MBB: Liberty League

[stlawus]

Both home teams win tonight.  Good comeback win for RIT to get their first playoff win in a long time. 

Bard's lack of playoff experience was quite evident tonight against RPI.  Not a great shot selection in the 2nd half, but RPI played very solid defense. 

So on Friday we have a somewhat local rivalry matchup with Hobart taking on RIT and RPI heading right back up to SLU.

[Bartman]

Stlawus, thanks for restarting the discussion in time for the playoffs. I've been very happy with the job Coach Thompson has done this year as this is the "tightest"Hobart  team we have seen recently. After losing Jackson M, he had a real challenge to mold this team , which plays as a well balanced squad and does not give up.
 As far as the tournament is concerned, anything can happen. Relying on defense(SLU is excellent) is a good strategy as well as ball possession , but I've noticed each of these teams can have a cold shooting night , and when that happens, they struggle. As far as Hobart, they will get their rebounds but they must defend well and hopefully have a good shooting tournament. They are good from the foul line which is always tournament friendly, and when Healy and Moesch hit their threes this is a tough team to beat.I'd love to see a Hobart -SLU final at Bristol, but any of the final four teams could come away with the tourney title. Good luck to the SLU boys tonight. 

[stlawus]

Fitting that both home teams win tonight.  Hobart in control wire to wire shooting at an extremely high clip.  Last year's run to the semis paid dividends, looked like some of that experience was at play tonight. 

Things looked pretty dicey to start for the Saints tonight with RPI jumping out to a 17-4 lead, but SLU's defense wore the Engineers out and exploded to a double digit lead in the 2nd half.  Extremely physical game, plenty of blood and bruises in this one. 

Total tossup Sunday as far as I'm concerned, I would not be shocked with any sort of result as far as margin of victory.  In a vacuum the loser on Sunday would have had a decent shot at the bubble, but alas, this year is not in a vacuum with some of the conference tournament upsets so far. 

[Bartman]

Hobart fans were pumped tonight , the most noise I've heard in years. They played defense, shot well when they needed to and rebounding was sound. RIT had a ton of fans but not much to cheer for as Hobart dominated almost all night. I think Hobart stands will be packed Sunday with Colleges and Geneva fans(entry is free). The Statesmen are ready to play the Saints and even though Hobart has home court, I think SLU defense might be a challenge for the Statesmen. It should be a great game and I'm expecting a close exciting contest that will be a heartbreaker for the loser.
   Great weekend with Hobart hosting the LL basketball, the reigning NCAA D3 Hockey Champs have a NEHC playoff game tomorrow. Also, Cornell lax on Tuesday in Ithaca ....This is a great sports time as Winter sports wind down and Spring sports begin.

[stlawus]

Home and away splits were the story of the season, and it was fitting that it was the main factor today.  Nothing but kudos to the Statesmen for defending home court.  They made the tough shots that kept SLU at arms length the whole game.   Most SLU losses the last 3 years were a result of poor free throw shooting, and while that was not the only reason it was a big reason today.   The Statesmen forced SLU to take low percentage shot attempts all game, and SLU repeatedly took their bait.  There was a brief window of opportunity with about 2:30 left for SLU, but multiple bricks and missed free throws sealed it. 

Well played to Hobart who were poised and never panicked and used home court to great advantage. Nothing but a tip of the cap to the Statesmen and I wish them the best of luck next weekend.  The Liberty League has gotten the shaft in NCAA selections the past few years as far as first round opponents, so hoping Hobart gets a good draw. Commentator for Hobart is good but I really don't know why he thinks Hobart will host, but I'd definitely love that to be the case.   

Still a great season for SLU.  Hard to repeat in this league, and they played well despite the targets on their backs.   Future is still bright for this group, they bring back 4 starters and still have a decent amount of freshmen and sophs coming back along with a veteran starting core.   

[Bartman]

Home and away splits were the story of the season, and it was fitting that it was the main factor today.  Nothing but kudos to the Statesmen for defending home court.  They made the tough shots that kept SLU at arms length the whole game.   Most SLU losses the last 3 years were a result of poor free throw shooting, and while that was not the only reason it was a big reason today.   The Statesmen forced SLU to take low percentage shot attempts all game, and SLU repeatedly took their bait.  There was a brief window of opportunity with about 2:30 left for SLU, but multiple bricks and missed free throws sealed it. 

Well played to Hobart who were poised and never panicked and used home court to great advantage. Nothing but a tip of the cap to the Statesmen and I wish them the best of luck next weekend.  The Liberty League has gotten the shaft in NCAA selections the past few years as far as first round opponents, so hoping Hobart gets a good draw. Commentator for Hobart is good but I really don't know why he thinks Hobart will host, but I'd definitely love that to be the case.   

Still a great season for SLU.  Hard to repeat in this league, and they played well despite the targets on their backs.   Future is still bright for this group, they bring back 4 starters and still have a decent amount of freshmen and sophs coming back along with a veteran starting core.   

Great game to watch as a Statesman fan, as they win the LL title for the first time in 10 years. SLU has some great talent but were behind rather early that put them in a hole. Hobart moved the ball well on offense to counter the long arm defense of SLU and Hobart played one of its better games defensively as they were aggressive from the start. Having home court in a game like this is critical as the Hobart athletes/fans showed up in big numbers to support Bball . I think every hockey player was there, as they should pack the Cooler for the Conference Championship next Saturday against Skidmore.
    I wore the same orange Hobart sweatshirt I wore to the Springfield game we won in the NCAA tourney before Covid shut us down, and it brought luck again. I'm sure we'll get a lousy pairing for the tournament and I'd be surprised if we get a home game as the LL usually gets screwed....but we'll find out tomorrow.
    Great turnout by the SLU fans today, they should be proud of the team and their program. Today was just not their day, but I'm sure they'll be ready to go next year, and probably be the favorites.

[Bartman]

I watched portions of the D3hoops show yesterday and they are projecting a Hobart matchup with Newport News in the first round which would be ironic since Hobart was scheduled to play NN in 2020 after they beat Springfield before the Covid shutdown. We'll see what the committee actually determines.SLU was one of the last few teams eliminated from PoolC , so it looks like just one team from the LL .

[stlawus]

CNU it is. They are not the CNU of last year but still a tall task for Hobart who will be up for the challenge. Two years in a row the LL will play the C2C in the first round. Also given Stockton's selection with 10 losses it suffices to say I am completely done with this committee. Can't wait for it to be a completely new group of members.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'll most likely be at Widener Friday - it's the closest site to my house - would love to meet any/all of you who make the trip!

[Bartman]

I'll most likely be at Widener Friday - it's the closest site to my house - would love to meet any/all of you who make the trip!

Ryan, thanks for all your work at D3hoops. Four years ago I went to Springfield to see Covid eliminate Hobart from the tournament after they beat a #14 and a #17 ranked St.Joes(CT) and Springfield in 2 exciting games. Interestingly, our next opponent was going to be CNU. Well four years later we finally get to play them. While LL basketball might not be expected to do much in the NCAAs, this Hobart team could surprise this pod. They rebound well, played energized defense against SLU and can be a streaky team from behind the arc. Coach Thompson is a Hobart grad that was a great point guard and has done a fantastic job with the talent this year. Hopefully the Widener rims will be kind to them.
  I won't see you in PA, because we've been fortunate with our Winter sports this year and I'll be attending the Hobart Hockey NEHC Championship game in Geneva as we hopefully advance and repeat as National Champions.
  Have a great weekend and hopefully my Statesmen will surprise you.

[Bartman]

Congrats to the All Liberty League :

ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM:
Jonny Angbazo, Gr., F, RPI
Adam Dudzinski, So., F, St. Lawrence
Pat Healy, Jr., G, Hobart
Ryan Miles-Ferguson, Gr., G, Clarkson
Logan Wendell, Jr., G, Ithaca
 
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM:
Avery Eugster, Sr., F, RPI
Carter Meshanic, Jr., G/F, Hobart
Lazaros Panagiotounis, Sr., G, Bard
Trey Syroka, Sr., G, St. Lawrence
Triston Wennsersten, Sr., G, Ithaca
 
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION:
Brock Bowen, Jr., G, RIT
Chase Dickens, Jr., G, RIT
Aidan Rodgers, Jr., G, Hobart
Shea Fitzgerald, FY, G, Vassar
Tanner Tedesco, FY, G, Union

Also to Coach Thompson and his staff for being named Coaches of the Year. Let's beat CNU!

[Bartman]

Good luck to my Statesmen tonight against CNU. Just like four years ago nobody is picking you.....then you won the first 2 games only to be shut down by COVID. Good Defense, Ball Control, accurate shooting from the field and on the line and don't be intimidated by their BIGS. GOBART!

[stlawus]

2nd year in a row the LL champ gets paired with a C2C team and bows out in the first round. Statesmen started slow but looked like they were going to make a game of it. CNU's experience was just too much.  Despite all the noise about their personnel losses and problems they were poised down the stretch and played their way to the 2nd weekend. Nothing for Hobart to hang their heads about. A great season that surpassed expectations given the loss of Jackson Meshanic.  They'll lose a couple starters but should be fine for next year. Like SLU this year they'll get everyone's best game next year which is an added challenge. I foresee Hobart, SLU and RPI being top 3 preseason favorites again next season

[stlawus]

Plenty of LL players to go around in the all-region teams.  Angbazo gets LL player of the year and NABC Region 3 first team but no honors on any of the 3 teams on d3hoops.com, what a shocker /s. Glad to see Ryan Miles-Ferguson get his due in the all region selections as well as getting the chance to play in the all star game. 

Now that the dust has settled, I'm thinking the top of the standings next year could very well be the same 3 teams from this year in any order.  RPI losing Angbazo will hurt, but they still have a good amount of impressive underclassmen.  Hobart is losing their glue guy and best defensive player in Washington along with center Lucey, but otherwise bring back everyone else.  SLU losing Syroka will also hurt given his defense and ball handling, but they bring back all the remaining 4 starters.   That's tentatively at least, since you never know with the portal action especially as it relates to Dudzinski's stellar season and player profile.

This year definitely had some of the most parity I've seen, especially as it related to home and road splits.  SLU and Hobart were a combined 26-0 at home, don't know if the top two teams ever ran the table at home before.  There were surprises like Union who got production out of players in their senior year who hadn't done much their first 3 years, along with Bard making the playoffs with a new coach.  I was not shocked to see Ithaca take a step back, they lost a ton of 5th years and seniors from last year. One of the downsides of having 5th year players is that you can miss out on recruits that you might normally get, so I'm interested to see what Ithaca does next year one season removed from an uncharacteristic down season.

Clarkson is losing the league's leading scorer, but still bring everyone else back including who I thought should have been rookie of the year. We saw this year that Hobart losing the league's leading scorer from last season had no effect, so if Clarkson can add some depth pieces it would be extremely disappointing if they miss the playoffs again next year.

[stlawus]

Completely missed the announcement of McVean's retirement a few days ago.  40 years, what a run.  Don't know if you'll ever seen someone at one institution for that long again.   RIT has to now replace both the men's and women's HC position.  Should be a pretty sought after job.