MBB: Centennial Conference

[Hoopdog14]

Who wins in the end of this year depends on which team shows up.  All five at times have looked unbeatable and then the next game look like are you kidding me.  I think it comes down to JHU and Ursinus.  Even though I dissed them at the beginning the Bears have been fairly solid. 

Gettysburg seems to be catching life a bit late  as they put up 3 figures on Haverford.  Speaking of Haverford they played the Mules straight up for the first half but were their own worse enemy at the end, losing by 12.  Stats show the game was closer than the board suggests.  Both teams shot low 40%, each had 36 boards, about even in assists but Haverford had 17 TOs ending in 25 Mule points.  Passes and rebounds were literally bouncing off the hands and bodies. 

Garnes took advantage of the Mules zone hitting 6 of 9 3s for 18 points while Sherman was 6 of 12 for 16.  LaRose took advantage of a weak Haverford inside defense going 7 of 10 for 19 pts.  The rest of the Mules offense still struggles.

[Swat Fan #1]

It appears Swat is hitting its stride right now. CW will be unanimous POY as he is playing out of his mind lately. While he was injured to start last season, it is hard to believe he only scored 40 points all season. I didn't see today's score against JH happening in a battle for first. The playoffs should be really good. Hopefully Swat gets a NCAA bid!

[BeRightOn]

Swarthmore even had a raucous student section that went absolutely wild on a spectacular run-down block by Yonda that set the tone mid-way through the first half. Swat's last two games have been impressive, going-away victories against other top teams in the conference. The playoff teams are set; now they're playing for venue. It seems Swat has a lock on the top spot with a two-game lead and two games to go, one against Haverford. F&M has the toughest road. Their two remaining games are against other playoff teams (Swat and Dickinson). Does anyone know how tie-breakers work beyond head-to-head?

[D.B. Cooper]

After head to head. It is usually best record against the first place team, then the second place team and so forth if teams have same record. Curiously it looks like F&M has the best secondary tiebreaker but they need to beat Dickinson anyway to not be 5th.

[Reserved Seat]

Washington had a raucous student section on Saturday, but so obnoxious and rude that my wife left and sat in the car for the second half. 

[HoopGuru]

Looks like my prediction was wrong about UC going 3-1 in their last 4 games.  Now, it looks like they are going to possibly be in that 4/5 play-in game.  If that's the case, hopefully they can at least get the 4 spot to be able to host that game, most likely against F&M who they would hold tie-breaker with if records are the same.  Not sure if that is a good thing though as it is always difficult to beat a good team 3 times in the same season.  Wright killed them yesterday.  Obviously, Dickinson was able to figure some things out from their first game and how UC was defending them.  Of course the 13-27 from 3 certainly helped them out.  Doubt Coach Small thought they would hit that many 3's against them.  If they shoot that well moving forward, going to be a tough team to beat

[Hoopdog14]

One of the most up & down season in the CC in recent memory.  Outside of SwaT, JHU, Dickinson, F&M ad Ursinus will end up depending on who shows up for the last 2 games.  The only constant has been the inconsistency of the teams.  The rest of the teams are playing for pride (if they have any left) and possibly coaching jobs. 

McDaniel plays tough but has come up short.Gettysburg was the real downside surprise to me. Although they blasted Muhlenburg on Saturday, hard to tell if G-burg improved that much or the Mules just sank lower.  Mules shot 32% from the field (29% 3s) while Gettysburg made short work of the mules zone shooting 47%  LaRose was 1 of 12 for Senior day.  Mules 3 big scorers LaRose, Rindock and Schreer have been mostly ineffective in conference play down the stretch which is probably more an indictment of the offense design than anything. Mules may end up playing .500 ball overall but strength of schedule would not equate to a good high school program

[Gabriel]

Ursinus/Dickinson game Saturday was very entertaining with Dickinson winning 80-78.  Both teams played at a high tempo for the full game. Difference was Dick hit 13 three pointers on 48 percent shooting after shooting only 26 percent for the season up to that point.  UC had a tough day at the line hitting only 10 of 17 free throws and missing the front end of several one and ones.  UC had two chances to win at the end but both Knowles and Eric Williams came up short.  Give credit to Dickinson they played very well for the full 40 minutes.

[commish]

LANCASTER, Pa. – February 14, 2017 - In a continued effort to enhance coverage of our students who participate in athletics, the Centennial Conference, in partnership with Stretch Internet, announces the creation of the Centennial Conference Roku app. The app is now available and the channel features live and on-demand events from across the Conference, including next weekend's men's and women's basketball championships.

The app is available as a free channel and streams live content from the Conference alongside Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, Watch ESPN, MLB.TV and many other channels directly to your TV. The channel will air all content that can also be found on CentennialConference.TV - the online streaming home of live and on-demand Centennial Conference competition.

In 2015-16, CentennialConference.TV streamed over 1,000 live events and surpassed 203,000 unique views.  This fall and winter, the Conference has already streamed 672 live events with nearly 150,000 live unique viewers, including many broadcasts in high definition.

"The Centennial Conference is thrilled to be the first NCAA Division III conference with a Roku app," said Centennial Conference Executive Director Steve Ulrich. "We are always looking for new and innovative ways to showcase our students who participate in athletics. Our streaming video partner, Stretch Internet, has worked with us to provide access to our regular-season and championship events, as well as our extensive on-demand content, through the Roku app. We hope that our students, parents, alumni and friends enjoy this unprecedented access to Centennial Conference events."

"Today is a great day for the Centennial Conference," said Stretch Internet President and CEO Ryan Ermeling. "The schools and their fans have spoken – and we've listened. Today's landscape requires the ability to provide viewers with more integrated options, and being able to view streams natively on TVs via Roku devices is a big step in that direction. Roku is just the first of many steps in creating an all-encompassing user experience on a variety of platforms. We're excited for the future."

How simple is it to use the Centennial Conference app? Just connect your Roku streaming player to your wireless network and your TV, create a Roku account, and start streaming.

Fans can download the app straight to their Roku device at the following link:

channelstore.roku.com/details/134750/centennial-conference

 
About the Centennial Conference

The purpose of the Centennial Conference is to provide for athletic competition among institutions that share high academic aspirations and are committed to the importance of the total educational experience for students engaged in sports.
NCAA Division III, founded in 1992

Full-time members (11): Bryn Mawr College, Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gettysburg College, Haverford College, Johns Hopkins University, McDaniel College, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, Ursinus College, Washington College.

Affiliate Members (6): Juniata College (football), Moravian College (football), Susquehanna University (football), Stevens Institute of Technology (wrestling), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (wrestling), Washington and Lee University (wrestling).
Website: Centennial.org

Streaming Video Portal: CentennialConference.TV

Stretch Internet, based in Gilbert, AZ, was founded in 2003 by a former college athletics media relations professional who saw a need to provide affordable, high-quality streaming to college and university athletic departments. Stretch Internet now works with nearly 600 colleges and universities, high schools and professional sports organizations. A devotion to utilizing the best streaming technology possible and providing a phenomenal and memorable user experience – backed by "freakishly good support" – have helped Stretch Internet become one of the largest streaming media specialists in the sports industry.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

This is fantastic.  I use Roku for all my TV watching.  I'll be getting this app as soon as I get home.  I'll be watching a lot more CC games, too.  Although it might make it easier not to drive to Swarthmore for the tourney next weekend.

[HoopGuru]

What are the tie-breakers for 3 way tie for playoffs?  I know UC would win tie-breaker with F&M if each of them lose on Saturday and Dickinson wins.  I don't see Dickinson losing to Washington and believe F&M will beat Swat and UC will win at Gettysburg to end in a three-way tie.

[BeRightOn]

Here's my understanding of the tie-breaker scenarios. More knowledgable parties, please correct:

Current records with one game to play:
Dickinson = 11-6
F&M = 11-6
Ursinus = 11-6

Head to Head:
Dickinson: 0-2 vs F&M; 1-1 vs Ursinus; total = 1-3
F&M: 2-0 vs Dickinson; 0-2 vs Ursinus; total = 2-2
Ursinus: 1-1 vs Dickinson; 0-2 vs F&M; total = 1-3

Records against top-seeded teams (so far)
Dickinson: 0-2 vs Swat; 2-0 vs Hopkins
F&M: 0-1 vs Swat; 0-2 vs Hopkins
Ursinus: 0-2 vs Swat; 0-2 vs  Hopkins

If all three teams win
F&M seeded third (better H-H record)
Dickinson seeded 4th (better record against higher seeds)

If F&M loses and Dickinson and Ursinus win
Dickinson is third (better against higher seeds)
Ursinus seeded fourth

If Dickinson loses and others win
Ursinus = 3rd, better H-H vs F&M
F&M seeded 4th

If Ursinus loses and others win
F&M seeded third, better H-H vs Dickinson
Dickinson seeded 4th

[Hoopdog14]

BeRightOn  great job on the Rubix Cube of playoff schedules.

If Ursinus shots like they did vs the Mules last night they could be trouble no matter where they are seeded.  Williams, Knowles and Quattro were 10- of 19 from 3s for 53% as they crushed Muhlenberg's zone in the second half.  The Bears had 21 assists for the night as well.  After leading by 1 at the half they exploded to beat the Mules 86-59, sweeping the Mules for the first time in 7 years.

For the Mules they are one game away from putting this miserable season to rest.  Bears blitzed the defense and the offense was more of the same; ill-advised shots or missed open looks.  Mules ended up shooting 23% in the 2nd half (21% from 3s).  Time to take a hard look in the mirror

[Gabriel]

BeRightOn,

Need to recalculate your analysis.  Ursinus is 2-0 against F&M, not 0-2----which changes your conclusions.

[Reserved Seat]

Also, F&M is 1-0 against Swarthmore, not 0-1.