MBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Buzz]

Wow a good night in the HCAC. And I'd note that I called 3 of the 4 games to improve to 7-2.

The surprise of the night wasn't that Transylvania won at home over MSJ, but that they throttled the Lions by almost 30 (92-63). Barrett Meyer drained his first 8 treys and hit 11 of 12 on the night for 33 points. Pioneers shot nearly 70% as a team and TU isn't losing at home with those stats.

Rose-Hulman fought hard in a 68-65 loss to Anderson and had three chances to tie the game in the final 25 seconds but couldn't get it done. The Ravens dodged one tonight and move to 14-1 overall and 6-0 in the league.

Mitch Schaefer had a big night for Manchester, hitting 5 threes to help the Spartans overcome an ugly showing at home against Bluffton. MC had 23 turnovers but came out with the 70-62 victory.

Not positive on the Hanover/Franklin outcome as the live stats locked up, but Franklin was up eight points late. I had this one wrong, as Will Conoley dominated his matchup with Mitchell Meyer (21 points to 4). Looked like Meyer got into serious foul trouble and the Grizzlies snapped a 5-game skid.

HCAC standings
Anderson 6-0
Transylvania 5-2
Manchester 4-2
Defiance 3-3
Hanover 3-3
Franklin 3-3
MSJ 2-4
Rose-Hulman 2-4
Bluffton 0-7

[Jackets Backer]

Rose almost pulled a big upset, but I've come to realize over the years, that anyone can win on their home court in this league ... so not surprised it was close and said Tuesday that Coach Shaw's group would hang around last night. You have to bring an attitude to other people's gyms.

I was surprised that Transy hammered the Mount by almost 30 as well.

Had the Franklin-Hanover battle outcome wrong too. Conoley (21 and 5) dominated Meyer (6 and 2). Looks like Will is getting his legs back after missing a month with the flu. DC better have their antennas up for Saturday's clash against Will and the Grizz.

[dc_has_been]

I'm hoping DC plays aggressive and takes the ball right at Conoley throughout the game.  Get him in foul trouble yearly or force him to double down leaving whom ever he is gaurding open for an easy lay in.  DC can not afford to drop anymore games the rest of the season.  I know that is a very hard task at hand but a first round bye with the two seed is huge.  I'm figuring Anderson won't drop 3 or even two conference games this year and will lock up the one seed and host. 
As I see it everyone is chasing the two seed (except Anderson of course).  Regardless, here is how it looks for the one seed (two seed) Transy is 1 1/2 (0) games behind, Manchester 2 (1/2), DC, HC, FC 3 (1 1/2), MSJ & RHIT 4 (2 1/2), and Bluffton 6 1/2 (5) games.  (I think I did that right?) 

[Buzz]

Alright, as the next wave of HCAC contests is set to tip on Saturday, here is how I see things shaking out, as I put my 5-2 record on the line with some tough games this weekend...

Franklin (5-10, 3-3) at Defiance (12-3, 3-3)
A healthy Will Conoley poses all kinds of problems on the interior for the Jackets, but barring a major game from him or some sort of three-point assault from the Franklin guards, DC's offense should be able to put more points on the board to exploit Franklin's HCAC-worst -10.7 point differential and improve to 7-0 at the 'Hive'.

Mt. St. Joseph (7-7, 2-4) at Rose-Hulman (6-9, 2-4)
This has all the makings of a gut-check game for both teams. MSJ has lost 5 of 6, including the embarrassing loss at Transy on Wednesday, while RH is fresh off a just-miss against Anderson. And BTW, the loser drops into the bottom three in the league. This is a coin flip to me but I'll take the home Engineers.

Hanover (6-8, 3-3) at Anderson (14-1, 6-0)
I hate to bet against Jon Miller but this young Panther team just hasn't shown itself capable of scoring a big road victory yet and I gotta go with AU's experience, athleticism and the home planks once again.

Transylvania (9-6, 5-2) at Manchester (10-5, 4-2)
Possibly the most interesting game on the slate tips at 8:00 pm. The Spartans looked ugly in a sloppy win vs Bluffton on Wednesday but they might have been looking ahead to this one. TU was blistering hot in a blowout of MSJ on Wednesday and could be due for a slip on the road. I think MC establishes itself as a legit power with a win here because of several reasons. 1-Home court. Spartans are 8-1 at home, Pioneers have struggled on the road with a loss at Rose and a narrow win at Franklin. 2-MC should dominate the glass. 3-Manchester is first in the HCAC in shooting at 51.2%, while TU ranks 8th on defense by yielding a 48.1% fg clip to its opponents. That trend carries over beyond the arc as well. Too much in MC's favor here.

[zander]

I would have to agree about the Panthers chances at Anderson unless they really get an inside-outside offensive game going. The 74-70 score at Franklin was not really that close as it was about a 12pt game with 30 seconds remaining.

[Jackets Backer]

I'm going to go out on a limb this weekend and take an upset.

The Grizz finally have a full deck of cards with Conoley back, but Jacket killers Jace Redman and Dustin Marshall are gone. DC has played well against FC over the years in regular season action, but not the league tourney. I think DC has too much depth and talent for the young Grizz at the Weaner Center.

MSJ needs to get back on track after getting spanked in Lexington. Rose played well against Anderson Wednesday, but I'll take MSJ in a close one.

Now I'm going to go against the grain. Hanover junks it up against Anderson and keeps it in the 50s or 60s and hands AU its first league loss in a nail-nibbler with Mitchell Meyer having a big afternoon.

Manchester United and Transy is very interesting. I'll say the Spartans protect their home floor against Transy in another tight one. 

[HCAC-Indy]

Mt. St. Joe steals one on the road against Rose.

Anderson too much for Hanover on the road.

Defiance protects home court against Franklin.

Manchester and Transy goes to the wire but Transy pulls out a tough one on the road.

[Buzz]

A top 4 is starting to emerge in the HCAC...

Anderson survived its second-straight nail-biter. This time escaping Hanover to stay unbeaten in league action. The Panthers had the ball, down 1, with 15 seconds to play but turned it over w/o getting a shot. Ravens held on for the 74-70 home victory.

Manchester rallied at home for a 68-64 win against Transylvania, who held a nine-point lead with 8:26 to go and were up by as many as seven with 2:41 left. Barrett Meyer remained blistering hot for TU, knocking in six more trifectas in the losing effort.

MSJ bounced back with a 62-46 win at Rose-Hulman behind 21 points from Kyle McCord. The Engineers failed to land a single player in double figures.

Defiance raced to a 33-9 lead and rolled past Franklin 99-83 to improve to 7-0 at home. Floyd led six Jackets in double figures with 19 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 4 boards. DC ended with 62 points in the paint.

So, 4 teams remain with winning records in the HCAC...

Anderson 7-0
Manchester 5-2
Transylvania 5-3
Defiance 4-3
MSJ, Hanover, Franklin all at 3-4
Rose-Hulman 2-5
Bluffton 0-7

[HCAC-Indy]

3-1 baby!!!

[Buzz]

Yep, think we all went 3-1 on Saturday. Nice picks! For the year...

DC SID - 8-3
Jacket_Backer - 7-4
HCAC Indy - 3-1

Got us a good race!

[Jackets Backer]

Here's where I make my move and reel in DC SID!!!!!

The hopper is full for Wednesday's pick'em slate with a real whopper in North Manchester.

Anderson at Manchester

Defiance at Bluffton

Rose at Hanover

Transy at Maryville (Tenn.)

Franklin at MSJ

[dc_has_been]

I'm going to jump on the HCAC pick em's a few (many) games behind.

Anderson-to hard to bet against them right now, even with two close ones as of recently & MC 9-1 home record.
DC-DC should win this one big, but BC is known for upsetting DC over and over again.
HC-Hanover needs this one to stay in hope for a tourney bid.
Maryville- Transy has beaten some good teams (WashU), but I don't think they will have enough for this one.
MSJ-Just going with the home team here.

Conf Standings for Tourney- Top 6 get in with top two with byes
1. Anderson 7-0 -
2. Manchester 5-2 2GB
3. Transy 5-3 2 1/2 GB
4. DC 4-3 3GB
5. HC, MSJ, FC 3-4 4GB Tomorrow we should have a better look at where each team sits.
8. RHIT 2-5 5GB
9. BC 0-7 7GB

[Buzz]

I'm sure most have seen this but good news for the HCAC in the latest D3hoops poll, as Anderson continues its climb up to #11. In the receiving votes portion, Defiance and Manchester are also in the mix with DC having the 30th highest point total and Manchester getting a pair of votes. We've said this before, but it would be great to see more than one HCAC team in the NCAA Tourney this March and if these three teams can all get to 20 wins, I like those chances.

Which sets the stage for a pair of very interesting games looming on the HCAC slate, as Anderson plays at Manchester and at Defiance on the next two Wednesdays...

Speaking of that AU at Manchester clash, I'll check back later with my picks. Just hoping to see who everyone else picks first! haha.

[wc4252]

I'll jump in late too...

I'll take
AU
Defiance
Hanover
Transy
MSJ

I agree DC_SID, it would be nice to get a couple of teams in the tourney but I just want to see AU get their first ever bid.  They're in good position right now but they still have some very tough road games to get through.

[Jackets Backer]

Unless Anderson totally collapses down the stretch here, I would think they have an at-large bid locked up. They've beat some very good teams UW-Platteville, Wittenberg, at Transy. They do have maybe the hardest league schedule left at Manchester, at Defiance, at MSJ, at Franklin, at Hanover along with Transy and Manchester at home. As great as Anderson's been, I believe they'll get picked off a couple of times just because the league is so good and everyone's going to give a little extra to knock off a top 25 team. If they can navigate that stretch without a couple of losses, wow, that would be pretty dang good.

Anderson's snuck past its last couple opponents, but I really like the team Manchester has this season. I'll say Manchester United in an upset just because they're at home.
DC
Hanover
It would be great to see Transy beat another national power, but I'll take Maryville at home.
MSJ