Empire 8

[magicman]

Utica closes in on the 3 seed with Fisher's loss tonight. Cardinals were 14-2 and #21 in the country. Since then have gone 1-6 and probably won't even make the E8 playoffs. Interesting though, because Utica, Fisher and Naz could all end up 9-7. Don't think that will happen because too many crazy things  need to take place. Looks like Ithaca vs Naz and RIT vs Utica on Feb. 27th in Ithaca.

[bamm]

Does the Chase count in H2H matchups?

Sadly* , no.

On Carson's game, holy freaking crap.  That is stunning.

To Fisher's collapse, well, when things were going well I said:

Take a deep breath, Fisher guys.  This is the same team that followed up a 36 point game against RIT with a 48 point win at Utica.

UR lost Chmielowiec in that game, and it's sort of a big deal when you consider he had scored 11 points in the 11 minutes he played (on top of UR leading when he got injured).

Be happy about the Chase win and where the young team is at, no doubt.  But hold off on the "Top 25" talk.

Fisher strung a few wins together, but they weren't ever really a Top 25 caliber team. 

Since Naz is involved, no one should count their chickens.  But even if the Cards sneak in it will only be to get pounded by the Bombers in the first game. 

*not really

[FisherDynasty]

never thought they were a top 25 caliber team but based on there standings at the time vs everyone else they deserved to be in there.  idk why you think they will get pounded when they didnt get 'pounded' in their first 2 games against the bombers? Are you still bitter that fisher handled rit the 2nd time around with freshmen and sophmores?

[gobombers15]

With two conference games remaining, here's one man's best guess as to how the post-season awards shake out. Things are still subject to change, but if the season ended today, here's what my ballot looks like:

Player of the Year: Sean Burton (Ithaca): The engine of the top team in the league has averaged 20 pts (1st) and 8 assists (1st) in conference play. He also leads the conference in FT% (.938) and can be found in the top five of steals, 3-pointers made and assist-to-turnover ratio. He is the catalyst for Ithaca's style of play and is the primary reason the Bombers have risen as high as #8 in the country, setting several school records in the process. Mark Carson will garner some attention, too, and a late charge by RIT coupled with a collapse by the Bombers may muddle the matter. For now, Burton seems to be the frontrunner, not withstanding Carson's monster game last night.

Rookie of the Year: Mark Blazek (Hartwick): The Hartwick sharpshooter narrowly edges Naz's Jordan Major for the award. Blazek has averaged 10.1 ppg in conference and has been named E8 Rookie of the Week on three occasions, a number equaled only by Naz's Major. I give the nod to Blazek because he is more valuable to his team than Major, for what that's worth. Like last year, I could see the conference naming Major and Blazek co-Rookies of the Year. Ithaca's Jordan Marcus may also garner some consideration.

Coach of the Year: Jim Mullins (Ithaca): Usually, this award is given to the team who surprises during the conference season. However, though Ithaca was picked to win the conference this year, nobody thought they'd be this good. I think McVean was the favorite until RIT faltered over the last 8 days, though McVean could still have a shot if they win their last two games and own a season sweep over Mullins' Bombers. But if Ithaca finishes 15-1 and RIT ends up at 12-4, I think Mullins takes it.

1st Team

G- Sean Burton (Ithaca)
G- Corey MacAdam (Nazareth)
G- Doug Herring (Utica)
F- Ryan MacAdam (Nazareth)
C- Mark Carson (RIT)

The locks are Burton, Corey MacAdam and Carson. After that, it gets fuzzy. I think Doug Herring is pretty safe. He appears in or towards the top in several statistical categories, and he is the best player on the team with the inside track at the #3 seed. He makes it. I'm sure most are wondering where Virgil Gray is and so was I after I got past the scoring statistic. The #4 scorer in the conference is conspicuously absent in most other categories. Simply put, Ryan MacAdam is a better-rounded player playing on a better team. At first blush, the "other" MacAdam has had a rather unremarkable season playing in the long shadow cast by his younger brother. However, when looking at the elder MacAdam's numbers, you see his value. Ryan is top 10 in scoring, rebounding, FT%, steals, 3-pt FG%, 3-pt FG made, and minutes played. Now, let's see if the voters realize this. Also garnering consideration, besides Gray, was Jeff Bostic whose late-season ankle injury probably steals his chances of being named 1st Team for the third consecutive year.

2nd Team

G- Jan Cocozziello (Hartwick)
G- Virgil Gray (Stevens)
F- Sean Leahy (Ithaca)
F- Jeff Bostic (Ithaca)
C- Jeff DeHimer (Nazareth)

Some talent is going to be left off this team. Gray and Cocozziello belong here because they are two of the best pure scorers in the league but don't do much else well and, unfortunately, play on losing teams. Bostic is still top five in rebounds, blocks and FG%, and was in the top 20 of scoring before his ankle injury. Though he is the team's third option, Leahy is averaging a healthy 12 and 8, and I think he'll finally be rewarded in his third year for Ithaca. Finally, I struggled with the last spot, debating between DeHimer and Adamson for Elmira. Adamson is excellent statistically, better than DeHimer, but Adamson plays on the worst team in the league. That will hurt him. I could see Passalacqua garnering some consideration, as well.

Honorable Mention

Matt Newman (St. John Fisher)
Chris Cruz (Ithaca)
Anthony Passalacqua (Stevens)
Mike Stopera (Alfred)
Bobby DiPiazza (Elmira)
Jon Adamson (Elmira)
Patrick Goodman (Utica)

[bamm]

Are you still bitter that fisher handled rit the 2nd time around with freshmen and sophmores?

I considered using the "roll your eyes" emoticon here, but the googly eyes thing is sort of creepy so I'm staying away.

Anyway.  Look, Fisher was never one of the top 25 teams in the country.  I think we all understand how polls work and the reasons they ended up in this one, but that doesn't invalidate my point. 

Yes, I think they would get beat comfortably by Ithaca in the conference tournament at this point.  The Bombers are A LOT better than them and they'll be fired up to host the tournament.  And the Cardinals can't be full of confidence at this particular point, either.

[Bombers798891]

Are you still bitter that fisher handled rit the 2nd time around with freshmen and sophmores?

I considered using the "roll your eyes" emoticon here, but the googly eyes thing is sort of creepy so I'm staying away.

Anyway.  Look, Fisher was never one of the top 25 teams in the country.  I think we all understand how polls work and the reasons they ended up in this one, but that doesn't invalidate my point. 

Yes, I think they would get beat comfortably by Ithaca in the conference tournament at this point.  The Bombers are A LOT better than them and they'll be fired up to host the tournament.  And the Cardinals can't be full of confidence at this particular point, either.

As someone who saw the last SJF/IC game I can tell you this, Ithaca would not roll SJF. Bostic's injury makes them so reliant on the outside shot, and when those don't fall, it's rough. They also struggle more with interior defense/rebounding

As for the SJF ranking issue, it is what it is. The Cardinals have fallen on some hard times, and come back down to earth, but they're not as a bad a team as they're showing right now either.

As a whole, this has been the story of the E8 this year. Other than Ithaca, everyone's been sort of up and down.

Fisher was 14-2, and have gone 1-6 since
Utica lost 5 in a row at one point this year, but are 12-2 since.
Stevens was 7-2, and and have gone 5-9 since.
Alfred was a respectable 7-8, but then lost 7 straight.
Hartwick was 7-3, and then went 1-8
Naz was 4-11 and have gone 7-1 since
Even RIT has dropped 3 of their last 4

So you've seen this from every team so far except Ithaca--who hasn't had a rough stretch--and Elmira--who hasn't had a good stretch.

Over the course of a long season, almost every team is going to have these kinds of stretches.

[FisherDynasty]

good points bombers id give you karma but never took the time to figure it out haha. 

Gobombers, Im going to have to agree with your award analysis.  Burton is the clear favorite as of right now seeing how rit has fallin off sharply since our last discussions. 

I think Ozell Franklin or Matt Newman deserve a 2nd team nomination and Ozell is definatly an honerable mention without question he had a number of big games this year in conference including one against a blow out vs rit. I agree with your 1st team 100%, 2nd team same maybe drop leahy down to honerable mention and sub one of those 2 fisher players in there. 

Kornacker should get some love on the COY votes as fisher well before the awful skid was playing great with not a lot of players after losing all the players they did this year its pretty remarkable were ranked in the country. Now they have come down to reality so kornacker is out and mullins will get it without question.  22-1 is a great record regardless how down the region is, to pull out close games and to win on the road in conference is a great accomplishment.   

[Bombers798891]

New regional rankings...fisher checks in at 5...replacing RIT

Boy, the East must really be down. I am not suprised RIT moved down but Fisher's inclusion kind of tells me something about the state of the east. They did handily beat RIT and they hung with Ithaca on the road, but that's still a 1-1 week and 12-7 in region seems like a pretty not special record to be ranked fifth in the East. It's getting like football season or something. It's not that Fisher may not be the 5th best in region but boy, what does that tell you about the region? A team that had lost five of their last six at the time of the rankings goes up a spot? Ye gods, what's going on in the East?

[FisherDynasty]

in my opinion it is the worst the region has been since ive been following d3 bout 9 years.  Besides Ithaca, the only other credible actually good team seems to be St. Lawrence. luckily the NESCAC is down so hopefully Ithaca can still represent the East well and make a good run in the NCAA. 

[bamm]

New regional rankings...fisher checks in at 5...replacing RIT

The regional rankings are determined a certain way and that's fine.  Obviously Fisher's inclusion is rather stunning.

In my opinion, Geneseo's surge is explained by them finally playing to their ability (as opposed to dominating a weakened SUNYAC).  They are dangerous, and will be definitely be in my fan Top 5.

[FROMAFAR]

I haven't been hiding, just busy...but I'll take my medicine....  I posted last week I thought Tigers could lose 3 of last 4, and to be honest, they should have lost to Stevens as well....Carson is great, his numbers show that, but he can't carry this team.... not enough behind him....  I also posted awhile back the only way this conference gets two NCAA bids is if someone beats IC in E 8 tourney.   That probably won't happen... NAZ and Fisher going in opposite directions. Naz is dangerous, I still can't believe they lost to UC while scoring 86 points ( wait, yes I can),,,,,,,, TRULY what do I know     

[Bombers798891]

I haven't been hiding, just busy...but I'll take my medicine....  I posted last week I thought Tigers could lose 3 of last 4, and to be honest, they should have lost to Stevens as well....Carson is great, his numbers show that, but he can't carry this team.... not enough behind him....  I also posted awhile back the only way this conference gets two NCAA bids is if someone beats IC in E 8 tourney.   That probably won't happen... NAZ and Fisher going in opposite directions. Naz is dangerous, I still can't believe they lost to UC while scoring 86 points ( wait, yes I can),,,,,,,, TRULY what do I know     

I gotta disagree with you on some stuff buddy.

While I too thought that RIT was getting a lot of breaks and were capable of losing some games down the road, they still have a chance to beat IC in the conference tournament

The Bombers have shut down Jeff Bostic until the NCAA's. It's a smart move, the right move, but also a telling move. Ithaca is 22-1. Even if they lose a game or two, they're likely to be a top seed in the East. So at this point, they're essentially saying, "Hey, let's worry about the NCAA's when we get there." Can you blame them? They've beaten the number 2, 4, and 5th ranked teams in the East. So they may not be as sharp or concerned about the Conference tournament as the other teams will, because they don't need to be. And of all the teams in the tournament, RIT is the one most equipped to take advantage of Bostic's absence.

The only thing I'll say that's disconcerting to me if I'm an RIT fan is that it's probably not possible for Mark Carson to play any better than he did against Naz, and if that can't get them a win, it has to raise some question marks about the supporting cast.

Naz is dangerous, but I want to see how they play IC on Friday before jumping to a conclusion. If IC hangs 100+ on them in another blowout, well, I'm not going to be to worried about them when they come back to Ithaca for the conference tourney. Now, if they happen to win say, 95-87 or something, that's a different story

[gobombers15]

I haven't been hiding, just busy...but I'll take my medicine....  I posted last week I thought Tigers could lose 3 of last 4, and to be honest, they should have lost to Stevens as well....Carson is great, his numbers show that, but he can't carry this team.... not enough behind him....  I also posted awhile back the only way this conference gets two NCAA bids is if someone beats IC in E 8 tourney.   That probably won't happen... NAZ and Fisher going in opposite directions. Naz is dangerous, I still can't believe they lost to UC while scoring 86 points ( wait, yes I can),,,,,,,, TRULY what do I know     

I gotta disagree with you on some stuff buddy.

While I too thought that RIT was getting a lot of breaks and were capable of losing some games down the road, they still have a chance to beat IC in the conference tournament

The Bombers have shut down Jeff Bostic until the NCAA's. It's a smart move, the right move, but also a telling move. Ithaca is 22-1. Even if they lose a game or two, they're likely to be a top seed in the East. So at this point, they're essentially saying, "Hey, let's worry about the NCAA's when we get there." Can you blame them? They've beaten the number 2, 4, and 5th ranked teams in the East. So they may not be as sharp or concerned about the Conference tournament as the other teams will, because they don't need to be. And of all the teams in the tournament, RIT is the one most equipped to take advantage of Bostic's absence.

The only thing I'll say that's disconcerting to me if I'm an RIT fan is that it's probably not possible for Mark Carson to play any better than he did against Naz, and if that can't get them a win, it has to raise some question marks about the supporting cast.

Naz is dangerous, but I want to see how they play IC on Friday before jumping to a conclusion. If IC hangs 100+ on them in another blowout, well, I'm not going to be to worried about them when they come back to Ithaca for the conference tourney. Now, if they happen to win say, 95-87 or something, that's a different story

Bombers, Naz will play Ithaca tough on Friday night, no doubt about it. They should, they're playing for their E8 Tourney lives. Ithaca is playing for the right to host, so that should help, but will it be enough to offset the loss of Bostic? We'll find out. I'd rather not have the last game of the year be for the right to host.

[FROMAFAR]

RIT will not beat IC with or without Bostick..  I am telling you guys they have the YIPS right now. The supporting cast is not handling pressure well,and it only gets tougher. Correct me if I am wrong but if NAZ and Fisher are tied, wouldn't NAZ get the nod... coming down to road wins within conference. Fisher has been great at home like always, but horrible on the road. Fisher is in tough spot right now. NAZ will lose to IC, and Fisher may beat UC which they need to do and then Elmira has to cooperate with both NAZ and Fisher (by losing both)... I think NAZ gets the nod...Now getting into E 8 Tourney the hot teams would be NAZ and of course IC...Although one has to lose when they play next.  RIT is reeling and UC needs to beat Fisher going in...... Hey UC could end up with only 9 wins, IF both Fisher and Alfred beat them.... and that was another issue discussed awhile back stating how basically anyone can pull an upset... ALMOST anyone.... What does FROMAFAR KNOW.... sorry Pep stealing your speaking in 3rd person...... 8)

[FROMAFAR]

Actually I take it back..... NAZ would get the nod if Stevens finishes 6th.. NAZ beat them twice Fisher split,... Am I right about this OR am I missing something....?