MBB: Landmark Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

That 0-2 is weird to say the least. I suspect Trinity was looking past a team we all know can be very good, but the challenges of that school and their requirements never allow them to be consistent.

As for Goucher... what did I say earlier? LOL I am just kidding. I thought they might give up a good fight, but didn't expect them to hang in and take it to Juniata. I am sure the Eagles may complain about officiating (their fans certainly did). The officials allowed a lot, but called stuff when it went too far. Goucher got really aggressive in the second half especially on offense - taking it to the middle hard - and Juniata was on their heels quickly.

To be honest, nice to see Goucher playing with passion and an understanding they can win games. They will still be streaky and will lose games that may not make sense, but they have made a turn it appears. Another note, one of the biggest and loudest pro-Goucher crowds I have seen at the SRC in years. Even cheering on the women's score updates when given. President sat front row leading the cheers - he has shown up now to more basketball games than the last two presidents combined. There is just a different feel.

But enough about that... no point in raising hopes just yet. There is a lot of work to be done.

Conference race is going to be interesting. I figured Susquehanna would drop one if not both at CUA and Scranton... but 21 points by giving up 101? Didn't see that score coming. I still think SUS is the top team in the conference by far. CUA is probably second, Scranton third, with Juniata and others fighting it out for fourth... which I think will get more interesting in the next few weeks.

[CardsFan]

First, from a neutral point of view tonight's Catholic-Susquehanna was just a terrific basketball game to watch. Now having seen Susquehanna in person, they are a really really good team. All of their players are a threat. Josh Miller is just fun to watch.

Now from a Cardinal perspective they need to bottle whatever was the plan tonight and use that for the rest of the season. Given the level of opponent, that's the most comprehensive performance CUA has put together in a good while. In the past I've worried that the team doesn't always get geared up for big games, but that wasn't a problem tonight. Fonville was ready to go from the very start and at times was simply unplayable. Corey Stanford had possibly his most complete game of the season with 15 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists.

Special mention for Kevin Phanord. Finally got some extended playing time and was all over the place. Points, steals, rebounds. He was always in the right place at the right time.

It's just one game and consistency hasn't been Catholic's strongest trait this season, but tonight was a glimpse of what this team is capable of.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I didn't get to watch it.  From the box score it appears neither team played any defense.  Is that true or were guys just hitting tough shots on both sides of the court?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

To be blunt, Catholic hasn't been playing defense all season. Been the theme of the year.

[ronk]

That 0-2 is weird to say the least. I suspect Trinity was looking past a team we all know can be very good, but the challenges of that school and their requirements never allow them to be consistent.

As for Goucher... what did I say earlier? LOL I am just kidding. I thought they might give up a good fight, but didn't expect them to hang in and take it to Juniata. I am sure the Eagles may complain about officiating (their fans certainly did). The officials allowed a lot, but called stuff when it went too far. Goucher got really aggressive in the second half especially on offense - taking it to the middle hard - and Juniata was on their heels quickly.

To be honest, nice to see Goucher playing with passion and an understanding they can win games. They will still be streaky and will lose games that may not make sense, but they have made a turn it appears. Another note, one of the biggest and loudest pro-Goucher crowds I have seen at the SRC in years. Even cheering on the women's score updates when given. President sat front row leading the cheers - he has shown up now to more basketball games than the last two presidents combined. There is just a different feel.

But enough about that... no point in raising hopes just yet. There is a lot of work to be done.

Conference race is going to be interesting. I figured Susquehanna would drop one if not both at CUA and Scranton... but 21 points by giving up 101? Didn't see that score coming. I still think SUS is the top team in the conference by far. CUA is probably second, Scranton third, with Juniata and others fighting it out for fourth... which I think will get more interesting in the next few weeks.

Just changing the atmosphere at the game is a  big positive change; saw the final 2 mins and crowd seemed alive-more will go to the next one and, if they hadn't given that game away to Scranton, they'd be in the mix for a playoff spot.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The crowd was insanely different right from the get-go. I haven't had a crowd already cheering for my opening phrase before lineups, "and your Goucher College Gophers," and it not be half-hearted in a long time. They were into the game from the start and didn't give up on the team even when they got down early. It was great to see and I really hope they show up more often. It was the first day of school, I believe, of the new semester (pushed back two days due to the storm), so its a good sign they are there with classes the next day.

They still might enter the playoff mix if they keep this up. That Scranton loss is tough, but they have to learn to win games and close out games. That isn't easy to learn let alone teach.

[CardsFan]

I didn't get to watch it.  From the box score it appears neither team played any defense.  Is that true or were guys just hitting tough shots on both sides of the court?

While d-mac is right that Catholic's defense has been MIA most of the season, a big part tonight was people just hitting shots. Both teams came into the game averaging over 80 in league play. I admit there were a number of head-scratching moments defensively for Catholic, but the offenses deserve some credit.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I didn't get to watch it.  From the box score it appears neither team played any defense.  Is that true or were guys just hitting tough shots on both sides of the court?

While d-mac is right that Catholic's defense has been MIA most of the season, a big part tonight was people just hitting shots. Both teams came into the game averaging over 80 in league play. I admit there were a number of head-scratching moments defensively for Catholic, but the offenses deserve some credit.

Both teams shot ridiculously high percentages.

[NEPAFAN]

Anyone catch Vitkus' dunk last night on a put back? Was waiting to see in on Sportscenter...

[Swish3]

If that kid knew some post moves, he'd be dangerous...to me, he looked coordinated and athletic, which isn't the case for a lot of big guys in this division.

[NEPAFAN]

Here is the dunk I was referring to ..


https://twitter.com/ScrantonBball/status/692860727661432833

[CardsFan]

Well the free-flowing, end-to-end action of Wednesday night was replaced by the end-to-end action of walking from foul line to foul line today in DC. 59 combined fouls. 77 combined free throws. The inevitable letdown from playing Susquehanna was evident in Catholic's play today as everything was just a step off, but all of the free points allowed Catholic to build a huge lead and then just coast to the end. Only 1 starter played more than 25 minutes and the bench guys were able to get extended time today. That hasn't always been the case.

To more interesting conference stuff, I see Drew won their game vs. Juniata today. Big win for them. Not a good week for the Eagles. They're gonna have to do it the hard way now. This week gives them Susquehanna and Scranton. 9-7 or 10-6 in conference seems more likely for them now.

[ronk]

After today's action:

My personal standings for playoff contention:

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

Big games this week:

Sus-Jun       Wed
Drew-MMA   Wed       Bye: Gou
Jun-Scr        Sat
CUA-Drew    Sat         Bye: MMA

Projected final standings

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

[sp0rtsfan]

I'm really looking forward to the Feb. 13 Royals game as the '76 Rockin' Royals Return To the Long Center ...It will be good to see the guys again...I'm especially hopeful that "Jackson",  "Edzo", and "Fly" will be there...I witnessed that game at Albright and will never forget it ..Somehow 17 fans managed to climb into and on top of my car for the late night post game parade around Reading...Unreal !!   

[ronk]

I'm really looking forward to the Feb. 13 Royals game as the '76 Rockin' Royals Return To the Long Center ...It will be good to see the guys again...I'm especially hopeful that "Jackson",  "Edzo", and "Fly" will be there...I witnessed that game at Albright and will never forget it ..Somehow 17 fans managed to climb into and on top of my car for the late night post game parade around Reading...Unreal !!

  I was there for the semifinal against Augustana, but I don't remember now why I missed the final.