MBB: MAC Freedom League

[d3hoopstories]

Arcadia and Stevens both lost last night. With the Knights' loss, the Ducks backed into clinching first place and will host one semifinal next Wednesday. There is now a four-way tie for second with Arcadia, Misericordia, DeSales and DelVal sitting at 7-6.

Arcadia has clinched a bid (although the MAC website does not yet indicate that). The Knights control their destiny for second place. A win at LebVal on Saturday secures home court for the semifinal. Beyond that, it is absolute chaos. I have tried to make sense of the tiebreakers. See below...

If Saturday's winners are...final seeding would be...

Arcadia, DeSales and Mis... (2) Arcadia; (3) DeSales; (4) Mis
Arcadia, DeSales and Kings... (2) Arcadia; (3) DeSales; (4) DelVal
Arcadia, DelVal and Mis... (2) Arcadia; (3) DelVal; (4) Mis
Arcadia, DelVal and Kings... (2) Arcadia; (3) DelVal; (4) DeSales
LebVal, DeSales and Mis... (2) DeSales, (3) Mis, (4) Arcadia
LebVal, DeSales and Kings... (2) DeSales; (3) Arcadia; (4) King's
LebVal, DelVal and Mis...(2) DelVal; (3) Mis; (4) Arcadia
LebVal, DelVal and Kings... (2) DelVal; (3) Arcadia; (4) King's


 

[d3hoopstories]

What happened to Stevens?

In last night's game, the coaching staff inexplicably went way down the bench on two occasions (once each half) that turned out to be very costly. In those 8 and a half minutes of the game, with deep reserves getting time in a key contest, they were outscored 19-3. Details below.

Having built a 19-10 lead thanks to a 10-0 run, Stevens' staff inserted a first-year guard who entered the game with 18 turnovers in 63 minutes of playing time. They could have reinserted fifth-year starter Mike Goodall, who had been subbed out a couple of minutes before that. In just two minutes of playing time, the first-year guard turned it over and missed a 3, and suddenly it was 19-16 and the momentum had swung. He did not play again.

In the second half, the Ducks led 51-48 after a 12-2 run. Here, they opted to insert lightly used Loscalzo (instead of Leming) and even more lightly used Scott (instead of Coughlan) at the 13:06 mark.

In two and a half minutes of playing time, Scott committed two fouls, the Ducks turned it over three times, and they lost the lead because of a 5-0 run before sending Leming in to replace Scott. Notably, fifth-year starter Mike Goodall continued to sit while the run grew to 11-3, leaving the Ducks down 5 before he entered again.

Another two minutes passed without a Ducks point as Coughlan remained on the bench. He finally re-entered the game with the Ducks down 7 and less than seven minutes remaining. It was his first action of the second half, a stretch in which Stevens scored just 19 points in more than 13 minutes.

All told, in the 8 and a half minutes in which some combination of the 8th, 9th and 10th best guys were on the floor, the Ducks were outscored 19-3. In the other 31.5 minutes of the game, the Ducks outscored DelVal 69-59. Both the offense and the defense suffered considerably when Stevens went deep down its bench.

As postseason looms, I suspect they will shorten the bench, play guys who will not turn the ball over and take bad shots, and use their timeouts occasionally if one of the regulars needs a breather.

[jmcozenlaw]

What happened to Stevens?

In last night's game, the coaching staff inexplicably went way down the bench on two occasions (once each half) that turned out to be very costly. In those 8 and a half minutes of the game, with deep reserves getting time in a key contest, they were outscored 19-3. Details below.

Having built a 19-10 lead thanks to a 10-0 run, Stevens' staff inserted a first-year guard who entered the game with 18 turnovers in 63 minutes of playing time. They could have reinserted fifth-year starter Mike Goodall, who had been subbed out a couple of minutes before that. In just two minutes of playing time, the first-year guard turned it over and missed a 3, and suddenly it was 19-16 and the momentum had swung. He did not play again.

In the second half, the Ducks led 51-48 after a 12-2 run. Here, they opted to insert lightly used Loscalzo (instead of Leming) and even more lightly used Scott (instead of Coughlan) at the 13:06 mark.

In two and a half minutes of playing time, Scott committed two fouls, the Ducks turned it over three times, and they lost the lead because of a 5-0 run before sending Leming in to replace Scott. Notably, fifth-year starter Mike Goodall continued to sit while the run grew to 11-3, leaving the Ducks down 5 before he entered again.

Another two minutes passed without a Ducks point as Coughlan remained on the bench. He finally re-entered the game with the Ducks down 7 and less than seven minutes remaining. It was his first action of the second half, a stretch in which Stevens scored just 19 points in more than 13 minutes.

All told, in the 8 and a half minutes in which some combination of the 8th, 9th and 10th best guys were on the floor, the Ducks were outscored 19-3. In the other 31.5 minutes of the game, the Ducks outscored DelVal 69-59. Both the offense and the defense suffered considerably when Stevens went deep down its bench.

As postseason looms, I suspect they will shorten the bench, play guys who will not turn the ball over and take bad shots, and use their timeouts occasionally if one of the regulars needs a breather.

No mention of Redding torching Stevens for 47 points on their home floor, with several shots even deeper than Curry usually takes them? I think he had a slight part in "what happened to Stevens" and might just be in consideration for some All-MAC first or second team love.

[d3hoopstories]

Redding had a great game. Really fun to watch and certainly among the top 10 players in the league this year. He can light it up.

Your observation provides more evidence of why the deep reserves should not have been on the floor. When they were, Redding scored 24 points in less than 16 minutes. The freshman and sophomore from Stevens could simply not stay with him.

When some combination of the top 7 for Stevens were defending, with Goodall handling much of the assignment vs Redding, he was limited to less than one point per minute (23 in 24+). Still blazing but a significant drop from what he produced against the younger, shorter guards. A review of the game tape shows he got very little against Goodall.

[jmcozenlaw]

Redding follows up his 47 point game at Stevens, where regardless of who was covering him 30 feet from the basket, he pulled up, shot and scored.........with another 26 against DeSales, who after trying to deny him the ball once past halfcourt, had hands in his face on many shots. That's a 36.5 point average against the Preseason Polls #1 and #2 seeds in the make or break last week of the season. Amazing!!

Had you told me that this DelVal team, picked dead last, behind even FDU, in the Preseason Poll, would wind up as the #2 seed (if Hoopstories scenarios are correct above), I would have never believed you.

What has made this more remarkable is that the Aggies have been playing without, due to injuries, their second leading scorer, 6'3" guard, Mike Herrin, their fifth leading scorer, Reggie Washington and their only other player (besides Zoelin Pair) taller than 6'3" (in real life......not the roster height for the players), Miles Demby.

It's house money at this point for the Cinderella Aggies. While the Preseason Poll had the Aggies wayyyyyyyy off, I believe they had Stevens right from the jump as the first place finisher. The question is does this Stevens team, with 6'9" Jack Spellman and his supporting cast, have what it takes to win a game or two in the NCAA's. Only time will tell.

[d3hoopstories]

Congratulations to Coach Kaba, who ought to be coach of the year based on his team's performance. DelVal hosts Misericordia on Wednesday night in what should be a fantastic semifinal. Arcadia heads to Hoboken to face Stevens in the other semi.

[Stretch4]

Del Val with another tough performance to grab a semi-final win over Misericordia and continue their multi-week run of great play (winning 6 of their last 7 games). Based on a recent win on the road vs Stevens, I would expect the Aggies to be feeling pretty good going in to the championship game on Saturday. Meanwhile Stevens turned up their defensive intensity while taking much better care of the ball, and ran away from Arcadia in their semi-final victory. Should be a high intensity match-up in Hoboken on Saturday.

[kate]

Best of Luck to our Aggies this afternoon taking on Steven's Institute of Technology at 2 pm in Hoboken!

[kate]

Huge Congrats to the Del Val Aggies winning by a point this afternoon to an amazing Stevens Team.   Off to the dance!!!!!

[kate]

Where IS everybody on here yesterday and this morning?   Just wanted to say, too, that I watched the game on the computer, camera work was outstanding and the Steven's announcers could not have been better!   Again, congratulations to Stevens on a well played game, but WOW, Del Val, you were equally sensational and one point better yesterday afternoon!   Gigantic Congrats!

[jmcozenlaw]

Talk about a D3HoopsStory (I'm looking forward to d3hoopstories breakdown)!!!! I'm not sure that I remember any MAC team predicted to come in last place in the Preseason Poll and win the championship! To even get there, the Aggies had to beat the Preseason #1 and #2 teams (Stevens and Desales) to finish out the regular season. Down their second (Herrin) and fifth (Washington) leading scorers, they had to beat Misericordia and then had to go on the road and beat Stevens for the second time in just ten days.

With just 10 players dressed, only 8 of them healthy and only 7 of them playing.......and with Stevens defenders in Redding's face all day, including trying to double him on his game winning shot, Redding played himself into first team All-MAC consideration with another incredible performance. He might just be my first pick in the MAC if I needed somebody to create off of the dribble and make a game winning shot. His last four games (at Stevens, Desales, Misericordia, at Stevens) were unlike anything I've seen in a long time. Teams knew how lethal he was in the hot streak......and could do nothing about it. Incredible!!

Coach is Kaba is definitely the MAC Coach of the Year and I look forward to seeing what type of recognition Redding and Pair receive. It would be awesome to see the Aggies have a great recruiting year as they lose Pair, Gombs and McGinty, who was also fantastic in the late run to end the season with a championship.

An incredible season that came out of nowhere. I prefer a season like this versus those where the  finish is just as predicted. Congrats to the Aggies on another MAC Championship.......this one even sweeter given the odds before the season started, and even greater odds after some crushing injuries.

[Stretch4]

Congratulations to Delaware Valley on capturing the MAC Freedom championship with a win over Stevens in an amazing game Saturday in Hoboken. A great deal of resiliency by the Aggies, along with a great team defensive effort on Stevens perimeter game holding them to only 6 made 3 pointers on 29 attempts. Redding continued his great play and received a well-earned tournament MVP award. In a odd way, the absence of Herrin may have actually allowed a guy like McGinty to really step forward as he was without question the unsung hero of both the semi-final and championship games. Herrin's absence over the last few weeks also certainly allowed for more shot attempts from Redding, and boy did he take advantage of that.

As for Stevens, it was honestly a case of you live by the three ... you die by the three. They certainly had plenty of opportunities to extend leads earlier in the game, but consistently settled for contested three point attempts with plenty of time on the shot clock. A tough way to end a great career for senior Jack Spellman who was just magnificent in defeat on both ends of the floor trying to will his team to a victory. Equally tough way to end the career of grad student Mike Goodall who's attempt of the game winning shot bounced around and hung on the rim for what seemed like two seconds before falling off.

As a Stevens fan I am of course disappointed, but full credit to Del Val and best of luck to them in the NCAAs.

[kate]

Thank you Stretch 4 - your Team and your announcers were amazing!   Thank you again for your best wishes for the Tournament!!!

[d3hoopstories]

Stretch4's post nailed the key points, as usual. I love his insights.

For all the talk of Redding's offense (which deserves every bit of credit), the key to DelVal's late season run was its team defense. In their last eight games, only one opponent shot better than 40% from the field. Stevens led the league in three-pointers per game and 3PT% for the season. Entering the title game, the Ducks were 15-0 when holding opponents to 64 or fewer points but could not overcome such poor shooting yesterday. Their starting guards, who shoot 40% from distance, were just 4 for 20. Despite that, they had a clean look to win the game and the ball didn't bounce their way.

I would have liked to see Stevens' best defensive unit on the floor together a whole lot more. By my count, they had seven defensive possessions as a group - one in the first half and six in the final 3:30. Here is what DelVal did against them:

Turnover
Turnover
Missed layup
Turnover
Turnover
Breakaway dunk
Game-winner

For the game, that group outscored DelVal 10-4 in five minutes. It is not clear to me why they did not get more time as a unit. Redding had no 3's and no FT's against them.

[jmcozenlaw]

I had a feeling that Redding might squeeze his way on to the All-MAC First Team, but never did I expect this.......Co-Player of the Year!!

"Redding had a stellar season, appearing in 21 games and averaging 17.5 points per contest, including ten performances of 20 or more points. He led all of Division III in three-point shooting at 51.1% and ranked third in free throw percentage at 92.1%, missing just five attempts all season.

On February 19 against Stevens, Redding etched his name in the Delaware Valley record book with a career-high 47-point performance—the second-highest single-game total in program history. He shot 14-20 from the field, 8-10 from beyond the arc, and 11-12 from the free-throw line in that game. In addition to his scoring prowess, Redding also led the Aggies with 53 assists".

He led the nation with a ridiculous 51.1% from the three-point line and shot 92.1% from the foul line. If the Aggies can put a big or two around him next year, Redding could work his way into All-American consideration.

I NEVER saw THIS coming! I don't know what is more unlikely, Redding's ascent to Co-Player of the Year or the Aggies winning the MAC after picked to finish dead last.

Congratulations to Coach Kaba for an amazing year, especially in light of some critical, season ending injuries!! They are in on a D2 transfer considering about five schools and is looking at DelVal's Pre-Vet program. I'll give it 50-50 odds at best. He would be a monster in the MAC (6'8 1/2", 240 pounds) as he looks to move closer to home after playing his high school ball in one of the best leagues in the country, the Philadelphia Catholic League. He also has three years of eligibility remaining. Fingers crossed.