MBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

Augie has a new line of hats & shirts to be sold at the Long Center & autographed by Coach Bob Bessoir...
"Make Scranton Great Again...bring me back"

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah

[Matt Letourneau]

Totally unrelated, but congratulations to former Catholic star Bryson Fonville who is holding down an NBA D-League Roster spot.  Bryson is with the Texas Legends, an affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks.  He's averaging about 13 minutes a game and playing against D1 and international competition. 

I can't think of another Landmark player that has gone on to play that level of basketball, so this is quite an accomplishment even if he doesn't ever see the big club's roster. 

http://dleague.nba.com/player/bryson-fonville/

[NEPAFAN]

Augie:

Ryan is our national columnist. He has no affiliation with Neumann or the CSAC.

More than that, I'm more skeptical than most on Neumann's strength vis-a-vis the rest of the country.  I'm not sure they're even a Top 25 squad, but, from what I've seen so far, I suspect they still might be better than anyone in the Landmark.  A lot will be worked out over the next few weeks.  The Landmark schools have some good games on tap and I may well be wrong, but I've not seen anything on the floor that leads me to consider them contenders.

8-0 and have an average win margin of 24 points. Give me 25 better teams right now. They have a 6'9 player might be the only time all year Vitkus is at a height disadvantage.

[mailsy]

That game between Scranton and Neumann is going to be an interesting game tomorrow night. I want to see what Scranton has against the Knights. Cabrini plays Neumann next Thursday and Scranton beat Cabrini earlier this year. Not that that means a lot, but...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

That game between Scranton and Neumann is going to be an interesting game tomorrow night. I want to see what Scranton has against the Knights. Cabrini plays Neumann next Thursday and Scranton beat Cabrini earlier this year. Not that that means a lot, but...

I'm gonna try and get there; it's only like 45 minutes from my house, but not sure yet if I'll make it.  Might be a lunchtime decision tomorrow. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Augie:

Ryan is our national columnist. He has no affiliation with Neumann or the CSAC.

More than that, I'm more skeptical than most on Neumann's strength vis-a-vis the rest of the country.  I'm not sure they're even a Top 25 squad, but, from what I've seen so far, I suspect they still might be better than anyone in the Landmark.  A lot will be worked out over the next few weeks.  The Landmark schools have some good games on tap and I may well be wrong, but I've not seen anything on the floor that leads me to consider them contenders.

8-0 and have an average win margin of 24 points. Give me 25 better teams right now. They have a 6'9 player might be the only time all year Vitkus is at a height disadvantage.

Here's the thing... average win margin means less to voters than you realize. Sure, it means something, but not as much as you think. If you aren't playing that tough a schedule, we would expect you to win big. That doesn't immediately equate to a Top 25 stature. Here is the other thing, there is so much parity and depth in Division III men's basketball that just because a team is winning and just because they are beating teams by an average of 24 doesn't immediately equate to anything. Because of parity, voters are diving far more into the numbers not only of the team in question, but their opponents.

And then I notice that four of the wins are against Saint Lawrence, Bard, King's, and Wilkes... not to mention a sub-par Cabrini squad (good, but not great like they used to be), and average Emory and Henry (though, I thought they would be better this season) and Montclair State. Plus, you can't ignore losses and they have lost to average Hobart and Arcadia.

I know people think I hate Scranton... that is farthest from the truth because I want to see this conference succeed and if that means Scranton, Catholic, and teams like Susquehanna are going to carry the torch, then I am rooting them on... however, the fact of the matter is Scranton has nothing on its resume that jumps out to voters. Ryan may get a chance to see them in person shortly and I will be interested in his take. I will see them in two weeks. We can then make our own individual opinions on them even better.

What will get Scranton ranked? Show they can beat Neumann, Gettysburg, Susquehanna, Goucher, Moravian, etc., etc., etc. by 24 points as well... that will be the true barometer.

By the way, who cares if Scranton is ranked right now? What does it get the team? It doesn't affect their NCAA standing at the end of the season, it shouldn't affect how they play (though, it puts a bigger target on their backs if they are ranked), and it doesn't determine how their schedule plays out the rest of the season. Enjoy the season. Let the chips fall where they fall and let's see what the Royals are up to in late February and maybe early March.

[NEPAFAN]

Cmon Dave it's clear I am talking about Neumann here. The fact that your mind went to Scranton shows how much you hate them 

[saratoga]

d-mac:

Seems to me you're kind of speaking out of both sides of your mouth.

On the one hand you state, "average win margin means less to voters than you realize".
"Just because a team is winning and just because they are beating teams by an average of 24 doesn't immediately equate to anything".

Ok...fair enough, but then you add this gem...

"What will get Scranton ranked? Show that they can beat Neumann, Gettysburg, Moravian, Susquehanna and Goucher etc. etc. etc. by 24 points as well.
That will be the true barometer".

That's kind of where you lost me...
On the one hand beating the teams Scranton has by 20 or so means nothing because they were against Bard & Sarah Lawrence etc. but if they somehow beat schools like Moravian & Goucher...the God's will smile upon them?

Didn't you just open up your post stating that average win margin "means less to the voters than you realize?

Then why do they then have to somehow beat the likes of Goucher by 20 plus to be noticed?

Look, none of us that have followed the Royals the past 15 years have any illusions of grandeur.
We're all well aware of what happens when the Royals set sail for the NCAA tournament.
One & done has a special meaning among the Scranton faithful once the brackets are announced and our coach proclaims he loves the matchup only to be trounced by, let's say...24.

The thing is personally I could care less who's rated & who's not or where a certain team is as opposed to another team.
I think all any fans want is a degree of consistency in what people are considering when making up these lists.

When you say margin of victory means squat, then don't turn around and say someone needs to win over someone by a certain margin.

As for todays matchup...

Scranton has one of its poorest shooting teams in 10 years.
When they can't buy a basket from the outside, their game gets ugly really fast.
They are slow
They are deliberate
They are not built to run
They are not assembled to play well from behind
Too many kids are getting big minutes without producing points, assists, steals or boards.
Scranton will generally win the games it should, lose a few to teams they shouldn't lose to & every now & then, they will surprise you & beat someone clearly better.
Doesn't happen very often & unfortunately, it probably won't happen today either.

Neumann 82/Scranton 65.

[saratoga]

d-mac:

Seems to me you're kind of speaking out of both sides of your mouth.

On the one hand you state, "average win margin means less to voters than you realize".
"Just because a team is winning and just because they are beating teams by an average of 24 doesn't immediately equate to anything".

Ok...fair enough, but then you add this gem...

"What will get Scranton ranked? Show that they can beat Neumann, Gettysburg, Moravian, Susquehanna and Goucher etc. etc. etc. by 24 points as well.
That will be the true barometer".

That's kind of where you lost me...
On the one hand beating the teams Scranton has by 20 or so means nothing because they were against Bard & Sarah Lawrence etc. but if they somehow beat schools like Moravian & Goucher...the God's will smile upon them?

Didn't you just open up your post stating that average win margin "means less to the voters than you realize?

Then why do they then have to somehow beat the likes of Goucher by 20 plus to be noticed?

Look, none of us that have followed the Royals the past 15 years have any illusions of grandeur.
We're all well aware of what happens when the Royals set sail for the NCAA tournament.
One & done has a special meaning among the Scranton faithful once the brackets are announced and our coach proclaims he loves the matchup only to be trounced by, let's say...24.

The thing is personally I could care less who's rated & who's not or where a certain team is as opposed to another team.
I think all any fans want is a degree of consistency in what people are considering when making up these lists.

When you say margin of victory means squat, then don't turn around and say someone needs to win over someone by a certain margin.

As for todays matchup...

Scranton has one of its poorest shooting teams in 10 years.
When they can't buy a basket from the outside, their game gets ugly really fast.
They are slow
They are deliberate
They are not built to run
They are not assembled to play well from behind
Too many kids are getting big minutes without producing points, assists, steals or boards.
Scranton will generally win the games it should, lose a few to teams they shouldn't lose to & every now & then, they will surprise you & beat someone clearly better.
Doesn't happen very often & unfortunately, it probably won't happen today either.

Neumann 82/Scranton 65.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm here at Neumann for the Scranton game, sitting behind the scorers table. If anyone is here, come say hello. Looks to be a good one.

[ronk]

 Dean Corwin is doing audio on WUSR of Scranton-Neumann

[ronk]

I'm here at Neumann for the Scranton game, sitting behind the scorers table. If anyone is here, come say hello. Looks to be a good one.

Ryan, you're welcome to visit with Dean Corwin(radio) at halftime.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's funny: the refs have NOT been good today, but I don't think I've disagreed with a single call the Scranton fans have been upset about.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

d-mac:

Seems to me you're kind of speaking out of both sides of your mouth.

On the one hand you state, "average win margin means less to voters than you realize".
"Just because a team is winning and just because they are beating teams by an average of 24 doesn't immediately equate to anything".

Ok...fair enough, but then you add this gem...

"What will get Scranton ranked? Show that they can beat Neumann, Gettysburg, Moravian, Susquehanna and Goucher etc. etc. etc. by 24 points as well.
That will be the true barometer".

That's kind of where you lost me...
On the one hand beating the teams Scranton has by 20 or so means nothing because they were against Bard & Sarah Lawrence etc. but if they somehow beat schools like Moravian & Goucher...the God's will smile upon them?

Didn't you just open up your post stating that average win margin "means less to the voters than you realize?

Then why do they then have to somehow beat the likes of Goucher by 20 plus to be noticed?

Look, none of us that have followed the Royals the past 15 years have any illusions of grandeur.
We're all well aware of what happens when the Royals set sail for the NCAA tournament.
One & done has a special meaning among the Scranton faithful once the brackets are announced and our coach proclaims he loves the matchup only to be trounced by, let's say...24.

The thing is personally I could care less who's rated & who's not or where a certain team is as opposed to another team.
I think all any fans want is a degree of consistency in what people are considering when making up these lists.

When you say margin of victory means squat, then don't turn around and say someone needs to win over someone by a certain margin.

As for todays matchup...

Scranton has one of its poorest shooting teams in 10 years.
When they can't buy a basket from the outside, their game gets ugly really fast.
They are slow
They are deliberate
They are not built to run
They are not assembled to play well from behind
Too many kids are getting big minutes without producing points, assists, steals or boards.
Scranton will generally win the games it should, lose a few to teams they shouldn't lose to & every now & then, they will surprise you & beat someone clearly better.
Doesn't happen very often & unfortunately, it probably won't happen today either.

Neumann 82/Scranton 65.

COnsidering I wrote my comment after 12 basketball games in 2 days in the same arena... I may have had a great thought in my head that didn't translate as much as I wanted it to. I can say you took my thoughts a little too seriously, or at least went too deep with them.

What I was getting to was that beat who they beat by 24 points on average doesn't mean much right now... what I then tried to say is if they continue to beat teams by 24 including the following (and I listed the next X amount of games)... then those points spreads and margins start to mean something very different especially since some of those opponents coming up are going to be the true barometer.

So... right now, the spread means nothing... but if it continues, then I will be more impressed with it.

Of course, I didn't realize we were talking about Neumann... on the Landmark board. LOL

And again... 12 games, 2 days... 13+ hours a day in the arena... takes its toll after what is already a very busy month - even two months - (more than in the past).

[augie]

Just having dinner in Barnabys in Ashton,PA after the beat down in Neumann.The only one that impressed me was Mancuso he fought hard today and Doolan came out of the 2nd half on fire.But besides them to same old same old Push Maryland and White.One thing there Coach didn't take a break  he hammered Scranton until 3 minutes to go.One other thing Danzig lost a tooth from an elbow and Dad was Yelling the only time I heard him stick up for his team.But kudos to Neumann nice team out of the starting 5( average age is about 26.)from my perspective why can't we get these type of players?