MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[emufan]

I am ecstatic to see EMU win today after losing a heart breaker to BC a few nights ago.  This EMU team is different.  They are competitive throughout the entire league, they fight back after hard losses, and are extremely athletic.  It is very hard to beat any team three times in a season and I expect EMU to pull this win out.  I hope EMU creates mismatches with BC that were evident during the first two games.  IMHO, EMU has more athletes than BC and hopefully they will prevail against BC this time.

[Brian Hamilton]

Since no one has mentioned it, I'll mention that Guilford defeated Randolph earlier today.  So GC and Macon end tied with GC owning the tiebreaker.  Congrats to both teams on very successful 14-2 ODAC campaigns!

[sludge]

Kudos to Guilford players and coach for the tie for first and holding the tiebreaker.  Today, we won without Tyler Sanborn; I don't know why we would do that, but I hope Tyler is well.   Randolph shot better than Guilford from 2pt, 3pt, and even the foul line (100% at the line will do that), but Randolph fouled alot more, had more turnovers, and there is that detail of rebounding. 

Guilford was 90% from the line, and was better shooting threes than twos. 

George Neville came out with a double-double on his senior day - congratulations, George, on a great career so far!  Bonner continued his hot streak, and Henson came through.
*
Matt Stanley hit the only three he attempted, to go with his 2 boards in short minutes.  Way to go, Matt!  People who know the team know the value you've delivered for the past for years.

You two guys know the drill: every game you win now is another one you get to play.

Mr. Nova, I missed the game due to an overriding need to excercise this afternoon.  Mr. Coopersharpe, if you've got any info on Tyler that wouldn't damage competitive advantage, please let us know.

Wishing all the fans on this board the best.  What a year so far!

[hasanova]

Thanks, sludge.  I checked the score earlier in the afternoon, but just found out Sanborn didn't play and Randolph led at the half, 34-31.  The Wildcats only trailed 47-46 late in the game, so I'm really glad the Quakers went on a spurt at the end to pull away.  GC's website said Tyler missed the game due to sickness, so hopefully it's of short duration and he'll be ready to go next Friday!

Congratulations to all the seniors throughout the ODAC and to today's winners.   I have to say, LC's win over BC was a mild surprise ... shows the Hornets still have pride and determination!

The seedings are set ... I look forward to Tuesday's results!  Let the games begin!

[eagleslam]

Now that the regular season is over, it is time to take a look at the unbalanced schedule.  It will be interesting to see how often the results turn out like this, but I think it will probably be often.  I broke this down into the top five teams that received a bye to Salem and the other six teams that have a play-in game.

Guilford and R-MC were the only teams to play the other top four teams 5 times, thus they were the only teams to play the other six a total of 11 times.  GC played Roanoke twice and Macon played BC twice.  The other teams they played once.  They got to play the teams playing Tuesday twice each with the exceptions of W&L and LC

Roanoke, BC, and EMU played the other top four teams 6 times and the other six teams 10 times.   Roanoke was a very good 4-2 against the other four, and BC a respectable 3-3 against the other four.  EMU was 0-6 against the other teams.  They went 9-1 against the six teams playing Tuesday.  

H-SC, VWC, W&L, and LC played the top five teams 9 times.  The Marlins were 3-6, the Tigers and Generals were 2-7, and the Hornets 1-8.  The Tigers were 5-2 against the other six, W&L and VWC were 4-3 and LC 1-6.

E&H and Randolph actually had the most "balanced" schedule, as each played eights games from both groups.  Both were 0-8 against the top, while the Wasps went 5-3 against the other teams and Randolph went 3-5.

I don't think the schedule mattered much to Guilford and Macon, as they were the class of the league this year.  I will give credit to the Maroons as they finished 4-2 against the othet top teams.  But it could be argued that if BC and EMU had the tougher schedule, then one, if not two, teams in the H-SC, VWC, and W&L trio would be packing for Salem instead of getting ready for Tuesday.  I know BC went 3-2 versus the three and EMU was even better at 5-1.  The Eagles were three games up on H-SC and VWC and the Royals were three games up on W&L in the end.  BC and EMU played 10 games versus teams playing Tuesday.  H-SC, VWC, and W&L played 7 games against the same teams.  

I think it is safe to say the top teams will be on top no matter what, and the bottom teams will be there no matter what.  But the middle of the pack, teams 4-8, will be heavily influenced by the strength of schedule.

[emufan]

I think it is safe to say the top teams will be on top no matter what, and the bottom teams will be there no matter what.  But the middle of the pack, teams 4-8, will be heavily influenced by the strength of schedule.

I understand what you are saying, but at the same time, can't you make the case that EMU is exactly where they should be.  They lost to the teams that are in front of them and beat the teams that are behind them.  Some credit needs to be given that they won the games they were supposed to.

[donho]

emufan,   sure you can, and then that makes their season no more and no less. No reason To think they had such a great season as some people on this board think.

[hasanova]

Well, the "who will win the ODAC regular-season" poll results are in and they reflected the closeness of the race:

Guilford 9, RMC 8, Tie 4

The teams, of course, ended tied at 14-2, but GC gets the #1 seed due to their Jan. 31 squeaker over RMC.  Now, for the tournament ... !

[eagleslam]

emufan...

You're right in that credit needs to be given.  I mentioned EMU did very well going 5-1 against H-SC, VWC, and W&L.  My point was that would their record be as good if they had a tougher schedule?  Suppose they played the teams playing Tuesday three less times and the top 4 teams three more times.  That could mean a 6-10 finish as opposed to 9-7, and they would be playing Tuesday.  I know it is all conjecture, but I think it begs the question is EMU really, I mean really, a top 5 team?  Not because of thei record, but because of their personnel.  I would say no.  They did nothing against the top four teams in the league this year.  That being said, I do think EMU should beat BC on Thursday.  The Eagles seem to be struggling without Oblitey.   

[jdubyadubya]

What a rough year for the Marlins. Good news: Coach Macedo and Mrs. Macedo welcomed their newest addition to their family on Saturday. Bad News: Norman Hassell was invited not to return to school at semesters. That loss of a senior combined with the youth of the roster equalled a sub par season for the Marlins. I am sure they will be a little more competitive next year. Congratulations to RMC and Guilford, both the real deal! Should be a heck of a tournament. Lastly, congratulations to Randolph for hanging in there.

[HSCfan]

What are everyone's thoughts on Ben Jessee for ODAC Rookie of the Year? He has some nice overall stats, but he has really picked up his game in conference:

In-conference stats:
13.8 ppg
88.0 FT%
41.4 3PT%

Overall, he is still averaging 10.6 ppg, shooting 40.5% from three and 86.5% from the line.

Against R-MC and VWC this past week, Jessee had 16 and 23, respectively. That 23 at Virginia Wesleyan was a career high and also came with the No. 6 seed on the line in a hostile environment against the guy that I would consider his biggest competition, Quinton McDuffie (I know they don't play the same position, but you get where I'm going). McDuffie had a good game as well with 17, I believe, but with Turner King slowing down a bit as the year has progressed, Jessee has really stepped in and provided the offensive spark, actually taking more shot attempts than King as of late.

In his last 16 games, his point totals have been (all ODAC games except the first, which was against John Carroll):

13 (John Carroll)
14 (vs. EMU)
14 (@ R-MC)
20 (@ EHC)
11 (VWC)
17 (BC)
14 (@ Guilford)
3 (Lynchburg)
16 (@ W&L)
17 (@ Rand)
12 (@ EMU)
6 (Guilford)
18 (EHC)
16 (Roanoke)
16 (R-MC)
23 (@ VWC)

With the exception of two games, that is almost the epitome of consistency...a tall task for an ODAC freshman!

[HSCfan]

baselinejam,

Do you have any insight into what happened in Lexington this year? After starting 5-2 in the ODAC, the Generals dropped 8 of 9 to finish 6-10 and in the No. 8 slot (do I remember a friendly wager a few months ago? )

When watching them play the Tigers, I saw a gritty, tough, hard nosed bunch that almost refused to lose, but I fear that H-SC infected the Generals with the inconsistency bug that we have been battling all year...you guys have a tough match up in Emory and Henry in your opening round game, but I hope that Coach Hutch pulls that group of seniors together and gets them to Salem!

A W&L team playing at its best can be trouble for anyone standing in their way!

[hasanova]

baselinejam,

Do you have any insight into what happened in Lexington this year? After starting 5-2 in the ODAC, the Generals dropped 8 of 9 to finish 6-10 and in the No. 8 slot (do I remember a friendly wager a few months ago? )

When watching them play the Tigers, I saw a gritty, tough, hard nosed bunch that almost refused to lose, but I fear that H-SC infected the Generals with the inconsistency bug that we have been battling all year...you guys have a tough match up in Emory and Henry in your opening round game, but I hope that Coach Hutch pulls that group of seniors together and gets them to Salem!

A W&L team playing at its best can be trouble for anyone standing in their way!

The Generals certainly played Guilford tough in Greensboro!  It was a really tight back-and-forth game until the Quakers put it away in the last 6-7 minutes.  W&L looked better than a 6-10 team to me!

[78rmc]

For those not in Richmond,

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/college/college_basketball/article/ODAC23_20090222-222409/213057/

[Jacketlawyer]

For those not in Richmond,

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/college/college_basketball/article/ODAC23_20090222-222409/213057/

Great article.  There's a lot to be learned from it for anyone.  Thanks for posting it; we'd not see it down here in Lynchburg.

GO JACKETS.