Hello everyone,

While I usually post in the Mid-Atlantic, Landmark Division Boards, I wanted to come here and congratulate Illinois Wesleyan on winning the National Championship.  I was at the University of Scranton in 2005 when the Lady Royals made it to the title game, but we unfortunately could not get to the mountain top.

I was looking at footage of the buzzer beater from the Sweet 16 and was curious as to something.  It seemed like the IWU head coach tried calling for a time out a few seconds before the shot was made when they didn't have any.  However, there was no call.  I was just wondering if 1) anyone noticed it; and 2) if anyone has any idea as to why it wasn't called.  I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here, I am just curious.

Again, congrats to IWU!

Hey everyone,

I was just checking the Men's top 25 and noticed that going into the NCAA tournament, Scranton did not have one single solitary vote to appear in the Top 25.  I was curious if any men's team has advanced to the Final Four without having a vote in the Top 25.

Let's go Royals!

For geographic reasons, Scranton has been chosen to host the sectional and not Bowdoin.  That should make things a little more interesting for both Bowdoin and Scranton, and if they meet up in the elite 8, it should make for another classic sectional final like the one in 2005.  Not to mention the sectional final will be on parade day in Scranton.  That weekend is going to be crazy!!!

Well, Scranton lost a close one Wednesday night.  While I would like to have seen them pull it out, you can't win them all.  Congrats to DeSales and King's who will be playing for the conference championship tomorrow.  Two good schools with two good teams, and I wish them both a lot of luck.

As for the King's scorer's table.  I agree with the consensus that King's runs a great table.  Their staff is always kind and helpful even when you have a question right before the start of the second half.  However, I have to throw in Kevin Southard's name from Scranton as being a great person.  He always keeps it professional and works really hard day in and day out.

Well, unless Scranton gets a Freedom matchup in the ECACs (or even a smaller possibility the NCAAs) this willbe my last post.  Thanks for the fun boys and girls.  And for those of you staying here (Colonel) I expect to hear some friendly "banter" come next season.  Good luck to you all

Saratoga, I agree with you.  My post was in no way a slight to the players and coaches at DSU.  I always admired their class and poise in every game I've seen them in.  Not to mention their ability on the court is seemingly unstoppable at times.  So to DSU-SID or anyone else that I may have offended by looking past DSU, that was not my intention and I apologize.

Scranton will have their hands full playing DSU on Wednesday.  And while DSU does have nights where they are seemingly unstoppable, they do have nights (along with any other team) where their buckets just won't fall (see their game at FDU where they were held to a mere 26.8 field goal percentage in the game).  Whether that was because of the FDU defense, DSU's shots not falling, or both, I have no idea.  So while Scranton will have to play a 40-minute game to win, DSU will also need to have their sharp-shooters on Wednesday night, or the game could be over before it begins.

As for COY, while I am rooting for Danzig, something could be said about Scott Coval from DSU.  DSU has a better overall record than King's and is one game behind Scranton for the best overall record in the conference.  And aside from a 34 point thrashing at FDU, their biggest loss of the season after that was only nine points.  It shows that they have the ability to keep any game they're in pretty close.  And while DSU may have lost to lower ranked teams like Drew and Lyco, other teams have shows nights like that (King's losing to Wilkes and DVC for example).  I think Coach Coval and the Bulldogs had a good season, and if it doesn't go to Danzig, I think Coval is an excellent candidate for COY.

Good luck to all the teams this week in the playoffs!  GO ROYALS!

With the conference tournament coming up, I believe that the MAC Freedom will announce its 1st and 2nd all-conference teams as well as COY, rookie of the year, and player of the year.  I was just wondering what were everyone's thoughts on who will win what

Quote from: Section J Guy on February 17, 2007, 05:38:30 PM

Quote from: loyalroyal on February 17, 2007, 05:30:25 PM
  How awesome would a Scranton at King's championship be?

But now, every game for the Royals could be their last in the Freedom Conference.  *sings thanks for the memories*

Loyal, what gives you any reason to want another matchup with Kings...? Third times a charm?

Section J, I admit, the depth and ability of King's does scare me against any team in the Freedom Conference Tournament.  And while I am rooting for the Royals more than anyone, I enjoy a well-played game between two excellent institutions in that true ability will determine the winner.  I think with the four teams, you will have that, and whomever wins this conference will not be a fluke.

Also Section J keep in mind one fact.  During the 2004-05 season, Scranton swept the regular season series with King's but ended up getting ousted by King's in the Freedom Conference Semis.  In fact, the two regular season matches, the game at King's was decided by 3 points and the game at Scranton was decided by 10 points.  The playoff was decided by a mere 6 points.  This season, the games were decided by 6 at King's and 3 at Scranton.  And like Naismith said, if Coach Danzig can figure out King's achilles heel like Wilkes did, maybe the third time WILL be the charm.

Besides, like I said, how awesome would it be for Scranton's last Freedom Conference match-up to be against one of their I-81 rivals.  Good luck to all the teams in the postseason.

Actually, I think the playoff picture sets out like this:

#3 DeSales at #2 Scranton
#4 FDU at #1 King's

The reason DeSales is number 3 is because since FDU and DeSales have the same record, and since the head-to-head is a wash with each having a win and a loss against the other, it goes to the top of the conference.  FDU went 0-2 against King's while DeSales went 1-1 against King's.  Thus, DeSales is number 3 and FDU is number 4.

Congratulations to King's on getting the #1 seed.  With the caliber of play with the teams this year, getting to #1 was no easy feat.  So my hat goes off to them.

Now with the playoff picture listed above.  Does anyone have any predictions?  Before this past week, I would be pretty confident with my picks, but with the seemingly unpredictability of the games (especially in the last week), I don't even know where to begin.  I think Scranton being in the Long Center will give them a boost against DeSales, and with the way King's handled FDU today, FDU needs a gut check, or there will be a repeat on Wednesday.  How awesome would a Scranton at King's championship be?

But now, every game for the Royals could be their last in the Freedom Conference.  *sings thanks for the memories*

According to the MAC Fact Book, this is the order of the tiebreakers for two teams that are tied at the end of the regular season

1.) Head-to-Head record of tied teams in traditional season conference contests
2.) Head-to-Head record of tied teams in traditional season contests
(I know it looks like I repeated myself, but that is what it says)

3.) Tied teams win loss record starting with the #1 team, then #2 and so on
4.) Winning Percentage of away conference games

So all the scenarios are:
Kings and Scranton tie - Kings wins due to 2-0 record against Scranton
Kings and FDU tie - Kings wins due to 2-0 record against Scranton
Kings, FDU and Scranton tie - Kings wins with a combined 3-1 record against FDU and Scranton, FDU gets #2 with a 2-2 record and Scranton gets number 3 with a 1-3 record.
Scranton and FDU tie - FDU wins with a better record against Kings
Scranton and DeSales tie - DeSales wins due to a better record against Kings
DeSales and FDU tie - FDU wins with a better record against Drew (records amongst all other conference opponents are equal).

Those are all the scenarios I can think of.  If you want to read the official rules on tie-breakers, go to http://www.mascac.org/Fact%20Book/Executive.pdf

GO ROYALS!!!

Wilkes 66
King's 58

The race for the top spot in the Freedom Conferenc just got a WHOLE lot more interesting!  I never thought I'd say thi, but GO COLONELS!!!

...Tonight's Freedom Conference men's and women's basketball games between Scranton and Lycoming College at the Lamade Gymnasium in Williamsport have been postponed until Thursday, February 15, due to the impending snowstorm that is expected to hit Pennsylvania this afternoon and into Wednesday.

Tip-off times for Thursday's games have yet to be determined.

Taken directly from the press release that was released by the Universiy of Scranton today.

Question for all you more experienced Freedom Conference regulars on here: when the playoffs roll around, are the refs for the games voted on by the conference (coaches, SIDs, etc.) or is it the same process as the regular season?  With the conference tournament right around the corner, any teams that may have to travel to Jersey may face refs that have not been up to par (in my humble opinion) of calling a tournament game.  Hopefully one of you can shed some light on the subject.

Oh and ColonelJohn, "Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes..."

Then I say "Tantum eruditi sunt liberi"

I'm always lurking as well on these boards always trying to come up with an obscure stat or historical fact if someone asks for it.

So with the Scranton win over Wilkes coupled with Lyco losing, Scranton has clinched a playoff spot.  And if FDU beats DeSales, then FDU has locked up a playoff spot as well.

FDU in the top two of the conference is a scary thought because any playoff game at FDU will cause the visiting team to suffer an 8 to 5 man disadvantage (5 for FDU plus the three zebras).  So I bet Scranton is PRAYING for FDU to mess up, and Kings as well, because if FDU can end up getting the top spot or get to host the championship game, the Freedom Conference Title could end up in Jersey this year.  But always rooting for my purple and white!

I looked up the history of the Royals B-Ball Team and their playoff results are listed as follows since 1990:

1990-91 - Won conference
1991-92 - Loss to Susquehanna in Semis
1992-93 - Won conference
1993-94 - Did Not Qualify
1994-95 - Loss in Semis to Lebanon Valley
1995-96 - Loss in Quarters to Susquehanna
1996-97 - Loss in Quarters to Widener
1997-98 - Loss in Finals to Wilkes
1998-99 - Loss in Semis to Lebanon Valley
1999-00 - Loss in Finals to Widener
2000-01 - Loss in Finals to Wilkes
2001-02 - Loss in Semis to Lycoming
2002-03 - Won Conference
2003-04 - Did Not Qualify
2004-05 - Loss in Semis to Kings
2005-06 - Won Conference

The only team I could find somewhat of a history for was Kings, and this history is from 1997-98:

97-98 - DNQ
98-99 - DNQ
99-00 - DNQ
00-01 - Loss in Semis to Wilkes
01-02 - Loss in Finals to Lycoming
02-03 - Loss in Semis to Scranton
03-04 - Loss in Semis to Lycoming
04-05 - Won Conference
05-06 - Loss in Semis to Wilkes

Hope this helps answer some questions!

Great games on the part of the Royals and Lady Royals (also good I could rest my voice during the girls game).

Interesting fact about today.  The Royals and Lady Royals both win the MAC Freedom and both were #1 seeds.  The last school that I know of to win both the men and women's conference championship as one seeds was Scranton in 1993 when both the men and women had two losses during their entire seasons.  The only years where another school could have accomplished this feat since 1993 was 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2003 (as being the only four years since then the Lady Royals have not won the conference championship)

As for the game today.  I was sitting in the student section and boy was it rowdy.  Officiating was hit or miss and they dropped calls both ways.  It was obvious that the student section was getting to Wilkes as Shovlin flipped the student section the finger going down to the lockerroom  and Rickrode jawing with a student in the student section at one point.  As usual, Rickrode used too much attention focusing on bad calls than his players.  And to be able to come back from 10 points down with less than 10 minutes to go is a testament to the heart the team has.  Danzig IS the COY no matter what anyone else says.

Good luck to both the men and women in the NCAAs!