MBB: MAC Freedom League

[lefty2]

I'm not sure that King's was disinterested.  They certainly seemed interested when they jumped out to a 10-2 lead and were up 35-31 at halftime.

They were probably interested when it was a four-point margin with 10 minutes to go.

Misericordia didn't miss many shots the rest of the way.

when every loose ball is picked up by the same team, and that same team gets offensive rebound after offensive rebound, i would agree that disinterested is a pretty good description.....

You must've been sitting near phillyguy.

There isn't a stat to track loose balls, but Misericordia had 11 offensive rebounds to eight for King's - not exactly lopsided.

I saw a very competitive game for the first 30 minutes - maybe that's when King's became disinterested.

[chairman]

C'mon Lefty,

They had to be disinterested. No way they could have lost if they had been interested.

In all seriousness,

I think King's "reversion to the mean" is similar to what we are seeing across the board in the league. Every team in this league is capable of winning home games against every other team. For Misericordia to beat King's at Misericordia makes a lot of sense. The Freedom Conference is very balanced, and in competitive Leagues, home teams have a tendency to finish out games with more in the tank than visiting teams.

I think it was probably unrealistic to expect King's to roll through the second half of the year the way they did the first. King's did not add a ton of new players from 08-09, and while they surprised several teams early, they were bound to run into some match-up issues the second time through.

BJ. Thanks for the scenario wizard. I'm hoping that it works on a MAC as well.

Willkes at EU tomorrow night.

[lefty2]

Chairman,

I agree - the Freedom is nothing if not balanced.

DeSales is the best team and everyone else is in a close group.  FDU has played strong of late and is better than their record.

[chairman]

Disinterested might be the word to describe Wilkes today. EU turned a 19-12 deficit into a 51-33 lead over a stretch in the middle of the game. DeRojas made some shots early, but the Wilkes bigs, who each had three or four inches on everyone except Mbanda, did not finish with any kind of efficiency until #32 came into the game with nine minutes to play.

Eastern moves into a tie for second with Misericordia. Quiet night for Soaries, but Wright and Nelson each put together decent nights at the offensive end and the Colonels never really got anything going.

Eastern women snap a 19 game losing streak in the league.

[lefty2]

I'm going to give jumpballguy the benefit of the doubt on the "disinterested" comment - I'll take the blame for taking it out of context.

Not that seeding and home games aren't important - but the last couple of days are terribly exciting.  It's much more fun when teams are scratching and clawing to get in the playoffs.

[Wolfpac]

Go EU........seems like the board is talking about EU alot now.  Would love to see the Eagles take the conference from Desalles or Allentown (AC).  Go Coach N>

Where is the Chizwiz and the Chairman?

[lefty2]

Wolf,

Chairman posted just two posts prior to yours.

I didnt' think a Cabrini guy could root for Eastern (and vice versa) under any circumstances.

[Wolfpac]

Got my EU sweatshirt, and even took a class over there back in the day!

Come on now, Bob McTammey and Jim and all the Nadelhoffers are my buds no matter what.  I do bleed blue and white though.  Seriously, there were many good times over there at EU like the 6 overtimes during the Dzik era and when Dzik said to the 3pt shooter on the Cavs (Voz) "whatever you do don't hit the rafters" and naturally he did with his high arcing shots!  The mascot with the bell and the poor guy who was so good until we got in his head named "ARNOLD" wow what great times so I must support the Eagles over those other teams except for Misericordia they are a class act. 

I must admit all the teams in the MAC work hard so in both conferences and the student athletes bust their tails so it is all good.  Just remember when you guys jumped all over me because I talked about EU too much when they were a little down and out.  We discussed low scores with the 3 ball and the percentages but it is all good.

[chairman]

Sam? Are you coming to the game today? I'm intrigued by two things for tomorrow.
First question is whether Manhattanville will beat Misericordia in Dallas. If the Cougars shoot 47 free throws, then Manhattnaville will lose. The Valiants tend to give up a lot more free throws on the road. I'm not sure they can be successful without playing in your face defense, and I think what is considered acceptable hand checking etc. in the area around the city is called a foul everywhere else. We'll see what happens.

Eastern vs Del Val should be interesting. I fully expect the Aggies to bring it tomorrow, and the game has significant meaning or Eastern in a lot of ways.

I was discussing post-season awards today and there are some interesting question marks for all-conference. I think POTY and Rookie of the Year are locks. I would listen if someone gave another idea for ROY, but I only see a couple freshmen starters and there is really only one who makes a major impact at the offensive end of the floor.

The other three questions are related, but also separate. The first is how many guys on teams below .500 in conference and outside the playoff picture will make the team. There are several players at the top of several statistical categories who will be done tomorrow. I am sure some will make first or second team, but how many?

Second, there are several of those teams who will have some questions as to which of their top two guys they want to push for all conference (assuming that most believe they won't get two). Manhattanville, Wilkes, and Del Val each have this question to answer.

Third, and this question is the elephant in the room, is will coaches vote for a guy who entered the league as a second semester senior? There is no questioning his production (some might wonder why there isn't a correlation between production and wins, but there is more to that than one player), but there is a certain--I'm not sure I can think of the exact word, but chicanery comes to mind. I hope that he is working toward his degree and that the transfer in is a positive academic experience, but will coaches vote for a him and will his own coach put him up over a junior 1000 point scorer in his second year in the program.

Time will tell.

[lefty2]

First question is whether Manhattanville will beat Misericordia in Dallas. If the Cougars shoot 47 free throws, then Manhattnaville will lose.

If Misericordia shoots 47 free throws, I'm going to be late for supper.

[NEPAFAN]

First question is whether Manhattanville will beat Misericordia in Dallas. If the Cougars shoot 47 free throws, then Manhattnaville will lose.

If Misericordia shoots 47 free throws, I'm going to be late for supper.

Supper?

[chairman]

Did you get home in time for supper. 36 is enough to cause the Valiants problems.

Didn't see Sam in St. Davids today. Big day for Nelson. He hit for 23 on 5-8 threes. Wright scored 12 points after half.

Hats off to Chris Myers on a really solid final regular season game. The senior guard had 9 pts, 5 rbs, and 6 assists in 40 minutes. He took just four points and worked all over the floor on defense. It is the seventh time this year Myers has gone 40 or more minutes in a game.

[Wolfpac]

Good job EU...... knew you guys would do it.  Good luck in the playoffs!

[lefty2]

Did you get home in time for supper. 36 is enough to cause the Valiants problems.

Didn't see Sam in St. Davids today. Big day for Nelson. He hit for 23 on 5-8 threes. Wright scored 12 points after half.

Hats off to Chris Myers on a really solid final regular season game. The senior guard had 9 pts, 5 rbs, and 6 assists in 40 minutes. He took just four points and worked all over the floor on defense. It is the seventh time this year Myers has gone 40 or more minutes in a game.

Manhattanville is physical.  They were called for 24 fouls and it could've been more.

I don't know about NEPAFAN, but I did make it home for supper.

[chairman]

The regular season is done.

The preseason poll was accurate in as much as it had DeSales in first, Del Val in sixth, and FDU last.

Final standings (with +/-) for spots in the conference.

1. DeSales (even)
2. Eastern (+2)
3. Misericordia (+4)
4. King's (+1)
5. Manhattanville (-3)
6. Del Val (even)
7. Wilkes (-4)
8. FDU-Florham (even)

I have no idea what this means, but I thought there were some interesting stories there.

I was bouncing all-conference around after the Del Val-Eastern game today, and I have some ideas. I'd love to see some banter from the board about who should be on which team. As I mentioned before, I think POY and ROY are locks, but the breakdown and selection of All-Conference and Coach of the Year are interesting discussions.

I have my opinions, but I will hold them back until there is a little banter on the board. This is in no way meant to be official, but instead is for fun.