MBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[cave2bens]

Meanwhile, Defiance edges Franklin, 92-89.  (I assume that's final.  The live stats are stuck at 1 second.)

Looks like the tournament is headed for Lexington ...

Funny about the "live stats" still on :01 and the game is posted in the menu as a final.  Noticed a three second delay on Gasser's last tre (on the roster stats) before it came up in the commentary.

Believe Transy's bus caravan should flag down DC's on I-465 and treat the Jackets to their post-game "Steak and Shake." 

[GRIZ_BACKER]

FC deserves the 3 hour trip south next weekend.  Missed free throws and lack of perimeter defense were the primary killers.  And absolutely no answer for Pettiway the monster down low.  He absolutely killed FC.  Not only did he have soft touch around the rim, he made an array of 5-10 foot shots plus was solid at the line when he was there.  

Defiance certainly came to play and had nothing on the line but pride.  FC has a tough row to hoe now as most likely they face DC next weekend and if they survive, Transy at home.  Not good odds.

[Darryl Nester]

Now that the regular season is finished, I thought I'd pull up this post from last October:

The HCAC men's preseason poll was posted this morning.  In brief:

		07-08 Final	06-07 Final
Team	Points (#1 votes)	standings	standings
Defiance	73 (4)	1 / 13-3	4 / 9-7
Anderson	65 (2)	2 / 10-6	9 / 2-14
Franklin	63 (1)	2 / 10-6	1 / 11-5
Transylvania	60 (1)	2 / 10-6	2 / 10-6
Hanover	35	5 / 9-7	4 / 9-7
RHIT	31	6 / 8-8	8 / 5-11
MSJ	30 (1)	8 / 3-13	4 / 9-7
Bluffton	28	7 / 7-9	2 / 10-6
Manchester	20	9 /2-14	7 / 7-9

At the time, we discussed the merits of a first-place vote for MSJ.  In hindsight, it sure looks pretty misguided -- although they did lose quite a few close games (5 losses by 4 or fewer points).

[tu-fan]

GrizzFan, bars are always open in Lexington, if not Gillespie would have never taken the KY Job I hate to say I told you so....but I told you so. On paper, the Defiance Franklin game is a total mismatch. And before I hear "Franklin only lost by 3", let me  remind you Defiance led by double digits- on the road- on multiple occasions. It wasn't until a late desperation charge that Franklin closed the gap. Congrats to Fraklin on a split conference championship. Praither does a great job of getting the most out of his players.

Congrats to the Pioneers for bring the Tourney back to Lexington! Should be a great 2 days of action and probably the most wide open tourney in recent memory. Good luck to all!

[cave2bens]

GrizzFan, bars are always open in Lexington, if not Gillespie would have never taken the KY Job I hate to say I told you so....but I told you so. On paper, the Defiance Franklin game is a total mismatch. And before I hear "Franklin only lost by 3", let me  remind you Defiance led by double digits- on the road- on multiple occasions. It wasn't until a late desperation charge that Franklin closed the gap. Congrats to Fraklin on a split conference championship. Praither does a great job of getting the most out of his players.

Congrats to the Pioneers for bring the Tourney back to Lexington! Should be a great 2 days of action and probably the most wide open tourney in recent memory. Good luck to all!

Never mind the Bees' inability to can a field goal in the last several minutes of each half and a dozen more turnovers than the Griz.  It was painful to watch the stats with no audio feed from Defiance.

Congrats to all that have made this an exceptional season and best to all teams in the first round, and in Lexington.  TU - have a Hot Brown or some fried peppers at Hall's by the River while relishing homecourt. 

[kyballr]

hoopsville says Transy "Vampires" a "lock" for pool c.  Hope the CO-champs don't hear the chatter and get ready for a tough weekend.  Lex is certainly one of the best sites for the HCAC tourney ( Defiance last and Franklin the year before).  I would guess everyone but Franklin is excited about trying to get to Lex.  I saw HCAC run with the Marc Bain Show and then NCAA round 1 and 2 in 2006.  Place was sold out and even Tubby Smith (uk coach at the time) showed up for the game.  Would be great if the guys can do it again.  Could be tougher this year because '06 had a little more size...  Friday could be a cluster with Women tourney 2 and 4 pm and men 6 and 8 pm....all at the Taj Mahal that they call the Beck Center....
web site does not say anything yet but since video was available for games during year,  HCAC should be available to the world on the web..

[kyballr]

Correction!  Transy site has link to live video and live stats on schedule page so everyone can tune in for 8 hours of HCAC Tourney hoops.... women 2/4 pm and men 6/8 pm,

Good luck Coach Todd and Coach Lane!

[dc_has_been]

Well, with Transy playing host in Men's & Women's there should be some good crowds.  Hopefully DC corrects their turnover margin b/c they will not make it past the first round if they don't.  They can't rely on Sales & Pettaway to do it all & get by. 

I couldn't add to Darryl's post, but I wanted to add the final conf. records for 2008-2009.
Not bad for Bluffton to reach fourth after being predicted to come in 9th place & Transy to take the #1 spot after getting marked at #4.  I still think DC was a big disappointment considering what they brought back & their recruiting class that they had.  I forget who mentioned it, but they are probably right about the teams chemistry.                   
Transylvania 16 13-3
Franklin        16 13-3
Defiance       16 12-4
Bluffton         16 9-7
Anderson      16 7-9
Manchester   16 6-10
Hanover        16 6-10
Rose-Hulman 16 4-12
Mt. St. Joseph 16 2-14

[cave2bens]

Correction!  Transy site has link to live video and live stats on schedule page so everyone can tune in for 8 hours of HCAC Tourney hoops.... women 2/4 pm and men 6/8 pm,

Good luck Coach Todd and Coach Lane!

Thanks for the update - FANtastic!  First things first, though, is getting by Hanover... again. 

[Darryl Nester]

AU over BU 62-47 in an ugly game ... the Ravens chose the right game to break their losing streak.

And Defiance/Hanover just went final with Pettaway dropping in a last-second shot to win by 1.

[GRIZ_BACKER]

Random musings:

Pettaway is a beast! Not sure why he is playing D3.  He seems able to play at a higher level.  Late bloomer?  FC could use a guy like him and move Conoley to the 4. 

Hopeful thinking gets FC to the Sat night game.  FC matches up with Transy better than DC.  FC has nobody to effectively defend Pettaway.  The big guys are all young and smallish compared to him.  If DC plays good team basketball they have a good shot of beating both FC and TU.  Pure talent edge to DC.  Transy has the experience and balance.  FC needs to be able to defend/rebound well and hit some three's to have a solid shot.

I predict TU the winner being at home.  DC to beat Franklin (close game).  I am just a realist. DC struggling at home against HC was a bit of a surprise.  Maybe not mentally sharp after the tough game at FC?

[cave2bens]

Agree that Transy is the team that holds the cards, and while Griz_Backer's prediction would be appreciated, the Jackets have proven too much of an enigma since the beginning of February to put much money on.  Aside from a win over RHIT at Weaner, every game (home and away) has been decided by five points or less - a couple with blown, double digit leads in the second stanza.

If there is a saving grace, DC seems to be more focused when away from home lately.  Regardless, it will be an interesting weekend and kudos to Transylvania for providing a video stream for the games.

[dc_has_been]

DC has played nearly perfect both times they played against Franklin.  Pettaway & Sales have been key for sure & they are tough tandem to stop down low.  Griz is right about the young guys will have to step up.

[dc_has_been]

Alright, I'm going to throw some stuff out there before tip off in both games.  First, DC is going to crush the griz under Pettaway & Sales both getting double-doubles & Floyd dishes out 10+ dimes.  The biggest key will be DC's bench coming up huge.  Second, Anderson will shock Transy when Mike Russell lights them up w/ 35 points, their D playes flawlessly & Transy will get in early foul trouble that puts them behind & they won't be able to catch up.  Finally, when my predictions come true I'll call vegas & put a lot of money on black & call it a day!

[GRIZ_BACKER]

It appears we are both drinking and I almost believed you  haha