MBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[dc_has_been]

Well it looks like these teams are just going to beat up on eachother for the remainder of the year.  From Hanover to DC I still think it is up for grabs.  I am worried about the Jackets b/c they have only 5 games out of 8 on the road which they are 3-4 so far and play several tough teams at their place.

[cave2bens]

Regrettably, it appears to this wayward, desert rat that DC has perhaps played themselves out of consideration with only ManU as a remaining game at home, two losses to RHIT, and contentious roadies with Hannie, Transy, Andy, and Bluffton.  Not sure "which" Franklin team will show up in Defiance, and MSJ and Earlham should be (operative word - should...) victories at home.  Sincerely hope the Jackets might put together a streak and run the table, but it is one heck of a gauntlet and absolutely no room for a slip up.  Better to control, rather than chance, the path to an objective.

BTW, Happy Robert Burns Day    - haggis, neeps and tatties, Mortlach 21, and a readied knife 

"Some hae meat and canna eat
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat and we can eat
And say the Lord bethankit.

                               -  Selkirk Grace 

[BUBeaverFan]

It is great to have the last half of the conference season have some meaning for the Beavers.  Just a win away from a winning regular season record and maybe only a few more wins away from conference tourney possibilities. Go Beavers!

1/26 at MSJ
1/29 FRANKLIN
2/2 ANDERSON
2/5 HANOVER
2/9 at Manchester
2/12 at Rose-Hulman
2/16 DEFIANCE
2/19 at Earlham

[Darryl Nester]

Bluffton 85 @ MSJ 73
Earlham 57 @ Manchester 75
RHIT 50 @ Franklin 71
Hanover 67 @ Transy 77
Defiance 56 @ Anderson 85

Double-digit margins across the board; the home teams go 4-1.  Defiance and Hanover now go into their Saturday matchup (@ HC) each seeking to break a three-game skid.

[BUBeaverFan]

Good win for the Beavers! Hopefully they can sneak into the conference tourney.

1/29 FRANKLIN
2/2 ANDERSON
2/5 HANOVER
2/9 at Manchester
2/12 at Rose-Hulman
2/16 DEFIANCE
2/19 at Earlham

[dc_has_been]

Wow, what happened with the Panthers?  They seemed unstoppable and then hit a wall. 
DC needs to get it together if the want to make the HCAC tourny, which I'm not feeling optimistic about right now.

[zander]

It's hard to identify what happened to the Panthers- The 3 game road trip seemed to strip them of all their energy. They showed up at RH like they were 0-8 rather than 8-0. Poor execution and poor free throw shooting. They followed that up with a very poor team performance at Manchester. Did not see the Transy game but a double digit loss in a must win game is confusing. Their offense was swift and intense to begin the season. Now it looks slow and sloppy. If they can get 100% effort and focus back they will be fine- if not

[BUBeaverFan]

Bluffton facing a tough three game stretch against the current top three teams in the HCAC.  Probably have to win at least one to stay in conference tourney consideration.

2/2 ANDERSON
2/5 HANOVER
2/9 at Manchester
2/12 at Rose-Hulman
2/16 DEFIANCE
2/19 at Earlham

[AUStudent]

got to think the regular season race is Anderson's to lose at this point.

been watching from afar this season ready for tourney time

[zander]

With Anderson up by 1 game they can secure first place if they win out the remaining 6 games of the season--With 4 of those being road games against good teams it will be a tough challenge but Anderson has put themselves at the top.  Hanover or Manchester will have their work cut out for them but I sure hope the Panthers regain 1st place!!!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

First Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2011/02/02/ncaas-mens-regional-rankings/

[dc_has_been]

First Regional Rankings: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2011/02/02/ncaas-mens-regional-rankings/

Nice to see that Hanover and Anderson are still hanging in the Midwest rankings at 5 and 7.  Before I clicked on it I thought there wouldn't be any HCAC team on the list. 
The HCAC teams have done a good job beating on eachother and not leaving anyone the clear favorite to win the conference even though that will probably not be enough to get any of them an auto bid.  Come conference tourny time things will be interesting. 

[DCJackets4]

Wow was I wrong about a week ago when I said the regular season title would end up with Hanover! While that can still happen, it seems like Anderson really has things rolling right now. But who knows, the DCJackets curse just might be developing right before our eyes. Hanover, Anderson, and Manchester have a lock on the top 3 spots and do not seem to be showing any signs of giving them up. Even though the Panthers gave the Hanover faithful quite the scare after losing 3 in a row. It will be interesting to see who ends up as the HCAC regular season champs.

As for the other 3 spots in the tourney, it seems like tonight is a make or break night for both Defiance and Franklin. They are both sitting two games back of the 6th and final spot and have tough games tonight with Defiance playing Manchester and Franklin playing Transy. If they lose, they are both certainly not totally out of it, but making the conference tourney will be a very hard task and they will both need some help to get in.

I have been really disappointed in the fall of my Jackets. They have been playing very uninspired basketball lately and it has been showing in the last 4 games. They have not led for one second in the last 3 games! That is something a DC fan has not been used to in the last 4 years. Their offense is one dimensional, with Wolfrum having to create every play for a team that has limited playmakers and having the ball in his hands nearly 90% of the time. The rest of the HCAC has figured that out and are exploiting it. The issues defensively are a mile long but can be solve with one thing, TOUGHNESS! This group has not shown any of the toughness that the team had last year with the core group of seniors. Nate Conley has been a huge loss for this group. He was very unheralded as a contributor for last years team but he set the tone for the Jackets defensively. Not having his leadership and Sales and Floyd's playmaking abilities has really hurt this young DC team and hopefully one of them can find that same fire that Conley had and get the rest of the guys to follow. Either that or I hope Coach Brumett can find a group of recruits just like the group Miller brought in with Sales, Floyd, Conley, Stolly, Armstrong, and Stuckey. This DC team needs to find that toughness that the program has steadily built over the last 4 years with that group of seniors last year. Once this group realizes that, I see them going nowhere but up. Until that day comes, I just hope they make the conference tourney!

[Darryl Nester]

Manchester wins at Defiance, RHIT wins at home over Earlham, and (last night) Hanover defeated MSJ.  The live stats from Transy/Franklin are stuck at halftime (TU 31, FC 24), but surely that game is over by now ... if that result held in the second half, it would mean that the higher-placed teams all won (so far, with AU/BU delayed to next Monday night).

(Update) The live stats are still stuck, but the final is posted: TU 71, FC 57.

[Darryl Nester]

Hanover over Bluffton, 83-76.  A game of streaks, with the final streak to the Panthers, outscoring the Beavers 19-7 over the last 7:30 of the game.

Elsewhere:
Defiance 67 @ Transy 72
RHIT 59 @ Manchester 67

Franklin @ AU just went to overtime, after the Ravens erased a 9-point deficit in the final 1:13 of regulation.

The live stats for MSJ @ Earlham are stuck at 12 seconds with the Quakers holding a slim 2-point lead, 67-65.  Did they pick up their first conference win?   Don't know yet.
MSJ 68 @ Earlham 67.  Live stats are still stalled at 12 seconds; I guess the EC staff was too crushed to finalize it.