MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Regional Rankings are out: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/11/first-regional-rankings-released-today/

[Reserved Seat]

Ugly game for Ursinus.  Nothing went right.  F&M played a tenacious defense giving Ursinus few easy shots, and their offense was on fire.  Federici missed one shot going 7 for 7 from behind the arc.  Figueroa went 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. Federici set the CC scoring record for a freshman.  The subs played well for the Dips with everyone playing.  Ursinus junk defense that worked against Dickinson on Saturday didn't work tonight.  Hopefully F&M can get on track away at Allentown on Saturday.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

From what I saw at Chestertown, F&M was pretty upset about the loss.  I'm sure getting back on track was at the forefront of their minds.  Coach Robinson called to loss "disturbing," so I can only imagine what he said about it to the team in private.

Good way to get back on track.

[Hoopdog14]

Swarthmore completed its sweep against Muhlenberg besting the Mules 84-72 at Swarthmore.  Score makes the game look closer than it was.  Swarthmore led at half by 6 and went on a 19-4 run to extend the lead to 20 and they coasted from there.  Swarthmore rained 3s and Bourne lead an inside attack that minimized the Mules height advantage.  Mules was not helped that its back-up big man McClellan down with some sort of shoulder injury.  The Mules keep banking on that they can outscore the opposition while trying to hide its defensively challenged frosh.  The results to date ---disappointing and unlikely to improve vs F&M or Dickinson in upcoming games.

Swarthmore was not the first team to push the ball up court to beat their guards who look lost and confused.  At times Swarthmore shot 3s and not a Mule to be found for 15 feet

The bright spots for the Mules was seeing the Killing of old dropping in 25 points and the play of a mostly unused freshman guard Talbert.  He played defense as it was meant to be played tough, aggressive and with heart and drilled his first 3 attempt.  His pressure help ignite the Mules comeback (relatively speaking).  The Mules may be better served trading this type of defense for a scorer who compromises the entire defensive effort.

F&M is next for the Mules and they will likely arrive in a bad mood.

[givengo]

Was told the stomach virus hit the Dickinson squad.  Two starters were affected but played, though obviously not themselves.  6th man Romocki was dressed but did not play.    Kudos to McDaniel for outstanding shooting-- happy for them last night after the game.  Hope this is a 24-36 hour bug for Dickinson and will not be a factor on Saturday vs. Hopkins.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Bad timing... because that is a loss that in this year could cost Dickinson. Lots of losses amongst a lot of teams this year across the country and the Mid-Atlantic SOS numbers are average at best.

[CCD3Basketball]

Hopkins pretty much has the top spot locked up now after last night's results, barring a lot of crazy circumstances occuring. Flu bug or not, that loss might be a killer for Dickinson. Still have a home game against Hopkins this Saturday and a tough road game at F&M looming before the conference tournament even begins. And keep an eye on the Muhlenberg game as well; if a shootout breaks out it could be anyone's game. Everything else shaped up about right last night. Figured F&M would come out a tad bit agitated against Ursinus after the WC loss. Swarthmore completing the season sweep of the Mules was a slight surprise, but it is also just further validation that the Garnet are definitely heading back the proper way as a program.

The race for the 5th playoff spot is interesting. Gettysburg, despite losing 5 in a row, still holds the lead by 1 game over both Ursinus and the Mules. Similar to 3 years ago when WC started off 9-3 in conference play before backing into the playoffs on a 6 game losing streak. Not saying at all that the Bullets will do such a thing and lose out, but with a road game at a pesky Haverford team coming this weekend, followed by home games against F&M and McDaniel.......the race for 5th is VERY compelling.

[hoop master]

Tough and surprising lose by Dickenson, regardless of illness issues. My early prediction holding true so far-,Hopkins, And F and M, with Dickenson missing out  in the big dance.  However anything can happen in CC playoffs, and would be a shame for stud Wixted not to play on national stage to close fabulous career. Also as predicated Muhlenberg in running for that coveted 5 th playoff spot.  Haverford with games against Gettysburg, Ursinus, and resurgent Swathmore and coming off a victory over Wash, may have a say. No game is a lock in ending two weeks to regular season

[Reserved Seat]

F&M struggled to pull off a victory at Muhlenberg.  Federici had difficulty getting off a clean look and only had 3 points at the half, ending with 17 for the game.  Both teams played tough defense for the first half as the half ended at 26-19.  Schreer did a fantastic defensive effort on Federici.  Both teams struggled at the line especially F&M.  Moune had a double double with 11 rebounds and 16 points..
Play opened up a little in the second half as both teams made adjustments at the half.  Osley played 20 minutes to provide some defense on Rindock.  Killing doesn't seem to be the player he was in the past, but it was certainly fun watching him play for 4 years.  The Mules seemed to challenge every shot under the basket and ended up with 7 blocks.  A good win in Allentown where F&M has had difficulty in the past.

[Hoopdog14]

With all due respect Reserved Seat your seat must have been quite a distance form Memorial Hall.  THe game was no longer in doubt after about 7 minutes into the game.  F&M lead for 39 of 40 minutes with leads of 6-12 points.  Defense by the Mules??  Cold shooting is not defense its a gift from God for a team struggling to defend, but even that didn't help the Mules.

The Mules game plan is the definition of insanity;trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  Shreer and Rindock only hope on defense was they could stir up enough breeze as their men flew by to give the shooters  a nasty cold.  The contested shots F&M took was from help defenders who then left others open and the Mules in poor rebounding position.  This resulted in F&M grabbing 15 offensive rebounds ending in easy buckets in the paint.  F&M shot 33% from 3,  40% FG and 59% FT.  A cold shooting night which had little to do with defense.

And as before, down 7-10 points the McClary engages offense/defense subs.  A tactic employed way too late to hide poor defense and usually little improvement on offense.  And the result is another L

You are correct in Killing doesn't appear to be the player of old.  It seemed to happen around the last F&M game when McClary decided the younger underclassmen were the answer to a tough season.  Instead of experienced players who know how to win, he went with younger guys who walk through the motions.  The result is a less the .500 season and with a scant chance of a 5th seed playoff spot sliding out of reach.

[Reserved Seat]

F&M only lead by three early in the second half, and never really took charge of the game.  Schreer and Rindock were giving F&M fits throughout the contest.  The Muhlenberg fans sitting next to me felt the game was still in reach until F&M opened a consistent lead of 10+ points  with 6 minutes to go.  When Federici hit a three with 5 1/2 minutes to go, Muhlenberg went to a foul mode which didn't play off. 

[Hooper]

HoodDog14-

Clearly you have an issue with the Coach and the players he is using.   The continued undermining of a Coach, his personnel and decisions is easy on an anonymous Board.  I can gaurantee you that the rest of the Coaches in the Centennial Conference do not have the same feelings as you.   Those are the people whose opinions matter.   The Mule AD's opinion matters...   Your and my opinions don't matter.   I can only hope that you are not a parent of a current player.   

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I suspect Muhlenberg will have plenty more success after this season concludes. Moving forward, the team has a lot of options and will have less distractions.

[Reserved Seat]

I suspect Muhlenberg will have plenty more success after this season concludes. Moving forward, the team has a lot of options and will have less distractions.

You can read a lot into that statement.

[givengo]

I suspect Muhlenberg will have plenty more success after this season concludes. Moving forward, the team has a lot of options and will have less distractions.

You can read a lot into that statement.

Muhl parents spoke freely with visiting parents last season.  They'd say amen.