MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[jekelish]

69-64 final, AC wins...

[hendrixfan]

Good job jekelish.  Thanks!

[pbrooks3]

Centre wins 82-50. All kid on Centre's team scored today. Pursell led Sewanee. Noll had 14; Britt 12 for Centre.

[d3allstar]

so apparently AC won the coin flip??

[FlightofthePetrel]

I noticed Chris Sanders didn't play in Millsaps Hendrix game... any word on that?

[jekelish]

Yep, AC won the coin toss and will get the last spot in the tourney.

[JJFlash]

I was at the Trinity - Colorado College game last night and wanted to post a few things.  First, Charles Houston is back for Trinity and looking good.  On the other hand, Mike Gilb did not play and was on crutches.  I don't know what the prognosis is for him, but I hope the Tigers can be at full strength for what should be a GREAT tournament in Conway.

Second, and maybe more important, is I would like to give big props to the Colorado College team.  As most of us on this board know, they did not win a game all year.  Last night's game was tied at half time, but Trinity came out and went on a 17-2 run to start the second half.  At that point, CC could have just mailed it in given the way the season and the game have gone.  If they had mailed it in, no one would haved blamed them.  Istead, to the credit of the CC players and coach they DID NOT MAIL IT IN and cut the lead to as little as 3 points.  They were hustling right to the final buzzer.  Well done!!

[Major_Fan]

Chris Sanders didn't play for medical reasons.  He should be healthy for the weekend.

[scaccommish]

SCAC Men's Tournament bracket is set:

http://www.scac-online.org/basketball_mens/2008mbasketballbracket.pdf

[pbrooks3]

Just a few comments on today at Sewanee - Centre played the 1st 10 minutes of this game with total focus and purpose. In that time, they'd built a 20+ pt lead and never looked back.  They played some incredibly stout defense, getting turnovers and easy baskets. Every player on the squad contributed to the victory. I believe this represents like 23 straight SCAC wins over the course of 2 seasons. This coupled with the undefeated regular SCAC season and the 23 game streak of wins to date make this a very special Centre squad. I'm sure others will lift up great SCAC teams from the past when I say this Centre team is tops ever in terms of regular season performance. A great feat by a tremendous team with an outstanding coaching staff.

[hendrixfan]

SCAC Men's Tournament bracket is set:

http://www.scac-online.org/basketball_mens/2008mbasketballbracket.pdf

This is going to be an exciting weekend in Conway!  Good luck and safe travel to all the teams and fans.

Also, to follow up on what JJ said, Colorado College fought really hard and its too bad they didn't pick up a victory this year.  That is going to be a tough road trip in the future.  Those guys should be proud of their efforts.

[frank_ezelle]

The draw at the SCAC Tournament:

Bracket 1:
Centre vs. Austin  AND  DePauw vs. Trinity

Bracket 2: 
Millsaps vs. Rhodes AND Hendrix vs. Oglethorpe

There was a post recently about how Rhodes has really improved over the course of the season and that fact is not lost on the Millsaps team.  Rhodes is 4-3 in February with the 3 losses being on the road at Millsaps, Centre and DePauw.  The wins have been home wins over Sewanee and Oglethorpe, and road wins over Hendrix and Birmingham Southern.  No doubt this is a game that Millsaps should win, and it is also a game that Rhodes could win.

On the Oglethorpe vs. DePauw game that went into double overtime, I know that was a heartbreaker for the DePauw players.  The Millsaps team and fans know what it is like to lose a tough one like that on the road and I don't have a lot of joy in seeing a team lose a game like that.  At the same time, it was a great weekend for the Oglethorpe team, one that could have been spectacular by changing a few plays on Friday or also heartbreaking by changing a few plays today. 

If I could write the script for the SCAC Tournament, I would want DePauw over Centre in the semifinals and Millsaps over DePauw in the championship, with that being enough to get all three teams into the NCAA playoffs.  Maybe the more likely way to get three in the playoffs would now be DePauw over Millsaps in the finals, but there's no way I could pull for that.  Besides, there's no guarantee that a 1-0 weekend by Millsaps will put them ahead in the regional rankings over a DePauw team that went 1-1.

[pbrooks3]

Caught in stand-still traffic on I-40 between Nashville and Memphis awaiting an accident to be cleared. I think the DePauw-Trinity 1st round game might be a great game to watch. I wouldn't automatically chock up a win for  DePauw here. Trinity's style of play frequently gives both DePauw and Centre fits. I honestly think there are 6 teams that have a chance at winning - DPU, Millsaps, Centre, OU, Trinity and the host, Hendrix.  Though, Frank, I think your Majors may have the best path to the finals. 

[jekelish]

not suggesting it WILL happen...but don't be shocked if the 'Roos upset Centre...they hung awfully tough with the Colonels when the two teams squared off earlier this year (68-62 Centre, very tight game all the way through).

[pbrooks3]

Jekelish, great win and luck of the draw for Austin to make the tournament. You're right that the Roos gave Centre a tough game in Sherman. I am counting on the Colonels to be focused on playing this 1st round game and not get caught up in their successful season or potential later round games. We've witnessed 1st round surprises before in the SCAC. Though I've discounted the idea of Austin and Rhodes winning this tournament, both are still very capable teams with momentum to do damage and make me sound stupid. I don't expect one of them to win the tournament, but who knows?