MBB: Little East

[7express]

So much for RIC running the table in the LEC and maybe having an undefeated season. Love bandwagon riders. LMAO. Go WEST CONN. Congrats to Eastern. Which now some people on this board will be on their bandwagon. Like I said before Brooks and company is gonna have a lot to say about who wins the LEC.

Even I said they'd lose 2 or 3 games: "Really think the only game the RIC women lose is @ Southern Maine while I can't see the RIC men losing anywhere else other than @ Keene, @ Western @Eastern @ Dartmouth and I'd venture to say they win at least 2 of those 4 games."  Also, my preview is too many pages back, but IIRC I had the top 3 finishing within 2 games of each other.  It really could go any 3 or 4 ways.

Edit: I had Eastern & Western 11-3, RIC 10-4, Keene 9-5.  That's 4 teams I had projected finishing within 2 games of each other.  If you include Dartmouth (I pegged them at 7-7), that's 5 teams I had finishing within 4 games of each other.

[ECSUalum]

Did anyone see the video of the Cincinnati/Xavier brawl?!!!
IT WAS UGLY  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgbvdFW5qoQ
Cincinnati player Yancy Gates muggs/sucker punches Xavier center Kenny Frease, then Cheikh Mbodj sucker kicks Frease when he is stunned on the ground.  However, it looks like an Xavier player starts the brawl, sad.
I hope we never see anything like that in our Conference!!!

I am not sure what I would do if I was the AD of the two teams.

[LECFAN32]

huge day yesterday ... as far as RIC goes I believe the phrase "runaway favrite" was used in which case losing 3-4 games in conference is hardly domination, I dont see that type of team when watching them (and for that matter, was anybody else very underwhelmed with wpi?..altho they are young)..if anybody shows that type of ability its keene (ex. umass dartmouth game)..however they rarely show that type of aggression and can really come out and lay an egg... as I stated they were a team mre likely to get flat out beaten then have a game where they didnt show up.. knowing eastern had played them very tough the last couple years they knew they would have had to play well to win..congratulations to eastern as they stick to their game plan and grind out game after gamewith efficient half court sets and running when they need to..didnt allow ric to get out in transition, and kept choice from getting into the lane where he does his damage.. I really like how everybody on that team knows their role.. and plays their role..

great win for western in my opinion, that southern maine team has some decent out of conference wins, and can really shoot the ball with confidence with a solid option on the block in Jackson..after a week where they played 4 games in 7 days, 3 of which on the road then came home and took care of business like that is very impressive..this is not the most talented group in the league by any stretch but their savy.. play well togethor when the offense isnt one dimensional (this team should have 3 guys averging double figures and they dont)..and puts constant pressure on both sides of the floor and hope to get another scorer back in 3 weeks or so.

[Hugenerd]

Nice win for Eastern, IIRC their first win over RIC (regular season or tournament) in 5 years.  RIC should still get ranked next week even though now they probably won't.  I'd like to hear a compelling, legitamite reason how their NOT one of the best 25 teams in D-3.   With the exception of RIC/Eastern the games went according to plan this weekend

RIC is definitely a top 25 level team this year, but the problem with this weeks poll is that only 2 teams are really at risk of falling out of the poll, so it depends on how voters treat the lost to ECSU. Right behind RIC, Wittenberg and WashU have had big weeks, as well as Oswego, with wins over higher ranked teams than WPI (WashU beat previous #1 Augie and current #17 IWU, Wittenberg beat #5 Wooster, Oswego beat #14 Buffalo State). Therefore, someone's going to be left out and it could be any of those teams. Not a lot of upsets in the bottom of the poll this week.

[ECSUalum]

Well stated Huge,
BTW, nice to see MIT healthy again, doing well, and back to the top 25!!! Glanced at MIT's stats and look terrific so far, (NCAA.com stats top 30-50 or so in 3pt, FT, and FG %s!!)  I know its still early and you have conference play straight ahead, but 11-0 W/L should move the team a few more places up on the D3 poll
Hopefully Eastern will get a vote or two in the poll, however, they just need to stay focused, (especially on their LEC schedule), not get complacent after the RIC win.  If that happens, poll rankings will then take care of themselves.

[wcsu91]

huge day yesterday ... as far as RIC goes I believe the phrase "runaway favrite" was used in which case losing 3-4 games in conference is hardly domination, I dont see that type of team when watching them (and for that matter, was anybody else very underwhelmed with wpi?..altho they are young)..if anybody shows that type of ability its keene (ex. umass dartmouth game)..however they rarely show that type of aggression and can really come out and lay an egg... as I stated they were a team mre likely to get flat out beaten then have a game where they didnt show up.. knowing eastern had played them very tough the last couple years they knew they would have had to play well to win..congratulations to eastern as they stick to their game plan and grind out game after gamewith efficient half court sets and running when they need to..didnt allow ric to get out in transition, and kept choice from getting into the lane where he does his damage.. I really like how everybody on that team knows their role.. and plays their role..

great win for western in my opinion, that southern maine team has some decent out of conference wins, and can really shoot the ball with confidence with a solid option on the block in Jackson..after a week where they played 4 games in 7 days, 3 of which on the road then came home and took care of business like that is very impressive..this is not the most talented group in the league by any stretch but their savy.. play well togethor when the offense isnt one dimensional (this team should have 3 guys averging double figures and they dont)..and puts constant pressure on both sides of the floor and hope to get another scorer back in 3 weeks or so.

Well Said Bro. Thanks!!!

[Hugenerd]

Well stated Huge,
BTW, nice to see MIT healthy again, doing well, and back to the top 25!!! Glanced at MIT's stats and look terrific so far, (NCAA.com stats top 30-50 or so in 3pt, FT, and FG %s!!)  I know its still early and you have conference play straight ahead, but 11-0 W/L should move the team a few more places up on the D3 poll
Hopefully Eastern will get a vote or two in the poll, however, they just need to stay focused, (especially on their LEC schedule), not get complacent after the RIC win.  If that happens, poll rankings will then take care of themselves.

Thanks, getting Hollingsworth back this year is big for them, and now he is a junior eligibility-wise, so he, Kates, Tashman, and Karraker all have another year together.

Congrats to ECSU on the big win.

[warrior]

LECFAN32 - That was a very good analysis of our win over RIC and I agree wholeheartedly - the players know their roles and have been playing with great discipline.  On another note, I was very impressed by Western's blow-out win over Southern Maine.  We had a very tough time with USM and I got the impression that they are much improved.  I was thrilled with the RIC win, but we definitely have our work cut out for us the rest of the way!

[7express]

Lone game tonight is Clark @ Western in a weird 6:30 start time.  I wish this was either at 6 or 7 (preferably 6, but whatever).  Clark is a lot better with all NEWMAC forward Brian Vayda in the lineup, but I think he's missed the last couple of games.  Personally, I think we completely blow them out without Vayda, and win an 8 to 10 point game with him in the lineup.  Anyone else going to be at the O'Neil center tonight??

I'll say 86-62 without Vayda, 85-77 with Vayda.  RIC played them in their opener, and held Clark to 32.2% shooting for the game and 25% in the first half.  I think Clark does slightly better this evening.

[ECSUalum]

LECFAN32 - That was a very good analysis of our win over RIC and I agree wholeheartedly - the players know their roles and have been playing with great discipline.  On another note, I was very impressed by Western's blow-out win over Southern Maine.  We had a very tough time with USM and I got the impression that they are much improved.  I was thrilled with the RIC win, but we definitely have our work cut out for us the rest of the way!

Warrior,

I watched the 2nd half of the ECSU/RIC on LECTV archived video, as I had to go out Sat. evening,  and have to give co-player of the game awards to Hamilton Levy and Jaime Kohn.  Both guys played fantastic D, made some very nice FGs, and hit their free throws, the latter,  which has been a weak point for the Warriors so far this year.
By the end of the game, the Anchormen were soo totally frustrated by the ECSU D that they looked like they almost gave up. 
So Guard Brian Salzillo and Fr Forward Brandon Scarborough continue to impress.  Che Phillips is a defensive "junk yard dog" on the point guards, really excellent!!!!

Should be a good game vs Springfield College New Years Day. ( I think they should be able to defeat Hunter College although they have 6-11 and 6-10 centers).

[warrior]

ECSUalum - I agree on all counts.  The interesting thing is, Levy would not have played all game at the four if Garrow wasn't sick!  Levy has filled in admirably as center and back-up center, but as we saw on Saturday, he is VERY dangerous at his natural position, the four spot.  When Garrow comes back, Coach will have some tough decisions to make.  I'm just happy for Levy, as he has waited a long time to show what he can do.  As for 6'10"/6'11" Hunter College centers - I didn't know that! You just ruined my Holidays!     Actually, historically we have had good success doubling down on big centers.  Hopefully we will be able to pick up in January where we left off last weekend!  Happy Holidays to all! 

[NEWMACJACK]

Clark up 44-29 at half.   We shall see how the second half goes as WestConn has some very potent offensive weapons that can score in bunches. 

[ECSUalum]

ECSUalum - I agree on all counts.  The interesting thing is, Levy would not have played all game at the four if Garrow wasn't sick!  Levy has filled in admirably as center and back-up center, but as we saw on Saturday, he is VERY dangerous at his natural position, the four spot.  When Garrow comes back, Coach will have some tough decisions to make.  I'm just happy for Levy, as he has waited a long time to show what he can do.  As for 6'10"/6'11" Hunter College centers - I didn't know that! You just ruined my Holidays!     Actually, historically we have had good success doubling down on big centers.  Hopefully we will be able to pick up in January where we left off last weekend!  Happy Holidays to all! 

Warrior
I think Levy deserves to start based on recent performances. Although Choice beat him a couple of times, he pretty much shut him down last Sat.!! If he can consistantly play like he did on Sat., he will be a huge positive for the rest of the season.   I don't think Hunter College, ( I checked out their website), historically has been very strong, playing .500 over the last couple of years, with most wins over relatively weaker teams.  But, Eastern will still need to focus and dispatch Hunter to get to Springfield, who will be a much more difficult game IMHO.
Have a great Holiday Season!!!!

[AllStar]

West Conn wins 77-74 despite trailing 40-19 at one point.  I did not see Vayda in the box score for Clark.

[ECSUalum]

West Conn wins 77-74 despite trailing 40-19 at one point.  I did not see Vayda in the box score for Clark.

D. Brooks scores 23 of his 36 points in second half and apparently lights it up from 3pt range to almost one handedly defeat Clark