MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Jeremybozz]

 Bridgewater 61,Randolph 59 Final

Trawick's 30 foot shot hit the rim and bounced to Johnson who hit the put back for a 2 point Eagles lead with 1.5 seconds left in the game. At least that was my understanding from the broadcast as I could not attend in person.

[BbSpecial]

Yes. Then, Randolph got it to halfcourt, but the player fumbled it out-of-bounds. A great win for Bridgewater. What a scrap!

[Jeremybozz]

Another BC/EMU trilogy. The Eagles know they can compete with the Royals.

[hasanova]

Stephen Fields great player, awesome player, but not in the discussion for POY.
The comment on you don't get that many rebounds with slippery hands is a bit off base he is 6'10" he will get rebounds with 1 hand!!!! As for minutes, I think Phillips plays 1 min. more than Sanborn per game.

Coach Dean will be on the Mac show I think tomorrow maybe, not sure.

Hasa, I agree with both players having a great shot. I'm convinced Sanborn will get it and think he deserves it. He is a good kid and great player. I think Phillips is also deserving.
Good Luck to everyone at tournament and safe traveling to all those making the trip. I will be cheering for the Royals hoping they don't lay an egg!!!

Phillips is definitely deserving - I don't think anyone doubts that - I predict the voting will be split.

[hasanova]

In addition to BC's win over Randolph, 61-59, other ODAC finals are:

Lynchburg 83, Roanoke 78
W&L 92, E&H 60

So, the Friday quarterfinals are now set:

# 1 EMU & # 8 BC at 1 pm ... they split the season series, 1-1
# 4 RMC & # 5 HSC at 3 pm ... they split the season series, 1-1
# 2 GC & # 7 LC at 6 pm ... GC won both games
# 3 VWC & # 6 W&L at 8 pm ... VWC won the only meeting in Lexington
 

[algernon]

Stephen Fields great player, awesome player, but not in the discussion for POY.

Fields HAS BEEN and IS in the discussion .... so I'm not sure why you say that he isn't.

Given Fields' play this season, it's understandable that he's under discussion .... look at the stats I posted yesterday and compare them to Phillips' .... and consider how Fields has led Virginia Wesleyan to a 21-4 record.

I understand your cheerleading re "Phillips for POY" but I would characterize the discussion in this way: The majority opinion on the board is that Sanborn deserves to be the POY .... for various reasons .... and not because he is the MVP of the Quakers but, rather, because he is the Player of the Year in the ODAC.  If we were picking teams, the first person I would pick is Sanborn.  To the extent that there has been any disagreement on this board about Sanborn as POY (and a bunch of people seem to think that the choice for POY is fairly clear), I'd summarize it this way:  You have been pushing Phillips, I have noted Fields' accomplishments, and other posters have agreed that both of these guys are worthy of consideration.

stillfamily .... Maybe it's time to call it a day on this discussion and wait for Thursday to see what the coaches' decision has been (as I expect the vote has likely already been done and tabulated).

[algernon]

Congratulations to Washington & Lee, Lynchburg, and Bridgewater.

The biggest quarterfinal upset would be for Lynchburg to defeat Guilford.

Next biggest upset would be for W&L to defeat Virginia Wesleyan, I think, but this would not be shocking, given how close their last matchup was in Lexington.  

There's no doubt that it would be considered a huge upset for #8 Bridgewater to defeat #1 EMU, even though BC won the first matchup by 6 points and only lost the second matchup by 5 points.  

The RMC/HSC game seems to be a real toss-up, given the outcome of the first two games these teams played.

Anyway, these will be the Saturday semifinals:

• 6pm:  EMU / BC vs. RMC / HSC
• 8pm:  Guilford / Lynchburg vs. VWC / W&L

[marlinpg10]

Being a VWC follower for the last ten years i wouldhave to say that stephen fieds is one of the best if not the best all-around scorer in the league... he gets it done in a variety of ways and definitely should be in the talk for POY... this weekend shuld be interesting... lets win on friday so i can get there to watch on saturday

[Seatfiller]

In addition to BC's win over Randolph, 61-59, other ODAC finals are:

Lynchburg 83, Roanoke 78
W&L 92, E&H 60

So, the Friday quarterfinals are now set:

# 1 EMU & # 8 BC at 1 pm ... they split the season series, 1-1
# 4 RMC & # 5 HSC at 3 pm ... they split the season series, 1-1
# 2 GC & # 7 LC at 6 pm ... GC won both games
# 3 VWC & # 6 W&L at 8 pm ... VWC won the only meeting in Lexington
 

My predictions

EMU beats BC
Hampden Sydney beating RMC
GC beating Lynchburg
VWC beating Washington and Lee

[stillfamily]

Tournament Time. Anything can happen. It will a good time I'm sure.
Go Royals

[algernon]

Last ranking and what's happened since:
1. ODAC:  Eastern Mennonite 14-2 18-3:  3 more wins
2. ODAC:  Guilford 20-2 20-2:  3 more wins
3. ASC: Texas-Dallas 17-3 18-4:  3 ASC wins
4. ODAC:  Virginia Wesleyan 18-3 20-3: Slaughtered by EMU, beat Hampden-Sydney.
5. SCAC:  Austin 18-5 18-5:  Beat Hendrix, lost to Millsaps.
6. ODAC:  Randolph-Macon 13-4 19-4:  Beat Lynchburg, lost to Hampden-Sydney.
7. Pool B: Maryville (Tenn.) 13-3 19-4:  Beat Covenant, slaughtered Piedmont.
8. ASC:  Mary Hardin-Baylor 17-5 17-6:  Beat Sul Ross State & Howard Payne

So this is my take for the next ranking on the 24th:
1. ODAC:  Eastern Mennonite 17-2 21-3
2. ODAC:  Guilford 23-2 23-2
3. ASC: Texas-Dallas 20-3 21-4
4. Pool B: Maryville (Tenn.) 15-3 21-4  
5. ODAC:  Virginia Wesleyan 19-4 21-4
6. SCAC:  Austin 19-6 19-6
7. ASC:  Mary Hardin-Baylor 19-5 19-6
8. ODAC:  Randolph-Macon 14-5 20-5

http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/d3-mbb-rankings-022410

New Regional Ranking just out .... VERY GOOD news for Randolph-Macon:
1. ODAC:  Eastern Mennonite 17-2 21-3  (3 more wins - remain #1)
2. ODAC:  Guilford 23-2 23-2  (3 more wins - remain #2)
3. ASC: Texas-Dallas 20-3 21-4  (3 more wins - remain #3)
4. ODAC:  Virginia Wesleyan 19-4 21-4 (although slaughtered by EMU, they stay as #4)
5. ODAC:  Randolph-Macon 14-5 20-5 (although beaten by HSC at home, they move up from #6 to #5)
6. Pool B: Maryville (Tenn.) 14-3 21-4  (with 2 more wins, they move up from #7 to #6)
7. SCAC:  Austin 19-6 19-6  (their loss to Millsaps results in a drop from #5 to #7)
8. ASC:  Mary Hardin-Baylor 19-5 19-6  (2 wins - remain #8)

It looks to me like Virginia Wesleyan remains at #4 because getting slaughtered by EMU isn't viewed as that big of a deal !! .... maybe getting beaten by 20 points by the Royals is just something to be expected ....  

And Randolph-Macon's loss isn't a huge loss for those doing the rankings, maybe because the Hampden-Sydney Tigers are viewed as a very worthy opponent .... a better team than their record suggests.  In fact, the Yellow Jackets MOVE UP A NOTCH past Austin, which lost a SCAC game to Millsaps, and they remain ahead of Maryville and Mary Hardin-Baylor, even though the latter two teams got 2 more wins this past week and -- one would think -- might have jumped past the Yellow Jackets, who suffered a loss.

These rankings certainly improve the Yellow Jackets' chances for a Pool C bid.  It's possible that they could even lose a first-round game against the Tigers and still get a bid (especially if the Tigers followed that up with another win over EMU in the semifinals).  Still, what will make the biggest difference for any Pool C contenders is what happens in conference tournaments and how many of the Pool C contenders fail to win their conference AQ.  (We already know that 3 or 4 Pool C contenders in the ODAC will fail to win their conference tournament ......      )

[2RMCFans]

Since we're off to Salem today to watch the #2 seeded R-MC women versus EMU at 6 pm, we'll offer our congratulations in advance to all the men who will receive conference honors in Salem tonight.  If we had a vote, we'd vote for Sanborn for POY, but with great respect for all the players who are in contention.

In case anyone is still wondering whether POY or ROY depends on what team you play for, it sure doesn't for the women.  Hollins has this year's ROY and they went 1-19.  Hopefully, they can build a team around this ROY and become more competitive for the future.

Good luck to all for your teams' success in Salem & for safe travels.

GO JACKETS...let's go ALL the way this year-- both teams!!!!

[hasanova]

I can't make it tonight, but I will be in Salem Friday night and, assuming a Quaker team(s) advances, the rest of the weekend.  On behalf of the Guilford College Quaker Club, I'll be hosting a Friday pregame (5 pm) hospitality room for QC members and Guilford fans at the Salem Civic Center.  Please join us!

[algernon]

I've done a little research and this is my take on Pool C NCAA bids.  There are 19 Pool C bids available but 4 are already taken:  at least 2 by the ODAC (EMU, Guilford, and VWC will all get in, but one may take the AQ), either Stevens Point or Whitewater from the WIAC, and either Williams or Middlebury from the NESCAC.

So there are only 15 Pool C bids left.  I think the following 8 teams are "locks" for a bid if they do not win their conference tournament:  
  William Paterson, if not NJAC AQ
   St. Mary's, if not CAC AQ
   Carthage, if not CCIW AQ
   MIT, if not NEWMAC AQ
   EMU/Guilford/VWC, if none of these are ODAC AQ
   Texas – Dallas, if not ASC AQ
  St. Thomas, if not MIAC AQ
   Whitworth, if not NWC AQ

After counting for those teams above that do not win their conference AQ, there are 7-15 bids left for the next group of candidates, which I've listed in my "wildly guessed" order:

1)   John Carroll, if not OAC AQ
2)   Randolph-Macon, if not ODAC AQ
3)   Wooster, if not NCAC AQ
4)   Wheaton or Illinois Wesleyan
5)   St. Norbert, if not MWC AQ
6)   Franklin & Marshall, if not CC AQ
7)   Cabrini, if not CSAC AQ
8)   Hope or Calvin
9)   Colby, if not NESCAC AQ
10)   St. John Fisher, if not Empire 8 AQ
11)   Brandeis - UAA
12)   Central, if not IIAC AQ
13)   Anderson or Defiance - HCAC
14)   Merchant Marine, if not LAND AQ
15)   Albright or Lycoming
16)   Rutgers-Newark OR Richard Stockton - NJAC
17)   Austin, if not SCAC AQ
18)   Mary Hardin-Baylor, if not ASC AQ
19)   DeSales, if not MAC-Freedom AQ
20)   Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, if not SCIAC AQ

I think the last Regional Ranking puts Randolph-Macon in a very good place for a Pool C bid.

Thoughts?

[therock]

POY: Sanborn
COY: Kirby Dean
FOY: George
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Ben Goetsch

First team: Steven Echols, Stephen Fields, Clay Henson, Todd Phillips, Tyler Sanborn, Dominic Trawick

Second team: Rhett Bonner, Brandon Braxton, Ben Goetsch, George Johnson, Turner King, Donald Vaughn

Honorable Mention: Kendrick Chittock, Eli Crawford, Harrison George, Terrance Grigg, D.J. Hinson, Jason Rutschman