MBB: Landmark Conference

cold_case · January 15, 2010, 03:30:43 PM

Quote from: lefty2 on January 15, 2010, 03:17:32 PM
Quote from: cold_case on January 15, 2010, 01:21:15 PM
Lefty, what time do the Steelers kickoff........oh, wait a minute.

That just never gets old.... oh, wait a minute.

You get karma for that.

hoopit123 · January 15, 2010, 04:25:45 PM

Quote from: tpm4286 on January 15, 2010, 01:00:09 PM
Goucher will handle Drew on Saturday and gain confidence out of that game going into USMMA. The Sunday game will be good with Goucher winning. You never bet against Momentum and it seems like Goucher has it.

be careful...sorta like SU was going to handle goucher last weekend and battle with CUA (coming off a blowout win against a 23-win, ncaa tourney team in Brooklyn days before). momentum can very easily creep up and make teams overlook potentially lesser opponents--especially ones not used to it and who are amped up to take on the better opponent in usmma the following day. gotta get thru friday night first.

and ALSO...how is usmma not riding momentum as well? its tough to say even on a good night for goucher while riding momentum will top a mediocre night, with confidence behind them as well, from usmma.

susiddad · January 15, 2010, 05:03:46 PM

Knock Knock
Whose there?
Drew
Drew who?
Just Drew....

A joke.

susiddad · January 15, 2010, 05:16:11 PM

On a more serious note:
after my 5-3 weekend last week here are the highly anticipated weekly picks by yours truly:

SU vs. Moravian - Boring game, but SU gets a few freshman in there and remind Moravian its gonna be like this for the next few years.
Scranton vs. Juniata - Scranton by 6 (and yes, scranton season is on the line here) Great matchup, but i just dont see the Eagles ending Scrantons season.
Scranton vs. SU - Scranton by 2 (devastating loss) Now all the anti-Danzig guys pretend they didnt see the hoops this weekend and actually wake up looking at the stnadings ands realizing that the Royals are looking pretty darn good.
Moravian vs. Juniata - Moravian by 8 (Cannon and Ferko get tossed out of gym for tech's from the stands) You can now cross Juniata out of the palyoff hunt.
Drew vs. Goucher - Big game and I mean a big one. I dont think one line is enough space to predict the outcome, but I will try and keep it short. Drew by 2. My apologies for those in attendance.
CUA vs. USMMA - IMO the worst matchup for USMMA. Guards are fast enough and tough from CUA, not necessarily as good. The CUA frontcourt is as tough and slightly more skilled then USMMA. Upset special right here. I am sure CUA will rush the court after and jump around like they just won their 3rd landmark title....oh wait. They haven't won their 1st!
USMMA vs. Goucher - Coming of a loss to CUA Goucher might lose this one by 43.
Drew Catholic - Refs bail out Catholic down the stretch of a game they easily could have lost.

You're all welcome for the wonderful tips and insight.

NEPAFAN · January 15, 2010, 05:22:37 PM

Any way you can do some live blogging during the games this weekend?

Ronk,

Video or no video at Juniata?

ronk · January 15, 2010, 05:53:04 PM

Nepa,
They do have video at Juniata-just turned on the women's game.

BCannon · January 15, 2010, 10:05:02 PM

Said it last week and I'll say it again, JC is a playoff team this yr...they played very well against Catholic and came out flat against Goucher who had problly their best game of the season...I know one of the Scranton followers offered up Farrell as a ROY, but if the season continues as is its between him and Alex Raymond from JC.

ronk · January 15, 2010, 11:42:30 PM

Raymond did have a very good 2nd half. Couldn't believe the depth of his kneebend on his foul-shooting routine. He made them all-but down the line ,late in the game...

NEPAFAN · January 16, 2010, 11:42:49 AM

Quote from: BCannon on January 15, 2010, 10:05:02 PM
Said it last week and I'll say it again, JC is a playoff team this yr...they played very well against Catholic and came out flat against Goucher who had problly their best game of the season...I know one of the Scranton followers offered up Farrell as a ROY, but if the season continues as is its between him and Alex Raymond from JC.

BCannon,

I was the royal follower who touted Farrell. The other day I saw the stats on Raymond...I think he has the edge right now. I also agree with you on JC being a playoff team. Scranton is still giving up way to many offensive rebounds and second chance points. Nice to watch some of the video of the game, I thought I saw some recruits behind the Royals bench, but that could be my imagination!

Dave 'd-mac' McHugh · January 16, 2010, 03:38:45 PM

Quote from: BCannon on January 15, 2010, 10:05:02 PM
Said it last week and I'll say it again, JC is a playoff team this yr...they played very well against Catholic and came out flat against Goucher who had problly their best game of the season...I know one of the Scranton followers offered up Farrell as a ROY, but if the season continues as is its between him and Alex Raymond from JC.

BCannon - that was not Goucher's best game of the season against JC... their best game was the night before against SU. JC did come out flat, but had a chance late in the game as Goucher flattered down the stretch, but couldn't put it away. The battle for #4 in this conference is going to be a good one... it could be a three or four horse race.

CC - as for the Ravens/Colts... I think it will be a very tight game and I wouldn't be surprised with a Ravens win. The Colts haven't played a full 60 minute game in a month and may have shot themselves in the foot benching starters in a close game against the Jets. Their run defense is giving up about 113 yards/game and the Ravens come in with one of the most dangerous running games in the NFL. The Colts secondary is giving up about 220 some-odd yards per game... something the Ravens may be able to take advantage for on occasion. The Ravens defense certainly is playing much better in the second-half of the season. The secondary is certainly questionable, but with Reed back and a pass rush that certainly had the Patriots on their heels... the secondary might not be as exposed. Though, for Ravens fans, they just hope it doesn't come down to a 42 yard FG for Stover to try and win it!

Quote from: hoopit123 on January 14, 2010, 11:41:44 PM
it is VERY early to start talking about home court advantages...3 games in? c'mon. what if goucher doesnt lose again---including beating CUA!! even though you say CUA will have little trouble over the next six weeks (VERY BOLD statement--they just lost to a freshman-laden SU team), as we have seen this season, almost anything can happen. if you are going to make any early assumptions, it should be that usmma will walk away with the conference title. consistency, success...they have everything clicking right now. does cUA? no. anyone else? NO! no one else has proven themselves, while i feel thus far usmma has made a statement. if anyone, THEY will have very little trouble over the next six weeks. as for everyone else---we should be worrying about MAKING THE PLAYOFFS before we worry about who will host--geesh.

Goucher will lose again, for starters. Their game is improved, but I don't think it is good enough to run the table from this point on. Scranton isn't worrying anyone this season; SU has problems they have to address before they can make a run; leaving CUA and MMA. Remember, CUA already has tie-breaker advantage over most teams. And I can't say MMA will walk away with the conference title. I am not as impressed with their season. They certainly have had good wins, but I think it may be a bit of smoke and mirrors. Today's game against CUA will show us if this is true or not. Again, if MMA walks out with a win, they have the early track to that home-court advantage (two games up with tie-breaker against CUA).

As for whether anyone else has proven themselves... that is exactly my point. CUA vs. MMA will probably detemine the home-court advantage strickly because NO ONE ELSE has proven they will battle for the top of this conference. I think MMA will struggle a bit more as the weeks come as CUA will gain confidence. So, if MMA wins today, they have a cushion to deal with those struggles. If CUA wins, they gain a tie on top and the advantage, in my mind, for the end of the season.

ronk · January 16, 2010, 03:59:25 PM

I'd say the advantages are to Scr, Sus, and Mor for winning on the road and negative to CUA and Drew for losing at home.

Matt Letourneau · January 16, 2010, 09:25:01 PM

CUA 72 USMMA 70

Dave 'd-mac' McHugh · January 16, 2010, 09:31:49 PM

Saw this one coming... Drew 50 Goucher 42. Goucher was acting way too cocky before the game and before warm-ups and simply did not come out with any urgency... and they certainly do not know how to find urgency when the game calls for it. Every time Goucher crawled back to within two or even tie the game, Drew would go on a run to go up 7 or 8 (finished the second half on a 10-0 run).

Drew played a pretty good game and certainly shot well when they needed to. Goucher shot horribly from the free throw line, even for them. Not optimistic for tomorrow against Merchant Marine... but we will see...

cold_case · January 16, 2010, 11:52:37 PM

Quote from: Dave 'd-mac' McHugh on January 16, 2010, 03:38:45 PM

CC - as for the Ravens/Colts... I think it will be a very tight game and I wouldn't be surprised with a Ravens win. The Colts haven't played a full 60 minute game in a month and may have shot themselves in the foot benching starters in a close game against the Jets. Their run defense is giving up about 113 yards/game and the Ravens come in with one of the most dangerous running games in the NFL. The Colts secondary is giving up about 220 some-odd yards per game... something the Ravens may be able to take advantage for on occasion. The Ravens defense certainly is playing much better in the second-half of the season. The secondary is certainly questionable, but with Reed back and a pass rush that certainly had the Patriots on their heels... the secondary might not be as exposed. Though, for Ravens fans, they just hope it doesn't come down to a 42 yard FG for Stover to try and win it!

Dave, you misunderstood me. I was referring to you claiming you would bet you never said Goucher is the future of the Landmark Conference. Since you lost that bet, I was hoping you would place another wager on the Ravens in hopes of you keeping your betting streak intact. You know, negative result.

Judging by the final score, perhaps you did place a wager on the Ravens.

Matt Letourneau · January 17, 2010, 01:42:17 AM

Kind of an odd game tonight for CUA--I was watching online so I didn't quite get the whole picture, but Catholic shot the ball very well but committed a lot of turnovers--22, I believe it was. They played very well on defense and seemed to be making an effort to score in transition more which I think is a good idea.

Banzhaf only had 8 points, but had 12 boards. For the second "1st game" in a row, it was Dixon that went off and had a great night.

CUA had the game pretty much in control but nearly lost it at the free throw line--partly because the wrong guy was taking free throws at the end (Reed)--only because he came up with 2 big rebounds. For the record, Susdad--free throws and fouls were dead even until MMA fouled on purpose a couple of times at the end. As it was, I think CUA was only +4 in attempts.

Obviously a big win for them. Need to keep up the intensity tomorrow against Drew.