MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[bbsquared]

CUA up early 17-12 as Coach Woods allows 8 of first 10 shots frpm 3 point land. Here we go.

[bbsquared]

CUA 41-28 at thhe half. UMW's backs are adainst the wall. Let's see how they respond!

[bbsquared]

CUA 74-61 UMW could not overcome the hole they dug in the first half . The three pointer continues to kill the Eagles in big games.

[bbald eagle]

no kidding

[HopeConvert]

Big win for the Cardinals. Good to see. Am I correct in assuming that means CUA has the 2-seed wrapped up for the tourney?

If we're thinking of CUA grads in reality type locations of a surreal nature, we can't forget Cashman.

[hoodfan]

Hood 100 Salisbury 84

[MuMu]

The Saints needed a win and two other CAC games also to fall the right way to gain the #4 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.  They defeated Gallaudet at home, 81-78 and had the others games go their way as well and will host St. Mary.

Gally must have played well, I would hate to play them.
Corey Diamond, playing in his final regular season game at home, tallied 24 points including five three-pointers.  He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Mike Grey 26 I think that makes him 1st team all CAC.

Congrats to Coach Mac and staff for best season so far.

The real season starts nowwwww.

[Pat Coleman]

Big win for the Cardinals. Good to see. Am I correct in assuming that means CUA has the 2-seed wrapped up for the tourney?

If we're thinking of CUA grads in reality type locations of a surreal nature, we can't forget Cashman.

Very nice.

[Matt Letourneau]

Great win for the Cardinals today to lock up the #2 seed.  They played a complete game in every aspect--ran their offense nicely, made some outside shots, dominated in the paint, got 23 points off the bench, and played nice defense.

Mary Washington wasn't especially cold from outside, but I just felt like they were TOO reliant on the three.  There were so many times when Lee or Fitzgerald would get decent penetration, but they would kick out for a three.  I don't understand giving up a high percentage shot for a chance at a 3.  They really didn't look like the UMW I expected to see because they weren't playing team basketball until the middle of the second half.  They did run a halfcourt trap that helped them go on a little run, but they never got closer than 9.

This game as marred by really bad officiating.  I think even D-Mac would back me up just in terms of the amount of calls made.  The officials really inserted themselves.  My problem is that you had 8 fouls TOTAL in the first half, and 29 (!!!) in the second half.  They called a different game, and that includes a lot of ticky tack crap.  There was a stretch where I really felt like UMW was getting every call, but that's another story.  Dwyer and Baker were in trouble and that did impact things a bit.

For Catholic, it was a balanced attack.  Wheeler had another great game, 15 points, 9 boards.  Olivero was key with 13, hit some big outside shots.  Dwyer was money on his free throws down the stretch.

For UMW, Lee had a rough day--2-9 for 9 points.  Baker had 12.  Pierce was badly frustrated inside--4/16, just couldn't do anything against the CUA big men.

Nice to see a W on senior night.  I neglected to mention Sean Kelly, who doesn't play much but is every bit a part of the team as the guys that get a lot of minutes.

Tough matchup against Salisbury--Catholic has won the first two but they were hard fought games.  I think Salisbury is probably the best #7 seed in the history of the league.  Just a tremendous about of parity this year.

Going to be a fun tournament.  I like where the Cardinals are as a team right now--they are playing well, and they've got a good chance to be playing beyond the CAC.  But ONE GAME AT A TIME.

[ex_mu14]

Marymount's website has them as the #4 seed and playing St.Marys...Is that correct?

Mike Gray had another solid game. There is no way he shouldnt be on 1st team all CAC...

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Yes... Marymount is #4 seed. They were 2-0 vs. St. Mary's and Mary Washington.

Here is the seedings:
#1 - Hood
#2 - CUA
#3 - York
#4 - Marymount
#5 - St. Mary's
#6 - UMW
#7 - Salisbury
#8 - Goucher

As for the CUA/UMW game, which I did attend, I will agree with Matt that CUA played a good game all around. However, they almost blew it in the end. The Cards seemed to get a bit lazy on defense and that resulted in some open shots and some stupid fouls. They also have YET to figure out how to deal with a full-court press. Anyway... they held on to win... what was obviously a very important win.

Think about it... CUA and UMW were basically playing for the #2 seed. If UMW had won, they would have been the #2 seed (tie-breaker of York). But, they lose, CUA gets the #2 seed and UMW falls all the way to #6.

As for the refs... two of the guys I am very familiar with and are at the top of my list in the region. I think both teams started to play very aggresive and that lead to more and more fouls being called. At one point the refs certainly got a bit ticky tack... but in highsight it might have been there way to try and keep the game under-control - especially inside. Another thing to remember, UMW was playing a conservative zone defense compared to the agressive man-to-man CUA was playing on defense. This lead to plenty of calls going against CUA. But... it certainly wasn't a well officiated game... but compared to some games I have seen this season... it wasn't horrible.

One side note, Dwyer only had four fouls because one of the refs decided the illegal screen was on Dwyer... when in reality everyone knows it should have been called on Olivero (for giving a nice shot to Lee). The problem was... a) Dwyer was the guy Olivero was setting the screen for... and b) Dwyer is #34 and Olivero is #24 - ref indicated the wrong guy!

Another problem I saw with UMW today... too much individual play. I realize their offense lends itself to a bit of one-on-one play (since its a spread-five game-plan)... but it caused bad shots and no one knew who to go to when in trouble. As for too many threes... who ever posted that early on doesn't know UMW that well. THAT IS THERE OFFENSE!!! They have NO ONE taller than 6'3"... how EXACTLY are they going to run an inside-outside game and have ANYONE post up inside? Remember, this team lit up the Gophers with 22 3-pointers MADE in a 100-59 victory.

But... that being said... they are living by the three... dying by the three.

More on the conference tournament to come... but almost anyone can win this tournament. Goucher might be the only team I wouldn't bet on - simply because they are out-matched. However, they did give Hood a VERY hard time last time they faced each other... maybe we see the upset. Salisbury is also on the outside looking in. Will be VERY tough to win three straight on the road... especially when you start at CUA.

My guess... CAC gets two teams in the tournament ONLY if Hood and CUA end up playing each other in the championship! Should either lose earlier than that... there will probably be only ONE team from the CAC. However... how things happen elsewhere in the region and nation will have a lot of affects on Pool C possibilities.

[Matt Letourneau]

D-Mac, I said that about UMW.  They were too reliant on the 3 today.  Not neccesarily in general, just today.  We talked about what I meant at the game--UMW was getting pretty decent penetration, especially in the second half.   I know you noticed that too because we talked about it.  They had some good looks, they just didn't take them and opted to kick out.   I'm NOT talking about posting up inside, obviously they are way overmatched, I'm just saying that if you penetrate enough to get into a good position to either take a shot or draw a foul, maybe you ought to do that on occasion instead of kicking out for a 3 that may or may not be there.

They shot 40% from 3 today, so that didn't kill them.  They really didn't die by the 3.  They just didn't do enough else to win.  Its unbelieveable to me that they finished in sixth place.  That has to be a MAJOR disappointment for a veteran team that was the closest thing to a favorite in the league and started strong.

Catholic did go through a stretch where it was sloppy--but UMW never got closer than 9.   Howes took some smart timeouts.  At the end of the day, the margin wasn't padded much--it was a 13 point game at halftime, and a 13 point game at the end. 

Well anyway, Salisbury is pretty tough matchup right off the bat for Catholic.   I do give Marymount a lot of credit for pulling their season together.  We'll see how they do in the tournament, I personally like their chances at home against St. Mary's.   Hood should have an easy game in the first round, but that second round game will be tough for them.

[bbsquared]

Another problem I saw with UMW today... too much individual play. I realize their offense lends itself to a bit of one-on-one play (since its a spread-five game-plan)... but it caused bad shots and no one knew who to go to when in trouble. As for too many threes... who ever posted that early on doesn't know UMW that well. THAT IS THERE OFFENSE!!! They have NO ONE taller than 6'3"... how EXACTLY are they going to run an inside-outside game and have ANYONE post up inside? Remember, this team lit up the Gophers with 22 3-pointers MADE in a 100-59 victory.

But... that being said... they are living by the three... dying by the three.

You're right Dave, Live by the three, die by the three. BTW, Whitworth Oliven and Pierce are all over 6'3". Wood decided to hook his wagon to the outside game and led them from early season front runner to a #6 seed.

[MuMu]

look at the top 7 of the 8 teams any one can win the cac this year.
The CAC has to in the top 5 div in D3?
You think Dmac?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Sorry MuMu... just because anyone in the top seven can win the CAC doesn't make this conference in the Top 5 nationally.

1 - CCIW
2 - WIAC
3 - UAA
4 - OAC
5 - NESCAC/HCAC and others

I think CAC has certainly raised its play in recent years and there is certainly more parity. But, the CAC is probably middle of the road compared to the nation. Teams like Gallaudet and Goucher this year bring the conference down as a whole... but at the same time nobody else is capable of going out to the Mid-West/West/Great Lakes and handling the likes of the CCIW, WIAC, UAA, etc.

Matt - as for the CUA/UMW game... I don't disagree with your comments - please don't take it that way. I was just commenting on what I saw. As for living/dying by the three... I agree that they shot a decent percentage... but since they were relying on that to get major points, I think that killed them Saturday.

Oh... and bbsquared, I know that Pierce, Whitworth, and Oliven are taller than 6'3"... but they don't play big. Pierce was not very good yesterday... out of control (especially on defense)... and trying to hit threes when it was obvious he was cold from deep. He also couldn't post up against ANYONE on CUA without looking like he was half their size and half of his size. Has anyone taught him how to post-up in a standing position - standing tall - instead of bending over and presenting a smaller target?