MBB: MAC Freedom League

[bill]

Stretch - you probably saw this by now, but:
Release Courtesy of the Middle Atlantic Conference

ANNVILLE, Pa. (January 17) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) continues to monitor the COVID-19 landscape and the impact on member institutions and athletics programs. As a result of the surge in cases, the MAC has approved changes in basketball and across all sports.

The MAC has approved a one-time expansion of the 2022 men's and women's basketball championship fields to include all nine eligible teams in both the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom.

The MAC administrators also voted to allow winter sport conference contests that cannot be played due to COVID-19 to be rescheduled effective immediately. Any contest scheduled on or after January 13 that cannot take place on the originally scheduled date due to one or both teams on a COVID-19 pause may be rescheduled under specific parameters.

If the game cannot be rescheduled, it will be a forfeit loss for the team originally causing the postponement.

This policy only pertains to winter sports. Spring sports will retain the forfeit policy established in the fall with the expectation of normal conference tournament qualifications.

The conference will continue to monitor the pandemic as the academic year moves into the spring sport season.

Brackets for both tournaments will be as follows:

8/9 Play-In (Feb. 21): #9 Seed at #8 Seed
Quarterfinal 1 (Feb. 23): #8/9 Winner at #1 Seed
Quarterfinal 2 (Feb. 23): #5 Seed at #4 Seed
Quarterfinal 3 (Feb. 23): #6 Seed at #3 Seed
Quarterfinal 4 (Feb. 23): #7 Seed at #2 Seed
Semifinal 1 (Feb. 25): QF1 Winner vs. QF2 Winner
Semifinal 2 (Feb. 25): #QF3 Winner vs. QF4 Winner
Final (Feb. 27): SF1 Winner vs. SF2 Winner

[Stretch4]

Thank you for sharing Bill.  I did see that announcement.  A little odd they didn't allow previously forfeited games to be re-scheduled (as I believe there were only 4 or 5 before 1/13).  So DelVal pick ups two freebie covid wins while Kings picks up two covid losses. We will see how the rest of the season shakes out. I can tell you that Stevens and Wilkes played a game this past weekend with 9 and 8 players available respectively, with both missing starters.  So teams are willing to play short handed to ensure the games are played.

[jmcozenlaw]

Thank you for sharing Bill.  I did see that announcement.  A little odd they didn't allow previously forfeited games to be re-scheduled (as I believe there were only 4 or 5 before 1/13).  So DelVal pick ups two freebie covid wins while Kings picks up two covid losses. We will see how the rest of the season shakes out. I can tell you that Stevens and Wilkes played a game this past weekend with 9 and 8 players available respectively, with both missing starters.  So teams are willing to play short handed to ensure the games are played.

I don't even look into things such as "freebie wins" given that (1) it is completely outside of a teams control and (2) all teams are in the conference tournament...............so who ever got a loss or two or a win or two............it matters very little in the scheme of things.

[kate]

Great win this afternoon Aggies!   Not to brag or anything, but since covid, we've stayed home and watched on here, and i have to say that Del Val is VERY lucky to have Gordon Mann call both the women's and men's games!!!

[Stretch4]

Things are tight in the MAC Freedom conference.  DeSales of course sitting on top of the conference, but really had to dig deep to pull out a couple of close games in two of their last three.  Easily could have gone the other way in both games, but their experience and ability to execute in crunch time allowed them to take the w in each game. They are a tough team.  They don't wow you coming off the bus, but they play extremely well together and really have a lot of depth.  The 2 through 6 teams are all very capable of picking each other off, so it will be interesting to see how conference playoff seeding shakes out.  Great game yesterday with Stevens knocking off Lycoming on the road.  Congrats to Stevens Alec DiPietrantonio who went over the 1,000 point milestone on Wednesday night and continued his outstanding season with another great game against Lycoming yesterday.

[jmcozenlaw]

Great win this afternoon Aggies!   Not to brag or anything, but since covid, we've stayed home and watched on here, and i have to say that Del Val is VERY lucky to have Gordon Mann call both the women's and men's games!!!

I would have loved to of seen this DelVal team with Damian Washington (6'6") and Jordan Tucker (6'4" and a bull).........(arguably their best........and 2 of their 3 or 4 biggest........two players) who played the first two games and decided to move on with their lives. 6'5" Dwayne Caine Jr. would have helped a bunch as well.  I know that the coach was a later hire and had to scrum to bring in a few players. Let's see what he can do with a full recruiting cycle. Good win over a much larger Misericordia squad who crushed them on the boards as DelVal is high schools small without the three players mentioned above. My alma mater, Swarthmore, is looking very good yet again!

On a brighter note, my adopted (as Swarthmore dropped football years ago) Aggie football team starts their off season weight lifting/mauling/crushing training...............on track to what could be a 5th consecutive undefeated MAC Championship. Hit those weights boys, in a way that no other MAC team comes close to!!!!

[NEPAFAN]

Yikes.

https://gowilkesu.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2021-2022/penn-state-wilkes-barre/boxscore/6259

[kate]

Like many area hospitals, Penn State would open a branch campus in a vacant strip mall if they could.   The MAC has to stiffen up and get those wins!

[lefty2]

Yikes.

https://gowilkesu.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2021-2022/penn-state-wilkes-barre/boxscore/6259

How's this for a bounce-back?
https://gowilkesu.com/news/2022/1/26/mens-basketball-wilkes-mens-basketball-hangs-on-to-hand-desales-first-conference-loss.aspx

[kate]

Wilkes beating DeSales - fantastic and that's what it's all about beating up on each other in this league - makes everybody tougher!

[NEPAFAN]

Yikes.

https://gowilkesu.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2021-2022/penn-state-wilkes-barre/boxscore/6259

How's this for a bounce-back?
https://gowilkesu.com/news/2022/1/26/mens-basketball-wilkes-mens-basketball-hangs-on-to-hand-desales-first-conference-loss.aspx

Wow, you are welcome. Reverse jinx never fails!

[jmcozenlaw]

Like many area hospitals, Penn State would open a branch campus in a vacant strip mall if they could.   The MAC has to stiffen up and get those wins!

Kate, that might just get comment of the year!!! Much less expensive than their private school counterparts AND getting the Penn State name on the degree, regardless of branch campus. More of them should be cleaning up like Penn State Harrisburg (which is just a smidge..........or ten million smidges easier to get into than the Happy Valley campus:)

[kate]

Penn State lost me completely with the Sandosky  (sp.?) scandal and i know it wasn't the fault of the students!!!   Sports wise, i feel that an athlete gains so much from four years with one TEAM!   Yes, i do know that for many, tuition costs are the issue, but it would be hard to hopscotch around - one or two years at the branch campus and then to the main where your chances of playing could be slim to none.

[jmcozenlaw]

Penn State lost me completely with the Sandosky  (sp.?) scandal and i know it wasn't the fault of the students!!!   Sports wise, i feel that an athlete gains so much from four years with one TEAM!   Yes, i do know that for many, tuition costs are the issue, but it would be hard to hopscotch around - one or two years at the branch campus and then to the main where your chances of playing could be slim to none.

99.5% of the student athletes at the branch campuses stay all four years at the branch location. Many have dorms and most that don't are aggressively building them. I try to keep things separated. The Sandusky thing was vile and disgusting, but it does not represent the Penn State brand just as the actions of 0.04% of Catholic Priests don't represent the Catholic religion. I never let the actions of the few cloud my judgement of the many.

[kate]

Sadly, in the Penn State case, it was the actions of the 'few' at the top.    Still say, the growth of the branch campuses of Penn State is unbelievable.   I for one, am super glad that Del Val didn't become Penn State Bucks.