MBB: Centennial Conference

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Regional rankings are out.

Middle Atlantic Region
1. F & M               19-2 18-2
2. DeSales           17-3 16-3
3. St. Mary's (Md.) 18-4 15-2
4. Wesley             15-6 13-2
5. McDaniel          16-5 14-4
6. Gwynedd-Mercy 15-5 14-4
7. Widener           16-5 14-5
8. Gettysburg      14-6 14-6

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Now to really mess with your head check out the strength of schedule on the D3hoops.com  site.. Read everything and if you still have questions.. trust me it works.

enjoy

[diplomaniac1]

Folks -

Here are my selections and guessing rationales for tomorrow's (Saturday 2/14) games and pick-ems:

Haverford @ F&M:   F&M.   (Diplomats prevail in Mayser on Senior Day in their drive to garner the top seed in the Conference Tournament).

Dickison @ Ursinus:   Ursinus.   (A difficult game in which to select a winner. Ursinus needs the win just to have any chance at the last seed in the Conference Tournament. Home Court Advantage).

Muhlenberg @ Johns Hopkins:   Johns Hopkins.   (Another tough game to call. Even with a few road wins this year, the Mules are still suspect on the road! Blue Jays are usually tough at Goldfarb, especially late in the season. A loss could be the last gasp for the Jays. So, edge to the home team over the superior post play of the Mules by splitting a hair).

Gettysburg @ Swarthmore:   Gettysburg.  (Bullets over Garnet. Nothing more really to say)!

McDaniel @ Washington:   McDaniel.   (Terror simply quicker, stronger, and better than the Shoremen. Could be a close game due to Maryland rivalry and home court edge for the Shoremen).

I will indeed be at Mayser in Lancaster on Saturday afternoon. At this point, I should also be able to make the road games in Gettysburg and Carlisle.

Good luck to all prognostocators, teams, and Centennial Conference fans. Enjoy the games. Remember to travel safely as the cold weather returns. Happy Valentine's Day! Regards to all,

Eric

[r.w. mcnickels]

2/14 picks:

F&M
Ursinus
Muhlenberg
Gettysburg
McDaniel

The Fords will give the Dips all they can handle -- F&M needs to avoid a letdown with a quick start.  I'd normally say Ursinus would win comfortably at home over Dickinson, but who knows?  Muhlenberg in a squeaker over JHU on the road, and McDaniel breaks through in Chestertown.

[D.B. Cooper]

2/14 picks

F&M
Ursinus
JHU
G-burg
McDaniel

[Reserved Seat]

What happened to all the pickers?(Only 7 predicted)
Upsets abound.
F&M played a solid game giving up only 42 points.

[D.B. Cooper]

This one tough & unpredictable league this year. Can't understand Gettysburg, unfortunately now they are in dire trouble which may make them tough to get by on Wednesday. Mules are rounding into form & Bears may be running on empty by now. Cain curse causes Terror to stumble, but the margin surprises me more than the game result.

Dips actually seem to be getting better in the later stages of the campaign. That F&M could win the way they did with McNally & Baker not having good offensive games is strange. Plus Milligan kept attempting to create highlight reel action by driving into swarms of defenders instead of slowing things down to seal the victory in a boring manner. In any case others stepped up (Brooks & Tolliver).  On a negative note for next year Scovill was honored as a senior even though the programs list him as a junior. I can only assume that he is graduating & not using his last year of eligibility. Dips seem to have the depth to absorb this loss & still be outstanding next year if everyone else returns.

[BRCE4]

Fascinating finish to conference play. F&M has separated itself from the field, early favorites Ursinus and Gettysburg have fallen flat. Ursinus has no size and lost a terrific player in Hilton so their demise is understandable but G-burg has just fallen apart with returning starters from a NCAA team. They are really hard to figure. Mules an early season disappointment have turned it around and may finish 3rd. Haverford and Washington have overachieved and may finish 4-5 if G-burg doesn't find one more W. McDaniel's loss to Washington wasn't surprising but as DB Cooper pointed out the margin was, can they really be a championship contender. Dickinson other than Gettysburg may be the biggest disappointment this season but to their credit they are playing hard abd beat Ursinus yesterday. Congratulations to Swat on a huge upset of Gettysburg. I didn't think they would win a conference game this year and they beat a team that was in 3rd place. The final games should be exciting but I think F&M is playing too well for the rest of the CC teams.

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Results for 2/14

I do not think that any of us will ever get rich as sports betting advisors after this.

Some of us were 2 - 3  others were 1 - 4.. We as a group never did this bad. It just goes to show that you can pick Swarthmore.

Over all

Old ends          58  -  22  ( .725)
Reserved Seat  55  -  25 ( .688)
Diplomaniac1    55  -  25 ( .688)
D.B.Cooper       51  -  29 ( .638)
Brce4               49  -  31 ( .613)
Gabriel             47  -  33 ( .588)
r.w.mcnickels    46  -  34 ( .575)
UniqueNewYork 53  -  22
Terror30           10  -  10
oldbballer          17  -  13

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Not much in the papers about yesterdays action, but here is what I could find,

McDaniel: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/02/15/sports/gsports21509.txt

F & M: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/233888

Muhlenberg: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/winter09/214.html

Swarthmore: http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/athletics/2009/02/14/allen-a-days-work-garnet-shock-bullets/

Dickinson: http://www.dickinson.edu/sports/article.cfm?articleIndex=1409

enjoy

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Pick-em for 2/18

F & M           @   Gettysburg
McDaniel      @  John Hopkins
Dickinson     @  Muhlenberg
Ursinus        @  Haverford
Washington @  Swarthmore

Good Luck

[D.B. Cooper]

The article link to the Lancaster paper provided by Old Ends gives an explanation of why F&M honored Scovill yesterday. Thanks to Old Ends for the time-saving links.

[Reserved Seat]

Dips actually seem to be getting better in the later stages of the campaign. That F&M could win the way they did with McNally & Baker not having good offensive games is strange. Plus Milligan kept attempting to create highlight reel action by driving into swarms of defenders instead of slowing things down to seal the victory in a boring manner. In any case others stepped up (Brooks & Tolliver).  Dips seem to have the depth to absorb this loss & still be outstanding next year if everyone else returns.

I agree with D.B. comments.  McNally and Baker had adequate games keeping the ball alive under the basket.  Tolliver and Brooks hit some nice 3's.  Milligan continues to push the action and tends to do too much when it's not necessary.  Hopefully, some of his tendencies to drive out of control will be reined in by next year.  Defensely, Brooks and Milligan make a good combination.  Brooks has to be one of the most athletic players in the year.  He made some tremendous steals yesterday.

[Gabriel]

2/18/2009 Picks

After a dismal week, I will give it another try

F&M--Does Getty have any pride left, the have the players not the heart
McDaniel--Could be close
Muhlenberg--The only home team to win
Ursinus--They have to win soon
Washinton---Swat shot their bullet

Going with the visiting teams except for the Mules.

[Reserved Seat]

Pick-em for 2/18

F & M (the pieces seem to be coming together-time to win at Gettysburg)
McDaniel(must win for any chance to host leagues)
Muhlenberg(too strong inside and at home)
Haverford(who knows)
Washington(too much to ask for 2 in a row)

Hopefully, my blue-glowing crystal ball will do much better this week