MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

carlweathers · December 03, 2005, 11:27:05 AM

Earth shaking is extreme but certainly the TU win was more than interesting. These are the Trinity-Southwestern results dating back to 01-02 with margin and winner. The one double digit aberration was in the 02-03 SCAC Tourney and was a much closer game than that until the final couple of minutes.

3 TU, 3 SU, 4 TU, 1 TU, 1 SU, 11 TU, 3 SU, 1 TU, 4 TU, 1 SU,

I don't think there is anyone outside of myself and a couple of other Trinity people on this board that thought Trinity would contend this year and even as one of the biggest believers, I didn't see this coming at all.

Now Trinity isn't necessarily 19 points better than Southwestern but having such a decisive victory is shocking considering the way this rivalry has played out over the years and considering what Trinity lost and what Southwestern returned.

Titan Q · December 03, 2005, 11:47:23 AM

From an outsider's perspective (and I mean really outside...like 1000 miles!) the Trinity win over Southwestern was very significant in the SCAC. I saw Southwestern and Trinity both last year (vs Illinois Wesleyan) and I figured the Pirates would be a favorite in any game vs Trinity...even in San Antonio. Before this season started I viewed Southwestern as a team that could make its way into the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll early and stay there all year long.

The real story isn't so much anything Southwestern is doing wrong (I'm sure they will have a very good year), but what Pat Cunningham is doing right with a whole new cast. Count me among those who thought that Trinity was in rebuilding mode a little after losing Devins, Morris, Murray and that group. I really like Ross Burt though and it appears Andy Bates has taken his game a new level.

Coincidentally I have seen Trinity's next opponent, D1 Texas A&M Corpus Christi, play this year...saw their game at Tulsa over Thanksgiving while I was visiting a friend that lives in Tulsa. That is a game a D3 team can stay in with a real good effort, but Corpus Christi does have a 7-footer, Chris Daniels, who is really good...like way better than Texas A&M Corpus Christi good. Nice touch around the hoop...I'm not sure if Trinity can stop him.

frank_ezelle · December 03, 2005, 12:44:21 PM

To answer Herb's question, I think the toughness of the SCAC this season is mostly a result of the weaker teams getting stronger. Two years ago Millsaps was starting 5 guards. Last night the 4 and 5 players, both sophomores, combined for 39 points and 20 rebounds. Coach Wise and Coach Thomas have done a tremendous job of getting the program back on track to compete for a SCAC title. Obviously the story is the same at Hendrix and Coach Priest has come in and quickly turned that program around. OU returns 8 of their top 9 players from last year (of course the non-returner is Churchwell) so I could see them being even better than last season.

As for Trinity, I don't see why anyone is surprised about there success. When I saw them last year I never saw much of a dropoff when they subbed. They obviously had top-notch talent just waiting for a chance to play and now they are proving themselves with a great start to the season. Love them or hate them, you have to give Trinity their dues and admit that every year and in every sport they will always be in the hunt for the conference championship.

This is going to be a great year to be a SCAC basketball fan--I just hope that these players at all the schools get the fan support that they deserve.

Fan of the Game · December 04, 2005, 11:07:09 AM

It is beginning to look like a 10 team race in the SCAC this season. If Trinity can get Ross Burt and Brandon York back to 100% by January, they look like a very strong contender. It's too bad they won't be at full speed against Texas A&M Corpus Christi Tuesday night. However, if Andy Bates can come close to a repeat performance and the rest of the team steps up again like they did in the Southwestern game, Trinity should keep it interesting.

frank_ezelle · December 04, 2005, 11:45:52 AM

Fan, you must have noticed that Centre lost at Sewanee last night. Four SCAC games, four victories by the home team. In each case the home team was ranked lower in the pre-season poll than their opponent. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues today.

Millsaps and Belhaven were tied at 67 with just under a minute to play but Belhaven held on for the win 71-67. I don't know how Millsaps will do in the SCAC this year but they certainly have played a scheduled designed to prepare them for SCAC play.

carlweathers · December 04, 2005, 01:59:28 PM

Quote from: frank_ezelle on December 03, 2005, 12:44:21 PM
Love them or hate them, you have to give Trinity their dues and admit that every year and in every sport they will always be in the hunt for the conference championship.

Why would you hate them?

carlweathers · December 04, 2005, 02:36:54 PM

Great having Titan Q on the board. Q, your thoughts on Southwestern and Trinity are correct.

Not sure about TAMU-CC. I would have thought that they would be down because they lost a great class of seniors but they beat new Big East team South Florida and thumped UTSA in San Antonio. Trinity was tied at the half a few years ago and played with them for 35 minutes. Rebounding will be an issue. As FOTG said, having Burt and York at 100% would help. Daniels had all kinds of potential coming out of high school. Texas Tech transfer Josh Washington is talented for TAMU-CC.

We shall see.

Rose Basketball · December 04, 2005, 03:40:49 PM

Rose-Hulman finishes a rough weekend road trip, as they fall 63-55 to Hendrix today, finishes an 0-2 weekend which also saw them drop a 67-64 decision to Rhodes on Friday night.

The Engineers fall to 0-2 in the SCAC and 2-5 overall.

frank_ezelle · December 05, 2005, 08:47:11 AM

Carl, the "love them or hate them" comment is actually a compliment that is reserved for teams that tend to achieve great success. Such as people tend to "love or hate" the NY Yankees or Notre Dame or teams that stand out above the others. I thought this was a phase that was so commonly used in sports that no one would take offense.

carlweathers · December 05, 2005, 10:32:55 AM

FE, I am aware. I didn't take offense. Just a joke.

warriorfan · December 05, 2005, 05:46:20 PM

Hendrix will play Rust College Friday at home. Last season we played at Rust and that is one trip I will not make again. That was one of the most hostile sporting environments I have ever been a part of since my son played AAU at Luxora !!!! (Little delta town, gym was partially lit because lights were busted out, told not take valuables inside and don't go anyplace alone inside or outside of the gym!) The refs were terrible and our boys got roughed up pretty good as the officials turned a blind eye! It was not a pleasant experience to say the least.

frank_ezelle · December 06, 2005, 08:55:18 AM

Millsaps plays at Rust tonight which will be a good road test for the team. I've seen Rust play 3 times (all at the Millsaps gym) and they have a pretty good team even though they lost all 3 of those games (75-74 to Millsaps, 85-80 to Belhaven, and 98-92 to Piedmont College). They also have lost at Sewanee 112-102 and they have won at home against Rhodes 78-72.

I have been to their gym and it is small and the crowd supports their team. In the last game I saw the officials called a lot of fouls but it went both ways. The crowd was loud but I didn't think they were out of line in their behavior. I'm sure it will be a tough place to play this evening and it will be a great win if Millsaps pulls through with a victory.

By the way, congratulations to the Hendrix team on the two victories this past weekend. I especially congratulate the older players who have stuck with the program and have been instumental in this revival. Good luck Friday.

Herb · December 06, 2005, 08:48:34 PM

Trinity down 11 at the half to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Trinity shoots 37.9% in the first half and also committed 11 turnovers. Live webcast from the TAMUCC guys.

Ron Boerger · December 07, 2005, 11:50:06 AM

Final was 86-62. TAMUCC hit 47% of their threes.

Fan of the Game · December 07, 2005, 05:53:55 PM

Titan Q

Your assessment of Chris Daniels with Texas A&M Corpus Christi is right on target. He's not just a seven footer, he has a lot of talent. Don't be surprised if you see him at the next level if he develops to his full potential.

Trinity had no answer to his 7' inside presence. Ross Burt's injured thumb proved to be a handicap for the team. Hopefully he will heal during finals and the holidays. Jay Riola (13 pts, 3 rbds) and James Lakes (13 pts) stepped up and made big contributions. Andy Bates continued his break out season with 21 pts. Not a "W", but certainly a respectable showing last night.