MBB: Centennial Conference

[D.B. Cooper]

Congratulations to John Noonan, Ursinus shooting wizard, for his Jostens nomination.  Best of luck in representing our conference in this prestigious "All-Around" competition.

[old ends]

play-off picks

Weds
Muhlenberg

Sat
Gettysburg
F&M

Sun
Gettysburg

[old ends]

Congrats to Andrew Powers, Gettysburg, Centennial Conference player of the Year.

The All Conference teams click below
http://www.centennial.org/basketball/2009/All_CC_MBK.pdf

enjoy

[r.w. mcnickels]

Wednesday's first round pick:

Muhlenberg


Congrats to Powers on a well deserved POY, and Noonan on the Jostens nomination.  I'm sure UC missing the playoffs hurt Noonan's chances at POY.  A possible Jostens will have to suffice!

Kudos to Georgio Milligan on becoming the first freshman in Centennial Conference history to be voted to the first team -- yet another thing I didn't see coming in this season of surprises.

[D.B. Cooper]

CC playoff picks

Play-in: Muhlenberg (likely to be a unanimous pick)

Sat: McDaniel (obviously a close call)
        F&M (slight edge, but I expect a game more like the one in Allentown)

Sun: McDaniel (hope committee likes Dips & St. Mary's wins the CAC) Dips could benefit greatly from NCAA run to prepare for 2-years of great basketball as team will try to emulate dynastic squads of 80's & 90's

[diplomaniac1]

Folks -

Here is my selection for tonight's (2/25) first round game pick-em:

Haverford @ Muhlenberg:   Muhlenberg. (I expect the Mules to be ready for the Fords, especially at home in the "Mule Barn". They also should have too much inside game for the Fords).

I will post my picks for the weekend games tomorrow after tonight's game just in case there is an unexpected upset by the Fords.

Good luck to the Mules, the Fords, and their fans! Enjoy the game. Regards to all.

Eric

[Gabriel]

I understand the selection of Andrew Powers over John Noonan as POY----I guess.  Ursinus' failure to make the playoffs was key and, I am sure, the selection committee did not want to give it to Ursinus every year.  Nevertheless, I'll bet the voting was close as the statistics support John Noonan.  The Jostens nomination is an indicator.

I do not understand why Remy Cousart was not selected for the Second Team.  Of the 13 individual statistical categories, his name appeared in 9. He was:

1st in assists and assist to turnover ratio
2nd in defensive rebounding (this is a point guard)
4th in total rebounding & 3pt shooting %
11th in field goal %
12th in steals
14th in scoring
9th in minutes per game

He is one of the most selfless players I have seen.  I think Remy deserved a better position on the all conference team.  Guess he will have to wait until next year to see if he is better than honorable mention.

[BRCE4]

Mules win a grinder of a game 52-50 over Haverford. Mules did just enough to win and will have to play much better to beat F&M at Mayser.
Picks for Semis
F&M(Mules will keep it close but Mayser advantage will be too much)
Gettysburg(They seem to have found themselves just in time for the tourney)

[old ends]

Well we all started off in good shape, 1-0 to all.

Now after Sat Semi's you will be able to change your final pick's, just in case your semi picks did  not turn out the way you hoped.

[commish]

The "Final Four." Just four teams remain on both the men's and women's side of the Centennial Conference basketball tournament. The men convene in the heart of Amish Country - Lancaster - for the weekend, while the women gather in Allentown. A Saturday victory puts you in the final with the opportunity to not only win the championship, but also qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament. It's a chance to make history for the McDaniel men and Franklin & Marshall women, who have never won a Centennial tourney game. It's a chance to make history for the Diplomat men, and the women from Hopkins and Muhlenberg. Each program has won a Conference-record four titles. A fifth puts one in rarefied air, as no Centennial team has "one (ring) for the thumb."

We hope you'll join us this weekend at Mayser Center or Memorial Hall. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for student (13-18) and free admission for students from participating teams (upon presentation of ID) and youth 12 and under. If you cannot make the trip, you can watch the game(s) for free on your computer. Sign up for "Twitter" and receive updates at the half and when the game goes final. It should be a great weekend!

http://centennialconference.blogspot.com/2009/02/final-four.html

[commish]

Every year, I get grief from a friend of mine that I always say that this year's tournament was the best ever.  So let's get some discussion going here ... about the top playoff games in CC history.  Since I've seen almost every game ... I'll pick the nominees but will also accept "write-in" candidates.

1) 1994 Final: Mike Sievert tip-in in the final seconds gives F&M a 63-61 win over Hopkins.

2) 1995 Final: Muhlenberg shoots 62.7 percent from the field to upset undefeated and top-ranked Franklin & Marshall, 88-86.  Oh, the Dips shot 56.43 percent from the floor. (My personal favorite)

3) 2000 Final: Franklin & Marshall holds off Hopkins, 75-67, in overtime.  Diplomats overcome an 11-point deficit in final 12:47 and force OT on a Jerome Maiatico three with :21 left.

4) 2002 Final: Gettysburg's Curtis McNeil hits a late three and makes three FT in the final 2.7 as the Bullets become the CC's first back-to-back champs with a 50-47 win at F&M.

5) 2003 Final: Ursinus' Dennis Stanton hits an off-balance, fade-away three with :03 left to force overtime.  Bears go on to defeat F&M, 96-88.

6) 2004 Semifinals: Ursinus' Dennis Stanton scores a tournament-record 42 points, but Hopkins' Frank Mason scores 30 as the Blue Jays defeat the Bears, 107-101.

7) 2005 Final: Will Furey scores a layup off a feed from Mike McGarvey with 2.7 seconds left as Ursinus defeats Franklin & Marshall, 72-70.

8) 2007 Semifinals: Matt Palmer makes a three with :01 left to give Haverford a 70-69 overtime win against Ursinus.  The Fords' Chaz Thomas forced extra time with a three at the horn at the end of regulation.

9) 2008 Semifinals: A great performance, as Ursinus' Nick Shattuck makes 19-of-24 shots from the field for a tournament-record 46 points in UC's 93-79 win over Dickinson.

Please discuss ... and hope we see you this weekend in Lancaster.

[r.w. mcnickels]

CC tournament picks:

Semifinals:
Gettysburg over McDaniel by 6
Muhlenberg upsets F&M in OT

Championship:
Gettysburg over Muhlenberg


Despite Gettysburg's unexpected slump, the Bullets have come back just in time to go dancing.  If McDaniel beats the Bullets, I think the Terror will win Sunday.  Muhlenberg could upset the Dips if Foster gets hot and takes the pressure off Barnes and Liddic.  F&M has looked really bad in the last two games -- being at home will help, but maybe not enough to avoid a third straight loss.

[r.w. mcnickels]

Every year, I get grief from a friend of mine that I always say that this year's tournament was the best ever.  So let's get some discussion going here ... about the top playoff games in CC history.  Since I've seen almost every game ... I'll pick the nominees but will also accept "write-in" candidates.

1) 1994 Final: Mike Sievert tip-in in the final seconds gives F&M a 63-61 win over Hopkins.

2) 1995 Final: Muhlenberg shoots 62.7 percent from the field to upset undefeated and top-ranked Franklin & Marshall, 88-86.  Oh, the Dips shot 56.43 percent from the floor. (My personal favorite)

3) 2000 Final: Franklin & Marshall holds off Hopkins, 75-67, in overtime.  Diplomats overcome an 11-point deficit in final 12:47 and force OT on a Jerome Maiatico three with :21 left.

4) 2002 Final: Gettysburg's Curtis McNeil hits a late three and makes three FT in the final 2.7 as the Bullets become the CC's first back-to-back champs with a 50-47 win at F&M.

5) 2003 Final: Ursinus' Dennis Stanton hits an off-balance, fade-away three with :03 left to force overtime.  Bears go on to defeat F&M, 96-88.

6) 2004 Semifinals: Ursinus' Dennis Stanton scores a tournament-record 42 points, but Hopkins' Frank Mason scores 30 as the Blue Jays defeat the Bears, 107-101.

7) 2005 Final: Will Furey scores a layup off a feed from Mike McGarvey with 2.7 seconds left as Ursinus defeats Franklin & Marshall, 72-70.

8) 2007 Semifinals: Matt Palmer makes a three with :01 left to give Haverford a 70-69 overtime win against Ursinus.  The Fords' Chaz Thomas forced extra time with a three at the horn at the end of regulation.

9) 2008 Semifinals: A great performance, as Ursinus' Nick Shattuck makes 19-of-24 shots from the field for a tournament-record 46 points in UC's 93-79 win over Dickinson.

Please discuss ... and hope we see you this weekend in Lancaster.

That's quite a list!  This conference has seen some amazing postseason basketball. 

The 2000 and 2003 finals were the best I've seen in person for their combination of heart-stopping moments and raucous atmosphere.  I think F&M needed a buzzer-beater by Maiatico to beat Washington in the 2000 semifinals just to get into the final with JHU, which (as noted above) went to overtime on another Maiatico shot.

The 2003 Ursinus team had so many weapons that it seemed like no F&M lead was safe in that game.  Stanton's shot was simply incredible.  My ears are still ringing from the loud atmosphere (on both sides) at Helfferich Hall that day.

[diplomaniac1]

r. w. -

I remember that semi-final game. However, I thought it was a three-point heave by Alex Kraft from just over the center court line that lifted the Dips that night over the Shoremen led by Greg Adams! If my "growing older" memory serves me correct, there was almost a brawl after the game between Adams and some Diplomat fans. Coincidentally, Adams went to the same high school in Toms River, NJ as another player on that great Diplomat team - Mike Ritacco. Can anyone else help clarify the respective memories of r. w. and me?

Eric

[diplomaniac1]

Commish and r. w. -

Here are my nominees for the two greatest games that the Diplomats were ever involved in - one was a win and one was a loss. They are listed below in chronological order only because I can't decide which one was the best!

1990-1991 NCAA Regional Championship game at Mayser Center - F&M defeats Rochester to go to the final four with a steal of a Rochester inbounds pass by the Dips' freshman seventh man preserving the victory (it may have been in overtime).

1999-2000 NCAA National Sem-Final game in Salem. VA - F&M loses to Calvin on a buzzer-beater in a game that went back and forth several times. Either team could have won that day and the team with the ball last did!

Any thoughts?

Eric