MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Interesting Guys!!

Pat and Dave have us traveling to Rochester NY in the St. Johns Fisher POD to take on Calvin in the opening weekend. I actually think this would be a pretty favorable draw if this were to happen. As great as Pat and Dave are, you still can't bet on any of this going the way they see it even though year after year their projected bracket is always put together better than the NCAA suits who do it.

I think their Pool C teams are spot on. Very much like ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Pat and Dave can pick the entire field 99.9% of the time but actually deciding where they go in the bracket is always a crapshoot. Still very fun to observe and certainly holds you over until 12:30 as I am already googleing (is that a word?) stats for Calvin, Regis and St. Johns Fisher in the work place.

March is clearly the most unproductive work month of the year and I wouldn't want it any other way

DunkHaven!!!!

Just so you know, Dave went to bed after they picked the women's field - I stayed up with Pat to do the bracket (we finished at 1:48pm EST).  I'm not sure the committee will appreciate our creativity though.  I almost always like the d3hoops.com projection better than the actual bracket.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Plus K to you then HoopsFan! If I knew that was the case I would have included you in the post! I was listening to the show last night too and I knew Dave said he was going to bed, I just assumed he contributed in some way to it. He needed his beauty sleep  . He's getting a lot of face time today!!  And I think it is great that the NCAA finally realized that you guys at D3Hoops.com actually know what you're doing and put someone on to reveal the bracket who has more knowledge about D3 Hoops then they ever will begin to know.

Hopefully they let Dave have some freedom today. Maybe let him talk about some teams and matchups. Make it more interesting. As much as I tune in to watch it, all they ever do is run down the list and its over in about 10 minutes. Make it more interesting for these student athletes!! They deserve it!! Even though there probably all supposed to be in class during the reveal LOL lets add some more detail to it.

In the end I am sure the NCAA won't let Dave have any fun with it but at least getting Dave in is certainly a step in the right direction!!!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Plus K to you then HoopsFan! If I knew that was the case I would have included you in the post! I was listening to the show last night too and I knew Dave said he was going to bed, I just assumed he contributed in some way to it. He needed his beauty sleep  . He's getting a lot of face time today!!  And I think it is great that the NCAA finally realized that you guys at D3Hoops.com actually know what you're doing and put someone on to reveal the bracket who has more knowledge about D3 Hoops then they ever will begin to know.

Hopefully they let Dave have some freedom today. Maybe let him talk about some teams and matchups. Make it more interesting. As much as I tune in to watch it, all they ever do is run down the list and its over in about 10 minutes. Make it more interesting for these student athletes!! They deserve it!! Even though there probably all supposed to be in class during the reveal LOL lets add some more detail to it.

In the end I am sure the NCAA won't let Dave have any fun with it but at least getting Dave in is certainly a step in the right direction!!!

I was already looking at mileage and trying to do a bracket on my own, so it was easier to help.  Besides, this kind of thing is right up my alley - I love puzzles and maps and I'm kind of OCD.  If it weren't so late, I'd probably try and fix it a little to make sectionals easier, but then I remember, this isn't the real bracket and it will mean absolutely nothing in ten hours.

[lildave678]

Albertus gets it's 2nd NEWMAC team in the first round in as many years playing Springfield at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Dickinson plays Regis in the other game. Thoughts to come! Hopefully WPI (who's own team got in) can give us some insight on this matchup!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I don't know how well Albertus matches up with Springfield, but if they make the second round, they're a great match-up for Dickinson.  Gerry Wixted is the big force for the Red Devils, a big guy with athleticism and speed.  Vic is probably one of the few big men in the country who can match him in size and speed.  That'll be a premier matchup is Albertus can get passed Springfield.

[lildave678]

Yeah at first glance Albertus seems to match up well with Springfield. One guy runs 6'7 and then no one taller than 6'4 gets significant minutes. They only score 69 a game so Albertus usually does well against teams that are defensive minded. It's when we get in track meets with teams who are as capable on offense as us (IE, Williams last year) that we have some trouble.

I didn't want to look ahead but yeah that kid looks like a stud. Dickinson is very long, going 6'10, 6'8, and 6'7 across the front line. Both guards are over 6'2 IIRC as well. Are you saying IT'S a great matchup in general (Vic vs Wixted, the two teams themselves, etc) or are you saying it's a great matchup FOR us because we have someone who can neutralize Wixted?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah at first glance Albertus seems to match up well with Springfield. One guy runs 6'7 and then no one taller than 6'4 gets significant minutes. They only score 69 a game so Albertus usually does well against teams that are defensive minded. It's when we get in track meets with teams who are as capable on offense as us (IE, Williams last year) that we have some trouble.

I didn't want to look ahead but yeah that kid looks like a stud. Dickinson is very long, going 6'10, 6'8, and 6'7 across the front line. Both guards are over 6'2 IIRC as well. Are you saying IT'S a great matchup in general (Vic vs Wixted, the two teams themselves, etc) or are you saying it's a great matchup FOR us because we have someone who can neutralize Wixted?

I've seen Dickinson twice this year, including last weekend.  They're super disciplined, which will be interesting for the decidedly undisciplined Albertus - but I hesitate to talk too much about it until the Friday games are over.

[lildave678]

I hear you there! Springfield comes first.

[WPI89]

Very interesting matchups for Magnus.  Last year WPI came somewhat limpin into the tourney and gave Magnus their A game at Purchase.  Magnus I thought had spurts of A game as well - but clearly would have won that matchup 7+ times out of 10.

I think this year's Springfield team is similar to last year's WPI team.  I just think it will be hard for them to score enough to compete. 

I am also very familiar with Dickinson and think that could potentially be the best round of 32 matchup out there!

I will also refrain from any talk about it until after the game is set up.

[Gnacalum2323]

New to the board, but I have been following the Gnac thread for a very long time. I think Magnus has a tough bracket! The good thing is that they have the ability to win tough/close games, unlike last year and the year when Askew was an senior (expection was the NCAAs and SUNY reg seasons game) the 2012 and 2014 team kind of just blew past the reg season and Gnac playoffs.  This team is battle tested. I seen Springfield twice this year. They are tough.. defends pretty well the games I seen.

Albertus cannot defend for 35 seconds possession for 40 mins, they play great defensive for about 20 seconds and about 15 mins a game, thank God for Vic and his backline defense. Offense tho.. is there any question that Oliver is one the best in the country. I played against Magnus a couple years back... they always run their sets and they work, and they have good enough players that when it breaks down, they can score. THEY WILL MISS JENNINGS... Hes a BIG BIG BIG piece for a small player. He hit a big 3 against either WPI or SUNY last year. Kid is clutch ! excited

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Very interesting matchups for Magnus.  Last year WPI came somewhat limpin into the tourney and gave Magnus their A game at Purchase.  Magnus I thought had spurts of A game as well - but clearly would have won that matchup 7+ times out of 10.

I think this year's Springfield team is similar to last year's WPI team.  I just think it will be hard for them to score enough to compete. 

I am also very familiar with Dickinson and think that could potentially be the best round of 32 matchup out there!

I will also refrain from any talk about it until after the game is set up.

Yeah, I'm salivating about that one.  I think those are both top ten teams - it could easily be an elite eight matchup.

[Ferraro13]

New to the board, but I have been following the Gnac thread for a very long time. I think Magnus has a tough bracket! The good thing is that they have the ability to win tough/close games, unlike last year and the year when Askew was an senior (expection was the NCAAs and SUNY reg seasons game) the 2012 and 2014 team kind of just blew past the reg season and Gnac playoffs.  This team is battle tested. I seen Springfield twice this year. They are tough.. defends pretty well the games I seen.

Albertus cannot defend for 35 seconds possession for 40 mins, they play great defensive for about 20 seconds and about 15 mins a game, thank God for Vic and his backline defense. Offense tho.. is there any question that Oliver is one the best in the country. I played against Magnus a couple years back... they always run their sets and they work, and they have good enough players that when it breaks down, they can score. THEY WILL MISS JENNINGS... Hes a BIG BIG BIG piece for a small player. He hit a big 3 against either WPI or SUNY last year. Kid is clutch ! excited

Great post, spot on. Jennings was so key to this team.

[falcons2010]

Gnacalum; you are right. Jennings hit a big 3 abd had s big steal vs WPI. If he is on this team, I think Albertus makes a big run. Now, not sure. Really tough pod. Springfield is well coached and will slow the game down.

Will be a tough matchup.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Springfield presents an interesting challenge to the Falcons because as already mentioned they are well coached and pretty disciplined.

They will walk the ball up the court and use a burner office (similar to Mike Brey's style at Notre Dame) with the hopes of limiting the Falcons transition offense and making us play in the half court set. However if this is the case I am more than fine with that. When we run our half-court offense everything runs through Big Vic and there is not a single player on the Springfield roster that can physically or talent wise match up with Victor in the post. I think they would be reluctant to throw double teams at him like how our fellow GNAC opponents do because the zone can break down and Vic is excellent at finding the open cutters to the basket.

I also think Lemar Larsen will be the difference maker in this game. He has an excellent jump shot from the elbow/foul line area and as we know that area and the baseline are considered the "soft" spots of a zone. All I want Lemar to do is turn when he receives the pass and either shoot or dribble dump off underneath to Vic or a cutting guard. Lemar has been hesitating a little with the ball in his hands as of late. He needs to be more decisive.

Julian needs to shoot the ball better. Plain and simple if we want to go on a deep run. He is so talented and athletic it's scary but he just needs to shoot the ball at a higher percentage. I have faith in Julian, he is not afraid to take the big shot.

Eian and Sledge will do their thing. I think this is going to be a special tournament for these two great players if they can work together and keep their emotions in check. They need to be mentally into the game for the entire 40 minutes. Play smart and play together. No one can stop these two.

Marcus Walker needs to step up as well. REBOUND Marcus!!! That's it!! That's all we need you to do. Hit the boards hard and fight for every loose ball. Marcus is a professional; I know he will do all these things. A very polite and hardworking player who will do anything to help his team win.

A BRIGHT BRIGHT look into the future. Jaquan Walters will be a player to watch. He will be getting significant minutes in this tournament and for a true freshman I can't believe the amount of talent this young kid has at his age. So physically gifted with the ability to dribble and understand the offense. He needs to improve his free throw shooting A LOT but at 6'6 when this kid takes the ball to the rack he is very hard to stop.

I can't wait till Friday!!! Does anyone know when the team is leaving? These kids must be so amped up right now!! Hopefully they have a good broadcast feed at Dickinson College. PLEASEEEEEEE!!!! Maybe someone can weigh in on how their video feed is their. (Cough Cough Hoops Fan)

Dunk Haven!!

[WPI89]

Dickinson's regular season broadcasts are top quality - graphics - good camera angles and a VERY excited student announcer.  So I know the equipment is there for a great broadcast.  No idea how that translates to the tournament feed?