Quote from: WNYHoops on March 06, 2010, 08:35:22 AM
I wrote on this board a few weeks back how good I thought both Medaille and SUNY IT were ... even though they play in lesser conferences. Fact is both the AMCC and NEAC have a few teams at the top of their leagues who could, and would, be very competitive and compete for championships in any league in the state. They proved it last night. Medaille is a true system team who is smart, well-coached and disciplined in their approach. SUNYIT is super athletic with two great players in Brown and Goleimbowski. They took down the winners of the Empire 8 and SUNYAC so please don't discount these "lesser" leagues and programs in the future. I read people bashing them for a weak conference and discounting them all the time on these boards. Fact is many schools from the LL, Empire 8 and SUNYAC won't schedule schools like Medaille, SUNYIT, Pitt Brad, Wells and Penn State Behrend because they know how difficult it is to play them. Hats off to the little guy for taking down the big dogs. That is what March Madness is all about!!

WNYHoops, I was one of those guys I won't deny it. I must say, Medaille is better than I thought and I tip my cap to them. I did not see any of the SUNYIT vs. Plattsburgh game but a great win for SUNYIT to say the least on an opposing team's home court. Naz seemed to have the game all but wrapped up after Stephens bucket with 5 and change to play. After watching most of Naz games this year, this is the first game that they let slip away late in the game with a big lead. McAdam was able to carry his team on his back for the end of games throughout the year but unable to do so last night. I don't want to say I should have seen this coming, but with a team that has 1 senior and 1 junior(who hardly saw the floor this year) , inexperience and underclassmen mistakes were inevitable. And as for last night's game, Naz was unable to lock the game up with free throws down the stretch. But give credit to a gritty Medaille team for making big shots down the stretch and making their free throws in overtime. 

As a fan of Naz these last few years, it has been a pleasure to watch Corey McAdam play the game. A truly unselfish player and a class act for all 4 years. He is certainly one of the best players the E8 has seen and best of luck if he chooses to continue his basketball career professionally..

I am still in shock from the end result last night. There is no doubt that the ref blew that call but like it was mentioned before, it is the nature of the beast. You have to keep in mind that we are not dealing with division 1 officials and that there will be calls like this. With that being said, I would be upset if I were on the other side of the coin being a Fisher fan. However, to blame the outcome of the game solely on that call I certainly can not agree with. If Fisher knocks down their free throws, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.

Congrats to Naz and it would be fun to see these two teams matchup again in the NCAA tourney and hope they represent the E8 well!

Quote from: bomber3 on February 25, 2010, 04:36:53 PM
I would say Naz, IC, and Stevens are locks for bids if they don't win the E8 tournament. I would even say RIT is close to a lock.  Last year Hartwick won the ECAC tournament and they were 10-15....

And it all depends on how many weeks a year you practice (if you pracitce one day in a week it counts as a whole week of practice) .  There is a cut-off and if you play more than the # of weeks allowed then you aren't allowed to play in the ECAC tournament.  Also, some schools are NCAA or bust -- Hamilton/UR/Utica when Goodemote was coach all denied bids to play for whatever reason.

Hopefully IC won't be have to choose whether to play or not...

Hartwick was actually 15-12 last year after winning the ECACs (13-12 after the regular season). In order to qualify for the ECACs you must have a winning record. I am not sure on the exact # of weeks of practice you can have to qualify for the ECACs but there definitely is a limit. Does anyone know if they are having the ECAC tourney this year? I have heard that they might not be due to financial constrictions...

FROMAFAR, I believe RIT isn't leaving the E8 until after next year. According to this article it looks like you will be sticking around for one more year...

http://www.ritathletics.com/news/2009/6/17/GEN_0617092501.aspx

Quote from: WNYHoops on February 02, 2010, 04:28:56 PM
While I am not at all claiming Medaille would win the Empire 8, I can tell you they are definitely good enough to accomplish that. To say they would be #6 is way underestimating them. I don't believe they would be 19-1 right now playing an E8 schedule, but I have seen them play several times and know their personnel pretty well and they would absolutely be in the top 2-3 of the league. Coaches who understand the nature of DIII hoops realize how good this Medaille team is. I also know for a fact they handled Fisher pretty well in a pre-season scrimmage and match up well with them. So if Fisher is the measuring stick for the top of the E8, I think Medaille should be considered in that same category.

Although I do not know Medaille's personnel very well, I do know that the AMCC is weaker than the E8. It is a larger conference so I understand that it is harder to have as much parity but over recent years if you look at the teams the E8, or even the Sunyac has produced into the NCAA tournament, I dont think it is much of a comparison. I am not saying that Medaille isn't good because they clearly are a pretty solid team this year, but I just think that their conference schedule is weak compared to the Sunyac or E8....As far as the Fisher scrimmage goes, that is interesting that they outplayed Fisher, however a pre season scrimmage is rather meaningless (i.e. LeMoyne beating Syracuse this year). I know this was an exhibition game but the fact of the matter is that it didn't count on either team's record...

Quote from: sjfcards on January 28, 2010, 07:36:02 PM
So, I am having a hard time placing this Fisher team against the quality teams we have seen in this league in the past. I don't think they are anywhere near as good as the Sean O'Brien teams or even the Dan Mueller/Beigle team that went to the Sweet 16, but I can not remember any of those teams going 10-0 in the league.

Is the league down this year, compared to those years? Or is the FIsher team better than I am giving them credit for. I don't remember any teams in the league back a few years ago, apart from Utica, that would have been a way better team than Ithaca or Naz.

I am just having a little trouble finding what my expectations are.

Watching the E8 over the last few years, I feel this Fisher team is very solid, very well could be best team in region (sorry Medaille, but their schedule is very weak) with maybe U of R being the only team better. After seeing them play a few games this year I think the biggest difference between this year's team and the past few years is that they lack a true post presence(i.e. McSweeney, Sidney, beigel, etc.) I think this year's Fisher team is very good but if I were to compare them to the past Fisher teams that went to NCAAs in recent years, I am not sure if they are quite as good for that reason. However, defensively you could make a case that is better than any Fisher team in year past. I would agree that Fisher could win a couple games in NCAAs, especially if they do host a first/second round games....With that being said, I also believe that the E8 doesn't have a lot of parity this year. Last year the E8 was dominated by Ithaca for the most part but after that, was very balanced with a lot of teams jockeying for position down the stretch for the conference tournament. This year I think there are 4 teams fighting for the remaining 3 spots.....

As for tonights slate of E8 games...

Stevens @  Fisher - Big game between #1 and #3, this game is bigger for Stevens especially if they want to stay on pace with the other top teams for post season play. Stevens hasn't faired to well with these long road trips since joining the E8. Tough place to play at Fisher, with one of nations best defenses....Fisher 65 Stevens 56

Alfred @ Naz- Naz coming off a tough loss in the Battle of the Beaks...can't have a let down. Alfred not a pushover by any means...Naz 81 Alfred 65

RIT @ Utica- A must win game for RIT if they want to make a run ( which i think they still can FROMAFAR). In a similar position to Naz last year when they were 2-5 and they made conference tourney. RIT grinds out this road game 63 to 57

Elmira @ Hartwick- I think this game will be a lot closer than expected. Elmira can shoot the ball well from beyond the arc and I think they can hang around for most of the game. I think their defense will give way to defeat in the end however...  Hartwick 78 Elmira 68

Naz defeats a pesky Elmira team 77-67. Elmira hung with Naz pretty much the whole game. The difference was McAdam who went for 39 in a game which he got to the basket at will it seemed. Elmira took the air out of the ball and was able to stay within striking distance for most of the game. A win is a win at this time of the year and this was a potential "trap game" before the Battle of the Beaks coming up on Tuesday...Naz has their work cut out for them at Fisher but should be a good one!

Well this is embarrassing...very reminiscent of Naz's game at Ithaca during the regular season last year...Gotta bounce back for a tough game at Utica tomorrow...

After seeing Naz play 4 or 5 games this year this is what I have taken in thus far...

Unlike years past, Naz is actually playing team defense this year. The players seem to be buying into Coach Broderick's system, especially defensively. Coming into the year I did not expect them to be doing as well as they have been thus far. Freshman Tyshun Stephens is certainly someone to build around for the next few years. Despite being young, they seem to be playing with poise and lots of confidence. Naz has won many games because of their ability to shoot the 3. Corletta, Stephens, and Scaffidi have helped take the load off for McAdam somewhat. Lotheridge has been too inconsistent inside but because of his size, can block a lot of shots which will boost the defense.

I had a chance to see the RIT Naz game last night and I wasn't impressed with RIT at all. I am a little bit shocked, as RIT seems to be solid year in and year out. I have always had a lot of respect for Coach McVean and in my opinion is probably the best coach in the league. However, the loss of Carson is proving to be too much for the Tigers this year. The one bright spot for the Tigers is sophomore Brendan Harder. 26 and 18, very solid.

I have not had a chance to see Fisher play this year but they seem to be taking care of business as they usually do. I am anxiously awaiting Naz-Fisher as there could be a lot at stake...

One last note for Naz, this weekend will be tough especially playing at Ithaca and Utica. Naz has not had any success against either of these teams on the road in recent years. In fact, Naz hasn't won a regular season game at Ithaca in an awfully long time (10 years maybe?). This will be a litmus test game for them for sure...

 I love that things are starting to heat up now that games are about a week away...

Senior PG for Naz - Corey McAdam has been selected by D3hoops.com as a preseason All-American. See article below..

http://nazathletics.com/news/2009/11/7/MBB_1107090043.aspx

Well another coaching shakeup in the east region as Stockwell from Clarkson takes the Oswego job. Here's the link to the Oswego web site.

http://www.oswego.edu/athletics/news_story.html?id=8262