MBB: Liberty League

shooters · March 10, 2009, 01:32:55 PM

I pretty much agree with whatever PC says and he is usually right, which is again the case here. If SLU is a top 25 team, they should have walked through the conference tourny which in fact they got beat twice by a team they had no business losing to. I would agree they are a good team, better than i thought they would be and yes they do have a decent chance at making it to the final four, but lets not get too excited over the Saints and keep bringing up the Middlebury game, because Middlebury lasted as long as RPI did......one game.

Spanky Slazenger · March 10, 2009, 03:10:19 PM

It really just goes to show you how people think in this world... Why would you discount what SLU is doing by saying they havent had to play anyone?

It is so ignorant to think they arent as good as where they are because of competition!!!!!! last time I checked these teams all make the tournament for a reason they dont just pick teams out of a hat... or maybe they do it certainly wouldnt surprise me...

Spanky Slazenger · March 10, 2009, 03:10:47 PM

Oh yeah thanks for letting me back on guys...

Pat Coleman · March 10, 2009, 03:29:55 PM

Very few bans are lifetime bans.

Quote from: Spanky Slazenger on March 10, 2009, 03:10:19 PM
Why would you discount what SLU is doing by saying they havent had to play anyone?

Why would you discount what other teams who have played anyone in the tournament are doing?

Spanky Slazenger · March 11, 2009, 09:11:37 AM

You stat geeks need to look up SLUs SOS... Pretty sure its 17

Pat Coleman · March 11, 2009, 09:53:47 AM

I think if they weren't 1-2 against RPI, they may well have been in the Top 25 entering the tournament. 22-4 is a much better sell than 20-6.

But now the two games against ranked teams look a lot different too, don't they? The teams St. Lawrence played went a combined 0-2 in the tournament.

The East has three voters -- if none of them was voting for St. Lawrence then I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

GrassyKnoll · March 11, 2009, 02:51:07 PM

Are these "top 25" rankings really to be believed? The final poll (unless there was one that came out the morning the pairings came out that I missed) had Ithaca at #8 and Middlebury at #12 and both those teams lost at home in their first game after having a first-round bye. SLU gets discreidted for wins vs. 2 teams that are ranked low in the polls, but the same SUNYIT team they beat, dropped #13 Elms the night before? I think having the 17th SoS with 22 wins and being alive with 16 teams to play should mean something with regard to "top 25" rankings.

bamm · March 11, 2009, 03:01:34 PM

Ithaca had only two losses when the tourney started (versus SLU's 6). And oh yeah, they beat SLU in Canton.

Middlebury had only 3 losses and at one point railed off 17 straight.

What, exactly, do you want the guys who vote in the poll to do?

What the hell is the matter with you guys? I know most kids who attend St. Lawrence have a screwed up sense of entitlement anyway, but geez.

/joke

GrassyKnoll · March 11, 2009, 03:47:01 PM

I'm just questioning the validity of the rankings is all. Ithaca did beat SLU in Canton and Middlebury lost to them. SLU had their own warts with some bad loses, but who does the rankings and who have they seen play? If it's coaches, have they taken the time to watch and evaluate all teams? It seems odd that there can be such an accurate ranking system AND have, consistently, so many teams lose what are. Was SLU really the #28 best team at 18-4, having won 14 of 15 with a top 20 SoS, with 3 of those 4 loses coming to Ithaca home (nationally ranked), Widener neutral (MACC champs and NCAA team), and Ursinus neutral (before Hilton got hurt and ranked #12 in the country). Maybe, I'm just saying it doesn't seem that the rankings are really worth salt and just might be inaccurate in some cases. Hypothetically, would SLU transform from 84 in the Massey to 1 in they won the entire tournament, or is there maybe something that was miscalculated earlier.

Pat Coleman · March 11, 2009, 04:59:28 PM

Any readers here who are even thinking they might want to attend the Final Four should enter the City of Salem's contest: Free lodging, free tickets, admission to team banquet and VIP passes:

http://www.d3hoops.com/salemgiveaway/

with age came? · March 12, 2009, 11:29:43 PM

Like most teams SU can have good nights and bad nights. I do think the east might be slightly underepresented in the polls at same time, lets face it, conferences like the UAA are way superior to any NYS conference. An also ran like NYU or Rochester would be a powerhouse in the Liberty League. There are some teams in very weak conferences that also get too much love (see Elms- with a loss to SUNYIT). Another league for them (ie put them in the UAA) I doubt very seriously if they would be .500. Sometimes you just have to give love for good records and that is the way it is. All being said if SLU wins at Richard Stockton I think they should be a top 25 team.

Pat Coleman · March 13, 2009, 01:46:47 AM

Quote from: with age came? on March 12, 2009, 11:29:43 PM
All being said if SLU wins at Richard Stockton I think they should be a top 25 team.

Absolutely.

magicman · March 13, 2009, 03:29:41 AM

It's been said that timing is everything. St. Lawrence not being ranked in the D3Hoops Top 25 poll all year is simply a matter of timing. If you look at their season it can easily be explained. They started out the year with a loss and after 7 games stood at 4-3. Nobody gets ranked with a 4-3 record especially teams coming out of the East region. That takes care of the 1st 5 polls. They put together a 6 game winning streak to get to 10-3 by Jan. 20th but lose their next game to RPI. The Saints then go on another 6 game winning streak and on Feb. 7th, I posted this on the Top 25 board:

"St. Lawrence University 16-4, leader of the Liberty League should be added to the watch list. Current win streak of 6, 12-1 last 13 games, owns a win over #16 Middlebury 84-71 and close loss to # 9 Ithaca."

2 days later on Feb.9th, the Week 10 Top 25 poll comes out and St. Lawrence gets 4 votes, the 1st time they've been mentioned all year. They win their next 2 games
and in the next poll garner 23 votes to move into the #28 spot. St. Lawrence at this point is probably a week away from cracking the Top 25. Unfortunately they lose their next game to a 9-14 Vassar team and drop off the radar, losing every bit of love they had accumulated. Again, timing is the key. If they win that Vassar game their record would have been 20-4 and they probably are ranked #25 in the week 12 poll. Not that it mattered, because the 2nd loss to RPI in the playoffs would have dropped them out of the poll the next week anyway. Making the Sweet 16 is nice but as Pat said they beat 2 teams they should beat. If they had to play a 1st round game against any team from the "Bracket of Death" I'm not sure if they would still be playing. They are a solid team and I hope they continue to advance in the tournament for 2 reasons. I picked them to make the Final Four, and Tom Wopperer is on my fantasy team. Go Saints!!!

magicman · March 14, 2009, 01:48:11 AM

St Lawrence's season comes to a close as they fall to Richard Stockton 71-68.

St Lawrence almost pulled it out after falling behind by 18 with only 8 minutes to play. Furious comeback falls just short as they get to within 1 at 69-68. With 20 seconds left in the game and Stockton with the ball they take a shot with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. They miss the shot but come up with the offensive rebound and SLU has to foul with 17 ticks left. Stockton makes both and Saints come down needing a 3 to send it to OT. Don't understand how Ralph Temgoua takes the shot , he was 1 for 6 from the field prior to hoisting up what sounded like an off balance shot that ended the game. Wish it had been Wopperer taking the shot as he had 4 threes and 21 points just in the 2nd half. He finished as the game's high scorer with 26 pts. The Saints well balanced scoring took a hit tonight as Garret Sharlow and Terry Parham failed to score a single point between them, and Tempoua managed only the 1 basket. Bela Vonnak had 19, Richard Williams had 14, and Josh Sharlow added 7. Tough to beat a team as solid as Stockton on their home court but the Saints certainly showed their heart in mounting their comeback. Congratulations on a fine season.

magicman · March 18, 2009, 05:32:32 AM

Sam Simmons and Tom Wopperer were the Liberty League players selected to the All-East Region Team just announced. Here's the complete list. Congratulations to all.

Men's All-East Region Team
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. All SIDs in the region were given the opportunity to vote.

Player of the Year: Sean Burton, G, Ithaca
Coach of the Year: Jim Mullins, Ithaca
Rookie of the Year: Chad Burridge, F, Oswego State

First team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Sean Burton Ithaca Sr. Yorkville, N.Y.
G Scott Morton Geneseo State Sr. Syracuse, N.Y.
F Mike Chmielowiec Rochester Sr. Batavia, N.Y.
F Sam Simmons RPI Sr. Newburgh, N.Y.
C Mark Carson Rochester Tech Sr. Voorheesville, N.Y.

Second team

Pos. Player School Yr. Hometown
G Corey McAdam Nazareth Jr. Fairport, N.Y.
G Tom Wopperer St. Lawrence Sr. Manlius, N.Y.
F Ryan McAdam Nazareth Sr. Fairport, N.Y.
F David Golembiowski SUNYIT So. Barneveld, N.Y.
C Jeff Bostic Ithaca Sr. Geneva, N.Y.