MBB: Centennial Conference

[Hoopdog14]

In theory you may be right but in reality not so much.  The Mules went to a zone full tie because they got burned with a couple of guys who can't D-up and other get into foul trouble   If they took away what the Bears did best how any 3s would Williams had hit if they didn't

And logic would tell you Hunter would be key but he is averaging 17 minutes a game, 5 less than last year.  He has started only 5 games.

[GoDiplomats]

Mules actually played a really good game but when it came down to it Ursinus shooting and a terrible last secound foul by LaRose proved to be too much for the Mules to overcome. Anywhere between 3 to 4 of Eric Williams 3's were really well contested shots that he just got the better of the Mules defene. The Mules defense has steadily improved over the season, but Ursinus shooting has been hot all year and remains to be hot.

I highly doubt if LaRose didn't foul Remi Janicot (whose a decent but not great 3pt shooter) in the last seconds of the final OT, Ursinus would have been able to pull the W out. They were being out coached and out played by the Mules. With some composure and better communication on the Mules behalf and with more consistency out of their zone defense, the Mules would have defineitly pulled this game out.

[givengo]

My view on those technicals at F&M...the F&M player turned and ran right into and over Elijah Wright.  Layed him out,much bigger player mowing down a smaller guy. not enough space, and not a flop. Just happened, nothing intentional but the officials ignored it. E was talking as he got up, talking to refs, no idea what he said, but he was T'd up immediately, and maybe he deserved it, maybe not.   
But what I saw next should not have happened.  Coach Seretti moved onto the court to engage the ref.  He was not heated, He was under control as always,  yet the ref quickly called a double technical to remove Coach Seretti from the game. It was a bad call. At most it should have been just a technical foul for stepping onto the court.  I was sitting three rows behind the Dickinson bench and could hear everything they said. I heard not a word from Coach Seretti. That ref took him out of the game when he should not have.   I've been to enough games between Dickinson and F&M at both locations over the past seven years. I've observed Coach Robinson exploit his his seniority and standing in coaching circles on several occasions, pushing it well beyond the limits of acceptability.  I've seen him charge onto the court screaming more than a few times without recourse.  Hey, I'd do it too if it was me, but on examination what happened to Coach Seretti, just should not have. 
This was an extreme overreaction by a less than qualified official.  Another fan near me mentioned that he is familiar with that particular ref, having seen him calling CYO games in Philly five years ago. 

[Team First]

Givengo. I was watching online and Coach Seretti was walking straight towards the camera and there was no reason to do what that official did; a total overreaction. Not that it would have changed the outcome, but it made any last moment heroics impossible...essentially ended the game. The Red Devils need to improve their play. They have plenty of pieces; it looks to be more about focus and consistency. Nobody in this league is good enough to win without playing well. I'm anxious to see how they perform on Saturday against Swat. Motivation should not be a problem.

[Polly Math]

I was watching from across the way; Seretti was practically at the mid-court circle.  That has to be a double T. But it also looked to me like he was trying to get he ref away from his player, because Wright was still fuming and looked like he might do something really regrettable if the ref came closer.  Seretti was smiling as he left the floor and apologized to the ref -- I think he knew what he was doing all along and it worked, because Wright is their best player and is available to play on Saturday. Had Seretti just watched...maybe not.   I didn't see any flop; Wright got clobbered and resented the no call.  I suspect the 45-22 disparity in free throws awarded added to his frustration.  He'll learn.  That's life in the Centennial Conference -- don't be expecting a lot of calls if you are the visiting team anywhere.   

Dickinson looked to me like a fast talented but inconsistent (i.e.,young) team.  5 minutes of excellence followed by 5 minutes of sloppy.  Ball hawking defense comes and goes.  They are also hurt by a lack of rebounding heft. F&M was up 13 with 10 to go and Dickinson looked dreadful.  I was amazed that Dickinson got it to OT.   

F&M took their foot off the gas a little early -- that would have been a really painful loss.  Kudos to Federici for a refuse to lose performance in OT.  Three treys in a row pretty much ended the dispute. 

[Reserved Seat]

Looking at the replay, Seretti was about 2/3's the way across the court before he was T-ed up.  The replay doesn't should much contact between Owana and Wright.  Also, the disparity in fouls was caused by Dickinson taking fouls in the last minute of the second half and the last minute of the overtime.  During that time period there were 9 fouls called. There were another 4 fouls called the minute prior to the the time period mentioned.  If you take out the 9 fouls in the last minutes, the fouls called were even; and if you take out the other 4, the fouls were F&M 21 and Dickinson 17.

[Reserved Seat]

I, also, think Polly Math is correct in that Seretti knew what he was doing. 

[Gabriel]

In theory you may be right but in reality not so much.  The Mules went to a zone full tie because they got burned with a couple of guys who can't D-up and other get into foul trouble   If they took away what the Bears did best how any 3s would Williams had hit if they didn't

And logic would tell you Hunter would be key but he is averaging 17 minutes a game, 5 less than last year.  He has started only 5 games.

Is a zone a second rate defense?  I don't think so.

[Polly Math]

Except for Bill Nelson, Seretti is about the last coach in the conference you would expect to lose his temper and get a T.  Pretty cool customer.  It was a smart move.  Can't have your best player out because he lost his temper in garbage time. 

And for all the arm waving, Robinson is pretty good at figuring out where the ref's limit is, and staying behind it. 

Still say F&M got the better whistles.  Dickinson got hit with several off ball fouls (and F&M had one or two) that suggested that the one ref did not approve of the concept of boxing out.  Not saying the game was unfair. Not at all.  But the home teams in this conference generally get the slight edge from the zebras. Of course, none of them think so!

[GoDiplomats]

@givengo if that was not a flop OMG please tell me what is!!! He basically ran into Owena and feel on his own!!! I got a chance to rewatch the game and if this was the NBA he would have certainly recieved a fine. My goodness you would've thought he was a drama major with that acting job. 

[GoDiplomats]

If you watch the play again after Tate converts on the second of two free throws, Elijah goes after Owana shoulder straight to the neck area well after the free throw had went in and was preparing to be rebounded. I personally know Owana and he wouldn't harm a fly. The contact that caused Brown to fall was initiated by Elijah and after a terrible flop job and the right no call by the ref, he got tempremental and should have been ejected from the game. So to the point many are making Coach Seretti did a great job stepping in to "save" his player who should have been ejected and suspended.

Now I was not at the game but after watching the play and what lead up to almost 5 times now, there is no way anyone in their right mind could question if Lionel ran into Elijah. While I am a hge fan of the Diplomats, this observation was soley made on the premise of watching good basketball and making sure the right calls are made. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The boxscore only shows one technical.  Not that it means anything, just interesting.

[Hoopdog14]

GoDiplomats:  If the Mules did this If the Mules did that. I don't think the standings are W-L-Ifs??  So 3-4 of Williams 3s were contested? So 5-6were wide open. Never said Zone was a poor defense.  Poorly played zone is.  Defense is effort plain and simple. 

Better composure and communications but they  outplayed and outcoached??  9 games into the conference schedule with a veteran squad is having a composure and communications problems??   If you outplay and outcoach a team you don't blow a 14 point lead at home

[centfan]

to centcraze88
"Swat has had a really impressive turnaround within the past three years, maybe Haverford could experience something similar?"

Haverford would need to change the coach, like swat did, in order to turn it around.

[CentCraze88]

My selections for tomorrows slate:

Hopkins over mules
F&M over haverford
Swat over Dickinson
Gettysburg over Washington
Ursinus over McDaniel

Taking Swat and Ursinus both on the road, we'll see how my picks pan out.

Think these are must win games for Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, and McDaniel.  They all sit at 4-5, and I think that the Bullets and Green Terror need to take care of business at home to keep their chances alive.  While a road trip to Hopkins may be tough, the Mules have a victory over them and I think there is a better chance that hell freezes over than the Mules steal a win @ Swat or even at home against F&M.  Think all of these teams will be pulling hard for Swarthmore tomorrow- think the team most likely to fall out of the Top 5 is Dickinson, with the runner up likely being Hopkins.

Federici just became the league's leading scorer, which, if I were a betting man, is going to hold that way the rest of the season.  Like how the Dips  seem to be turning the corner, really looking forward to Swat-F&M, hopefully I'll be able to make it to one of those games.