MBB: Centennial Conference

[jmcozenlaw]

Not going to lie here, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Swat go down for the second game in a row with another poor showing. Outrebounded again and another tough night of shooting.  I totally respect their players and their program, but just not a big fan of the evil empire arrogance that Kosmalski and staff display from the sidelines (sit behind their bench within ear shot and you will know what I mean).  With that said, they have an opportunity to make it all good with a win over Hopkins.

I'm an alum........and I do know what you mean by the "evil empire arrogance". Kosmalski is a very good coach, but the smugness is a bit much.

[McBuckets]

Yesterdays game between Ursinus and Gettysburg was one of the most exciting games I have seen in the Centennial.  Very well played and the 2nd half display of scoring by Ryan Hughes was very impressive.  The Bears hit a number of shots that were heavily contested as they came back to tie the game.  Very well played and enjoyable.  I agree that the next few weeks will be exciting as the last remaining playoff spots are battled for. Agree with Stretch, home court for the playoffs hangs in the balance and quite possibly is a difference maker in determining the Champion.

[centennial fan]

Centennial Conference Standings (as of 2/6)

1 Swarthmore 12-2, 18-3

The Garnet control their own destiny with four games to play after completing a sweep of rival Johns Hopkins in the regular season. While the two heavyweights in the Centennial do have the same conference record, the tiebreaker remains with Swat due to the head-to-head victories. Sophomore Vinny Deangelo is 3rd (16.8) in the Centennial conference and Junior George Visconti is 6th (14.0).

2 Johns Hopkins 12-2, 16-3

Johns Hopkins responded to their second loss this year to Swarthmore by beating McDaniel and Haverford by a combined 65 points last week. The Blue Jays are hoping for a Swarthmore slip-up in the next 2 weeks to move into the one seed, but as of right now are very securely in the #2 position. All-American Conner Delaney is 2nd in the Centennial in scoring. (19.2)

3 Gettysburg 9-5 13-7

The surprise so far in the Centennial has been the Bullets, who after being picked to finish 7th are sitting relatively securely in 3rd place now. Gettysburg's next two games are extremely important, as they'll travel to 4th-place Dickinson on Tuesday and host 6th-place Haverford on Saturday. Carl Schaller is almost a lock to become the 4th freshman point guard in a row to win Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, following the likes of Vinny Deangelo, Dan Gaines, and Conner Delaney. Senior Avery Close is also 8th in scoring in the conference at 12.8 points per game.

4 Dickinson 7-5 8-9

The Red Devils have really turned their season around after starting 3-9, currently riding a 5 game winning streak to 4th place in the conference. Senior Ryan Robinson is the spark for the Devils averaging 12.2 points per game, good for 11th in the Centennial.

5 Ursinus 7-6 10-8

The Bears are one of three teams vying for the last two spots in the Centennial Conference tournament. Ursinus is currently tied with Haverford for that 5th spot, which they hold the tiebreaker, but the Bears still have to play front-runners Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins again while the Fords only have to face Swat again. It would benefit greatly, if not be necessary for Ursinus to steal one of those games to feel confident in their hopes of making the conference tournament. The Bears are led by the conference's leading scorer, Ryan Hughes, who scores 19.3 points a game on 51.1% shooting from the field.

6 Haverford 7-6 11-9

Haverford is another team trying to wedge their way into the tournament at 7-6. The Fords will still play Dickinson twice and Gettysburg once, crucial games to the playoff implications in the Centennial. The Fords need to go at least 2-1 in these contests to have a chance at that last spot. The frontcourt of Harry Johnson and Nate Torres lead the Fords, both averaging double digits, 11.7 and 10.7 points respectively.

7 Franklin and Marshall 5-9 8-13

The Centennial powerhouse of old is going through their rebuilding phase after the retirement of coach Glenn Robinson. The Diplomats likely need to win out to have a chance at one of the last spots, and every loss hurts especially bad going forward. Senior Solomon Mathis is a bright spot for the Dips, scoring 14.1 points per game, good enough for 5th in the conference in scoring.

8 McDaniel 4-10 9-11

The Green Terror need to win the remainder of their games to make the Centennial playoffs and the practicality of that plan is low as they still have to face Swarthmore before their conference schedule is finished. Senior Mike Wallace is wrapping up a nice career in Westminster, averaging 15.2 points, good enough for 5th in the Centennial.

9 Muhlenberg 4-10 7-14


The Mules are just not the same team without leader Dan Gaines, who is out for the year with a wrist injury. They also need to win their remaining games to even dream about postseason basketball. Freshman Jayson Williams-Johnson has really taken over the reins for this program and will be an all-conference player in the future. (11.0 PPG, 49% 3PT)

10 Washington College 1-13 4-17

The Shoremen are having a rough year but are developing some nice young talent. Sophomore Kedrick Frink is 12th in the conference in scoring at 12 PPG.

[Gabriel]

Great game at Swat last night with Ursinus winning 95-86! This was a classic example of why D3 sports are so great.  The Bears have been inconsistent this year which is understandable given that they start 3 first year players and have 3 more in the rotation.  But----they can shoot the ball. Last night they shot 53% overall and 53% from three. Best not get into a racehorse game with them. An astounding statistic to me----UC attempted 19 threes and Swat more than doubled that with 39 attempts. UC needed the win after losing to Getty and Haverford the week before. I thought they were good enough to capture the 3 seed---but that is unlikely unless they run the table.

[oldford]

Haverford erased a 16 point second half deficit and beat Dickinson 73-69. Offensive rb and second chance points told the story.

[Stretch4]

Big win for Dickinson over Ursinus last night. Really solid second half both offensively and defensively results in a 10 point swing to erase a 5 point halftime deficit and push DC to a critical victory. Really nice to see Dickinson playing up to their potential throughout the past month plus.  3 way tie between Dickinson, Ursinus and Haverford for final 2 playoff spots with two games each to play.  Gettysburg one game ahead of these 3.  Opportunities for teams to control their own destiny, play spoiler and position themselves for the playoffs.  Looking forward to Wednesday and Saturday which will feature a bunch of great games. 

[oldford]

Haverford has the toughest draw on Wed-Swat
Haverford vs Dickinson on Saturday will likely be the decisive game.

[Gabriel]

Brutal night offensively for the Bears. Bad time for that to happen. Young team and so inconsistent. Freshmen need to get physically stronger.

[Stretch4]

The scenarios are definitely complicated.  Dickinson - Haverford on Sat is obviously critical (especially if either DC or H lose on Wed), but may not be a lose and out scenario for loser of the Sat game. Ursinus is at Muhlenberg Wed and at Hopkins Sat.  Dickinson is at F&M Wed and at Haverford Sat.  Gettysburg is at McDaniel Wed and at Swat on Sat.  Gettysburg win on Wed and they are in (with a tbd seed).  As I understand the tie break rules, head to head is used first followed by best record against teams in ascending order of standings.  So a lot to consider.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Week 2 Regional Rankings - which are ranked now: https://d3hoops.com/notables/2022/02/men-regional-rankings-first

[oldford]

Here is how I think the 4 and 5 seeds work:

Haverford needs to win vs Dickinson or they are out. HC lost 2x to Swat, the others split

Haverford win and Ursinus win (vs Hopkins): Ursinus is 4th, HC is 5th.
Haverford win and Ursinus loss: HC 4th seed, Dickinson 5th seed since Ursinus lost 2x to Gettysburg and Dickinson split. Both beat Swat.
Dickinson win and Ursinus loss: DC is 4th seed, C is 5th seed.
Dickinson win and UC win: UC is 4th seed, Dickinson is 5th seed.

Is this correct?

[Stretch4]

I believe you have it correct.  Haverford must win or they are out, while Dickinson and Ursinus have options based on other tie breaker rules.  Dickinson really let an opportunity slip through their fingers last night.  F&M played well, particularly first year Seidman who had an outstanding second half, but Dickinson got way too caught up in overdribbling and trying to catch up with 3 pointers over the last 10 minutes of the game.  DC had it to down 2 with the ball with less than 3 minutes to play and really just did not execute effectively down the stretch.  Turnover margin was crazy 17 (DC) to 3 (FM).  Refs really let them play and F&M took full advantage of that with extremely aggressive and physical play. 

[oldford]

Haverford looked positively awful against Swat. None of the games versus Swat or JHU have been close. That has not been the case with Ursinus and Dickinson, obviously.

[Stretch4]

After a very entertaining and extremely competitive last few weeks of the regular season, the playoff field is set - JHU, Swat, Gburg, Dson, Urs.  Big congrats to Gettysburg and Dickinson on finishing 3rd and 4th, especially after preseason polls had them at 7th and 9th. Nice to see these two programs playing well and exceeding expectations.  So the obvious choices are Hopkins and Swat to face off for the title next Saturday.  Swat has gotten the better of Hopkins twice this year, but it is really hard to beat a team three times in a season.  Does Swat have their number this year?  What adjustments will Hopkins make?  Looking forward to more high quality basketball this week.

[Gabriel]

Expect to see JHU and Swat in the championship game on Saturday, but------they have to earn it. That's why we play the games.