MBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

https://heartlandconf.org/news/2022/10/24/2022-23-mens-basketball-preseason-poll.aspx

2022-23 Preseason coaches poll

1.   Hanover (8)          80
2.   Transylvania (2)   73
3.   Rose-Hulman       61
4.   Franklin                49
5.   Anderson              43
6.   Defiance                38
7.   Mount St. Joseph   34
8.   Earlham                 32
9.   Manchester           28
10.   Bluffton               12

Some of the poll was fairly accurate (Hanover, Rose, Transy, Franklin grouped together) while some things weren't (Manchester getting the 1 seed after being picked 9th)

9.   Manchester          14-4
5.   Anderson             14-4
1.   Hanover               12-6
3.   Rose-Hulman       12-6
2.   Transylvania        11-7
4.   Franklin                  9-9
7.   Mount St. Joseph   8-10
8.   Earlham                 4-14
10.   Bluffton                4-14
6.   Defiance                 2-12

Tournament schedule:
Feb 19th
#6 Franklin @ #3 Hanover
#5 Transylvania @ #4 Rose-Hulman

Feb 24 (@ Manchester)
#1 Manchester vs TBD
#2 Anderson vs TBD

Feb 25th (@ Manchester)
Final

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Sadly, Franklin couldn't recreate their 6th seed magic from last year. Hanover beats the Grizzlies 83-73.
Transylvania took a 2 point lead with 32 seconds left but Rose-Hulman scores the final 5 points to win 71-68

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Rose-Hulman takes down the hosts, Manchester, 66-63 and will play for the title tomorrow. Anderson beat Hanover 72-63 in the first semi.
It's #2 vs #4.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Anderson wins their first ever HCAC Tournament crown beating Rose 73-55. It will be their 2nd NCAA appearance.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Anderson @ Mount Union
Should the Ravens pull the upset they'll face the winner of NYU and Lancaster Bible.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Anderson trailed most of the game. Down 11 at halftime but were within 1 in the final couple of minutes. Mount Union finished on an 8-1 run to win 73-65.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

All-Region has been announced... pretty barren for the HCAC, just one player.

Second Team
G   Tate Ivanyo   Anderson

[Greek Tragedy]

Anderson looked poised to repeat this season with 5 of the top 6 underclassmen returning, only losing senior Cam Smith. Top scorer Ivanyo returns, but both Bryson Huckeby (14.2 ppg)and Elijah Mattingly (12.0 ppg) bolted for Saginaw Valley State University. Troutman (7.5 ppg) and Williams (5.8 ppg) return.  Anderson does get a couple of transfers in, however, to fill the void.

Transy and Hanover both lose their top 2 scorers, Green and Teague for Transy and Houston and Greenamoyer for Hanover. They both return their next 5 players, though.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Preseason poll is out

1.    Manchester (8)          80
2.    Hanover (1)                 68
3.    Anderson (1)              61
4.    Rose-Hulman            53
5.    Transylvania               52
6.    Franklin                         47
7.    Berea                              29
8.    Mount St. Joseph    26
9.    Bluffton                        24
10.    Earlham                     10


Man, I wish I could use glow on text like we used to.

[Greek Tragedy]

My apologies to Manchester City, who return their top 8 guys, thus being voted #1 in the preseason poll. Oops!

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Well Anderson's stay in the top 25 will be short lived. Hopefully that won't be the only appearance of the conference this season.
 
Hanover is 4-1 having lost by 1 in OT to Carnegie Mellon. Best win over Berry.
Manchester also 4-1 with a 6 point loss to UW-Oshkosh and a win at Heidelberg.
Franklin is 3-1 after opening with a 3 point loss to Nebraska Wesleyan. Best win probably Wabash.
Berea sits at 4-1 with a win over Maryville and an OT loss at Centre in their first HCAC season.
Anderson is now 4-2. They've won at Hope and lost at Trine by 5.
Transylvania has only played twice but will have a couple tough games this weekend at Chris Newport's event. We'll see how they do against the hosts then either F&M or St Joseph.

Less than a week until conference play starts.

[deiscanton]

Transylvania finished as the runner up today in the 2024 Don Lane Classic in Lexington, Kentucky, as Wabash went on a 19-3 run in the final 4:54 to win the championship game today.

Mary Hardin Baylor won the consolation game, 63-47, over Albion.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

We're now halfway through conference play.

Anderson       13-3  (8-1)
Franklin       12-4  (8-1)
Rose-Hulman    10-6  (7-2)
Transylvania    8-8  (6-3)
Hanover         9-7  (5-4)
Mount St Joseph 8-8  (4-5)
Bluffton        4-12 (3-6)
Berea           7-9  (2-7)
Manchester      6-10 (1-8)
Earlham         1-15 (1-8)

Anderson beat Franklin in their first matchup and host the rematch on Wed. Anderson's lone loss is to Rose.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

1-win Earlham led Franklin by 5 with just over half a minute left but it went to OT and the Grizzlies survived 89-84. There were 16 lead changes and 12 ties. Ken Walker put up 41 points for the Quakers.

Franklin took 25 more shots and made 9 more FG. Franklin won the turnover battle 26-10. Earlham had 0 second chance points. But Earlham stayed in it by shooting 10-17 behind the arc.

The Quakers may not be getting the results, but they've been competitive with good teams their last 3 games. Lost to Hanover by 5, lost to Anderson by 10, and now losing in OT at Franklin.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

The HCAC tournament went chalk until the final. Franklin (21-7) takes down Anderson (22-6) by six 72-66 and will head to the NCAA tournament. The Ravens will wait to see if they can get one of the final pool C bids.