MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

pjunito · January 20, 2013, 08:48:56 PM

They didn't last year, so I am not sure. They have a live stats feature.

pjunito · January 21, 2013, 09:05:14 PM

Anna Maria takes it hard to Albertus and pulls off the upset. The game was tied with under 5 mins left and Anna Maria made lay up after lay up to stop the 35 game conference win streak by the falcons in GNAC play.

Give Anna Maria all the credit. The outrebounded the falcons by 20 including 18 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second chance points. I thought Anna Maria would give the Falcons the most trouble in the GNAC. However, I still believe Albertus won't lose a home game. So, it is important for them to get the 1 seed. They still controll their own destiny.

What this means for:

Albertus - they will drop out of top 25 and probably won't get back up there this year (even if they run the table). Because of the unbalance schedule they won't have an opportunity to avenge their lost during the regular season. They have St. Joe's at home and JWU on the road. Probably their two toughest games left. This lost could be a blessing.. Now, Coach Oliver can work these guys and they will need to work in practice to improve their weakness. No longer can their talent just get them by.

Anna Maria - After getting blown out of last year championship game, they now believe they can win the conference. They are on a roll, and they have beaten JWU and ST. Joes in last year playoff. They now believe they can beat anyone.

JWU - a golden opportunity to win the GNAC regular season. They have Albertus at home the final game of the year. They also have Anna Maria next saturday on the road.

The rest of the GNAC - Albertus is no longer invincible.. Teams have to attack them. Out work them on the glass and force them to beat you at the line and you have a shot.

Great end to the regular season comin up

lildave678 · January 22, 2013, 10:47:51 AM

yeah Dave on Hoopsville just asked Mitch about continually getting outrebounded and it finally caught up to them.

Much like you, as long as they maintain the number 1 seed I think they'll be ok. The biggest thing I see from this (along with the inevitable permanent drop out of the top 25) is that if they do make the NCAA Tourney, they could be the team playing the first round host instead of the middle-neutral game like they did last year.

Hopefully they get it together!

WPI89 · January 22, 2013, 11:03:56 AM

Agree completely - I could almost see Magnus right now playing the Amherst/Williams/Middlebury winner at their place - that would be brutal. The other thing that loss does is maybe take the safety net away? They are no longer a lock for an at large if they slip up in the GNAC tourney.

lildave678 · January 22, 2013, 11:48:35 AM

Exactly my thought. I thought to last season and instead of playing St Joes of LI in Middlebury, they'll be the one playing Middlebury first.

I think with their recent success (2 first round wins in the past 3 years) that with a clean slate but a slip in the tourney they would have received consideration, but not now especially without a brand name like Ray Askew.

pjunito · January 22, 2013, 03:37:02 PM

WPI, I am enjoying the run your guys are putting together. Rooting hard for them. I couldn;t agree more, the reality is Albertus plays in a weak conference and has a poor SOS and Massey ranking. We will have to wait to see where they rank when regional rankings come out. But, it looks like they will need to win the conference to make the national tournament.

And yes, the odds of playing a tough first round opponent has increase. All they can do now is keep winning games and getting better.

Dave, how good was Askew!

lildave678 · January 23, 2013, 04:34:27 PM

TOO GOOD! lol I remember seeing him as a freshman and thinking "How did this kid end up at Albertus?" At that point I had seen more entertaining, dunk-filled basketball games when I was in high school in Waterbury, and I was almost bored by the AMC games. As stated earlier in the thread though, I don't think any of this happens without Mitch. What he's done with the program is sensational!

pjunito · January 24, 2013, 09:46:31 AM

I agree, Mitch is the key. by the way, Mitch was kicked out of the game vs Anna Maria with 12 mins left and up 2. If he is coaching down the entire game, I think Albertus might have won.

Askew grew 4 inches from senior year in hs to his freshmen year in College. He was a stud from day one. He was so good and smooth. He had a great career here. Watson is probably a better scoring at this point. Watson has a D1 body and is a beast ni the post. He is also shooting very well from three point land. He is hard to guard. If you remember Dave, Albertus had a 7-0 lead vs Middlebury in VT in the tourney last year. Watson picked up two early fouls and had to go to the bench. When he returned Middlebury was up 17.

lildave678 · January 24, 2013, 10:13:05 AM

I just remember that as quick as it was 7-0 AMC, even quicker it was 9-7 Middlebury and that was that haha

pjunito · January 24, 2013, 12:14:04 PM

That was that!! This year's team is not as good as last year... So, I am not sure what to expect if they make the tournament.

GnacAlum55 · February 01, 2013, 09:39:18 AM

Albertus falls to Suffolk 92-91...did anyone see it? What happened??

GnacAlum55 · February 02, 2013, 12:46:08 PM

Crickets....very quiet board...

pjunito · February 02, 2013, 06:36:49 PM

GnacAlum,

Albertus played a solid offensive game; they just didn't play defensive well. Usually, they have a 5 minute stretch where they pull away because they create bad shot attempts and turnovers and get easy baskets in transition. This didn't happen at Suffolk. Suffolk killed them with the pick and roll. Albertus didn't have an answer for it and this cost Albertus the game. Albertus had ball with 16 seconds left down 1. Watson got the ball about 30 feet away from basket was doubled and turned the ball over and that was the game. He tried dribbling out of the double instead of passing. I don't blame him he was unstoppable up until that point, give them credit.

Albertus will have to fight for the GNAC championship this year. Teams are no longer afraid of Albertus and are excuting.

You're a ball player - tell me does a lost like this kill a team or make them stronger?

pjunito · February 02, 2013, 11:16:28 PM

Abertus bounces back with a good effort at Rivier. Anna Maria wins its 11 straight game; they haven't lost since Dec 6 at JWU. They are on a roll and hot. Last year, Anna Maria was very inconsistent, this year it looks like they have confidence and are winning easy.

lildave678 · February 06, 2013, 10:35:18 AM

Knew this board would be quiet with AMC being off until the 9th...

"Albertus will have to fight for the GNAC championship this year. Teams are no longer afraid of Albertus and are excuting."

Just reflecting on this compared to last years team and 2010 - I think a big key is that there is no number 2 that can shoulder the offensive load. In 2010, after Ray Walden or even Byron could take over for stretches and make teams pay for eyeing on Ray. Obviously last year when teams focused too much on Ray, Darius could drop 20 in a heartbeat. Darius has obviously moved into Ray's role offensively but there's no clear cut number 2. Arshad and Jennings seem to do ok for stretches (keeping in mind that Jennings is a freshman) but if Darius is off I can see the team struggling offensively.

Plus the team never really plays defense anyway. They just look to outscore haha