MBB: Little East

[Pat Coleman]

Watched Dave last night on Hoopsville and he does a great job, however I have to admit his opening interview and discussion about the Little East Conference left a lot to be desired.  The Little East Conference has always been a top conference in the country but for some reason people choose to ignore it.  I do realize the Northeast talk is all about the NESCAC and yes the teams at the top of that conference deserve credit.  I'm not even trying to say the top teams in the Little East are in their category year in and year out.  I AM saying the LEC is a player in the national scene.  They CONSISTENTLLY send teams to the tournament and you see them in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 year in and year out.  So to say they are just coming on the scene is an oversight.

I don't see it as "always been a top conference" as being correct. The LEC had some national prominence in the 80s, but that changed when the NESCAC started allowing its teams to play in the NCAA Tournament. Only recently has the LEC gotten itself back in the conversation in men's basketball.

Of course you consistently send teams to the tournament. That's what an automatic bid is for. And it's very possible to make the Sweet 16, especially in this part of the country, without playing a team from an upper-tier conference. Last year RIC beat the AMCC and SUNYAC. Two years ago included a win against a NESCAC team, which is good. But the LEC hasn't been to a Final Four since 1993. All of the conferences we consider power conferences have been in the Final Four in the past decade and almost all of them have won titles: WIAC, NESCAC, UAA, ODAC, CCIW.

[ECSUalum]

First time I have actually watched a Hoopsville broadcast, not bad at all!!  First, it is an excellent on line venue for promoting D-III basketball, which here in Connecticut is hardly ever mentioned on the local TV, news, radio etc,  FOXCtNews 10 TV is the exception, which is great!!  WFSB Ch3 Sports, for example, talks nothing else but to UCONN sports EVERY day for practically the whole session, which REALLY irks me, especially, when we have many, many quality D-I, D-II and D-III athletic programs in the state.  Anyway, it was nice to hear Coach Colbert and Dave McHugh chit chat about the LEC, which has started to make a mark on the national scene.  We all know RIC and WCSU's basketball programs are nationally known, but Keene has done a fantastic job building the program over the last couple years.   I hope Keene and ECSU together with the Western and RIC programs continue to play well, get recognized, and hopefully the successes will translate to the LEC teams getting closer looks by even better high school players, for example quality taller players, and keep the winning momentum into the future. Remember, these LEC institutions also have very fine acedemic programs as well!!
Secondly, I think the NESCAC bloggers certainly know that winning the D-III National Title runs through beating one or more LEC teams and being very knowledgeable sports fans, have given the LEC credit this year for competing well with the "CAC"
We also have to give a lot of credit to LEC Comissioner Jon Harper, EZstream and the local sponsors, who has been instrumental in bringing LECTV streaming video to the internet.  Finally D3hoop, D3baseball, D3soccer etc have been wonderful sites for D-III sports infomation dissemination, and particularly to interact with!!  All the above class acts!!  KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

[7express]

Tuesday predictions:

Eastern 73 @ Keene 76.
Both suffered heart breaking losses on the road in overtime to Western in the past week.  Eastern bounced back nicely at home against Dartmouth, but now get their final 2 conference games on the road.  Now it's Keene's turn to find out how their bounce-back capabilities are in what could end up being the final home game of the season in Spaulding gym.  I think this comes down to the final couple of possessions, whoever has the ball last may very well win.

Western 72 @ RIC 68.
You really thought I was going to pick RIC didn't you??  I think no matter what RIC does against Western, they beat keene on Saturday, so a Western win here would leave them in the drivers seat, but a tough task indeed.  Western has only had 2 "good" road win this year, and each loss WPI has in the NEWMAC conference 1 of those "good" win looks worse and worse.  RIC is undefeated at home this year including beating WPI back in December.  Earlier this season DaQuan Brooks was talking about bringing championships to Danbury and getting his jersey retired, win this game your almost there.  From what I've seen of RIC this year they don't look as good as the RIC teams from 2002 on when they first burst onto the conference scene under Bob Walsh, but it's still a good team none-the-less.  A win in Providence (where no one has won before), would prove Western is a legit contender, I'm just worried about the lack-of-defense, but this would be the signature road win this year; DaQuan Brooks gets it done.

Plymouth 67 @ USM 72.
For as important as those first 2 games are (and boy are both those big games), this is the most important game of the day (or night in this case), as the LEC tournament pretty much starts with this game.  USM is officially eliminated with a loss, as they would be 0-2 against the Panthers this season.  Plymouth can lose this game and still get in....but it will be an uphill battle for them...they'd need to beat Western and have USM lose to Dartmouth.  In that case, Plymouth would win the tiebreaker due to them being 2-0 against Western while USM was only 1-1.  But basicially, whoever wins this, wins the 6th and final spot.  Let the playoffs begin!

Dartmouth 78 @ Boston 61.
The most meaningless game of the day.  Boston is eliminated anyways, so their just playing out the string wanting to finish the season strong.  Dartmouth is all but locked into the 5th spot; only way Dartmouth can finish 6th is if they lose out and USM wins out (which includes a win over Dartmouth).

[pjunito]

I think d3sports.com does a great job covering the various sports on a regional and national level. Division 3 inter-athletics have so many people who support programs, players, and institution that people at a national level (financially) forget it's importances. I root for a school that plays in a weak conference and has little history of success. So, I didn't know about the passion that follows Basketball in this region at this level. It is exciting to come and read post, reply, or even disagree with fellow basketball fans....

Hoopsville does a great job! I enjoy listening.... Let's enjoy these last few and fun weeks of the basketball season.

[7express]

Massey ratings for games tomorrow:

RIC 80-72 (80%)
Keene 73-72 (52%)
Dartmouth 75-64 (87%)
USM 68-64 (64%)

[7express]

Western moves from 0 votes in last weeks poll to 48 votes in this weeks poll, good for #26 in the nation by virtue of erasing double digit 2nd half deficits winning 2 games in overtime by a combined 4 points.  Keene is #27 with 47 votes, Eastern is #36 with 9 votes and RIC is tied for 38th with 7 votes.  Complete poll:
D3hoops.com men's Top 25, Week 11
Through games of Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012:

#   School (1st votes)   Rec   Pts   Prev.
1   Hope (23)   22-1   623   1
2   Amherst (1)   22-2   579   6
3   MIT (1)   22-1   551   5
4   Middlebury   22-2   527   2
5   Mary Hardin-Baylor   22-1   512   8
6   Cabrini   23-1   494   7
7   Virginia Wesleyan   19-3   462   3
8   Birmingham-Southern   22-1   446   10
9   UW-Whitewater   20-3   429   4
10   Whitworth   20-3   419   9
11   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   21-1   385   11
12   UW-Stevens Point   19-4   342   12
13   Franklin and Marshall   21-2   335   14
14   Transylvania   21-2   300   15
15   William Paterson   21-3   250   17
16   Oswego State   19-3   229   18
17   Augustana   18-5   189   20
18   Emory   18-4   143   23
19   UW-River Falls   18-5   138   25
20   Albertus Magnus   22-1   107   24
21   Wittenberg   18-5   89   22
22   Wooster   19-4   84   13
23   Randolph-Macon   19-4   77   --
24   Washington U.   17-5   57   --
25   Hartwick   22-2   50   --
Dropped out: No. 16 New York University, No. 19 Wheaton (Ill.), No. 21 Keene State.

Others receiving votes: Western Connecticut 48; Keene State 44; Lake Forest 42; Wheaton (Ill.) 28; New York University 20; Bethany 19; Wesleyan 18; Illinois Wesleyan 15; Christopher Newport 14; Williams 10; Eastern Connecticut 9; Gustavus Adolphus 8; North Central (Ill.) 7; Rhode Island College 7; WPI 7; Lycoming 6; Wabash 4; Edgewood 1; Hobart 1.

The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Watched Dave last night on Hoopsville and he does a great job, however I have to admit his opening interview and discussion about the Little East Conference left a lot to be desired.  The Little East Conference has always been a top conference in the country but for some reason people choose to ignore it.  I do realize the Northeast talk is all about the NESCAC and yes the teams at the top of that conference deserve credit.  I’m not even trying to say the top teams in the Little East are in their category year in and year out.  I AM saying the LEC is a player in the national scene.  They CONSISTENTLLY send teams to the tournament and you see them in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 year in and year out.  So to say they are just coming on the scene is an oversight.

Also, if you notice the LEC plays each team twice which is a very difficult task.  The teams in the NESCAC play ONCE and for those teams that choose to play an “out of conference” game for the second time in a season you see them splitting.  Look no further than Wesleyan.  They play Amherst, and Williams twice a year look and see how that is working out.  That’s what happens in the LEC EVERY YEAR!

As for Keene State, the first player brought up was Derek D’Amours, who hasn’t been with the team since January 1st!  That’s the first guy you bring up to a coach when you have him on air?  A little homework on that one would have been good.  Also you chose to focus on a loss to Williams on DECEMBER 7th!  REALLY DECEMBER 7th? That’s like an ENTIRE SEASON AGO!  Everyone knows teams come together and develop over the course of a season especially one as long as the basketball season. 

Why is it you didn’t choose to focus on the fact that KSC has won 10-12 since Jan.1st, with 3 wins over top 25 teams (or they were at the time) and only 2 losses to WCONN who was also ranked nationally this season?  And oh by the way you could have focused on the MORE RECENT WIN over #1 Ranked Middlebury. 

But…if you need an explanation for the Williams game here it is:  GIVE THEM CREDIT they shot unbelievably  well from the floor …think Villanova –Georgetown national championship if you can remember….ALSO THAT WAS A DIFFERENT KSC TEAM!  They lacked chemistry, and Rashad Wright did not play in the game.  Since they have put it together you can see they are a force.

I like the show and watch all the time but just though that segment lacked depth and research.

For starters... thanks for watching.

To cover your points:
- LEC has been part of the conversation, just not on the scale of the best conferences in the country. When was the last time three teams, let alone four, were in the conversation - serious conversation - about getting into the NCAA tournament from the LEC? LEC has had two teams picked often, but that doesn't put them in the ranks of the ODAC, WIAC, CCIW, and even the NESCAC who have gotten three teams often (less often for the NESCAC, though their teams tend to go the furthest more often).
- I brought up D'Amours to point out to those who may not know, the team's leading scorer only played the first half of the season... if that was misunderstood, I apologize. But it was also to point out that the team rallied from that and as you pointed out, won 10 of the last 12. I was balancing hosting, interview, producing, calling guests, monitoring chat rooms, email, and other social media, all at the same time - solo. Usually I have more help, but not Sunday. So, if my point wasn't clear, I apologize.
- Bringing up the Williams game is important... because that game counts as much as Saturday's game does in the eyes of the NCAA. It is clearly also the biggest blemish on the record and since I don't talk to these coaches (or people hear from them) on a weekly basis, it is worth mentioning.
We did talk about other teams who are ranked, Western Connecticut for example. I am sorry the conversation didn't head towards Middlebury... that was an oversight on my part - despite knowing very well about the win and having it written down to discuss (loved the reaction at Keene State and it was a point to bring up, but was forgotten).

Please understand I spend a lot of hours preparing for a show that has anywhere from four to five to more guests per night. I spent most of the weekend either watching games, at games, conducting pre-taped interviews, researching for the show, and doing production work. I am sorry it wasn't at your standards... but understand it isn't from a lack of work.

[7express]

Here's the scenerio's for tomorrow's game. 
A Keene win AND RIC win sends the tournament to Spaulding gym.  Nobody could pass the Owls on the final day if that scenerio pans out.
RIC is eliminated from #1 consideration with a loss OR Keene win.  They can still finish #1, but they need to tie Keene at 10-4 for the top spot and have Eastern & Western both lose out to finish 9-5.  In that case RIC would win the tiebreaker over Keene.
Eastern is eliminated from #1 consideration with a loss AND Western win.  Eastern loses the tiebreaker to Western.  So to recap, the only teams that can afford a loss Tuesday and still win the conference are Keene & Western.

IF Keene & Western win:
RIC could finish no higher than 4th as they'd lose the tiebreaker to Eastern.  Eastern could finish no higher then 3rd because they'd lose tiebreakers to both Keene & Western.  Keene & Eastern would finish 1-2 order toi be decided Saturday.
IF Keene & RIC win:
Keene is locked in at #1, and Eastern/Western/RIC are all tied for 2nd.  Not sure, but I believe Western is still #2.
IF Eastern & RIC win:
What a mess.  Eastern goes in the drivers seat due to better record against Western then Keene would.
IF Eastern & Western win:
RIC is locked in at #4, Western would be #1 due to better record against the 3 teams (3-1.  Keene would be 1-3, Eastern 2-2 in this scenerio).  Eastern wins a tiebreaker over Keene for final bye spot.
The above is how the tournament would look, whichever scenerio plays out above.

Finally, here's what each person should root for tomorrow (besides their own team obviously):
Western: If we lose, were pretty much screwed anyways, so it won't matter what happens.  A) If Keene wins, the race is over or B) If Eastern wins, we have to bank on them losing to Boston to take the conference.  I'll root for Eastern however, if we don't host it, I'd rather go to Willimantic for the semi's and finals then back to Keene, where it seems like it's snowed everytime I've gone up there.
Eastern fans should root hard for RIC.  As I said above, an Eastern win coupled with a RIC win would put Eastern in the drivers seat and they get the worst team in the conference the final day of the season.  Also, I'll put in added bonus for a fan of Plymouth state too.  If Eastern doesn't win the conference, their more than likely finishing 3rd which would pair them up against the 6 seed, more than likely whoever wins that USM/Plymouth game.  Eastern had 2 relative easy wins against Plymouth this year and 2 tough games vs. USM.  Assuming I don't win the conference, I'd rather play Plymouth again then USM.
RIC fans should root for Keene.  Even though you'd lose the division, you still finish 2nd if Eastern and Western finish the week 0-2, and that plays out easier if you play a team that's already clinched instead of a team that's still fighting for something.

[Eye in the Sky]

Here we go, last week, can't believe it is here already.....the basketball seasons are always the longest, but don't seem like it when you hit February and it is almost over....how time flies.

What a night in store with Eastern vs. Keene, and Western vs. RIC. RIC is very tough at home this season, and though it seems like they may be a bit weaker than some of the previous teams we have come to see at Rhode Island, watch out because they have some talented players, that if they get it going at the right time (Akinrola and Choice) could be too much to handle. I'd be very worried to play RIC come tournament time. And West Conn. is a very talented team, and offensively can be a nightmare for opposing coaches. My only concern with West Conn., as most of you have pointed out, is that Daquan Brooks can be a bit "obnoxious" with his shot selection. They were fortunate to escape Saturday with all those bad shots he hoisted up down the stretch. If Keene wasn't in the zone and hadn't had so much trouble rebounding out of it, who knows.

The Keene and Eastern game features, to me, the most talented team when they put it all together, in Keene, and the team that plays the best "team" basketball in the league. How do both teams respond after the tough losses at West Conn (Both outstanding games last week, exciting, great plays, with the exception of the referees in the Keene vs. West Conn game). If anyone hasn't already gotten the chance to check out the broadcast and see the 3 pointer that wasn't on saturday in Danbury please do because to me it sreams one thing. If you go to the Keene broadcast, http://www.littleeast.tv/play/index.cfm?id=2916D96C24 , and scroll to the 39:15 mark in the broadcast, you can see how far from a 3 Bridter's shot was, which tells me those Refs were way in over their heads with that game. No referee who is even remotely good, would call that shot a 3 pointer. Unfortunate, and the calls were suspect both ways!

But after that rant, it'll be interesting to see how this Keene and Eastern game plays out. Spaulding will be as always packed. Will it be a half court type of game which Keene won the first time? Or up and down a bit, which I would say definetly favors Keene.

Will be at the Keene and Eastern game. Can't wait to see how everything plays out, and if we are crowning a regular season title to Keene, or if Saturday becomes a HUGE day of basketball.

[amh63]

ECSUAlum......Congrat to Eastern in beating Keene at Keene.  Saw RIC beat Western, also a tight one.  Given these events....does Eastern get to host the Little East tourney?  I know 7Express tried to read the crystal ball but his post gave me a little headache....if one doesn't follow the events of the past week in the conf....which I didn't.   Doesn't Keene still have to go to RIC?  Or does it matter what happens in RI.  Never mind, if the answer to my first question is Yes,,,,do not bother with the rest.  Willi can use the business.  Isn't technology great!  Still Live is best.  Had a great time at Amherst watching LIVE.  Hope to catch the first 'CAC game on the beach.

[ECSUalum]

amh63,
Thank You very much for your comments, whew!!!!   The key to the win over Keene tonight was TO advantage 10-19 for ECSU aaaaaaaaaand.....     THEY HIT THEIR FTs and HIT CLUTCH FREE THROWS at the end !!!!!!!
ECSU also played lockdown D like I have seen them play this year holding the Owls to 62 pts.... meaning Ryan Martin was kept in check, ie 11 points.
If ECSU wins at UMass Boston, up in Boston, (should happen), and RIC beats Keene St in Providence, they win LEC outright @ 11-3, if Keene beats RIC they will be 11-3, Eastern wins tie breaker as they split with WCSU, RIC and Keene, while Keene lost two to Western, split with RIC and split with Eastern.
Congrats to Chris Robitaille for his double double, (12 reb-16 pts) tonight!!  Great Job!!

BTW amh63  " watch the CAC tourney on the beach"  Hopefully your heading to the Carribean!!  Yes!!?  Can I carry your bags?

[ECSUalum]

PS IT HAS BEEN THE KISS OF DEATH FOR LEC TEAMS TO BE RANKED IN THE TOP 25!!!!!!

[7express]

Congrats to Eastern on a tough win at Keene.  Keene's 7 day collapse should commence around 5:00 PM Saturday afternoon.  If they get 1 defensive rebound in overtime Saturday, they clinch the conference.  Now if they lose Saturday to RIC they fall to the #4 spot if I have my tiebreaker scenerio's correct (of course thats assuming both Western & Eastern win Saturday).
There's a reason you play the games, but really, Eastern couldn't have a better opponent for them Saturday.

I'm eating dinner, so I'll have the rest of the recaps afterwards in about 45 minutes or so.

[7express]

ECSUAlum......Congrat to Eastern in beating Keene at Keene.  Saw RIC beat Western, also a tight one.  Given these events....does Eastern get to host the Little East tourney?  I know 7Express tried to read the crystal ball but his post gave me a little headache....if one doesn't follow the events of the past week in the conf....which I didn't.   Doesn't Keene still have to go to RIC?  Or does it matter what happens in RI.  Never mind, if the answer to my first question is Yes,,,,do not bother with the rest.  Willi can use the business.  Isn't technology great!  Still Live is best.  Had a great time at Amherst watching LIVE.  Hope to catch the first 'CAC game on the beach.

Sorry amh...yah as long as Eastern beats Boston Saturday they host.
Western hosts if they win AND Eastern loses.
The winner of Keene/RIC will also host if BOTH Eastern AND Western lose

[AllStar]

ECSUAlum......Congrat to Eastern in beating Keene at Keene.  Saw RIC beat Western, also a tight one.  Given these events....does Eastern get to host the Little East tourney?  I know 7Express tried to read the crystal ball but his post gave me a little headache....if one doesn't follow the events of the past week in the conf....which I didn't.   Doesn't Keene still have to go to RIC?  Or does it matter what happens in RI.  Never mind, if the answer to my first question is Yes,,,,do not bother with the rest.  Willi can use the business.  Isn't technology great!  Still Live is best.  Had a great time at Amherst watching LIVE.  Hope to catch the first 'CAC game on the beach.

Sorry amh...yah as long as Eastern beats Boston Saturday they host.
Western hosts if they win AND Eastern loses.
The winner of Keene/RIC will also host if BOTH Eastern AND Western lose

Keene can host if they win and Eastern Connecticut loses (even though they probably won't to UMB).