MBB: Conference of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah, that looks right.  ENC has beaten Curry twice this year.  It seems like they would matchup poorly, but something is clicking.  The thing I noticed most was that ENC got the vast majority of their scoring from the bench.  I know it was Senior night, so the starting line-up was different, but even Ezeigbo didn't do much and AJ Stephens seemed to do fine down low.

The top four are locked in.

Curry secures the #1 spot with one win or one Gordon loss.

Gordon is locked in to #2 (won twice over both WIT and ENC), but could get #1 if Curry loses out and GC wins both games.

WIT secures the #3 with a win or an ENC loss.

ENC is already guaranteed #4, but could jump up with two wins and a WIT loss.

There's still a lot of options in the 5-6-7 spots.

WNEC obviously has the leg up on #8 with the one game lead over EC and UNE, but that could be up for grabs if they can't beat ENC in the next contest.

[Chantastic]

Kudos to ENC.  That coach should be unanimous CoY.

That game last night was the wildest box score I have seen in the league this year.  I would not have guessed that you could play 18 players, none of whom score more than 13 points, and beat Curry by 20!

I am looking forward to the potential of a ENC @ Curry semifinal.  I suspect Curry will not get called for 34 fouls.

Gordon has way too much size for WIT.  If that is the (probable) 2 vs. 3 semifinal, Gordon wins that game 10 times out of 10.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Add to it that Curry is as close to ENC as Endicott is to Gordon - it can become a real rivalry.  In the past, the trouble has been getting Curry students to show up for their own home game, let alone making the ten minute drive.


There's going to be at least one first round upset, though.  Not sure who - it could be anyone, but it will happen.  Nichols and Salve are both capable of going off on a given night.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Since the tiebreakers aren't public anymore, perhaps Bill can make sure I've got them right:


1. Head to head
2. Results vs conference top to bottom
3. Record vs common non-con opponents
4. Coin flip


I feel like I'm missing one or two steps here.  Is there an overall non-conference record involved somewhere?

I don't think we'll need to go beyond #2 this year, but it's always better to know than not.

[scout]

It's been a while since I've seen the breakdown as well but, from what I can remember, I think you have it correct.

Tonight's slate:

SRU @ GC
ENC @ WNEC (rescheduled from 2/9)
UNE @ NC
CC @ EC (rescheduled from 2/9)

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So the top four spots and #8 are set:

1 - Curry
2 - Gordon
3 - WIT
4 - ENC
8 - WNE

Nichols locks down the 5 in every scenario except an NC loss coupled with an SRU win.  Nichols wins every tiebreaker possible.

RWU wins a tiebreaker with Salve - so if RWU wins their game, they get #6.

[Bill Gorman]

2013 CCC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 19
#8 Western New England (9-16, 7-11) at #1 Curry (18-7, 15-3), 7:00 p.m.
#7 Roger Williams (10-15, 7-11) at #2 Gordon (19-6, 14-4), 7:00 p.m.
#6 Nichols (13-12, 8-10) at #3 Wentworth (15-10, 11-7), 7:00 p.m.
#5 Salve Regina (13-12, 9-9) at #4 Eastern Nazarene (17-8, 11-7), 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals • Thursday, February 21
#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
Times subject to change in the event of a men's/women's doubleheader

Championship Game • Saturday, February 23
Semifinal Winners, 2:00 p.m. (at higher seed)

[7express]

2013 CCC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 19
#8 Western New England (9-16, 7-11) at #1 Curry (18-7, 15-3), 7:00 p.m.
#7 Roger Williams (10-15, 7-11) at #2 Gordon (19-6, 14-4), 7:00 p.m.
#6 Nichols (13-12, 8-10) at #3 Wentworth (15-10, 11-7), 7:00 p.m.
#5 Salve Regina (13-12, 9-9) at #4 Eastern Nazarene (17-8, 11-7), 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals • Thursday, February 21
#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, 7:00 p.m. (at higher seed)
Times subject to change in the event of a men's/women's doubleheader

Championship Game • Saturday, February 23
Semifinal Winners, 2:00 p.m. (at higher seed)

Do you mind if I copy this and post it on the conference tournament thread on the multi-region page??

[Bill Gorman]

Not at all

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm a little worried about those last two games. Not great matchups for the home teams.

[Chantastic]

I know that it never makes sense to go chalk in this tournament but I like the home teams tonight.

Curry should take WNEC, although the last time they played in Milton was not a blowout.  WNEC is a scrappy team.  I expect Curry to win by about 10.

RWU has no height and has a zero percent chance of beating Gordon in Wenham.  I would expect the Scots to win by 15+.

The WIT-NC game should be a fun contrast of styles, but I think WIT's homecourt advantage and disciplined style of play will result in a lot of high percentage shots against a weak Nichols defense.

ENC-Salve might be the most fun of the night.  ENC has come a long way this season - I think they will come out with a lot of fire and pull out a close one.

[CCC Talk]

End of semester grades:

1. Curry- Malcom Wynn (15-3) Picked: 4th Finished: 1st
Grade: A
Winning the league always gets you an A, plus they only received 1 first place preseason. Coach Wynn has gotten the talent to play together well.

2. Gordon- Tod Muprhy (14-4) Picked: 5 Finished 2
Grade: A
Another net gain of 3 from the preseason poll to where they finished. Murphy always has his guys playing better late in the season!

3. Wentworth Tom Devitt (11-7) Picked :2nd Finished: 3rd
Grade: B
Net -1 but a solid season again for the Leopards who are sneakily one of the most consistent teams around. Still though no signature wins and a few odd losses.

4. Eastern Nazarene- Jim Aller (11-7) Picked: 10th, Finished: 4th
Grade: A+
This is the year the ENC community has been waiting for! Finally a contender! Great job by Coach Aller. Dangerous in the tournament!

5. Salve Regina- Sean Foster (9-9) Picked: 3rd Finished 5h
Grade C+
Minus 3 for the net, but I think the league drastically underestimated the loss of Ryan Birrell

6. Nichols- Jeff Lindgren (6-10) Picked 6 Finished 6
Grade: D
There is a lot of talent there and there stunning lack of defense makes them an easier out than they should be. They need to make improvements next year or make some changes.

7. Roger Williams- Mike Tully (7-11) Picked 7 Finished 7
Grade: D
What happened to this program? Used to be a perennial contender, good school, good location. Not doing much these days

8. Western New England- Mike Thulen (7-11) Picked: 8 Finished 8
Grade: D+
The bottom of this league was picked stunningly well by the coaches. Not much talent here. Need to get on the road recruiting

9. University of New England - Ed Silva (4-14) Picked 9 Finsihed 9
Grade: B+
I'm amazed this team won 4 games. Give Coach Silva some time to recruit and they will be playing for championships in the somewhat near future.

10. Endicott- Phil Rowe (4-14) Picked 1 Finished 10
Grade: F 0.0
How did this happen? This was the defending champion, with 4 starters back. A team that many thought could make a run in the NCAA tournament- and here they are, last in a weak CCC and out of the postseason. Stunning.


Award Picks:
Player of the Year:
Sedale Jones Curry

Rookie of the Year:
Jayen Owens ENC

Coach of the Year:
Jim Aller ENC

Defensive Player of the Year:
Chima Ezigbo ENC

First Team All League
Sedale Jones Curry
Ryan Sheehan Nichols
Lambros Papalambros Curry
Chima Ezigbo ENC
David Dempsey Gordon

Second Team All League
Isaiah Pringle Salve
Colin Johnson WIT
AJ Stephens Curry
John Henault EC
Damon Alston WNEU

[Bill Gorman]

2012-13 ALL-CCC MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM
Pos. - Student-Athlete, Institution, Class
F- David Dempsey, Gordon, Senior
F- Chima Ezeigbo, Eastern Nazarene, Senior
G- Sedale Jones, Curry, Senior
G- Derek Mayo, Wentworth, Junior
G- Lambros Papalambros, Curry, Junior
F- Ryan Sheehan, Nichols, Junior

SECOND TEAM
Pos. - Student-Athlete, Institution, Class
G- Lance Greene, Endicott, Senior
G- John Henault, Endicott, Sophomore
F- Hans Miersma, Gordon, Sophomore
G- Isiah Pringle, Salve Regina, Junior
F- A.J. Stephens, Curry, Junior

HONORABLE MENTION
Pos. - Student-Athlete, Institution, Class
G- Damon Alston, Western New England, Senior
G- Colin Johnson, Wentworth, Senior
G- Matt Langadas, Nichols, Sophomore
G- Ryan Palumbo, Roger Williams, Sophomore
G- William Smiley, Salve Regina, Senior
G- Park Thomas, Gordon, Junior

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Sedale Jones, Curry College
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Hans Miersma, Gordon College
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Jaylen Owens, Eastern Nazarene College
SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Lance Greene, Endicott College
COACH OF THE YEAR - Jim Aller, Eastern Nazarene College
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - University of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Just finished watching ENC beat Salve 78-64.  ENC jumped out to a big early lead, gave up most of it in the second half, but managed to stay about 10 points ahead most of the game.  FTs went down in the end, which kept it from being too dramatic.  The ENC guys were really aggressive on and off the ball.  They're excited.  I have to believe it's even tougher to beat a team three times when it's the best team in the conference, but ENC will be making the ten minute drive over to Milton on Thursday.

Curry beat WNE 76-54.  Alston made a valiant effort, but it was too much.  The big question will be whether or not Curry can get some fans to their own gym.  ENC outnumbered them in the regular season meeting; I can imagine standing room only Thursday.

WIT took out Nichols 73-69.  Sheehan was stymied and Colin Johnson led Wentworth.

Gordon big over RWU 81-59. 

[Chantastic]

Semis on Thursday.

Gordon will beat WIT by 10-15 pts. 

All eyes on Curry - ENC.  Either way will setup for a fascinating championship game.