MBB: USA South Conference

[Ben Stein Fan]

Congrats to Covenant and LaGrange for getting bids. Did I see where they were in the same pod ? Thats too bad. Congrats to the USA South for that second bid. Hope one of them makes a run.

Couldn't avoid it... geographics are too challenging to avoid it. I have nicknamed it the "LaGrange Played Everyone" pod. LOL

Dave,
I saw on another post you gave this bracket an A-...is that because LaGrange ruined your perfect bracket and got a bid? 

Scottie,

This is a season of what could have been for Maryville.  With Byrd out for the season and talent galore, Maryville had problems putting together any consistency.  I think you should also remind everyone that Maryville beat Emory earlier in the season.

[scottiedoug]

I think Maryville will be right there next year if the young'uns return and Randy can find a couple of Big People Who Can Play. It is nice for the conference to be getting better.

[bballlover]

Dave, Just curious. If LaGrange had not gotten in, who would have filled that spot in the pod ?

[Pat Coleman]

Lynchburg and Mount St. Joseph are each within 500 miles of Emory as well.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Congrats to Covenant and LaGrange for getting bids. Did I see where they were in the same pod ? Thats too bad. Congrats to the USA South for that second bid. Hope one of them makes a run.

Couldn't avoid it... geographics are too challenging to avoid it. I have nicknamed it the "LaGrange Played Everyone" pod. LOL

Dave,
I saw on another post you gave this bracket an A-...is that because LaGrange ruined your perfect bracket and got a bid? 

Scottie,

This is a season of what could have been for Maryville.  With Byrd out for the season and talent galore, Maryville had problems putting together any consistency.  I think you should also remind everyone that Maryville beat Emory earlier in the season.

No... bracket had nothing to do with missing on one of the teams. By the time it got to that point in the at-large... it's splitting hairs. It is amazing Pat and I have missed only one in the last two seasons to be honest.

I gave it an A- because there a couple things like Alma v Denison and JCU v St. Vincent that I think slipped through. JCU v Denison and Alma v St. Vincent seemed like the more obvious choice considering how the final regional rankings worked out. La Grange being in the tournament didn't change how I felt about the bracket... but they certainly changed the bracketing around as Pat noted.

[Ben Stein Fan]

Dave,

I was just giving you a hard time...I know LaGrange had nothing to do with you grade selection.  I listen to your broadcast and even contributed this year.

[Ben Stein Fan]

Well, folks, you win some, and you lose some.  LaGrange couldn't pull it out against a calm collected BSC team.  Congrats to LC for a great season.  Next year can and will be better than this season. 

Does anyone know why BSC got a tech at the end of overtime against Emory?  Emory clearly got some home cooking in that game.  I am not sure if anyone else watched that game but I felt, as with the LaGrange game, the officials made it more about themselves than the players. 

[gordonmann]

For future reference, we interviewed Conference Commissioner Rita Wiggs about the conference's expansion.

www.d3hoops.com/notables/2016/05/usa-south-expansion-Q-A

[scottiedoug]

Nice job with the interview.  I am not excited. What is the point of having divisions so large for basketball that teams fill their schedule in division and play no team in the other before tournament?  Why is this a good idea?

[jeffconn]

I am not excited. What is the point of having divisions so large for basketball that teams fill their schedule in division and play no team in the other before tournament?  Why is this a good idea?

Well, it will cut down on travel time and costs during the regular season. The USAC has a pretty big footprint for an eastern D3 conference, since it stretches from Virginia to Georgia and out west to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.

For what it's worth, with the expansion, the USAC should be able to sponsor more championships. After i did a quick look, i believe they have enough schools to sponsor men's lacrosse, women's golf, and possibly men's and women's outdoor track and field in 2017-18.

[scottiedoug]

Maybe you are right that expansion will help increase the diversity of sports and championships.  It just seems odd in basketball, for example, that a home and home schedule in your division would take up so much of a schedule that you would have trouble playing out of region and conference
and leave you playing strangers at tournament time.  Is there any D1 conference so big?

[Hawks88]

Huntingdon hires Guilford Associate Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough as Associate Head Coach and to replace Mike Pugh as Head Coach when he retires at the end of the 2017 season. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with the program.

http://www.huntingdonhawks.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20160602hd9xb2

[hasanova]

Huntingdon hires Guilford Associate Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough as Associate Head Coach and to replace Mike Pugh as Head Coach when he retires at the end of the 2017 season. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with the program.

http://www.huntingdonhawks.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20160602hd9xb2

I posted on the ODAC thread, but Caleb will do a tremendous job for the Hawks ... he will be greatly missed at Guilford! 

[bballlover]

Coach Kyle Taylor has left Covenant for a job at Utah State. Good Luck Coach.

[bballlover]

Taylor replaced by Arte Culver. Former assistant @ Wheaton College.