MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[carlweathers]

I thought that was a very honest post by Petey and didn't think that he came after anybody in a negative way.

No chance that Burr would have started for Trinity.

[frank_ezelle]

Actually, I think all the OU posts make good points and I don't think anyone is really trying to take jabs at the other.  It's a valid point that OU has had some talented players in recent years and it is also a valid point that OU plays a style that allows those players to inflate their numbers over the players on the typical SCAC team.  It's also valid to point out that OU hasn't had enough players playing at their peak at the same time as evidenced by the fact that OU hasn't been over .500 in the SCAC since 1997-98.  

Personally, I like Coach Ponder and I think he has done a great job at OU in his first four years.  I've looked at the OU schedule for the rest of the year and Coach Ponder will have to do a truly outstanding job if OU is going to get over .500 in the conference this year.  They start 2008 with 5 road games that include Centre, DePauw and Millsaps.  They finally get home at the end of January to host Trinity and Southwestern, but then they have the long road trip to Austin and Colorado to start off February.  The only three home games they have in Feb. are Sewanee, Centre and DePauw.  There just aren't a lot of easy wins on a schedule like that.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for supporting your SCAC teams.  I'm sure it is appreciates by the SCAC athletes at all the schools.

[vozdelospetrels]

Frank,

You are absolutely right about Oglethorpe's remaining schedule this season...it will be tough, but I've wittnessed and experienced enough SCAC games the past few years to know that on any given weekend in conferenec play, anything can happen. Road trips in the SCAC just seem to take the energy away from the visitors so often and the SCAC seems to be balancing out the past couple of years, with multiple teams being poetential conference champ candidates. It should be a fun conference season once again and I'm expecting many upsets. Merry Christmas, happy Holidays everyone!!

[spfan22]

thanks "flightofthepetrel"... im glad you got my back.. I guess 43% just isn't good enough.. haha.. referring back to Burr.. i would say that he probably could have started for Trinity his freshman and sophomore year.. but with the numbers he put up his junior and senior year.. I'll say he definitely wouldn't have started for Trinity in those two years.. i also want to point out that the difference in his underclassmen years to his upperclassmen years is by far the most bizzare fall off i have ever seen..

I hope everyone had a great holiday.. and good luck to all

[coachwgh]

As you probably saw on the main page, D3hoops.com is coming to ATL.  I just wanted to let all of the SCAC folks know that this is due to the dilligent work of one of your own.  Phil Ponder at Oglethorpe sat down with some area coaches late in the summer and pitched the idea which we all thought was a great idea.  I am sure the schedule will be released soon but it should be a great trip for Pat and some great exposure for down south hoops. 

[Pat Coleman]

Yep, I'll write a blog post about it later today, work schedule permitting, then add it to the front to let everyone know.

Look forward to meeting you and the others.

[Ralph Turner]

Yep, I'll write a blog post about it later today, work schedule permitting, then add it to the front to let everyone know.

Look forward to meeting you and the others.

That is great news for South Region basketball!

A new title

Pat Coleman, Ambassador Extraordinaire

Presenting Division III Athletics around the country and to the world!

[FlightofthePetrel]

Hopefully we'll still be able to bring out a big crowd with all the students home for break to show you what OU basketball is all about.

Coach Ponder told me about the idea a few weeks ago...while it might have been his idea I'm sure he had a bunch of help from the coaches of Emory, Lagrange, Huntington and Piedmont-  Thanks to all of you as well.

[Pat Coleman]

Heading out to Atlanta. Hope to see some good basketball this weekend!

[JJFlash]

Trinity returned to action today with a 6 point win over Wabash College in San Antonio.  The Tigers got 34 points from their bench.  I'm really impressed with their depth and the lack of drop-off when the starters take a breather.  The team hit its free throws today which has been a glaring weakness so far this year.  Barrett Koch, Nick Polidoroff and Luke Caldarera are making HUGE contributions right now.  I think the Tigers look primed to make the SCAC very interesting   

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps got back on the court this afternoon and came away with a 89-69 win over Loyola of New Orleans.  I went to the Loyola website to see what kind of season they are having and it looks like they are having one of their best seasons in decades.  They were 7-2 coming into today's game, their best start in 40 years.  Included in the wins is a 78-71 victory over D2 Delta State University, usually a good program, and one of the losses was by 5-points to the #19 team in the NAIA Division 1.

The win moves Millsaps to 8-1 and I think they are 4-0 in the South Region.  The last two wins against NAIA teams don't help in the NCAA bid process, but they were good wins over quality teams and Millsaps seems to be playing a notch above the 2006-07 level.  It will be interesting to see how they play in home games against Southwestern and Trinity this weekend. 

[frank_ezelle]

A couple of links to the Millsaps and Loyola game:

Box score:  http://www.scac-online.org/basketball_mens/mc09.htm

Game story:  http://www.millsaps.edu/athletic/basketball-m/123007release.shtml

After looking at the box score I thought that Millsaps might have set a record yesterday for 3-pt shots made but they fell just short.  Millsaps hit 17 of 26 but the record is 21 by OU (Oglethorpe also set the attempts record in that game with 51). 

[pbrooks3]

Got to see Centre play in their annual holiday tournament in Danville this past weekend.  In their opening game against Adrian College, they looked senior solid following the Christmas holiday.  Both Nestheide and Britt were poised & on their games.  The final against Berea was an ugly game and Britt carried the team on his back; otherwise the Mountaineers win a big one.  He hit 7 for 10 including 2 of 3 on threes, and all of his free throws.  Centre struggles against physical teams or in games where the officials allow physical play.  They are not a strong rebounding squad.  Like last year's championship team, they are gritty and hard-nosed on the defensive end.  They do miss the presence of a post player like John Patterson from last year's squad.  Amazingly, they're still 8-1 and really should be 9-0 after losing their opener to Rust at the LaGrange tournament back in November. 

[pbrooks3]

Looking forward to seeing some SCAC conference action this weekend.  Planning to take in the Rhodes / Birmingham-Southern game.  Saw Rhodes once earlier and they look similar to last year with the exception being a deeper bench this go-round.  They have a good offensive tandem in Cory Smith and the sophomore Jared Hoskins.  Hoskins has the ability to hit threes in droves.  The Lynx still don't play much defense, but they can be tough on the home court on selected nights.  In the SCAC they could play spoiler to some of the top squads who have to make the trip to Memphis. 

[frank_ezelle]

That loss by Centre to Rust is a mystery result considering the paths of those two teams after that season opener.  I am also glad that we have reached that point in the season where most games are SCAC conference games.  That's what really counts and as pbrooks3 pointed out, there really is no certainty of an easy game on the road in the SCAC and there aren't too many breathers for the teams playing at home.  Here's the schedule for this weekend:

Jan. 4 
   8:00 PM  Trinity (Tex.)   Hendrix     
   8:00 PM  Sewanee   DePauw     
   8:00 PM  Oglethorpe   Centre     
   9:00 PM  Southwestern (Tex.)   Millsaps     
Jan. 5 
   3:00 PM  Austin   Colorado Col.     
   3:00 PM  Birmingham Southern   Rhodes     
   9:00 PM  Trinity (Tex.)   Millsaps     
Jan. 6 
   1:00 PM  Oglethorpe   DePauw     
   3:00 PM  Southwestern (Tex.)   Hendrix     
   3:00 PM  Sewanee   Centre

I took this from the SCAC website so I guess all of these times are Eastern times.  It looks like Hendrix will have live stats for their games and DePauw will have a radio broadcast.  To me it looks like the biggest game this weekend is the Trinity at Millsaps game, but I'm just as concerned about the Millsaps game with Southwestern as I am about the game against Trinity.  As most coaches like to say, the most important game on the schedule is the next game on the schedule.