guess is that it wouldn't be far off base to assume they are looking ahead a bit to the Big showdown with Emmanuel coming up, as they will motor through their next couple of opponents.  It's also a great thing to empty your bench when your up big at this time of the season and give the starters some rest, so expect the scores to reflect that.

Before you crown Emerson as the next great team in th GNAC, I think it's important to remember that although they've improved there are still a few schools in the conference that could push them for the GNAC semifinalist spot, have you noticed that Suffolk is still undefeated in league play? JWU will be a tough out, as will WNEC as they play out there final season in the conference.  The rest of the pack could be just as challenging on any given night St. Joes, Albertus, Simmons, etc.. It's seems a given that  Emmanuel and Norwich are 1 & 2, but the remaining seeds will be interesting. One upset could change the balance of this league dramatically

Norwich has been impressive thus far and beating Bates, was a quality win, I still give the Saints the edge, they play a more tougher non-conference schedule. I think Norwich will suffer when they play the Saints without the leadership of all everything guard Flynn. Either way it will be an interesting game between the two front runners. I still say the most interesting thing about this conference will be the battle for the remaining 6 playoff spots

I echo the same sentiments, the Saints are on a mission and have loaded up like only they can. They are talented and deep, (how does Coach Yasinoff land these kids) a couple of other potential early season candidates that will make Emmanuel work at least for a half: Norwich, WNEC, Suffolk, St. Joe's the rest of the GNAC will battle for the remaining spots, the real race in this conference will be for the 8th seed, to see who get's to walk into the Lions den (Yawkey Way) to get there doors blown off in the playoffs

Let the Games Begin, my prediction all 4 top seeds will advance, Jwu will extract a little payback to St. Joes, this time at home. The other games should go according to plan, hopefully the scores will be posted immediately

well it's gut check time for the teams of the GNAC and is there a hotter team than WNEC, they have won all 10 of their games at home this season after taking care of Simmons last night, (no surprise) the score was a little to close for comfort for the bears, but they'll take the victory. The playoff positioning is looking very interesting, there will be some interesting scores over the next week or two and the first round matchups will be good ones, unlike years gone by, when you could assume the top teams would breeze through the first rounds. The Saints are no longer invincible and Norwich is still in  prime position should the Saints fall. Any predictions on playoffs seedings??

I finally made it to GNAC game last night, Simmons @ Suffolk and after minutes of circling around locating a parking space in downtown Boston, I made it inside. Overall it was a close, low scoing affair for the most part, until Suffolk capitalized on Simmons inability to score and take care of the ball as well as make key free throws down the stretch. While I don't think either of these teams will be serious challenges, it was a good contest. Both teams struggled to score, as there were long scoring droughts, and it's easy to see why they have been inconsistent,  especially Simmons where the coach looks very frustrated as he tried different combinations to no avail, there guard play leaves a lot to be desired, bad decisions, pounding the ball, questionable shot selections. If this is what they practice  the coaching staff needs to re-evaluate. Overall  They are not very talented beyond # 50 (Lucek), who got into early foul trouble, she is the best player on the team ,and she is the only person who rebounds after that they have no legit low post presence, despite having 2 kids over 6'3. Neither Simmons or suffolk are very athletic, so they must play at a pace that maximizes their strengths, Suffolk did that last night, and walked away with the win. Simmons may make the playoffs but look for an early exit, they struggle to score easy baskets, plenty of blown lay-ups and they don't have anything worthwhile coming off the bench, Suffolk is not  a deep team either, but will be a tough out if they can hit the outside shot.

I think this conference is getting a bad wrap, no they are not the NESCAC, but they are not the weakest or worst conference in the area either. In fact a few teams in this conference play and beat teams from stronger conferences. There just seems to be a huge disparity in resources and academic requirements that separate the schools, and I don't think it's a matter of schools not recruiting just as hard as Emmanuel, but Emmanuel has a history of success and that's attractive to many of the kids today, very few talented kids want to attend schools that are rebuilding. There are some good coaches,teams and players within this conference who go unnoticed, because it's been a 1 team race every year, but give them their due credit .

It looks as if the Saints will go through this flaky conference again unscathed as they withstood their Biggest threat (Norwich) and pulled out the victory(sounds like it was a close game at least by the stats). I once believed that WNEC may challenge them also, but they lost to Johnson and Wales, who are no where near Emmanuels caliber. So the Saints will march through this conference again untouched, unless they have a MAJOR breakdown. None of the other teams will come close to beating them.(Blowouts) 

When was the last time the Saints lost a conference game? The rest of the GNAC teams should just concentrate on avoiding them in the playoffs at all costs to prolong their seasons