MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[thescottharris]

So where does H-SC's season land on a 1-10 scale of surprises.  To think this team and program that has been down right awful the past two seasons could do this in the first year of a new coach (who I would figure would be in the running for ODAC Coach of the Year) is pretty unbelievable.  I know it will come back down to earth as they close with a tough stretch, but with football having a dreadful season it is awesome to see this!

I would say Coach Kimbrough is the frontrunner for ODAC COTY.

It's a two-horse race between him and Merkel. Guess it depends on if you want to give it to the coach that went undefeated in the league or how it's more often awarded - to the coach of the team that overachieved significantly. Either way you can't go wrong, but this turn around is very unexpected. They won't finish in the standings where they are now but who in their right mind would have said HSC would be in the top 4 of the league standings in the beginning of February. This team ranked 375th out of 428 teams on the Massey Ratings last year and is 109th this season. If they manage to knock off one of the next four opponents and stay competitive or mildly competitive with the other three, they should finish somewhere on the top 100. This is assuming they don't take a terrible L on Senior Day to Bridgewater.

[rmc1982]

So where does H-SC's season land on a 1-10 scale of surprises.  To think this team and program that has been down right awful the past two seasons could do this in the first year of a new coach (who I would figure would be in the running for ODAC Coach of the Year) is pretty unbelievable.  I know it will come back down to earth as they close with a tough stretch, but with football having a dreadful season it is awesome to see this!

I would say Coach Kimbrough is the frontrunner for ODAC COTY.

He would get my vote if I had one!! He's done one heck of a job!! My youngest is a Senior at HSC and he tells me that if it weren't for him a bunch of the players would have quit after the debacle they had with Dee Vick! Now he says those same kids would run into a brick wall for him and that the entire campus is behind him! That's got to do wonders for his recruiting, also!My guess would be next year, or maybe 2,  3 years they will be back in the thick of the ODAC hunt!

[y_jack_lok]

In the latest top 25 W&L received one vote, so was ranked #25 on one ballot. R-MC holds steady at #3 -- but one voter ranked them #1. Could that be the same person who voted for W&L? This is week #9 in the voting and the first week since week #4 that Swarthmore hasn't been unanimous #1, even though they remain undefeated. St. Johns (Minn) is #2 and received three first place votes. Virginia Wesleyan moved up three spots from 18th to 15th.

[Pat Coleman]

R-MC holds steady at #3 -- but one voter ranked them #1. Could that be the same person who voted for W&L?

There's a 4% chance. ::shrug::

[jknezek]

Still hoping for what I believe will be W&L's first ever appearance in the D3 Top 25...

[thescottharris]

So two upsets tonight as E&H beats Roanoke and Ferrum secures a season sweep of Guilford. Guilford has to be the most disappointing team in the league this year after winning the ODAC Tournament last year. 6-6 with four games left and three could very easily be losses.

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke loses at Emory and Henry 77-78.  All I can say is this was one of the worst games I've seen Roanoke play in a long time, it's hard to explain how bad they played but I'll try. I'll first off explain that Emory and Henry only had 8 players in uniform for this game.  In the first half Roanoke got up 22 points with about 7 minutes to play. Emory and Henry was playing out of control, taking shots within 5 seconds of getting the ball and were fouling a lot.  Roanoke on the offensive end was taking their time and getting lay ups as a result.  At this point in the game Roanoke decided that they would play like Emory and Henry and a very quick collapse ensued.

By half Roanoke was up 12, mainly because Emory and Henry was sending them to the foul line the last 5 minutes of the half.  In the second half, Roanoke didn't play defense and forced bad shots on the offensive end.  Emory and Henry hit some tough shots and got some lay ups as a result of the bad shots and some turnovers Roanoke forced.  Hats off to Emory and Henry for playing well under the circumstances, but man I can't help but be really disappointed how Roanoke lost a very winnable game.

[y_jack_lok]

On December 4th Bridgewater lost by 42 points at R-MC. I went back and looked at the box score and my comment about that game. The Eagles had a great stretch in the first 11 minutes of the second half, but had started poorly and finished poorly.

Last njght at BC was a much better game overall for the Eagles. R-MC had a 22 point lead with 8:20 left which BC cut to 11 in the next four minutes. R-MC was able to recover and hold on for an 83-69 win. That's the second most points scored against the Jackets this season, the most being 70 by Mary Washington who gave R-MC its only loss. BC is a good team and, if they get in, could be a surprise in the ODAC tournament.

The announcers questioned several times the officials' failure to call Buzz Anthony for using his arm against his defenders. In the games I attend live a lot of that does seem to go uncalled. So I'm curious if anyone knows the rule related to that.

[thescottharris]

On December 4th Bridgewater lost by 42 points at R-MC. I went back and looked at the box score and my comment about that game. The Eagles had a great stretch in the first 11 minutes of the second half, but had started poorly and finished poorly.

Last njght at BC was a much better game overall for the Eagles. R-MC had a 22 point lead with 8:20 left which BC cut to 11 in the next four minutes. R-MC was able to recover and hold on for an 83-69 win. That's the second most points scored against the Jackets this season, the most being 70 by Mary Washington who gave R-MC its only loss. BC is a good team and, if they get in, could be a surprise in the ODAC tournament.

The announcers questioned several times the officials' failure to call Buzz Anthony for using his arm against his defenders. In the games I attend live a lot of that does seem to go uncalled. So I'm curious if anyone knows the rule related to that.

As long as he isn't extending the arm fully to push off, grabbing, or hooking, players can hold up their arm.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Thanks. I tried a couple of times to watch for what the announcers were referring to but never had a good enough view to really tell.

[rmc1982]

Two articles in Richmond paper today! One on Buzz https://www.richmond.com/sports/college/plus/the-buzz-in-ashland-a---yellow-jackets-team/article_41db0638-0777-559f-bd39-797c47c9ec82.html and another on Caleb Kimbrough at HSC https://www.richmond.com/sports/college/plus/hampden-sydney-basketball-enjoying-quick-turnaround-under-coach-caleb-kimbrough/article_e04da210-cba4-53ee-aade-9af0357fe98a.html

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Thanks for posting those links. I'd love to read both articles but, not being a digital subscriber, I cam't access them -- which seems odd to me as there is a Facebook group I am in where links to T-D articles sometimes get posted that I've been able to read. Maybe in a few days they will be archived and accessible.

Lynchburg at R-MC and Roanoke at H-SC seem like pretty big games in the ODAC today.

[Pat Coleman]

^^^ Thanks for posting those links. I'd love to read both articles but, not being a digital subscriber, I cam't access them -- which seems odd to me as there is a Facebook group I am in where links to T-D articles sometimes get posted that I've been able to read. Maybe in a few days they will be archived and accessible.

Some publications will post links in social media which allow users to bypass the paywall. That might be what you are experiencing.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Hmmm. I suppose that could be it. But the articles I see in that FB group are usually posted by a group member, not the T-D. But, then, it might be that the T-D first posted them in the way you mentioned. Anyway, thanks for that info.

[rmc1982]

^^^ Thanks for posting those links. I'd love to read both articles but, not being a digital subscriber, I cam't access them -- which seems odd to me as there is a Facebook group I am in where links to T-D articles sometimes get posted that I've been able to read. Maybe in a few days they will be archived and accessible.

Lynchburg at R-MC and Roanoke at H-SC seem like pretty big games in the ODAC today.

sorry y_jack_lok!! Both were pretty good!! Jackets deserved to lose today but pulled it out in OT 85-82 on a 3 at the buzzer in OT by Ian Robertson!! We were out rebounded by Lynchburg by a whopping 51-29! They crashed the boards all day and should have won in Crenshaw. Jackets really missed Josh Talbert today- ankle injury in the Bridgewater game and is out a game or two I think.... Buzz was the "ICEMAN" down the stretch... but he wasn't the only one...others came thru in the clutch too!! Good teams find ways to win and we did today... GREAT effort by Lynchburg in our house!!!