MBB: Centennial Conference

[Gabriel]

D.B.

I stand corrected.  I have in front of me the box score posted on the Centennial Conference web page from last night that shows the final as 80-74.  It has been changed to 80-77, so they did count it.  Sorry about that.  I was very distraught with the way the Bears threw the ball away at the end.  We don't have a finisher right now but we have some potential in the freshman and sophomore classes. Go Bears!

[njf1003]

Gburg's coach is retiring:
http://gettysburgsports.com/news/2018/2/1/petrie-to-retire-as-mens-basketball-mens-golf-coach.aspx

Truly a change in guard in the CC going on.

[CCD3Basketball]

Picks for this weekend, anyone?


Dickinson @ Johns Hopkins: Blue Jays should win this one, but I think Dickinson finds a way to keep it close.


McDaniel @ Swarthmore: I would NOT want to be the Green Terror tomorrow, not after Swarthmore went down on Wednesday night. Garnet should roll in this one.


Gettysburg @ Haverford: We'll see how good the Fords are. If they truly are a team that could be building to make a little noise next year with a second year head coach, this is the type of game they should win against a Gettysburg team that has fallen off the map. Does that mean they will? Well, who knows? Had a 14 point lead at Washington the other night and let it slip away too....would love to see Petrie pick up a couple of wins down the stretch and go out the right way, but I think the Fords find a way to eek this one out.


Muhlenberg @ Franklin & Marshall: Can the Mules pull off the double over F&M? They already own a 2 point win over the Dips this year, and just took down Swarthmore in OT the other night. But that being said, I think Federici and company will be just a little too much for the Mules tomorrow.


Ursinus @ Washington: Again, this is one of those games on paper that Ursinus should win, but you never know when teams travel to the Eastern Shore. And with Saturday apparently being Alumni Day, there should be plenty of energy inside of Cain. It all depends on which Washington team shows up: the one that hung 111 on Dickinson at The Palestra, or the one who barely managed 53 and got blown out at home by Gettysburg? This is a game that the Bears should win, but don't be surprised to see Washington pull off an upset.

[Hank Mardukas]

Sorry, I've been silent the last couple days, I Just returned from my post-mules victory bender. Having said that, I want to apologize to all of my 5 children, my wife made me aware of my actions and I regret those words. Having said that I am confident that the Mules will keep this streak of beating top 25 teams. It is very hard to beat F&M twice in one year, but anything is possible with the acrobatic Rindock who is the fearless leader that has just recently emerged for the Mules. Alongside Rindock, I believe O-O-O-wen McCloud will be a matchup nightmare for the dips guards. He is probably the most consistent 2-way player the Mules have on the roster. Also, is it too early to say the Hopkins is the new Marshall and Brown is the New Donaldson who we all know was the Gettysburg assistant womens basketball coach back in 02. My sources have not confirmed if the Duke of Hazard will be back from his recent encounter with the common cold. Have not been told about the freshman sensation Peter Morreale's return, I fear he might have lost the love of the game and maybe the mules should just move on from him. I also heard rumors that Gnias got a technical last game and that is completely false. He will be playing in his 56th consecutive game without a tech, keep up the good work son. 

[Gabriel]

Routine day yesterday with no upsets and no blowouts.  I watched the UC/WC game on line.  Good crowd but what a strange gym.  WC played well and kept the game within reach until the end.  They do not have the size to match up with the Bears.
Quattro had 20 at halftime and finished with a double double---27 points and 10 rebounds.  They doubled him the second half. McTamney helped out with 21.  All in all, a good workman like "get back on track" win for the Bears after losses to JHU and F&M. 

Some big games on Wednesday with playoff implications ----F&M at JHU,  Swat at UC. Muhlenberg at Haverford, Gettysburg at Dickinson and, for Maryland bragging rights, WC at McDaniel.

[centfan]

Go Eagles
Foles is tough

[Hank Mardukas]

Anybody know if the Mules are still making the trip to Haverford??? Don't want to drive down there for no game like I did in 04!!!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

They usually post changes on websites... no change as of now.

McDaniel has postponed their game with Washington until tomorrow... now part of a double-header.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Men's first regional rankings this season: http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2018/02/men-regional-rankings-first

[BleedingGreen]

Centfan you are right! Foles delivered me something I never thought I would see- an Eagles Super Bowl! One of my favorite athletes in Philly history, although nobody comes close to Julius Erving for me! God has blessed Philly with this championship, plus Embiid and Simmons! Sunday was one of the greatest days of my life.  Years of torture have paid off!

Sorry for the distraction, back to the cent.  How do we all feel about the Mules chances of making the playoffs? If only the F&M game hadn't slipped away, I think they would be in excellent position.  However, not so sure now. What a turn around that would be, with a first year coach.  In the big upset against Swat, Rindock was sensational! Where do you guys feel he falls in terms of all-conference picks? Overall, I've been really impressed with the rookie coaches this year. Seems like all of them have been successful, which bodes well for the future of the conference.

Let me know what you guys think! Go Mules!

In Foles we trust!

[victorborga]

Long time reader, wanted to make a comment on last week's discussion about the league being down or not.  I believe it is down, but it's not strictly a Cent problem, it's a widespread issue across most of, if not all of D3.  The transfer epidemic that sees 35% of D1 players change schools, combined with too many other players leaving school early for myriad reasons, causes nearly 50% of D1 roster turnover every season.  This trickles down to the D3 level, robbing it of the talent and depth it used to have.  I can't say for certainty this is the case in the Midwest, where D3 seems to be especially strong, but on the east coast, it sure as heck seems to be accurate.  Anyone 6'7 or bigger that has a pulse gets a scholarship these days, be it D1 or D2, so bigs are not "settling" for D3 anymore.  Where are the impact freshmen?  I count Delaney at Hopkins, anybody have another?  Morreale was having a productive year, but has missed half of it with injury.  F&M came in with a heralded class, haven't seen consistent production from any of them.  Dickinson, Ursinus, nothing to be seen there either.  The Soph class has a few more studs, but not nearly as many as the JR and SR classes do.  Also, very little depth in the conference, at virtually any school, though I guess that is not totally uncommon.  I will say the young coaching changes at Muhlenberg, Haverford and Hopkins have breathed life into those schools, and the same thing is likely to happen at Gettysburg in a few months.  The league is competitive and there are good teams and players, but as a whole I just see it being down, and unfortunately I see it trending that way for the near future.  Looking forward to feedback from the veterans here, am I nuts?  Should be a fun few weeks coming up.

[ronk]

Long time reader, wanted to make a comment on last week's discussion about the league being down or not.  I believe it is down, but it's not strictly a Cent problem, it's a widespread issue across most of, if not all of D3.  The transfer epidemic that sees 35% of D1 players change schools, combined with too many other players leaving school early for myriad reasons, causes nearly 50% of D1 roster turnover every season.  This trickles down to the D3 level, robbing it of the talent and depth it used to have.  I can't say for certainty this is the case in the Midwest, where D3 seems to be especially strong, but on the east coast, it sure as heck seems to be accurate.  Anyone 6'7 or bigger that has a pulse gets a scholarship these days, be it D1 or D2, so bigs are not "settling" for D3 anymore. Where are the impact freshmen?  I count Delaney at Hopkins, anybody have another?  Morreale was having a productive year, but has missed half of it with injury.  F&M came in with a heralded class, haven't seen consistent production from any of them.  Dickinson, Ursinus, nothing to be seen there either.  The Soph class has a few more studs, but not nearly as many as the JR and SR classes do.  Also, very little depth in the conference, at virtually any school, though I guess that is not totally uncommon.  I will say the young coaching changes at Muhlenberg, Haverford and Hopkins have breathed life into those schools, and the same thing is likely to happen at Gettysburg in a few months.  The league is competitive and there are good teams and players, but as a whole I just see it being down, and unfortunately I see it trending that way for the near future.  Looking forward to feedback from the veterans here, am I nuts?  Should be a fun few weeks coming up.

I've posted these sentiments about the Landmark; Jay Howard of Catholic, a current senior, is the last quality player to come into the conference; it's been a 3-year drought and counting.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The first regional rankings are out which in itself brings on a lot of conversation, but the jockeying and positioning contines in conferences around the country for teams trying to keep their seasons going into March.

On Thursday's edition of Hoopsville, Dave talks to a number of high-ranking squads about the pressure to stay atop their respective conference races while also positioning themselves well in the regional rankings.

Dave also welcomes a coach who has played in DIII, coached in both DII and DIII, and coached both men and women. He talks about the road, possibly, less traveled in the "WBCA Center Court" segment.

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can watch the show LIVE starting at 7:00 p.m. ET here: http://bit.ly/2EROVeC

If you have questions, be sure to interact with the show on social media (see below) or email us your questions (hoopsville@d3hoops.com).

Guests include (in order of appearance):
- Ryan Gould, No. 7 Trine women's coach
- Michelle Ferenz, No. 5 Whitman women's coach
- Charlie Just, Spalding women's coach (WBCA Center Court)
- Landry Kosmalski, No. 11 Swarthmore men's coach
- Tom Curle, Plattsburgh State men's coach

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts instead, you can get access to them or subscribe one of the three following ways (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville



Don't forget you can always interact with us:
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[Hank Mardukas]

@BleedingGreen:
I do not believe the Mules will make the playoffs. The reason why is that Spencer the "Dukes of Hazard" is still out and no sign that Peter Morreale will be making a return anytime soon. Only so much Coach Brown can do on the sideline. Also, Rindock has totally let the 1,000 points go to his head. He has been a bit of a ball hog and heard him yelling at one of the bench players during a timeout. Also, anybody else impressed with the play of drastically underused Alex Mitton. Kid impressed me, been on the team 3 years and feel like he should have been getting minutes a long time ago.

[noonhooper]

Coming down the home stretch here and there are a ton of seeding implications left. Here is a look at the remaining schedule for teams in the hunt:

Swarthmore: toughest remaining schedule of contenders.
@ JHU
vs Haverford
vs F&M
Opponents have 57.7% win percentage (in conference)

F&M
vsWash
vs Dickinson
@ Swat
Opponents  55.5%

JHU
vs Swat
@ Wash
@Haverford
Opponent 40%

Ursinus
@Dickinson
@Muhlenberg
vs Gettysburg
Opponent 46.6%

Dickinson
vs Ursinus
@F&M
@Washington
55.5%

Muhlenberg
@Gettysburg
vs Ursinus
@ McDaniel
Opponent 35.5%

Mules have a solid chance of getting into the playoffs, and if they take care of business they could even hot the play-in game.
The F&M/Swat game has so many different ways it could affect seeding because of potential tie breakers between F&M/Swat/JHU.
If I were betting I would say the final order is this:
Swat
JHU
F&M
Dickinson
Muhlenberg

Let's Go!!!