MBB: Conference of New England

[scout]

Alright... The lack of posts right before the start of the conference tourney is astounding...

In any case, here are my picks... And why...

(1) UNE over (8) WNEC: 72-61

UNE beat nearly every team in the conference for a reason. They have a balanced scoring attack and an annoying full-court press. With enough able bodies to rotate in on the floor, I think they'll get ahead early and hold WNEC back the entire game. UNE is one of only two teams to allow a better FG percentage than they own... The benefit for them, however, is twofold. First, the other team in the tourney to have that occurrence is the team they'll face tonight. WNEC shoots only 40%... Second, UNE forces enough turnovers that they limit the amount of possessions the other team gets. By simple math, even though they allow a better percentage, they take more shots off turnovers...

(2) CSC over (7) WIT: 84-69

Colby Sawyer is just dominant. When they win (and it's often) they win big. They will bring the best scoring percentage defense against the second best shooting team in the league. The benefit for them is they force turnovers... and they go against a WIT with the worst assist-to-turnover ratio of the playoff teams. Stifling defense and points off turnovers win the game for the Chargers.

(3) Gordon over (6) RWU: 63-61

Stats don't mean too much in this game... It's a burgeoning rivalry and the game is always close... and it's always pretty ugly. The Scots have the benefit of the game being at home... in front of the best playoff crowd in the conference. I think the game comes down to solid shooting when the shots do go up (there wont be many) and free throws in the end... The better of the two in both those categories... Gordon

(4) Salve over (5) Nichols: 76-70

The last time the two met, it was an absolute blowout, as Salve scored 100 points... All this despite Woodworth only scoring 15 points in 27 minutes... This game, I think Woodworth does better, but the rest of his team won't be as hot. This should equate to a Salve victory, but a little more tempered.

[backboard]

Here's the way I see it:

UNE over WNEC  90-79
No arguement there.  UNE's offense will not be stopped in this matchup.

CSC over WIT 90 -89
WIT's best chances to win this game is in a shootout.  I expect them to run the floor but I don't expect CSC to backdown from the challenge.

RWU over Gordon  65-64
Something about the fact that Gordon was held to 37 points against this team gets me.  That being said, it won't happen again but RWU should be able to adjust to what Gordon has been doing lately.  If Trigg is hitting his shots from the beginning, then it's Gordon's game.

Salve over Nichols 82-70
I've seen Nichols a couple times this year and their lack of a go-to-guy will hurt them in this game.  And of course Salve as Woodworth.

[boston ball 56]

UNE 76 WNEC 67 ,  WIT 74 CSC 71 call me crazy I just think something out of the ordinary is going to happen here. It is all most impossible to win at CSC in the play-offs but it can happen. Coach D and Coach Foti are a great match -up. As the kids would say Doyle is that "Dude" he hits three to win it! Gordon 72 RWU 67 this really could swing either way. I think that Gordon is the team that is playing the best out of all the remaining teams right now! NC 84 SRU 83 2ot They are just that close. Both teams are hungry and feel like they are just as good as everyone else. We will see. In the end UNE is the team to beat however some how, some way I feel like Gordon will be the NCAA entry. The team I thought would be there did not make the play-offs but that is a story to painful to tell! Anyway who cares?? Good Luck to all the teams and may everyone stay injury free!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Halftime of the early games:


GC 22 RWU 22

Salve is up 18; 56-38 over Nichols.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm watching the Gordon-Roger Williams live video.  It looks like the refs are calling the game pretty tightly and the RWU guys seems a lot less comfortable on the defensive side of the ball.  Not that the game isn't being called evenly (it seems to be), but that Roger Williams' players look tentative on defense and a bit scared about playing too aggressively.

[T990]

Video link is on:

http://www.gordon.edu/athletics/sport.cfm?iSportID=29

[T990]

Trigg hits off balance jump shot w/ .2 sec left.  Gordon 50, RWU 48.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Trigg hits off balance jump shot w/ .2 sec left.  Gordon 50, RWU 48.

The shot was pretty fantastic, although the video showed the score as 48-48 while everyone was shaking hands.  I was sort of confused.

[scout]

Trigg hits off balance jump shot w/ .2 sec left.  Gordon 50, RWU 48.

The shot was pretty fantastic, although the video showed the score as 48-48 while everyone was shaking hands.  I was sort of confused.

The commentators apparently have the double duty of trying to keep up with their call of the game and, at the same time, updating the score. It's kind of a game for us listeners/watchers... Makes you pay attention, lol.

The shot was absolutely incredible... Off-balance... Really indicative of the type of defense that RWU played the entire game... Very tight, and only allowing small seams...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The UNE video is much better quality than Gordon's, but they don't have the score on the screen.

I am doing video only, as I'm watching during class.

[scout]

Watching bball in class... Seminary no less...

Good for you!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

UNE is up seven at the half 36-29.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Watching bball in class... Seminary no less...

Good for you!

Last March they had to kill the wireless feed on campus during the first two days of the d1 tournament.  The bandwidth was out of control.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

CSC is up four 43-39 over WIT at the half.

[scout]

Watching bball in class... Seminary no less...

Good for you!

Last March they had to kill the wireless feed on campus during the first two days of the d1 tournament.  The bandwidth was out of control.

Yea... I remember watching the KU v. Portland State round one game in a lecture hall of 150 people... Computer sitting on the floor... Good times...

Nonetheless, I think Gordon beat one of only two teams that pose a real threat to them. The style of defense that the Hawks play is relentless and rough on a shooting team like the Scots...

The other big test... Just might be the team they play next... Colby-Sawyer has had Gordon's number recently...

But then again, so had RWU