MBB: United East Conference

[patriot41]

big game tomorrow night with keystone playing at bbc... especially after caz knocked off keystone on saturday... dyc is also at caz on tuesday

[bballfan44]

Tonight is a big night.  If Keystone gets the win it will make a three way tie between keystone, BBC, and Caz.  Of course Caz will be in first because they own the tie breaker between both teams, then keystone in second because it has the tie breaker over BBC.  But i dont believe Keystone will win tonight. playing at BBC so i see BBC winning by 12.

Plus the word is that caz and d'youville game has been moved to tommorrow night.

I think first place for the league will not be clear till the end of the season when Caz travels to BBC, and the winner gets first

[patriot41]

keystone vs. bbc has been rescheduled for friday the 22nd, which makes that weekend huge, as bbc will host keystone and caz on back-to-back nights... looks like we will be waiting to see where the tourney is until the last minute

[bballfan44]

Cazenovia grabs the #1 seed for the NEAC tournment with a win over BBC.  Caz was down by 13 with 7 mins left in the game to tie it with 45 seconds left in the game.  Then Zulu hit a three pointer at the buzzard to win the game 76-73.

I believe the seedings for the tournment will be

2 BBC vs 3 Keystone
1 Cazenovia vs PSU-Berks

all games will be played at caz.

Should be good.  BBC and Keystone split the season series which were both close games.  and of course berks beat caz twice this season.  Games are friday

[bballfan44]

NEAC Play offs are tomorrow night:

My Predictions-

Cazenovia 87- PSU-Berks 68
Baptist Bible 68- Keystone- 59

Coach Of The Year- Mike Show (BBC)

1st Team-
Charles Walker- DYC
Raquan Banks- Keuka
Tom Arther- PBU
Eric Latendress- Caz
Seth Lewis- PSU-Harrisburg

2nd Team-
Abe Hitz- PSU-Harrisburg
Charles Edwards- Keystone
Tim O'Keefe- BBC
Steve Harris- Caz
Adam Fusco-PSU-Berks

Honorable Mention-
Robert McDowell- Keuka
Eric Sauer- Caz
Josh Workman- BBC
Nathen Penley-BBC
Tercel Taylor-Keystone

[cazfan]

Why the BBC coach for coach of the year?  I would think Coach Bowser @ Caz is the more logical choice when you consider the fact that Caz hadn't beaten BBC at all in the last few years, then manages to beat them twice while tying BBC as co league champs with a 10-4 record?  I'd call that a major breakthrough.  The 2 wins may have been by a combined 6 points, but they still count the same.  This is the first time in years Caz will finish .500 or better for the season; they've never had 10 conference wins before.  And if Caz wins this tournament I don't think there should be any discussion at all.  I'm not taking anything away from Coach Show-- he's a good coach running a good program.  It's just that I think he got out coached this year. 

[bballfan44]

Coach Show is the better coach. BBC had the overall better record.  Ya Caz beat BBC but they got lucky in the last game. BBC is the better team and show is the best coach so thats why ithink show will win the award.  As for the championship game:

BBC 71  Caz 56

[cazfan]

well, again.  nothing against coach show, but I'd have to argue who's the better coach.  They are both very good.  And it takes more than luck to come back from 13 down, then from 8 down with 2 minutes to go, then be in a position where the luck actually can make a difference in the outcome. . .especially on the other teams home court, where you haven't won before.

It took some luck, but it also took a lot of effort and a win is a win.  Actually, that's 2 wins now.  I wish I could be there tomorrow.  I'll be surprised if either team gets a double digit victory.  It should be a good game.  Knowing how hard it is to beat a team 3 times in a season BBC will probably be the favorites, but that's ok.  Lets see them make it past Keystone for a 3rd time, and Caz avenge Berks and then we can talk.

[cazfan]

I think the season performance Caz put up took more than what BBC's season took.  Again, no offense to Show (who I believe won the award last year as well).  You are right that BBC had a record that's 3 games better than Caz.  I assume they played a difficult non conference schedule, and I know Caz did.  Still, BBC fared better against non conference foes.  They have the better record.  They did last year as well.  And I bet if I looked into it, they've had a better record for years.  They are a more established program. 

It took more for Caz to get to this point.  To me, that's the deal breaker. 

For the record. . .I think you're right that Show will win the award.  I just don't agree with the decision. 

[cazfan]

Hey bballfan44-- looks like I got the coach of the year right, and you called the final outcome right on the game.  You also did a decent job with the players who got honors.  It was a good game Saturday.  Caz got used to coming back from 13 down, but 20 turned out to be too much especially when BBC was perfect from the line down the home stretch.  It was a good season, and they both get post season bids.  The NEAC should be happy with both schools.

[patriot41]

what are everyone's thoughts and predictions for next year?

[bballfan44]

League gets a little tougher.  They loss BBC, Keystone, and PBU but add Wells, SUNY IT, and SUNY Colbiskill.  Wells will probably be bad, but IT and Colb i think are better teams then BBC and Keystone.  I mean IT beat Caz by 20 who was the number one team in the league.  Plus D'youville loses no one and if they add some to the team they will be good.  PSU-Berks loses no one and askew comes back who was the best player on there team his first two years.  Harrisburg returnes the player of the year and everyone else.  Keuka loses only woodley which isn't much of a lose.  Caz loses there best player in latendress but still bring back two big scores.  I think it will be up in the air on who will be at the top of the league.  It all depends on who brings in the best recruiting class because I think everyone is equal right now.  Whats your thoughts??

[bballfan44]

Congrats to BBC on making the NCAA tournment.  to bad they couldnt pull a win out.  To bad they aren't staying in the league next year because if you throw them in with the two new teams, and the others staying it would be a very competitive league.  Good luck to them in the PAC

[WNYHoops]

It has been awhile since I have posted, but I like the discussion of the NEAC you guys bring. I did not get to see as much NEAC basketball as I would have liked, but from the teams I did see and from looking at web sites, etc. I would think SUNU IT will be the team to beat in this league next year. They play in the SUNYAC and get beat up on, but they did have the frosh of the year and pounded Caz late in the season. Losing BBC, Keystone and PBU is a blow to the conference, as I feel Keystone could be pretty good and BBC (even though they lose nearly their entire starting lineup and will not be as potent next season) have a great system and coach. They always play hard and smart.

Cobleskill is a mystery. They are traditionally good in the JUCO ranks, but how does that spell over to DIII next year. My guess is they cannot get the same type of players as they have had. If they do, they would have to be at the top of the pre-season rankings along with SUNY IT. Wells most-likely will be bad as  a first-year program.

Of the returning team, DYC does bring back everyone and you know Coach Miller will add to the group. This is the team I see most often living in Buffalo and hearing things thru the grapevine. Word is Greg French (a JUCO player-of-the year at ECC a couple years ago and former 2,000 point HS scorer at Traditional) will show up on campus next fall. But we heard the same thing last off-season so who knows. Even without French, the Spartans return all-everything scorer Charles Walker and will have Kowalski back to full strength. They should be tough. Caz loses Latendress which is a major blow for them. I saw him put 31 on DYC scoring from all over the court. Without him the defensive attention can go more toward Harris, who is hot and cold. Keuka's situation will depend a great deal on Banks. He was super last year early, but disappeared at times and missed some games too. Will he be back?? If so, they could contend. Berks and Harrisburg are similar, but I think a notch below IT, DYC and Caz at this point.

From my vantage point, IT is the favorite right now, with DYC a close second. Caz and Keuka have some question marks, but should be able to contend in a balanced league. It should be fun and I hope to take in more games next season.

[bballfan44]

Hey good to see you back on the board WNYhoops.  I believe SUNY IT will be oneof the top teams next year, the only problem they could have is keeping kids.  They get alot of transfers but most of them have trouble staying in school.  There was only one kid on this years team that played against caz last year. So who knows who they will return, i mean i know its still early but the freshmen of the year isn't on the team roster anymore(kind of strange).    I kind of think Cobleskill will be the team to beat next year, they are loaded with alot of talent this year, so if most of them come back they will be stacked.  Plus they are a SUNY school which means it is easy for them to get anyone they want.  But that is a long ways away.  Maybe one of the NEAC teams will get some stud recruits