MBB: Conference of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Wendell Hinkson shoots Salve Regina into the final.  He had 39 points, including 9 threes.  AMC couldn't overcome the big halftime deficit.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Championship Game going to overtime!


Both teams have two players fouled out (including Big Sam).

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Salve Regina wins the CCC Championship and the automatic bid to the tournament.

SRU just hounded WIT on the outside.  Dombrowski went 4-19 including 1-11 from deep.  Birrell needs to handle the ball better in the tournament - 8 TOs is too many.

[Bill Gorman]

Congrats to Salve on winning the championship.  A great game played in front of a GREAT atmosphere.

[WITball]

Congrats to the underdog...kinda sour right now...good thing they will represent the CCC well in the tourney...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Salve's streaking pretty hard right now (8-2 in their last 10) and really seem to be locking down the perimeter.  Depending on their matchup, they could be feisty in the tournament.  Let's just hope they don't draw Williams in the first round.

[high flyer 21]

Huge CCC championship win for SRU.  Coach Sean Foster deserved this one.  He's a humble guy and knows how to get the most out of his players.   Good luck to the Seahawks in the NCAA tournament.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Salve draws a rough spot.  West Conn, then, if they win, Middlebury.

[7express]

Salve draws a rough spot.  West Conn, then, if they win, Middlebury.

Well, the way West Conn's playing now, Salve probably wins even at Western.  Lots of internal problems going on with the team and a bunch of players saying they just want the season to end.  Hopefully this bid gives them second life and they start to play as a team instead of individually.  I really believe this team could outright beat Mid if they play as a team.  RIC beat them by double figures last year and this West Conn team is better then that RIC team is (of course this Mid team is better then last year's Mid team).  Thursday night should be a fun one.  Any CCC fans comming to Danbury for the game??

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Salve draws a rough spot.  West Conn, then, if they win, Middlebury.

Well, the way West Conn's playing now, Salve probably wins even at Western.  Lots of internal problems going on with the team and a bunch of players saying they just want the season to end.  Hopefully this bid gives them second life and they start to play as a team instead of individually.  I really believe this team could outright beat Mid if they play as a team.  RIC beat them by double figures last year and this West Conn team is better then that RIC team is (of course this Mid team is better then last year's Mid team).  Thursday night should be a fun one.  Any CCC fans comming to Danbury for the game??

Yeah, I've been looking at the matchups and Salve needs a perimeter oriented team like this as an opponent, especially one that makes a lot of turnovers.  I've got Salve winning this one on the backs of three seniors.

[7express]

Hoopsfan, since you follow the CCC, what type of team is Salve, and especially do they have a lot of size??  If they have any size were in biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig trouble.  Basically running a 4 good offense with no bigs, there's usually mismatches in the paint.  We got killed by Regis's big man in Jauary, and Mike Akinrola had 2 big games for RIC when we played them.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Hoopsfan, since you follow the CCC, what type of team is Salve, and especially do they have a lot of size??  If they have any size were in biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig trouble.  Basically running a 4 good offense with no bigs, there's usually mismatches in the paint.  We got killed by Regis's big man in Jauary, and Mike Akinrola had 2 big games for RIC when we played them.

Salve hasn't been all that great this year.  Ryan Birrell is a heck of a PG - he posted a triple double earlier in the year.  He's also prone to turnovers.  Wendell Hinkson is the sharp-shooter.  He's been on fire of late.  Dan Royce is the big man, although his rebounding has been way down this year.  Those three seniors form the core that has propelled Salve to this spot.

They won the conference tournament based on lockdown perimeter defense.  I think these two teams are very similar, although WConn is more athletic.  The big factors will be chemistry - WConn's been up and down all year; Salve's got three guys who want to go out big - and post play.  If Dan Royce shows up, he can cause trouble down low.

I still think WConn's the big favorite, but they're going to have to work for it.

[trixiep]

7express:  Most respectfully,  I'm a little bit confused by your comment that WConn could beat anybody in the Country, and then shortly after that commenting that if Salve has any size  WConn is in "biiiiiiiiig trouble".  When you talked about WConn's potential match-up with Midd you were saying that their  pressure D, quickness and running game would negate the size advantage of the opponent.  I say this only because if you're worried about Salve's big guys, what do you think Middlebury's bigs would do?

[7express]

We have one of the best guards in the northeast who's a complete game changer.  However, we don't match up well size wise.  Our quickness is what will win us games, we can put up with the mismatch in the paint because we can outrun teams.  I'm not sure how quick the teams in the NESCAC or CCC aare, but as long as Brooks is on, and we beat teams down the court we can compete with anyone size or not.

[trixiep]

Thanks!