MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[rmc1982]

Since nobody has acknowledged the Elephant in the room........ I've been waiting for one of you "Hamsters"( and I mean that in the kindest way)to say something about the game last night??? More than that, I wonder how the first round loss will affect their NCAA seeding?? Hey- we could easily lose Saturday vs a very good Guilford team but a loss in the semis isn't as bad as losing in the first round plus the fact that unless the wheels fall off of the bus this weekend for our ladies we weren't gonna host in the first round anyway because it's the ladies turn. This one HAS to hurt those kids- the last few weeks they haven't been at their best and have not played up to the potential of the team that beat us TWICE earlier this year. I KNOW they're better than they have played lately. Any of you HSC guys have any insight as to why??We're gonna have to go on the road regardless of whether we win out or not for the first round at least. We are, however , seemingly peaking at a good time and playing some of our best basketball. I fear a team with size will perhaps be our downfall but you Tigers seemingly have it all, size, shooters, young fireballs - what up and what's wrong?? I'm not trying to be a smarta$$- I really don't watch any other teams much unless they're playing us. Just doesent seem right for them to stumble like this late and I'm not just talking about this one game. Thoughts??

Hope you enjoyed seeing the Jackets getting handled in that L yesterday

Can't say I enjoyed it, but TOUCHE'! What I said would be our downfall all year-Poor shooting and lack of size- beat us over the weekend! Cant shoot it great all the time and when you get beat on the boards when you don't is a recipe for a loss! Good Luck to your Tigers! Hope Roanoke can keep it going too! Good Luck to our women's team also playing at Gettysburg, who was our only loss all year. Don't want to bellyache about the men having to play on the road because you have to win on the road- thats the only downside about having two great programs! KUDOS to our ladies! GO JACKETS!

[Tigerfan]

Best wishes to the Roanoke Maroons today as they face Catholic.  I hope they are at the top of their game.  The computers rate the game as a toss-up, with Catholic being the favorite by a very slim margin.  Catholic has been playing well and were able to dispatch the Jackets in a game that was not particularly close.  The Maroons need to stay away from foul trouble, and I'd love to see McClary have a big game.

I hope the Tigers are playing free.  To me and other Tiger fans I know, it feels like H-SC is gambling with house money.  We've gotten way more out of this season than we had a right to expect, and it has been delightful.  Any more wins would be icing on the cake.  There was an outpouring of emotion after the wins last weekend in Kirby as Brazil, Shryock and McGowan played their last home games.  The trip to NYC seems like a celebration of a great season and the seniors, particularly Brazil.  AB was brilliant on the court and the classroom as he earned ODAC scholar athlete of the year for the second time and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  He embodied the ideal of being the best person you can be every day and worked to pass it on to the underclassmen.  Win or lose, I think the Tigers are going to be playing with a lot of joy today, along with great optimism about the future. 

[Brian Hamilton]

Unfortunately the basketball season ended for both Roanoke and HSC today.  Congrats to both teams for advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.  Another good season of ODAC basketball.  Now we enter the time of year where I get bored because I don't have basketball games to attend.

Now that all ODAC teams have finished their seasons, I would like to wish all of the student athletes who have finished their college basketball careers the best of luck for the remainder of this school year and in their future.

[Tigerfan]

The Tigers couldn't hit 3s when they needed them and Redlands converted.  The Tigers fought back but their lack of an athletic big who could help stop athletic drivers hurt them; that was their biggest weakness all season.  H-SC made a good comeback from 26 down to get to 7, but Redlands held.  Redlands played great - best of luck to them.

Great season, Tigers.  The ODAC as a whole had a pretty good season considering that we all thought it would be a down season for the ODAC.  Can't wait for next year. 

[hasanova]

Yep, saw the ODAC was done.  Lots of good teams, but you need to get hot late.

Something I discovered while looking up something else:

W&L was one of the 17 Southern Conference schools when 7 broke away in 1953 to form the ACC (Virginia also joined soon after).

Not picking on the Generals, but they were 1-17 in hoops that last season with 17 teams.

[jknezek]

Yep, saw the ODAC was done.  Lots of good teams, but you need to get hot late.

Something I discovered while looking up something else:

W&L was one of the 17 Southern Conference schools when 7 broke away in 1953 to form the ACC (Virginia also joined soon after).

Not picking on the Generals, but they were 1-17 in hoops that last season with 17 teams.

Men's basketball has been a struggle for W&L for most of our recent history. The late sixties through 1980 were the glory years. But we've only ever won a single NCAA game, in 1978.

Coach McHugh is the first coach with a winning record since Verne Canfield, who coached from '64-'95, and then you have to go back to the 30s and 40s for a coach with a winning record.

To be fair, if you really go all the way back, the team is 1285-1280-1 in program history. But 355-521 since the start of the 1990/91 season. McHugh has really been a bright spot. This season was his first losing season at W&L, and it came off a pair of 18 win seasons. So I'm hoping we just went from a very upperclass team to a very young team and W&L rebounds next year.

I will say, as we all know, the ODAC is just brutal. R-MC, H-SC, Guilford, Roanoke, Va Wes... W&L under McHugh would probably be a decent threat to make the tournament in most conferences, but the ODAC makes that a lot harder.