MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[2RMCFans]

First of all, congrats to the Marlins... way to GO and keep it up!

We were there & want to give due credit to the St. Mary's team.  They are very talented and executed their game plan well on both ends all night.

But to say that home court doesn't matter is ridiculous.  Being in that gym for 2 straight nights, just gotta say we have not ever seen a cruder, ruder, louder more abusive crowd... ever.

To think that but for an error by the NCAA, we could have shown them some southern hospitality! Not saying we didn't deserve to lose, we did.  Just saying it is a brutal place to play.  Even the first night with St. Mary's team not on the floor, their students showed a real lack of character toward two visiting teams during their game.  If R-MC students/fans ever behaved this way toward a visiting team, we'd be ashamed & we would complain to the AD about it.

GO MARLINS... take out the Seahawks if they get that far!

And, thanks to a first class group of players and coaches for another wonderful season!  

Looking forward to next year!  GO JACKETS!!!

[rmc1982]

First of all, congrats to the Marlins... way to GO and keep it up!

We were there & want to give due credit to the St. Mary's team.  They are very talented and executed their game plan well on both ends all night.

But to say that home court doesn't matter is ridiculous.  Being in that gym for 2 straight nights, just gotta say we have not ever seen a cruder, ruder, louder more abusive crowd... ever.

To think that but for an error by the NCAA, we could have shown them some southern hospitality! Not saying we didn't deserve to lose, we did.  Just saying it is a brutal place to play.  Even the first night with St. Mary's team not on the floor, their students showed a real lack of character toward two visiting teams during their game.  If R-MC students/fans ever behaved this way toward a visiting team, we'd be ashamed & we would complain to the AD about it.

GO MARLINS... take out the Seahawks if they get that far!

And, thanks to a first class group of players and coaches for another wonderful season!  

Looking forward to next year!  GO JACKETS!!!

Hey-WE GOT BEAT, plain and simple......I was one of the ones complaining about not hosting, but you gotta go up there and stick it to 'em! As for their fans, yeah, they were a little over the top, but you shut them up by keeping your mouth shut and kicking their a$$-THAT'S the best way to get a crowd like that out of it.They won't have that next weekend-let's see how they do then.... ......These seniors have played so well and we're certainly gonna miss them-no question......but the sun still came up this morning-we have NOTHING to be ashamed of!!Now it's time to put all of our collective OOOMPH behind those VWC Marlins-GO FISH!! Hope you get a shot at those CLOWNS!!ALL THE WAY BABY!!

[donho]

    82       I know you will say the sun always comes up ......... but it is raining right now at the beach. And you are right, play well and the fans do not count. Just hate it when other people have to put in their two cents and that two cents is worthless. Such as yeah R-MC has been over-ranked all year. REALLY..... give me a break. Seatfiller what team do you follow?? Are they any good?


Jacketlawyer, 3sdown take on all of this I am sure would be interesting to say the least.

[algernon]

I'm basically in agreement with FISHTANKFAN.  Randolph-Macon was the victim of poor NCAA decision-making.  The men's and women's committees did not have in place an adequate process for coordinating their efforts.  When the women's committee decided not to hold first-round games in Crenshaw, the men's committee should have become aware of that.  In this age of text-messaging and all kinds of electronic communication, the coordination of efforts by these two NCAA committees was not very well thought-out.

As a result, Randolph-Macon was denied a home court advantage.  Whether or not that would have made a difference in the outcome is open to speculation.  Since the result at St. Mary's was not even close, it's reasonable to think that the matchup, if played in Crenshaw, would have produced the same ultimate outcome, even if the score had been closer.  This isn't the first game that the Yellow Jackets have lost this year .... they've lost to other solid teams such as Wabash, Virginia Wesleyan, and Guilford.  They only very narrowly scraped by Hampden-Sydney in both games.  Even teams of Final Four quality, like this year's Yellow Jackets, have nights when they don't hit their shots or play up to their potential.  (Remember the 2nd-round 2000 Tiger loss to Maryville in Fleet Gymnasium?  That Tiger team -- with seniors Grimes, Fox, Harris, and Jirak -- was 26-1 and certainly seemed to be on its way back to the Final Four, after losing the national championship by 1 point in double OT the year before.)

Yellow Jackets' fans were denied the opportunity to see 3 good basketball games in Crenshaw .... a real plus for the fans and for the school!  The presence of a huge crowd of Yellow Jackets' fans might not have changed the outcome ....  but it certainly wouldn't have hurt the team's performance, right?

It would have been good if the NCAA committee had acknowledged its mistake, changed the location to Crenshaw, and paid the deposits made on buses not used or whatever needed to be done.  The Yellow Jackets (#2 in the South) had a much stronger SOS than St. Mary's (#2 in the Mid-Atlantic) and were 3-3 against regionally-ranked teams, whereas St. Mary's had played only one game against a regionally-ranked team in their entire season (in which they solidly defeated Franklin and Marshall, an overrated team that the Marlins barely got by last night).

I would not rank this year's Yellow Jacket team as among the best 10 ODAC teams of the past 20 years, but I do think that the 2010-2011 Randolph-Macon team was definitely among the best in the country this year.  On another night, they would have beaten St. Mary's .... and then they could very conceivably have gone on to win against Buffalo State in the Sweet Sixteen and Middlebury in the Elite Eight to get back to the Final Four in Salem.

The Marlins will play the Ephs at Williams College on Friday evening at 7:30pm.  The location has just been officially announced.  With a win, VWC will play either Amherst or Rhode Island College the following evening at 7:00pm.  Go Marlins!!

[y_jack_lok]

I'm basically in agreement with FISHTANKFAN.  Randolph-Macon was the victim of poor NCAA decision-making.  The men's and women's committees did not have in place an adequate process for coordinating their efforts.  When the women's committee decided not to hold first-round games in Crenshaw, the men's committee should have become aware of that.  In this age of text-messaging and all kinds of electronic communication, the coordination of efforts by these two NCAA committees was not very well thought-out.

To heck with text messaging and electronic communications. I wonder where the two committees were while putting together the pairings and hosting sites. It's possible they were in the same building. Maybe the same floor of the same building, and possibly in rooms next to one another. If that were the case it would make this mistake even more embarrassing for the selection committees.

Having said that, I saw the 2nd half of the Alvernia game and all of the St. Mary's game. The Jackets simply did not play well in those three halves of basketball. There was virtually no inside game. If you can't score in the paint you can expect to have a hard time winning.

Still, congratulations on a great season for the Jackets. I look forward to seeing how the program evolves under coach Davis.

Also, I want to compliment Dave McHugh and his partner on two well called games. It was a pleasure to listen to them.

[Ralph Turner]

Randolph-Macon did get screwed by an honest mistake by the NCAA's.  They should have hosted, that's never been in doubt.  Home court is HUGE in the playoffs. No doubt about it. 12 of the 16 teams remaining had home court advantage.   Randolph-Macon deserved it's national ranking, no doubt about that either. You don't win the ODAC by not being one of the best teams in the country. For anyone to incinuate otherwise is just plain ludicrious.  They should be congratulated by everyone on this board not put down for losing.  They were the "real deal".  While I am not a Macon fan most of the year, I believe EVERYONE should support ANY teams that make the dance.  You are not fans of basketball, just fans of pettiness and jealousy.  Time to thank Randolph-Macon for a fine year of great basketball.  Thank you to all the players for giving us fans some great memories.  I am sorry you didn't win it all.

A genuine question...

In the playoffs, how many points do you give for home court advantage for a team against an opponent that buses less than 3 hours?  More than 3 hours? For a plane flight?

[FISHTANKFAN]

A genuine answer:  Home court has a psychological and a real advantage.  Players are more familiar with the rims, any dead or blind spots ,the lighting. familiarity of the court, home crowd fans, a confidence factor etc etc etc.  Why have the Marlins won 114 games at home vs. 18 losses in the last 11 years?  WHY do all sports teams want the home court or home field advantage?  Why would the Celtics win 84 straight games at home?  Home court cannot be measured in points, but it can effect the final score.  Why did the Marlins win a national title on only their second trip to the NCAA's under Macedo???  They were given a very outside chance of even winning a few games that year (ask Pat Coleman to verify this ) A bad crowd can shake up any opposing team.  The RED SOX know how to play the Green Monster,and every nook and cranny of Fenway. Why do they wins more home games than away?   It is immeasurable.

[FISHTANKFAN]

The Marlins have a daunting task next weekend, perhaps even herculean. They are not the best team left of the 16 remaining teams, obviously, but I guarantee that they want a shot at defeating Williams College.  Every player dreams of defeating the top seeds and they want their chance to try. It would seem to be a real David vs. Golliath adventure for them, but they would have it no other way. Realistically, they don't have much of a chance, but they don't know that.  They are young and need more time to mature, but it will be an experience they won't forget.    Go Marlins!

[hasanova]

A genuine answer:  Home court has a psychological and a real advantage.  Players are more familiar with the rims, any dead or blind spots ,the lighting. familiarity of the court, home crowd fans, a confidence factor etc etc etc.  Why have the Marlins won 114 games at home vs. 18 losses in the last 11 years?  WHY do all sports teams want the home court or home field advantage?  Why would the Celtics win 84 straight games at home?  Home court cannot be measured in points, but it can effect the final score.  Why did the Marlins win a national title on only their second trip to the NCAA's under Macedo???  They were given a very outside chance of even winning a few games that year (ask Pat Coleman to verify this ) A bad crowd can shake up any opposing team.  The RED SOX know how to play the Green Monster,and every nook and cranny of Fenway. Why do they wins more home games than away?   It is immeasurable.

I disagree that it's immeasurable.  Every oddsmaker in Vegas has a century's worth of data on how two teams that play each other twice (or more) in a season perform.  Trust me, they have points factored into their odds for home court and the length of the travel.  Talk to any bookie about a west coast NFL team traveling east to play at 1 pm (10am on their body clock) and see what he says!

[Ralph Turner]

A genuine answer:  Home court has a psychological and a real advantage.  Players are more familiar with the rims, any dead or blind spots ,the lighting. familiarity of the court, home crowd fans, a confidence factor etc etc etc.  Why have the Marlins won 114 games at home vs. 18 losses in the last 11 years?  WHY do all sports teams want the home court or home field advantage?  Why would the Celtics win 84 straight games at home?  Home court cannot be measured in points, but it can effect the final score.  Why did the Marlins win a national title on only their second trip to the NCAA's under Macedo???  They were given a very outside chance of even winning a few games that year (ask Pat Coleman to verify this ) A bad crowd can shake up any opposing team.  The RED SOX know how to play the Green Monster,and every nook and cranny of Fenway. Why do they wins more home games than away?   It is immeasurable.

Thanks, but I want a real number.  How many points?

The fact that home teams win was covered nicely in the Jan 17th Sports Illustrated by Tobias Moskowitz and Jon Wertheim in the fascinating article "What's Really Behind Home Field Advantage?".   

[LustyLarryintheToilet]

hsctiger2002 Obviously , now thats funny.  Lets see you lost when was it, the quarterfinals of the ODAC. Yeah now thats......... obvious.

But I haven't been on here complaining left and right about how Randolph-Macon got screwed by the NCAA like the Macon fans have been. If you're going to do that much complaining, got to back it up by making it past the first weekend.

I hate the argument, well if you really think you should be hosting you should just back it up.  Its the same argument the espn shills used after the NO/Sea wild card game.  RMC got hosed, and was put in a position that was too much to overcome to "back it up."  Smc was undefeted at home, a very tall task.

[DeWayneCarter]

I also think that RMC should have been hosting. They won the ODAC. Point blank period. The last couple of years, the way the ODAC has been, any team that won that leauge (save for the 09 VWC squad) should have hosted it. Also, homecourt advantage does play a large part in winning a ballgame. The VWC players didn't have to break their normal routine.. got to chill in their dorms with their friends, families, playing video games, watching ESPN etc etc... anything they normally do during home games, they did it and won both games this weekend. When you are able to play a big game in your comfort zone it does wonders for your confidence. They didnt have to get used to a new area or a different gym or a raucous student section going against them. There is no telling what would have happened had VWC been facing that 9 point deficit in the 2nd half AT F&M. The backing of the home crowd played a part in that game.. and contrary to the beliefs of the F&M posters who had something to say about the VWC student section being "crappy" and "lousy" and that they showed no support, the Batten was rocking, and they sure did shut you guys up.

[DeWayneCarter]

The Marlins have a daunting task next weekend, perhaps even herculean. They are not the best team left of the 16 remaining teams, obviously, but I guarantee that they want a shot at defeating Williams College.  Every player dreams of defeating the top seeds and they want their chance to try. It would seem to be a real David vs. Golliath adventure for them, but they would have it no other way. Realistically, they don't have much of a chance, but they don't know that.  They are young and need more time to mature, but it will be an experience they won't forget.    Go Marlins!

SMH!!! Fishtankfan I can't believe you man... idk what the rest of the Marlin fans think, but Coach Macedo, the players, and the rest of that coaching staff aren't satisfied with just keeping the Williams game close or fighting to the end. They EXPECT to WIN. Period. Macedo doesn't play for moral victories. They play to win. The Marlins weren't satisfied with the game against F&M because they most definitely could have played better, so I can guarantee you that they won't go to Williamstown, MA hoping to keep it close. They expect to go up there and win and will play like it. Williams will NOT blow Virginia Wesleyan out. I normally don't say things like that because I know that your words can come back and bite you in the butt but I don't see a blowout happening in that game. By either team. James Wang and Troy Whittington are two very good players for Williams but the Marlins will be prepared. I whole heartedly believe it.

[hasanova]

I also think that RMC should have been hosting. They won the ODAC. Point blank period. The last couple of years, the way the ODAC has been, any team that won that leauge (save for the 09 VWC squad) should have hosted it. Also, homecourt advantage does play a large part in winning a ballgame. The VWC players didn't have to break their normal routine.. got to chill in their dorms with their friends, families, playing video games, watching ESPN etc etc... anything they normally do during home games, they did it and won both games this weekend. When you are able to play a big game in your comfort zone it does wonders for your confidence. They didnt have to get used to a new area or a different gym or a raucous student section going against them. There is no telling what would have happened had VWC been facing that 9 point deficit in the 2nd half AT F&M. The backing of the home crowd played a part in that game.. and contrary to the beliefs of the F&M posters who had something to say about the VWC student section being "crappy" and "lousy" and that they showed no support, the Batten was rocking, and they sure did shut you guys up.

Thank goodness they didn't have to study. 

[DeWayneCarter]

I also think that RMC should have been hosting. They won the ODAC. Point blank period. The last couple of years, the way the ODAC has been, any team that won that leauge (save for the 09 VWC squad) should have hosted it. Also, homecourt advantage does play a large part in winning a ballgame. The VWC players didn't have to break their normal routine.. got to chill in their dorms with their friends, families, playing video games, watching ESPN etc etc... anything they normally do during home games, they did it and won both games this weekend. When you are able to play a big game in your comfort zone it does wonders for your confidence. They didnt have to get used to a new area or a different gym or a raucous student section going against them. There is no telling what would have happened had VWC been facing that 9 point deficit in the 2nd half AT F&M. The backing of the home crowd played a part in that game.. and contrary to the beliefs of the F&M posters who had something to say about the VWC student section being "crappy" and "lousy" and that they showed no support, the Batten was rocking, and they sure did shut you guys up.

Thank goodness they didn't have to study. 

etc etc encompasses a wide range of activities, including studying haha