MBB: Landmark Conference

[ronk]

The Centennial played Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week.  Not much time to recover.

The Landmark does this also 1 week in January each year; this year it was last week, part of 6 games in 11 days for Scranton.

[ronk]

Injuries? Recovery time?
Please.
The reality of the situation is the Landmark had it right when they started & they've been screwing with success ever since.
Do the UAA & NESCAC play 2 games on the weekend?
Answer: YES.
Do both conferences have some distance to travel between Friday & Sunday?
Answer: Most definitely.
Especially the UAA whose schools are running out of the gym on Friday evening & catching flights to their next destination for Sunday's game more often than not.
But don't their players ever get hurt/tired?
Answer: Clown question bro.
Question; What about academics at these schools...are the kids getting enough time to study?
Answer: Some of the best & brightest student/athletes in the land...you tell me.
Do these conferences actually win championships?
Answer: Please look up the resume's of Wash U, Amherst, Williams & NYU.
Time for the Landmark to shelve their current setup & return to men & women playing at the same sites with Friday/Sunday games.
I also know that beyond the whining of MMA over this setup, Moravian was also a big pain constantly crying over the cost of travel etc.
You're either in or out...have your school spring for the extra travel or go back to the MAC.

One would think that Moravian would be the geographical center of the Landmark and would have the lowest cost of travel.

[CardsFan]

D-Mac and I have disagreed on the schedule issue for years!  I was a big proponent since before they made the change.

Catholic-Scranton is the last game of the season for both teams.  Pretty solid match-up, yes?

What real "geographic" rivalries does this conference have? 

The fact that other conferences play all weekend games isn't an affirmative reason why it should be done.  I still think this format makes more sense from a competition standpoint.   It was very hard to gain and sustain momentum when you only play once a week.  If you're playing well, you want to get back out there and keep it going, if you're not, you don't want to have to sit around all week waiting for a chance to turn it around.

Matt I agree no real rivalries in the landmark. I beg someone to point one out other than Catholic and Scranton.

Serious question: Do our Scranton people consider Scranton-CUA a genuine rivalry? By Landmark standards I guess it is since Scranton is the only school CUA has any history with in conference tournament play. I don't think it's a rivalry until CUA beats Scranton in a high-stakes game.

[ronk]

D-Mac and I have disagreed on the schedule issue for years!  I was a big proponent since before they made the change.

Catholic-Scranton is the last game of the season for both teams.  Pretty solid match-up, yes?

What real "geographic" rivalries does this conference have? 

The fact that other conferences play all weekend games isn't an affirmative reason why it should be done.  I still think this format makes more sense from a competition standpoint.   It was very hard to gain and sustain momentum when you only play once a week.  If you're playing well, you want to get back out there and keep it going, if you're not, you don't want to have to sit around all week waiting for a chance to turn it around.

Matt I agree no real rivalries in the landmark. I beg someone to point one out other than Catholic and Scranton.

Serious question: Do our Scranton people consider Scranton-CUA a genuine rivalry? By Landmark standards I guess it is since Scranton is the only school CUA has any history with in conference tournament play. I don't think it's a rivalry until CUA beats Scranton in a high-stakes game.

We're probably manufacturing a rivalry here between Scranton & Catholic; while these 2 have won all but 1 of the 8 Landmark men's bball championships, they've only met twice in the final game. Inhibiting factors to having a rivalry include the relative newness of the conference and the fact that half of the games are played in January when most students are on intersession break. It's hard to sense a rivalry game in the presence of 200 fans, although more should be in attendance tomorrow because of the added attraction of the women's game.

[saratoga]

Ronk:

The Moravian issue isn't about miles.
Their credit rating has been significantly lowered & as recently as 2012, they had serious borrowing issues.
Take a look at their basketball schedules over the time they've been in the Landmark...they never travel for tournaments in San Juan, Florida or Las Vegas.
I think the furthest trip they had was several years ago to Boston.
Other than that, they play as close to home as possible.
In 2013, the school made a decision that restricted students from moving off campus because too many dorm rooms were empty and the cost of heating & maintenance was becoming difficult with so few students in them to begin with.
I think they are in a position that leaves them with very little room for things some other schools take for granted.

[Matt Letourneau]

True.  I guess the other thing I would throw into the mix is that they're similar to each other--both Catholic, roughly the same size, good reputations for academics, get "cross-shopped" a fair amount by prospective students, and they've both had consistently successful basketball programs.

I'm not knocking anybody else in the conference, I'm just saying that Catholic and Scranton have a similar profile, and are almost always both competing at a high level in a conference. 

Now, as a Catholic fan I would love to see more parity in the results!  But as a Red Sox fan, I would also attest to the fact that you could certainly have a one-sided rivalry for a long time; it doesn't diminish in intensity.  And when the shoe does flip, it sure is sweet.

The only other team in this conference Catholic ever has had a rivalry with is Goucher, but that's history at this point.  Back when Goucher was really good in the mid-90s, success + geography, some colorful coaches, and the fact that the schools were otherwise polar opposites made that fun.  But I really don't see that anymore.  Who knows, maybe others will develop at some point.

I wouldn't necessarily say its worked out this way, but one of the reasons I like the current schedule is that at least at Catholic, student attendance was better on weeknights. It was a fun, easy, and relatively quick thing to do and it was easier to round up a bunch of people to go to the game.  Weekends were a mixed bag, and more for alumni and grownups since the students are spread out.  That may be more of a product of being in DC though, there's a lot of competition on a weekend.

[NEPAFAN]

True.  I guess the other thing I would throw into the mix is that they're similar to each other--both Catholic, roughly the same size, good reputations for academics, get "cross-shopped" a fair amount by prospective students, and they've both had consistently successful basketball programs.

I'm not knocking anybody else in the conference, I'm just saying that Catholic and Scranton have a similar profile, and are almost always both competing at a high level in a conference. 

Now, as a Catholic fan I would love to see more parity in the results!  But as a Red Sox fan, I would also attest to the fact that you could certainly have a one-sided rivalry for a long time; it doesn't diminish in intensity.  And when the shoe does flip, it sure is sweet.

The only other team in this conference Catholic ever has had a rivalry with is Goucher, but that's history at this point.  Back when Goucher was really good in the mid-90s, success + geography, some colorful coaches, and the fact that the schools were otherwise polar opposites made that fun.  But I really don't see that anymore.  Who knows, maybe others will develop at some point.

I wouldn't necessarily say its worked out this way, but one of the reasons I like the current schedule is that at least at Catholic, student attendance was better on weeknights. It was a fun, easy, and relatively quick thing to do and it was easier to round up a bunch of people to go to the game.  Weekends were a mixed bag, and more for alumni and grownups since the students are spread out.  That may be more of a product of being in DC though, there's a lot of competition on a weekend.

I also go back to the pre-Landmark days when Catholic and Scranton would play on Thanksgiving weekend and Catholic always got the better of Scranton. Back in those days you actually had to go to D3hoops Scoreboard to check results and read the box scores and recaps.

[CardsFan]

Obviously a big win today for the Cardinals in Scranton. Really strong first half performance from freshman Andre Mitchell. He's been starting for most of the season now and has been pretty solid as another ball handler, allowing Fonville to focus on scoring more, but in conference play Mitchell has really been playing very well, gaining a lot of confidence.

Unfortunately I didn't make the trip up, but the guys calling the game made a couple of interesting points. First, Vitkus being in foul trouble in the first half seemed to really disrupt Scranton's offensive flow because their high-low game with him and Boken was killing CUA. I don't know if too many teams in conference will be able to deal with that on a consistent basis. Second, the shooting from the Scranton guards was off all day. They were wondering what happened to Marcus Thomas, who hit 2 threes in the first few minutes and then hardly played for the rest of the game (16 minutes).

Finally, I have to single out Brendan Boken. What a special player. Very good player as a freshman and has just gotten better and better. Definitely one of the top 2 or 3 players this conference has ever had. Nobody has an answer for him.

[NEPAFAN]

Really scratching my head. Royals look flat as flat can be. Turnovers, missed shots, out of sync. They fall behind by 20 for the 3rd time this month. The Royals have 3 players who can score on a consistent basis and Danzig goes to the same players over and over again. 0 bench points.  Believe the Royals have been figured out.

Not a fan of the Women's game, but Trevor has reinvigorated that program, and they have a great inside-outside game.

[ronk]

  The Royals will probably have to win @ Sus or Catholic to make the playoffs, barring upsets from the lowest 3 teams.

My personal standings for playoff contention:

Susquehanna - +2
Catholic        -  +1
Drew              - 0
Juniata           - 0
Scranton        - -1
MMA              - -2

Big games this week:

Catholic-Jun   Wed
MMA-Catholic  Sat

Projected final standings

Sus              13-3
Catholic        12-4
Drew             11-5
Juniata          11-5
Scr                10-6
MMA               9-7

[San Juan]

Another night no defense from 3 land Catholic 11 of 23 from 3pt land.Scranton is done no intensity on defense at all that's all I have to say.

[saratoga]

Stick a fork in these Royals...they are done!
No intensity, no emotion, no defense, no coaching leadership!
Danzig spends all of 3 minutes in the locker room at halftime then comes up & sits on the bench by himself & pouts.
Please...this act is getting way too old.
Against Drew they fall behind 20-3 yet somehow manage to win.
Against Goucher they are losing the entire game & pull it out at the end.
Against MMA they are getting pummeled all game yet manage to almost pull that one out until a mystery call against them with .08 seconds on the clock.
Bottom line, they are not coming out ready to play.
They play with no defensive intensity, they play like they've never gone through a walk through on the team they're playing & this coach has simply never recruited well.
I really feel Brenden Boken is one of the best players to ever put on a Royal uniform & Danzig has done little to compliment his game with a point that can distribute & set up other options.
In last years Sweet 16 game vs. Babson, Boken had 17 points while the Royals senior backcourt had a combined 15 points.
In fact, in this game, the big senior tandem of Danzig & Klingman were a combined 2 for 12 from behind the arc.
Brenden Boken has to play night in & night out against kids far bigger than he & most games he's double teamed from the start.
Through it all, he's in double figures every night & most games its a double/double.
This kid, regardless of how early the Royals season ends, deserves All-America status for the effort he brings every night.
If their coach could ever bring that same desire & passion (much like their women's coach), they might be on to something.

[saratoga]

PS.
Kudo's to Catholic...clearly the better team.

[Matt Letourneau]

Not having seen the game, what stood out in the box score for me was that fact that Howard had a quiet game, apparently due to foul trouble.  If you had told me that Howard would have 6 points I wouldn't have loved CUA's chances. 

CardsFan is right about Mitchell though--he's a big difference maker as a freshman for Catholic.  Getting better as the season goes on. 

[NEPAFAN]

Stick a fork in these Royals...they are done!
No intensity, no emotion, no defense, no coaching leadership!
Danzig spends all of 3 minutes in the locker room at halftime then comes up & sits on the bench by himself & pouts.

They mentioned that on the radio broadcast as well. Again , same players getting the bulk of minutes and you expect different results is the definition of insanity. Let's give some of the other kids on the bench a shot , including the leading scoring in Nassau County last year.

Excited for the energy that has enveloped the Women's program.