MBB: Centennial Conference

[Dips75]

Bears are done and will not go to mayser for the tourney.  the bears should ask a real coach like Glenn rob how to shoot a basketball.  please do not comment on f and m unless you graduated from there or go to mayser a lot.  mayser was always packed and we are not fair weather fans like those at ursinus or mule or swarthmore.  from the games i have been to this year those places were empty.  sad! go dips!

As an F&M alum, I'm not sure this is necessary. I know there has been a lot of baiting by one particular poster, but that doesn't mean you have to take the bait. Just because he lowered the bar doesn't mean you need to go even lower than he set it, regardless of what gets called out or not.

[r.w. mcnickels]

Bears are done and will not go to mayser for the tourney.  the bears should ask a real coach like Glenn rob how to shoot a basketball.  please do not comment on f and m unless you graduated from there or go to mayser a lot.  mayser was always packed and we are not fair weather fans like those at ursinus or mule or swarthmore.  from the games i have been to this year those places were empty.  sad! go dips!

As an F&M alum, I'm not sure this is necessary. I know there has been a lot of baiting by one particular poster, but that doesn't mean you have to take the bait. Just because he lowered the bar doesn't mean you need to go even lower than he set it, regardless of what gets called out or not.

Well said, Dips75. The only thing dipphan is doing is making F&M look bad.

[UCHooligan98]

Bears are done and will not go to mayser for the tourney.  the bears should ask a real coach like Glenn rob how to shoot a basketball.  please do not comment on f and m unless you graduated from there or go to mayser a lot.  mayser was always packed and we are not fair weather fans like those at ursinus or mule or swarthmore.  from the games i have been to this year those places were empty.  sad! go dips!

As an F&M alum, I'm not sure this is necessary. I know there has been a lot of baiting by one particular poster, but that doesn't mean you have to take the bait. Just because he lowered the bar doesn't mean you need to go even lower than he set it, regardless of what gets called out or not.

i'm not sure how i "baited" anyone.  This is a centennial conference board, not an F&M only board.  I've been fortunate enough to have recent professional success which has finally afforded me the opportunity to have more time to focus on one of my past loves, which was College Basketball (UC as my alma mater and SHU from my law school days).  Didnt realize the dips couldnt take some gentle ribbing and trash talk. 

[mulefreak02]

countdown: 1 day.......dips going down!

[UCHooligan98]

countdown: 1 day.......dips going down!

be careful Freak, youre trash talking might offend Dips75!  see ya tomorrow before i hit the Sands

[dipphan]

I have been a diplomat fan since 1964 and have several degrees from Harvard and Yale and setom hall. i have not gotten baited .  i think my experience and.intelligence allow me to comment as i see it. i rarely follow the rest of the centennial and division 3 because i am too busy with a major research study and f and m is the class of the league and division 3.  can you argue with any thing i have said?  the proof has already been in the pudding .  onto mule town tomorrow for another win!

[Pat Coleman]

Yes. I'm arguing with the "eat me" line. Since 1964? You should be old enough to know better.

[Reserved Seat]

Mayser was almost completely empty in the late 60's.  At many games the attendance was well below 50.  Starting in the mid -70's the crowds started to grow.  In the late 70's, the gym actually reached capacity, and the doors were locked.  At least 2 games required security to slip me in as I was running late.  One game was against Hopkins and the other Jersey City. Other games might have been sold out, but I'm usually there early to avoid that problem.  I have to get my 'seat'.  Attendance has been steady ever since, even during the lean years.  I haven't missed a home game in over 20 years, so I'm fairly familiar with the attendance.

My first year at F&M, the team went 8-12 under Coach Windsor.
The next 3 years, F&M went 16-45 under Coach Taylor(an impressive 3-17 my senior year)  It took a faithful fan to follow that team.
Two years later Coach Robinson took over the varsity program, so you can understand why Robinson is so popular with F&M fans.

[dipphan]

Did you not laugh when eat me was written on the delta float in the homecoming parade in animal house? i was a Greek at f and m and i laughed at such humor.  i laughed when i read that that was the worst comment on this forum since 1966 for a fellow dip phan!  whatever time for mule beatdown and getting championship number one!  does awful Arthurs still exist in Salem va ? See all of you there

[UCHooligan98]

tomorrow might be an elimination game for both UC and GB.  With a loss tomorrow, the math just might not be there for either of these teams to get to the CC tourney.  As sad as it is, those early losses to mcdaniel and swat will be the backbreakers for the bears.  If thats the case you have to wonder whether it was wise to give the team such an intense early season schedule.  time will tell

[fritzdis]

tomorrow might be an elimination game for both UC and GB.  With a loss tomorrow, the math just might not be there for either of these teams to get to the CC tourney.  As sad as it is, those early losses to mcdaniel and swat will be the backbreakers for the bears.  If thats the case you have to wonder whether it was wise to give the team such an intense early season schedule.  time will tell

Even if Ursinus loses tomorrow, they probably still have an OK shot at the #5 seed.  They have games left with both Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg, and Ursinus would have the head-to-head tiebreaker with both teams if Ursinus wins the upcoming games.

Gettysburg would have a tougher time making the playoffs with a loss, as they wouldn't have the head-to-head tiebreaker against any of the teams ahead of them.

Edit: If Ursinus loses tomorrow, their fans will need to start rooting for F&M, who has games left with each of the 3 teams Ursinus would be chasing.

[ddm1027]

This article describes what could happen at Swarthmore, Haverford, and Hopkins if the schools recruit well and relax their admissions policies a bit.  They are similarly situated academically to Middlebury and MIT (though they don't really have the MIT "brand" recognition).  Tufts is another NESCAC school that has turned things around quickly.  Tufts has gone from 1-8 in the conference in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and 2-7 in 2009-10 to 4-5 last year and 6-2 thus far this year.  Other than the NESCAC being a better basketball conference than the Centennial, I would see little reason for recruits to regularly go to Middlebury over Swarthmore or Haverford (they are similar academically and the two Centennial schools are not in the middle of nowhere) or Tufts over Johns Hopkins (I guess the Boston area may be a strong draw for Tufts and MIT).  I could see the conference getting much better if these programs improve.  If you have the academics and can get enough good players in and develop them (which has been the problem for these three) you don't need the basketball history.  That is probably particularly true in the Centennial, which does not regularly boast multiple top 25 teams let alone a few national championship contenders every year like the NESCAC.  Regular students often pick between schools like MIT, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Tufts, Swarthmore, Hopkins and Haverford; it doesn't make sense that recruits shouldn't be doing the same thing more often.   

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/alexander_wolff/02/03/middlebury.mit.wolff/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a6

[ddm1027]

F&M is obviously playing for NCAA position but in terms of the conference standings they have to be feeling very good.  The teams in the middle, on the other hand, are realizing their seasons will be ending soon if they don't keep pace, so they feel a real sense of urgency and have everything to play for.  I wouldn't be surprised to see teams at the top (and bottom) struggle a bit against these teams with their backs against the wall down the stretch.
There is a lot of talk about getting the last one or two playoff spots, but do posters see those teams making any noise in the postseason?  That is not to say that it is not an accomplishment to make the playoffs to begin with.  Tournaments do make this time of year great since the best team on paper doesn't always win.  In fact, I would love to see the CC expand the tournament to include all of the teams (or at least 8).  It might be a little more expensive in terms of travel but everyone would have something to play for and there could always be a huge upset or two.  Hosting a playoff game would also be great for the fan atmosphere at the top seeded schools and create a little more energy and interest going into the semis and finals.

[pizzashop]

I would suggest that Dips75 was suggesting that Dipphan was leaving the bait, not Hooligan.

Having been in every Centennial gym on multiple occasions, I don't think any team's fans are in any position to judge any other teams fans. I have seen all sorts of classiness and classlessness from all sides. The former outweighs the latter, but the latter really stands out.

[centfan]

Gettysburg over Ursinus
Haverford over McDaniel
Johns Hopkins over Swarthmore
Dickinson over Washington
Franklin And Marshall over Muhlenberg