MBB: Centennial Conference

[CCD3Basketball]

Hooper, you are correct. I should have explained myself more. "Carrying the load" was not the right phrase to use, per se. What I was trying to say (or meant to say) was, in the past, like this year, he has so much attention paid to him, that in a way he still was "carrying the load" because, even though he had that surrounding talent, he would always force it upon himself and put pressure on himself to make the plays when all else failed. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. But in the past, he also had those quality teammates to bail him out if worse came to worse, like a 6'10 Hargrove, and a Curry, and of course a Liddic (who I still think was a more consistent player than James McNally was at F&M, but they both were great and are Centennial legends, so that's apples and apples). This year, he's still trying to "carry that load", but unlike in the past, he doesn't have a lot of help to bail him out, other than the likes of Stavetski. Schreer and Larose I think can get to that point, and big John Hunter too, but are still a little too young at the moment. In turn, I think Malique is putting even more pressure on himself this year, and where as in the past he would have gotten the help to bail him out if needed, he doesn't quite have all that help yet. By the end of the year, I fully expect that story to be different once Larose and Schreer get a few more games to take that next step. But right now, the Mules need that to happen fast, because all of a sudden McDaniel has a multiple game cushion on that last playoff spot.

[Hooper]

All good.  I hear you and agree.  He is actually taking 3 less shots per game than last year, but percentage is down.  Time will tell.

[CCD3Basketball]

Indeed. They'll have a tough test Saturday in Chestertown. Even though WC is 1-13, the shore always seems to give Muhlenberg troubles when they play there. In fact, last year they lost an overtime slugfest in Chestertown 104-99.

As for last night's game, I'm surprised there hasn't been any chatter on here about it.

JHU is for real. The defending CC champs made it look real easy against #4 Dickinson last night. However, I'm not necessarily surprised that Dickinson lost, bit what surprises me is just how easy the Blue Jays made it look. Wixted got his double double, but he struggled from the field overall, and except for a spurt of 3 threes late in the first half, Angradi was non-existent. They never really mounted a threat in the second half as JHU coasted to the win.

[DipsWin13]

Dickinson has a very good squad this year, but it really only felt like a matter of time before they came back down to earth a little bit.  I find it hard to believe that they're a substantively better squad than they were a year ago, perhaps solely by virtue of no longer having Adam Honig on their roster, and that #4 ranking maybe felt a little bit inflated, especially with the one loss to a middle of the pack (but up-and-coming) Gettysburg team.

I was also surprised the way in which Hopkins won that game... You'd expect Jimmy Hammer would have to go off in order to beat a team like Dickinson, but it was a relatively quiet night for one of the best shooters in the Centennial.  If JHU can consistently get secondary scoring like they did last night (12 from G. Williams off the bench) they could be a very tough team to beat.

Honest question here (maybe just for the sake of discussion): Final seeding aside, is there any way anyone here could see one of the teams not currently in the top 5 (Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, Haverford, or Washington) breaking through and getting into the playoffs?  The Mules are probably the toughest of that group (and the only one that doesn't currently have a sub-.500 record) but even they would have to come from at least two games back to get to the #5 seed in the conference.  I know we're not even halfway through the conference schedule, but right now it does feel like some combination of F&M, JHU, Dickinson, Gettysburg, and McDaniel will be competing in the conference tournament.  I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!

[CCD3Basketball]

If any team could do it, I think Muhlenberg has the best shot, just from a talent standpoint, as they are a team that can put up points in bunches on a hot night. And, they already own one win over McDaniel, the current 5 seed, earlier this year, although that game was in Allentown, and I suspect a different result when they head to Westminster. That being said, I think more than likely you already have your top 5 teams locked, the only question probably would be the seedings.

That being said though, theoretically any team could get hot and make a run, beings that the separation from 5th to last is only 3 games with, what, 11 CC games yet to play? Any one of those teams could catch fire and get in. For example....

-WC who sits at 1-13, 1-6 CC but if you look at their game-by-game results, box scores, game recaps, etc., there are quite a few games that they were in until the end, and situations that if one or two more baskets drop here or there against the likes of Gburg (a one point loss), Dickinson (down 3 with a minute left) or F&M (down 1 with 1:30 to play, until a big 3 by Matthew Tate killed the rally), we could be talking about them being in the conversation.

-Same goes for Haverford. They also sit at 1-6 in CC play like WC, but have a W against the Mules, a 7 point loss to McDaniel (when they were only down 4 with :32 seconds left), a 6 point loss at Gburg (down 3 with 1:35 to play), and a 2 point loss to Hopkins in which Jimmy Hammer had to hit a 30+ foot 3 to win it at the buzzer. A bucket or two here or there, and we could be talking about the Fords now too.

-Swarthmore already has 2 CC wins, along with an 8 point loss to Dickinson (down 3 with 2:30 to go) and a 5 point loss to Gettysburg (in which they had a 7 point halftime lead and only trailed by 2 with :30 seconds left).

-Then there's Ursinus, who got blown out by CC opponents JHU, Swat, F&M and McDaniel earlier this year, but has now gone 5-2 in their last 7 games, including 4 straight wins at home, which includes a win over current T-3rd in the CC Gettysburg.

The point is, any of those teams, in theory, could catch fire, steal a few wins, and be right there towards the end of the season. Of those teams, I still think the Mules have the best shot (unless they go to Chestertown and lose to WC this weekend, which happened last year) to do so. But ultimately, I think your 5 teams are locked, and only the order still needs to be determined. I'm just saying, it is very well still possible, but not likely, that one of those teams could sneak in, or at the very least, make the last week interesting.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Dickinson has a very good squad this year, but it really only felt like a matter of time before they came back down to earth a little bit.  I find it hard to believe that they're a substantively better squad than they were a year ago, perhaps solely by virtue of no longer having Adam Honig on their roster, and that #4 ranking maybe felt a little bit inflated, especially with the one loss to a middle of the pack (but up-and-coming) Gettysburg team.

I'm not sure it's inflated, I think it's just that kind of year in D3.  They might be more like 8 or 10 than 4, but that's splitting hairs, really.  I just think we don't have any teams across the country as dominant as we're used to at the top.  I can't say there's a team in the Atlantic or Mid-Atlantic Region I'd put ahead of Dickinson, but, yes, they're not as good as typical #4 teams.

[hoop master]

  New to  the boards , though been following for years.  Big W for Blue Jays yesterday. Coming off of a near major upset  by Haverford last week--- Hammer time showd  why he is one of the deadliest shooting forwards this year in conference by  nailing a three at buzzer to  beat Haverford..  Blue Jays play  the best  team offense in conf and strong man  to man on def will make them very tough again once playoffs come.  Dickenson ,though getting the rightful national props---misses Honig stellar play at guard position and it will equalize Wixted and other bigs efectiveness, against teams with quickness at that position. I am not sure they will blossom as well as they did last year, despite their current run. Looking  like F and M , Dickenson, and Blue Jays, will be shue ins  to make playoffs, but  think the rest is still up for grabs.  Inconsistant play so far by  bottom and middle teams will make for a fun conf second half.  Gettysburg, though sitting with a nice record, still has the big  boys to go through, and Keifer  not back to himself yet after his injury.. My  dark horse to  make the playoffs , as poor as their record is now,will be Haverford.  Looking at their conf record, other than a wacking from F and M, the Fords have taken all their opponents down to  the wire. Check out  the first Dickenson game and closeness of score late in game  before falling, let  alone leading Hopkins with 2 seconds to go in game. Height disadvantage will always be a vulnerability, but with a 6"8 frosh, just back from injury, might help as  season progresses. Haverford  has very  strong quick  guards, who match up well  with this years assortment  in the league  F and M still the team to beat--- will they ? run the table in conferance is the only question...I think not, but will once  again host  the playoffs .  Alot  of ball still to go, and now  all the kids are back to school instead of just  hoops and fun. Rest and health become the missing factor for success.

[D.B. Cooper]

Key game between G-burg & SWAT. Garnet need to turn things around with a win over a top ream. Bullets need to hold on to playoff credentials.

F&M starts challenging 3 game road trip. It seems like Dips have lost something like 7 of last 10 in Westminster even with some excellent teams in that stretch and McDaniel is tough this year. Dips have fared better in Carlisle recently but Dickinson is still a favorite to win CC. With the loss in Baltimore next weeks contest with F&M will be huge and I assume they will come after Dips with an intense fervor at home. Haverford is a possible let down game, plus every CC road game is treacherous. This is an unusual F&M team whose strength is outside and 3-point shooting rather than inside play, but the outside shooting opens up play inside. They usually have defensive intensity plus reasonable depth, though much of it is from underclassmen. Many teams will try to pressure them like Immaculata, Stockton & Albright had some success with.

CC and F&M are hard to predict this year or any year, but Dips should lose at least one of the next 2 games, they are equally likely to lose to Terror or Red Devils and probably modest underdogs in each game.

[Reserved Seat]

F&M always struggles at Westminister.  Before the game, I warned several of the players to make sure they got a comfortable lead so that the refs didn't come into play.  The refs weren't horrendous made several questionable calls some each way but more in favor of McDaniel.  Several none calls were also helpful to McDaniel.  McDaniel played much better defense, and Royster hit numerous uncontested shots.  McDaniel hit about 4 shots looked like they had no change when they were taken.  Yrizarry and Perry played very aggressive defense making it hard for Moune and Federici to get off shots.  When Tate went out with a sprained ankle, F&M lost all their depth at the point, forcing Wright to play most of the second half without rest.  Federici's fouls kept him from being effective.  Eggers, also, sprained his ankle slowing him on offense and defense.  Lee and Levy had decent games, but not enough to pull F&M through.  F&M will have to regroup before playing Dickinson on Wednesday, especially if Tate's injury lingers.  McDaniel will be hard to beat on home court.  Hopkins should have height to dominate the boards against McDaniel.

[hoop master]

Dickenson over whelms Haverford with size advantage , as Fords appeared to pack it up with 8 minutes left, and unable to climb back like they did from 24 down to Blue Jays.  Still think Dickenson front court is suspect, and expect Dips to prevail in upcoming game. Dickenson bigs prefer the three instead of pounding down low, void of Wixted , who does it all. 

[Hoopdog14]

You confuse "carrying the load" and getting his.  Killins has one goal; break the school record winning is incidental.  He is still taking ill-advised out of control shots but is not receiving love from the refs any longer.  He's also near the top in turnovers.  There was some earlier discussion of Nugent being the worst coach. It seems that title was certainly taken by McClary as they were blown out by G-burg, F&M and lost to WaCo

Not sure what you meant by "the likes of" Stavetski, LaRose ... but Stavetski was honorable mention all conference last year and was among the leaders of ppg/ 3s and FT %.  LaRose will be all conference.  The best defense against both of them has been their coach.  A review of the play by play from the G-burg game showed down by 5 in second half Stavetski scored over a dozen in the second half then was benched after an offensive charge.  He sat for 7 minutes and Mules went scoreless in 6 of them and the lead went from 5 to 25.  LaRose frustration grows as he watches the Killins, Scheer and the freshman dribble the shot clock away.

Their playoff chances possibly have melted- rumor is that Stavetski is out for the season with a fractured leg

[CCD3Basketball]

Quite the week in conference play last week. JHU reminded everyone of why they're the defending CC champs, then McDaniel goes out and shows why F&M struggles in Westminster at times. All of a sudden the Green Terror have 3 games of separation in the race for the last playoff spot with 10 to play. Needless to say, a big win for the Terror. And only 2 games of separation now from 1st to 5th, AND we get to see F&M vs. Dickinson and Gettysburg vs. McDaniel Wednesday night. Sign me up for that!

[Reserved Seat]

Centennial Conference has 3 teams in the top 25.  wow

[r.w. mcnickels]

D-Mac, you say in this week's blog that "F&M has got to figure out how to win outside of the Mayser Center." Doesn't the win at Hopkins count?

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/01/19/daves-top-25-ballot-week-7-3/

[CCD3Basketball]

Centennial Conference has 3 teams in the top 25.  wow

First time that 3 teams have ever been ranked in the same poll in the Centennial