MBB: Little East

[KSCfan]

I was at the Keene /umd game.  Couple of things....
1.  Great game, one of the best games that i have ever been to.  Spaulding gymnasium was rocking, and the Keene fans where all kinds of fired up creating a great atmosphere
2.  The key for keene seemed to be balanced scoring.  Duran, Kathan, Anderson, Little all scored in double figures and all had solid games.  No one player really took the game over, but all four of them made huge impacts on the game at various times.  The other thing that Keene seemed to do real was "contain" Holbrook pretty well.  Keene just seemed to run bodies out there at him.  Colbert went deep on the bench and there was always somebody banging on Holbrook as he never get any real easy looks. That kid is a beast under the basket and is a tank on the block.  Also Umass had two key ball handlers fould out at the end of reglulation which showed in overtime
3.  Free throws... Keene went to the line 36 times and made 29 of them, and many of them late second half as they clawed back into the game, and in overtime to just stay out of reach of the Corsairs.  UMD was 15 for 27 or 55 percent.  Not going to win close ones shooting like that
4.  Big picture not a real blow to UMD still in control of the little east.  For keene could be a great momentum win going into the final weeks of the season.  Im sure that UMD will still go on and be dominate.  Also just throwing it out there, Kathan might of made a push for player of the year 18 points, and 15 boards in giving UMD thier first lost however, Holbrooks 17 boards and 12 points not to shotty either

Great game 

[fpc85]

4.  Big picture not a real blow to UMD still in control of the little east.  For keene could be a great momentum win going into the final weeks of the season. Im sure that UMD will still go on and be dominate.  Also just throwing it out there, Kathan might of made a push for player of the year 18 points, and 15 boards in giving UMD thier first lost however, Holbrooks 17 boards and 12 points not to shotty either

Great game 

it could affect regionals....if it gets that far.

[old_hooper]

It was a great game to watch.  Very intense game and the atmosphere was electric.  Gutsie effort by the Owls.  They could have caved in when they lost the lead and it looked like UMD had an answer for every jab that KSC threw at them.  UMD when they lost Freeman and Tynes to fouls, that was a big turning point in the game.  Taking them to OT without them, you could not help but feel the advantage was in favor of the Owls.  Nice team effort by KSC for a big win.  Congratulations!  Looks like the only way KSC makes the tournament however will be to win the automatic bid with LEC championship.

[NortheastHoopsGuru]

KSC fan is right- this shouldn't really effect UMD's stranglehold on the rest of the league. They are going to fall pretty hard in the top 25 i think, but hopefully they can look past that and keep taking care of buisness. For Keene, great confidence booster. They've got to be considered a team to look out for now. It's amazing how one win like this can really change the mentality of a team. Well done owls.

[jamiejohn]

Dartmouth will fall hard but they shouldn't. there still 20-1 and beat brandies earlier in the year. They should be in the top 5 still

[KSCfan]

The roller coaster goes up and the roller coaster goes down as keene loses to Plymouth on a 1 and 1 at the end of regulation.  Colbert is going to be bald and or balder by the time LEC tourny starts

[broke_ya_ankles]

the LEC tourney should be VERY interesting this year....

it looked like UMD was a bigtime favorite, and to many perhaps they still are but as showed this past week they are certainly beatable and with smaller upsets like Plymouth/Keene just now....wow i cant imagine whats gonna happen in a few weeks

[Pat Coleman]

http://www.d3hoops.com/dailydose/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

Regional rankings are out.

[MeOak21]

The LEC is a mess. The most athletically competitive/even teams are UMD, RIC, KSC, and USM.
I'm only saying athletically competitive because this comparison does not include characteristics like teamwork, intelligence, composure, execution, and coaching that have obviously factored into these teams' performances this year. That being said, these 4 teams should win a vast majority of the games against the lower half of the LEC just in talent alone.

It looks very possible that KSC and USM finish with the same record if USM loses to RIC this Saturday.  I believe that leaves USM ahead of KSC in the standings because they beat KSC the second time around.
UMD, RIC and KSC should win out.
If I'm correct that the second game in the season series determines the tie break of teams with even records, here are some probable season ending standings.

#1 RIC 12-2 (wins out. Beat UMD in second game for tie break)
#2 UMD 12-2 (wins out)
#3 USM 9-5 (beat KSC in second game for tie break)
#4 KSC 9-5
#5 WCSU 5-9 (loses last 3 vs. KSC, RIC, USM. Beat ECSU in second game for tie break)
#6 ECSU 5-9 (loses last 3 vs. UMD, KSC, RIC)
#7 PSU 3-11 (beats UMB but loses to UMD and USM)
#8 UMB 1-13 (loses last 3 vs. PSU, UMD, KSC)

If USM was to beat RIC this weekend that would make a single change in the top 4 standings and therefore changing the location of the tournament semis and finals to UMD.

#1 UMD 12-2
#2 RIC 11-3

Leaving the tourney brackets looking like this.

#1 RIC or UMD vs. #8 UMBoston
#2 UMD or RIC vs. #7 PSU
#3 USM vs. #6 ECSU
#4 KSC vs #5 WCSU

(Correct me if I'm wrong on the tie-break issue)

Any other views on this?

[broke_ya_ankles]

I would be extremely surprised if someone other than UMD, RIC, or Keene were in the finals.  It's gotta be 2 of those 3 teams.  USM has the talent to knock off one of them but I dont see it happening they just dont have the guard play necessary to win come tourney time.  That being said I think UMD is the favorite to win esp if they host the final.  Keene has some great bigs and wings but they too lack a PG such as Freeman, and yes i know keene just beat UMD but had freeman been on the floor at the end of the game it might have changed things.   Regardless he was not and Keene got a great W.  RIC is the most athletic and they cause problems for any team they face (still shocked amherst killed them) but their problem is consistency, they seem to have none.  I cant help but think UMD has a lot of things going in their favor if they can hang onto the #1 seed...

[zcat68]

I personally would be worried if UMD was the number 1 seed and hosted the semis and the final, because I wonder if they (we technically) could draw sufficent crowds for the game. Student apathy seems to run in abundance around here.

[KSCfan]

Students coming to the game is a wierd thing.  As someone that has spent a lot of time in the ol Spaulding Gym at keene, they always seem to have a great crowd.  The resoning behind this is two fold.  The first and foremost is that Keene is not a commuter school and anyone that has spent time up here on the weekend will find no shortage of college age people around doing what college kids do best.  The other is that Keene is a wicked athletics school.  For whatever reason Keene not only in basketball but also in baseball,lax, and soccer draw lots of students becuase they are around and it is the socially cool thing to do for students to come and watch the sporting events.  It is no secret that athletes are treated very well around the campus of Keene.  That being said if Keene is hosting a tourny and they are not playing in the finals (as if they hosted and lost in the semis).  No one will come becasue they dont care.  I went to semis and finals down in RIC last year(yes i was one of those crazy painted keene fans) and i was a little disapointed with the amount of people that where there for  a conferance semi and conferance finals.  Now is that cause RIC is a commuter school and not a lot of students where around to come?  Or is athleics at RIC not huge?  The RIC fans that where there where awesome, loud, and great to "fan battle" with, but i was expecting a much larger crowd for the conferance finals.  I have never been to UMD to watch a game, so i dont know about that gym but is it that you get great crowds in some gyms and some even in big situations dont get any crowds.  Anyway cant wait for the LEC tourny should be great and highly competitive.  My pick and yes i am a Keene fan is that UMD wins.  I know they are the fav, but i think that Keene cant play consistant enough to piece three great games in a row, and i was very impressed with the way that Freeman and Holbrook work together.  Anyway go owls!

[broke_ya_ankles]

some scores from today

RIC 79  USM  72
UMD 80  Eastern Conn 76
Western Conn 107  Keene 91
Plymouth 82  Mass-Boston  59

As expected UMD, RIC, and Plymouth won, Keene getting beat rather easily by western conn is a bit of a surprise but given their up and down ways this season i guess its not too much of a shocker

not sure how 1-2 will fall with UMD and RIC splitting but USM has a shot to shore up #3 by winning out as they are 1 game ahead of both Keene and Western Conn

Keene has a better chance of nabbing the #4 spot even though they have a loss to Western Conn today.  Keene has Eastern Conn and UMB left on their schedule, both games of which they should win rather easily, whereas Western Conn has RIC and USM, 2 games they could quite possibly lose

[KSCfan]

Keene the trains derailing off the track, this team just confuses the hell out of me.  playing at home against westconn and getting housed just confuses me.  Keene was never in that game, and played probably the worst that i have seen them play in a long time.  I dont know what to think, i am filled with hope watching them beat UMD and then disgusted as they lay a stinkbomb against Western who is not a strong team in my opinion.  I think that colbert needs to rally the troops and fast.

[broke_ya_ankles]

not be be the pessimist but i think its a little late...