MBB: MAC Freedom League

[bill]

Mailsy

I don't have my offical playoff matrix    in front of me, but I believe you're right. Even IF FDU wins, Del val loses at home, and Desales beats Alvernia, FDU ties Del Val, loses head to head tie breaker.

Then, there's the wacky three way tie, IF FDU wins, Del Val loses, and Alvernia wins, you'd have 3 teams at 7-9...FDU would be out of this mix, but I'm not sure who wins a Del Val - Alvernia tie....

[mid-range j]

mville wins a chippy contest to say the least..

mville 63 kings 53

there was nothing pretty with this game..a lot of hard fouls, technicals, and hard nosed defense once again..mville is going to have to play better basketball if they want to beat fdu on the road in the last game of the season..nonetheless they came out on top against a hard-nosed-fightyoutilltheend-team in kings...

[chizwiz]

Here's my take on the Colonels:  Kresge= hard nosed go to guy, tough matchup, would like to see him play inside more, terrific rebounder esp on the offensive end, his outside shot just not there this year, a lot of bricks.  DeRojas= deadeye streaky shooter, knocks them down on the foul line, would like to see more screens set up for him a la Reggie Miller,  doesn't miss when feet are set and square to basket, not as good a shooter driving to the basket and shooting on the run, great ball handler but not a good distributor esp on the break, gets hurt on defensive end, a lot of blow byes.  Kline= great low post presence with variety of moves, good rebounder and passer like a point forward or center, should touch the the ball on every trip,  offense should start here.  Gulla= nice size guard, good rebounder and defender, lack of outside shot hurts, a slasher who has to finish more often.  Hinze and Huch= the future, both made contributions, Huch, one of the leaders in block shots in the conf.,   both will have to step up next year.   Rest of the bench is thin,   Donatoni made some plays, can't play him with DeRo (2 smaller guards).

LJK, great assessment of Wilkes. I was at the game tonight and like what you posted here.  DeRojas didn't shoot much from 3 in second half, as it seemed Wilkes was going hi/lo and trying to have the big man post up or have him pass to the big man on the elbow.

[BJ - DSU SID]

Looks like the guests are settled.  Now we just have to sort out who's sitting where at the table.

Updated matrix below
http://athletics.desales.edu/custompages/mbball/2008-09/mHoopsMatrix.pdf

The way I see it:
DeSales gets #1 seed with a win or MVille loss.  If the Bulldogs finish tied with MVille, they get the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping Wilkes, where as MVille lost both to Wilkes.  Both MVille and DeSales split with Eastern.

MVille can still get #1 seed but need a win and a DeSales loss (@ Alvernia) on Saturday.  Otherwise MVille is locked into the #2 spot.

Wilkes is 10-6 and if Eastern wins on Saturday (@ King's), they are also 10-6.  Eastern would win that tiebreaker by virtue of its win over DeSales.  Wilkes was swept by DeSales.

Wilkes can get the #3 seed if Eastern loses at King's on Saturday.

Delaware Valley is in the playoffs for the first time since 1969...congrats to them.  They are locked into the #5 seed.

Enjoy the final regular season games on Saturday everyone.

[PBR...]

Looks like the guests are settled.  Now we just have to sort out who's sitting where at the table.

Updated matrix below
http://athletics.desales.edu/custompages/mbball/2008-09/mHoopsMatrix.pdf

The way I see it:
DeSales gets #1 seed with a win or MVille loss.  If the Bulldogs finish tied with MVille, they get the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping Wilkes, where as MVille lost both to Wilkes.  Both MVille and DeSales split with Eastern.

MVille can still get #1 seed but need a win and a DeSales loss (@ Alvernia) on Saturday.  Otherwise MVille is locked into the #2 spot.

Wilkes is 10-6 and if Eastern wins on Saturday (@ King's), they are also 10-6.  Eastern would win that tiebreaker by virtue of its win over DeSales.  Wilkes was swept by DeSales.

Wilkes can get the #3 seed if Eastern loses at King's on Saturday.

Delaware Valley is in the playoffs for the first time since 1969...congrats to them.  They are locked into the #5 seed.

Enjoy the final regular season games on Saturday everyone.

welll done and go dvc!!! no pressure as no one thought u guys would make it this far...play loose and have fun and enjoy the ride!!

[chizwiz]

Congrats to DVC for making the playoffs.

Nice overview of the playoff seeds, BJ.  It all makes sense now.

I've read the posts saying DVC is the team to watch out for and nobody wants to play them.  I take it one step further, I think this tourney is very close from top to bottom.  We have seen that DeSales can lose to any team and that the 7th/8th/9th worst teams can beat anybody.  Projections are going to be tough and probably inaccurate once this tourney is over.

But, let's do those predictions anyway

[PBR...]

Congrats to DVC for making the playoffs.

Nice overview of the playoff seeds, BJ.  It all makes sense now.

I've read the posts saying DVC is the team to watch out for and nobody wants to play them.  I take it one step further, I think this tourney is very close from top to bottom.  We have seen that DeSales can lose to any team and that the 7th/8th/9th worst teams can beat anybody.  Projections are going to be tough and probably inaccurate once this tourney is over.

But, let's do those predictions anyway

dvc takes it all....                      in reality desales imho will take the crown but it wont be easy and i truly think dvc makes a run in the tourney but runs out of gas and doesnt have enough bullets to take down desales. but w/ a roster just loaded w/ freshmen and sophmores and a top coach dvc is going to be a force now in the league

[ljk]

Wilkes beat Miseri on the road to finish 10-6 in conference.  Huch and Gabriel came off the bench  and gave the Colonels a big boost.  Freshman Huch has been coming on strong down the stretch.  With long arms and wide shoulders ( a young Phil Jackson), he has become a premier shot blocker in the league.  As he matures and hits the weight room, he has a bright future.  He had 12 pts and 7 rebs in the win.  Gabe had a lot of energy last night and chipped in 11 pts, and 6 rebounds.  It's a great time for contributions from the bench as the Colonels have now won 4 in a row.   It looks like if Eastern loses to King's, Wilkes gets 3rd seed.  If Eastern wins, Wilkes will get 4th seed and a home game.  Del Val at Wilkes would be a real bad matchup for the Colonels. I agree with my fellow posters, Del Val is one dangerous team if they get that last spot.

[mid-range j]

mville was picked pre-season #6 and they are at least going to finish 2nd in the conference...they graduated 5 seniors, 4 starters, and 3 - 1,000 point scorers from last years squad and are going to finish in a spot where NOBODY thought they would...

eastern has also had a stellar year, along with a change in progress for del val..those teams should be very proud of their efforts..ecspecially after the "pre-season ranking spots"

like i keep saying..mville is tough to beat at home..they havent played great the past couple of games but they are still holding teams off..their defense is always there and that is something that could really help them come playoff time...

last 5 games defense field goal percentage:
Kings - 35%
Misericordia - 31%
Wilkes - 43%
Del Val - 32%
William Patterson - 31%

like ljk put it (it might have been someone else) they could go droughtful on offense and that is something they will need to improve on come playoff time, but as for defense, i think they are the best in the conference with desales up there as well..

[ljk]

Mid:  Mville really holds the ball on offense and lets the clock go all the way down before taking a shot.  They seem to treat every possession like it is for the last shot of the half or the game.  Thats ok, but teams holding it that long, have a tendency to turn the ball over, or rush the shot as the shot clock winds down, and as a result they don't get a good look at the basket.  That might account for the drought on offense that you mentioned.   They really do shorten the game.  When I was scanning their roster, I noticed players from Australia, Ireland, Texas, Fla, DC, etc. Who does their recruiting and how do these players find the school?  They had to replace a lot from last season and they did a great job.

[jumpball]

ljk:  I absolutely agree that DVC is a tough nut for anyone right now but I actually think Wilkes matches up pretty well with them for the reason they have the bigs to give DVC real problems inside.  DVC can struggle defensively inside and be pounded from the low blocks from what I've seen (limited as it is).  with kresge and kline et al they have the horses to do that.....  not sure wilkes will match up with them anyway as I would not be surprised if kings takes eastern saturday.  don't know if a loss there would alter the seedings and match ups or not.   with eastern already in, not sure how desperate they are now and although i did not see or hear about kings game last nite - but 3 technicals sounds like they might be a little feisty following that one.  they will show up on saturday at home v eastern, i think.  whether they prevail......who knows but they have better than a punchers shot at it

[naismith]

Jump,

Should Kings beat Eastern, Wilkes slides into the 3 seed and DVC vs Eastern is the 4-5 game.
Should DeSales lose and M-ville win their final games, the same switch happens.

Agree with your assessment of potentail DVC vs Wilkes matchup. Colonels will need to control glass and score inside.
The Aggies are the quicker team especially on the perimeter. Williams plays pretty tall for his size and my feel is that he will be key.

Wilkes has been playing better. With Gabriel and Huch stepping up, they actually add some speed and quickness inside.
Along with Kline, Kresge and Hinze, they have a formidable front line.  Colonels have yet to find a consistent outside threat other than DeRojas. Gulla offers defense, handle and rebounding.....Ruby plays hard. In a DVC matchup, Donatoni might be a potential key off the bench. Very quick guard, good handle...can penetrate and dish or score. Pretty capable shooter and plays without fear.

As to DVC, Seipt and Jones are a tough tandem. Mayo plays aggressive game....likes to penetrate but can stroke the open '3'.
Williams can sky. Combined with his quickness, he presents problems.  These 4 get the most minutes but the bench has many contributors.

Wilkes will need a big defensive effort to contain the Aggies. If the Colonels can control the boards and tempo, they can win this matchup. It will take a full 40 minutes of intensity.

If Del Val can up tempo the game, utilize their quickness and shoot well....it will be an Aggie night. 

Although this game is a tossup in my mind, I have noted the recently improved Colonel play and think they will get past DVC should they play a 1st round game.

Naismith

[jumpball]

Nai:  thanks for update on playoff scenario.  agree, it'd be a fun tilt to watch; also agree with your views pretty much.  if DVC is hitting....well, they likely beat anyone then, otherwise, I could see wilkes pounding them down low and prevailing.  if they get into a game matching up on the outside, thats to DVC advantage, no disrespect to Wilkes guards but they can't match quickness of DVC - doubt any team can.  I know donatoni well and yes, he is fearless, but he doesn't seem to get many minutes anymore - i know it's tough playing him with derojas as both are small and it's tough to defend with two guards that can each be posted easily, but with dero getting 35+ minutes a night how does he get in to play much of a role?

[chizwiz]

I love it that EU is getting almost no attention on this board.  I think EU's defense is probably stronger than people are willing to admit.

[hoopzwiz]

Your name should be Cheezewiz.
Are you still the scorekeeper for Eastern?