Empire 8

WICB Sports · February 11, 2008, 02:54:38 PM

Coverage of Tuesday's Ithaca-Elmira Empire 8 contests begins with Bombers Shootaround at 5:40 p.m. Eastern time on 91.7 FM in Ithaca and online at www.wicb.org. Tip-off of the women's game is at 6 p.m. on WICB.

At 7:40 p.m. Eastern, coverage of the men's game begins with Bombers Shootaround on VIC Radio (www.vicradio.org). Tip-off is at 8 p.m. on VIC Radio.

bamm · February 11, 2008, 03:00:16 PM

I'm not sure what changes might have been made to the whatever they are calling the D3 Regional SOS formula these days, but both Stevens and Naz may have pretty good numbers when compared to other teams that would be looking for at large berths.

All of Stevens' games are in region. A 19-3 mark, no matter whom the losses are to, is going to make an impressive figure. Then consider that all losses were on the road, and only one was to a sub .500 team (Baruch) -- they are a lock (barring a total collapse).

Naz, according to the D3hoops schedule, has also played all in-region games. They have 5 losses, but four are to Rochester and Stevens. Wins @Fisher, @RIT, @Oswego, @Utica, and Geneseo (neutral) will help their number -- and it would be helpful if they won @Ithaca in a couple of weeks.

Cyclone0205 · February 11, 2008, 03:06:13 PM

Quote
EA 23 01 01 0.6378 0.5107 0.5296 Plattsburgh State 003 A w C 16-0 19-2
EA 90 02 02 0.6704 0.6328 0.5741 Rochester 006 A w C 16-3 17-3
EA 23 03 06 0.6181 0.5850 0.5378 Brockport State 031 C 11 13-4 16-6
EA 21 04 04 0.6282 0.6083 0.5462 Nazareth 033 A w C 15-5 15-5
EA 21 05 03 0.5724 0.4459 0.5340 Stevens 035 C 13 19-3 19-3
EA 23 06 05 0.6013 0.5793 0.5242 Oswego State 047 C second 13-5 15-5
EA 24 07 08 0.5717 0.5289 0.5232 St. Lawrence 065 A third 12-5 13-8
EA 23 08 09 0.5487 0.4558 0.5334 Cortland State 074 15-5 17-5

Here they have Brockport as an at large and Stevens as an at large (i guess they are saying Naz will win..makes no sense to have Naz as the A w C) but that point aside, I wonder what Naz's number would be if they got it right. Stevens right now is C 13 out of 18 teams....I think Naz may be somewhere between C 16 - C 24.

FisherDynasty · February 11, 2008, 04:14:07 PM

even more interesting if Naz and stevens run the reg. season table, then like Gobombers said Stevens gets upset in the semi's, and Naz loses in the championship. Both teams would be legitimate contenders for the ncaa tourny, however, i feel like the committee will only give it to one. Utica was left out two years ago after they had a sweet 16 season and only 6 losses.

thebear · February 11, 2008, 05:14:33 PM

Oswego had a terrific team in '04-05. They got left out with 5 losses and a number of quality wins to their credit. IIRC they were one of the bubble teams that year.

I doubt that the E-8 will have more than one pool C.

Particularly with Middlebury lurking in the Pool C mix, and a very easy trip to Plattsburgh for a first or second round game. NCAA hasn't been bashful about shipping New England teams to Upstate NY (Tufts to Cortland, Salem St to Potsdam) & Plattsburgh is right there on the doorstep to Vermont.

Also consider that if Stevens is the E8 AQ, they still could get shipped to the NY/NJ or Mid Atlantic region to balance the brackets.

bamm · February 11, 2008, 07:26:02 PM

Quote from: thebear on February 11, 2008, 05:14:33 PM

I doubt that the E-8 will have more than one pool C.

I certainly concur. But it could still be a disappointing result for Nazareth (like it was for Oswego), who could end the season with a nice resume.

sjfcards · February 11, 2008, 07:31:06 PM

Quote from: bamm on February 11, 2008, 07:26:02 PM
Quote from: thebear on February 11, 2008, 05:14:33 PM

I doubt that the E-8 will have more than one pool C.

I certainly concur. But it could still be a disappointing result for Nazareth (like it was for Oswego), who could end the season with a nice resume.

It would be real tough for the E8 to get a third team in. I guess the only way I could see it happening is if a team (perhaps Ithaca) would beat Stevens and Naz in consecutive games in the tourny(assuming naz and Stevens are perfect the rest of the regular season)...And even then I see Naz probably being left out. I think Stevens is a real good shape, even if they lose a game in the regular season, and in the tournament, as someone said earlier. Getting a third team in just seems out there this year.

magicman · February 12, 2008, 05:22:42 AM

There is no way 3 teams from the E8 league get in. Stevens and Naz get in unless someone other than these two teams wins the Conference tourney. If that happens then Naz goes to the ECAC's, and Stevens gets an at large bid barring a disaster over their last 3 games. If Naz stumbles in 2 or 3 of their last 5 games, and doesn't win the E8 tournament they won't get in.

I agree with thebear, Middlebury is real close to Plattsburgh and currently sports a 17-5 record. Their losses have come against #20 Stevens, #19 Ursinus, #12 Plattsburgh St., #1 Amherst and Trinity(Conn) who has received votes in the top 25 poll most of the year. They stand a real good chance of finishing 2nd in the NESCAC conference. Also the NCAA doesn't like to put schools from the same conference together at a 1st round site. If they win their final 2 games against Connecticut College and Wesleyan I think they're in. They have a higher Pool C ranking than any of the E8 schools and just last week had Plattsburgh on the ropes, up 22 in the 2nd half, but couldn't deliver the knockout blow. The Massey ratings have them ranked at #14 in the Nation. If PLattsburgh is a 1st round site I think Middlebury is going to be there and that's got to hurt some N. Y. teams.

Duckman · February 12, 2008, 11:20:49 AM

Quote from: magicman on February 12, 2008, 05:22:42 AM
They have a higher Pool C ranking than any of the E8 schools...

I'm confused about this one. I understand that Middlebury has lost to 5 very solid teams, but how can they be ranked above Stevens?
Middlebury: 17-5
Stevens: 19-3
Stevens also has a double digit win over Middlebury to boot. Is there something I'm missing?
(this is not an argument against you magicman, just wondering why Middlebury is higher than Stevens in Pool C)

e8bballfan · February 12, 2008, 11:34:35 AM

the d3hoops rankings are a little weird. if you ever go check out the top25, click on some random teams and you'll see there are plenty of teams ranked with some crappy losses to teams with losing records, and just barely above .500 records but are ahead of teams with losses to very good teams and no 'bad losses' at all. the d3 rankings are all based on hearsay and who is 'typically' good. d3 isn't d1 ball where west coast teams play east coast teams so you can see how everyone across the nation matches up. it's basically a crap-shoot....

gobombers15 · February 12, 2008, 06:26:37 PM

Tonight's games:

ITHACA over Elmira, 71-46.

Nazareth tops ALFRED, 76-59.

Fisher nips RIT, 78-73. Zeinfeld, who historically seems to play well against Fisher, won't be there for this one, obviously. May make the difference.

Caz Bombers · February 12, 2008, 08:23:19 PM

Ithaca down 9 in the first half. This would be about 50 miles beyond embarrassing.

gobombers15 · February 12, 2008, 08:46:07 PM

Ithaca rallies to take a two-point lead, then Elmira closes the half on 7-0 run to lead by five at the half, 37-32. Sound familiar? Exactly what happened in the 2nd half of the Fisher game. Elmira already with more points than they had in the entire last game (36). Stab me.

sjfcards · February 12, 2008, 09:50:00 PM

Fisher squeaks one out against R.I.T. tonight. Fisher looks to be tougher and tougher team each time out at the end of games. A big step towards the top 4 spots in the league. It will be tough for Fisher to find its way out.

Any news on the Ithaca game tonight? It would be a real tough loss for IC if they don't pull it out tonight. Any other scores out there tonight?

gobombers15 · February 12, 2008, 09:52:06 PM

Ithaca wins, 82-75. Not a win I'm particularly excited about. No reason the worst scoring offense in the league (by a lot) should score 23 points more than their average on Ithaca's home floor. IC has no chance to make any noise in the E8 Tourney until they dedicate themselves to playing better defense. It's really that simple.