MBB: Colonial States Athletic Conference

[Clutch]

Curious as to how coach Simmons will plan against Cabrini tonight....with his credentials and work ethic I wonder if he will keep his team hanging around long enough to give the Pacers a fighting chance.  Since its a home game for the Pacers you never know if there will be a little let down for the ranked opponent.  Just never know if a team will shoot well or not or whether the free throws will go down the bucket.  Would not be surprised if this is a closer game than expected. Besides the ranked opponent could have a target on their back now.

[Clutch]

looks like GMC outlasted Neumann, in a tight game, the pace seemed slow and naturally Cabrini  beat Marywood. 

[Clutch]

is the Baptist Bible game at 7:00 or 1:00.   Was looking at the game and website with articles on Cabrini and noticed it says 1 pm while the D3 schedule says 7 pm.  Anybody know?

[mailsy]

Cavs now ranked fourth. Wow.  They even got a number 1 vote. Target just keeps getting bigger. Their next game is Randolph Macon on the 18th. Cavs have a chance to get back at them for the 29 point beating they took at Albright during the 2010 NCAA tournament.    Granted the only people involved in that game were the coaching staffs. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Cavs now ranked fourth. Wow.  They even got a number 1 vote. Target just keeps getting bigger. Their next game is Randolph Macon on the 18th. Cavs have a chance to get back at them for the 29 point beating they took at Albright during the 2010 NCAA tournament.    Granted the only people involved in that game were the coaching staffs. 

I know who voted them #1... and it almost got me to make a drastic decision as such... but I stayed conservative

[Clutch]

HAHAHA......Dave and Mailsy at it again.  That game is next Weds.  5pm Looked it up Mailsy.  I want to be there but you wont know me.   Cabrini sure ran into a hot Randolph Macon team back then Mailsy.  The ODAC rules.   Dave, you are surprising me ! ! !  The Mid Atlantic and a small team.  Hey its all good.  Just trying to figure out how the hell that team and coach do it, they always seem undermanned but the heart and legacy of their past must have something to do with it.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

How am I surprising you? Mid-Atlantic has a lot of good teams right now and is not a has-been region any more... and small teams win all of the time. I can rattle off a number of national champions who didn't exactly measure up.

[Clutch]

"measure up" like that term Dave LOL.... that's why one must love hoops, what you are saying is any team can get there and do it on the final stage as long as they play a good game of hoops. I was just being sarcastic seems funny to see Cabrini up there this early and have a first place vote.  Will be interesting to see if that team will get even better or peak out and fade away.  Catholic, Scranton, Dickinson, Wesley , and F&M looking like good teams which will get better, and cannot count out St Marys especially if they have all their players.  In the past it always seemed the ODAC , Northeast, and West got the nods for the first place votes just so strange seeing Cabrini up there.  Having said that I must give credit to Marcus Kahn the head coach of Cabrini for doing a great job keeping Cabrini in the rankings.  The program at Cabrini is getting attention these days. The Cabrini team is becoming a regional powerhouse and arguably a national powerhouse.  Kahn is handling it very well, no big heads, just a good plan for a program to succeed.  His staff seems focused as well and are getting valuable experience for continuing a program on a level inherited  with the passion, dedication and hard work associated with the past (Dzik era).  One must admit their basketball program has turned the corner with their consistent play on the road and their home record speaks well.  At times in the recent past I have heard folks say their team  never gets any credit, they always have to deal with adversity, and not to mention stereotypes of teams from the metropolitan areas and their style of play.  Therefore, I am not surprised they are ranked this high due to the accomplishments of their basketball program, their past history even going back to their NAIA days which has blended into their current play.  For a small school, Cabrini has a rich basketball alumni I am told, and their fan base is slowly growing.  Their facility is also a nice little place.  Having said these things Dave I can see why their team wins consistently even with a couple of all-Americans on the roster.

[Clutch]

Hey Dave ,   I also wonder who Pat voted for??

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I have no idea who Pat voted for... I usually don't ask him... though it does come up in conversation on occasion when we are having a beer... but mainly to pick brains. I think more times than not he and I have the same vote. The person who voted for Cabrini actually told me on his own...

Cabrini has come a long way since the early days of Hoopsville when I remember restarting the show and the first guest I had on the show that night was Coach Dzik. He was announcing that the school was not bringing him back - this was halfway through the season. The outcry was enormous especially from the strong basketball alumni and it resulted in the school struggling to find the right coaches to keep what had been a proud program... afloat. Cabrini was a regional power and perenial NCAA tournament team (I remember announcing one of their first round games at Goucher early in my announcing career). But after Dzik was let go... it got ugly. It is very nice to see Coach Kahn resurrect what is a proud program inspite of what the higher-ups did to the program all of those years ago.

As for the Mid-Atlantic and first place votes... to be honest, no team in this region has really earned them in a long time (maybe as far back as CUA's title). The region is not known for depth or a lot of good teams at the top - just the occasional team that shows up at the Final Four and doesn't usually end up winning a title (Elizabethtown, F&M, Cabrini - came close, York, etc.). However, I think this is the first year I can say that the region has finally elevated itself into the conversation. F&M helped in the last few years raise the quality of play in this region, but it has been SMC and Cabrini that have taken the mantle and run with it. Now you see Catholic, Scranton, Alvernia and others starting to gain momentum and recruiting is clearly up.

That all being said... voters from around the nation aren't going to be sold on the region until something else happens. SMC and Cabrini where in Salem last year, but Cabrini has been the only team to threaten for a national title from this region since maybe Catholic. As a result, voters are still leary that the competition isn't that good. However, I think Cabrini, SMC, Alvernia, Catholic, Scranton, Juniata, Dickinson and others have a chance of changing that perception... but as I said about the MAC Commonwealth being strong but not showing it when it counts... the Mid-Atlantic region has to start consistently showing it in the tournament - and I am not talking about just two teams.

[Clutch]

Thank you Dave, you said it very well.  As the season progresses we shall see how the teams in this region pan out. Looking at Cabrini's schedule it seems they play two out of conference games next .   If they manage to win those two, (not going to be too easy),  and they run the conference undefeated again, with their SOS barring any injuries etc....potentially they could host a couple of rounds if the geography pans out in the selection giving them one heck of a shot at getting back to Salem. Not sure with Cabrini though, historically they get some transfers in after the New Year and if they get the right pieces they could have the potential to do some serious damage in the tourney assuming they continue to play as they are now.

[mailsy]

Great win for the Cavs! Aaron another 40 point night and it didn't seem like that. Late in the game someone asked me how many points he had. I said like 24. I looked at the stats at the end of the game he was 16-21 from the field and 8-12 from the line. Cavs shot below their average from the line. RMC shot 65.4%. Cavs were outsized by Randy Mac but outrebounded them 41-34. They played great defense at the end of the game and shut down RMC. That was the difference.

[Clutch]

impressive win for your team Mailsy.  Aaron Walton Moss is a force to reckon with, he out jumped the trees, nobody can stop him in the paint unless they triple team him. He is a dominant force, and Miller was battling hard but had a difficult time in the trees at times. If your team gets another big guy look out ! ! !  (one that can play) .  Notice Vinny Walls being aggressive and AJ Picard can shoot the lights out, looking like your team is becoming better in shutting down teams as well at crunch time.  A nice balanced team with a coach who gets it.  Must admit the sky could be the limit for Cabrini if they can manage to play like they have been or add a guy or two.  You have a freshman there too named Brent Mahoney, he also looks like he could have some potential I noticed he is coming off an injury.  What happened with Fran Rafferty last night? 

[Clutch]

Congratulations to Aaron Walton Moss on making the CSAC honor roll. 

[mailsy]

Cavs win easily tonight. 91-51.  Held the Highlanders to 19 points in the second half. Best defensive effort of the year.