MBB: Centennial Conference

[r.w. mcnickels]

Gettysburg played a great game and deserved to win.  Capkin was on fire and played like the preseason All-American pick he was suppose to be.

You can say that again -- congrats to Gettysburg on the conference title.  That was one exciting game in Mayser today.  Capkin provided a never-ending supply of daggers that only the final horn could stop.  The better team clearly won, and it's still baffling to me how the Bullets lost so many games.  With everyone back from last year's Sweet 16 team, I think Gettysburg will surprise some people and make a run at Salem.

Now F&M sits and waits.  Whatever happens, the Dips now have some playoff experience under their belt that should benefit them down the road.  They exceeded my expectations this year with a turnaround I thought was at least another year away.

[r.w. mcnickels]

According to the site's new projections, F&M could be on the outside looking in.

http://www.d3hoops.com/salem/09/projected.htm

It looks like the Dickinson loss is going to kill F&M, not to mention losing three of four overall.  I know why the above projections referred to yesterday's CC final as an "upset," but having seen Gettysburg-F&M three times this year, it's hard to call it that from an observer's standpoint.  Still, F&M had control of its own destiny, and now it's in the committee's hands.  Can't take anything for granted this time of year.

[D.B. Cooper]

It would be sad if a team ranked #1/2 in their region is offed by the usual NESCAC also-ran ranked # 9 in the final NE poll. F&M has a better Regional record (& overall). But it has been the case since these new amorphous "criteria" came into being in the last decade. I agree with crambam it is tragically amusing that a team could possibly go from a top seed in section to totally out of consideration on the basis of one tough loss. I wonder if political clout doesn't play some roll in this, the NE Region is always getting the extra team(s) it seems.

[D.B. Cooper]

Another variable in all this is could the Mid-Atlantic rankings have been adjusted. In Patrick Abegg's statistical model F&M & DeSales moved above St. Mary's when the games since the last public ranking were added. St. Mary's lost to a Dickinson like Marymount, while F&M beat Muhlenberg & lost to Gettysburg both much better teams with  better records. Perhaps the case could be made that F&M should be presented first from the Mid-Atlantic group to the National committee for Pool C ahead of of St. Mary's? Lord knows I have no instinct for how these issues are decided. One thing is for sure F&M has never gotten an at large bid under this system (they might have in 2004 if they had not won the CC as the were MA top ranked then). I would like to see that trend changed today, but would not be surprised if F&M is out like the "Ground Hog Day" movie again.

[r.w. mcnickels]

D.B.-

I noticed that Patrick Abegg projects F&M as the 7th team out of 18 in Pool C.  What worries me is that he qualifies the model with this sentence:

"These are just estimates and do not reflect all of the selection criteria."

So, my temporary relief was washed away.  I join you in hoping we avoid another letdown like '02 and '03, but I'm fearing the worst.

[D.B. Cooper]

r.w. 2002 & 2003 were brutal. I think in 2002 D3hoops predicted Dips to get in but were left out for a team they beat during the season. One of those years Dips played at Alvernia who went several rounds in the NCAA & beat them by 40, that was one of my favorite in person games of all time (along with the '91 semi against Ramapo). Those teams could have made an Elite 8 run with their talent but were left home. This team would be fortunate to win 1-2 games but the experience would be critical in setting up the team for runs to E8 & beyond over the next 2 years.

[r.w. mcnickels]

Well, there's a photo of Georgio Milligan (along with a Rochester women's player) on the front of NCAA.com -- could this give us a clue?

[D.B. Cooper]

F&M in as I thought they should have been. Luckily it didn't come done to Amherst, D3hoops was right, they would surely have gone instead of Dips. Mid-Atlantic only got 1 bid (area usually disrespected, except last year), Abegg's model was correct. Dips got in over St. Mary's or Buena Vista, or were comfortably in earlier in the process. Got to see Giorgio's picture.

[Reserved Seat]

a sigh of relief
My seat is still reserved.

[D.B. Cooper]

I don't know what F&M can do, but they found by far the most soft quarter of the draw. Brandeis would & Ithaca are teams that should be a tough challenge. Look at who they would have to get by to get to the FF.

Wesley (Dips should have a chance at home)
Brandeis (This would be the game that would please me if they could upset a UAA team)
Salem State (Good but Dips have score to settle from 2000 FF)
Ithaca or WPI (Very good but not exactly Wisc-Whatever or Wheaton)

Contrariwise Gettysburg was thrown to the wolves & has a tough road to go in the second toughest quarter. Wooster & Capital right off the bat in Ohio. No favors given, we'll see how well they do against tough competition.

[crambam]

Will the games be broadcast on free internet?

[David Collinge]

Welcome to Ohio, Gettysburg fans.  Capital's arena, the Capital Center, is a very nice 2100-seat facility, and it's pretty conveniently located near both I-70 and the Columbus airport.  For information on game times, tickets, and travel options, keep your radio tuned to Capital.edu.

[saratoga]

D.B.Cooper: I believe the 4th. team that will be at Mayser will be the Univ. of Scranton not Ithaca or WPI.

[Reserved Seat]

D.B.Cooper: I believe the 4th. team that will be at Mayser will be the Univ. of Scranton not Ithaca or WPI.

I think D.B. is talking about the possible future match-ups, not who's at F&M.

[Reserved Seat]

Stats on Wesley
Record 18-9
High scoring  88.4
Scoring defense weak-give up 82.8
44% shooting
shoot a lot of threes-make 10+ a game
foul shooting  68.9%
outrebounded--only one player over 6' 4"
seems like they have speed