WBB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Enginerd]

Well - the very first HCAC out of the gate for the Engineers is a gigantic one. Implications for March in a game played in early December.
Haven't seen Transylvania play this year but probably a bit more perimeter-oriented than in year's past.
Only common opponent is Berea, who beat RHIT and lost to Transy by 20.
I don't know if Hein would have made 20 points worth of a difference, but there's no way the Engineers lose to Berea with one more hugely-talented perimeter player of her talent making them pay for pressing.
Transy is good. RHIT has always played well in Lexington, with but one or two exceptions over the past 15 years or so - should be a bare-knuckle, desperate affair - and a lot of fun to watch!

[Jester1390]

Engine the girls look good. Hein is a difference maker  out of control at times but most of the conference wont be able to stop her. Depauw did a good a job had the athletes to help contain her driving unlike IWU.  Baum is already getting double doubles and is just scratching at the surface at what she can do. Barlow is a huge weapon in the paint.   If Burnham gets back to her consistency in the paint they will be very hard inside.  Jester my favorite player had a terrible start to the Iwu game, Been a long time since i have seen her get beaten so cleanly on back to back possessions like Huber did to her but she got her crap together in the 4th and overtime to help them win. In the depauw game she was back to playing great defense and contributing on the scoreboard .   Rudolph help catapult the win over  IWU with off the chart shooting and 16 points but she still remains a liability in turning over the ball.  Blake and Miller providing productive minutes.  Not sure what is the situation with Wilson she has not played much. 

[Baldini]

Well - the very first HCAC out of the gate for the Engineers is a gigantic one. Implications for March in a game played in early December.
Haven't seen Transylvania play this year but probably a bit more perimeter-oriented than in year's past.
Only common opponent is Berea, who beat RHIT and lost to Transy by 20.
I don't know if Hein would have made 20 points worth of a difference, but there's no way the Engineers lose to Berea with one more hugely-talented perimeter player of her talent making them pay for pressing.
Transy is good. RHIT has always played well in Lexington, with but one or two exceptions over the past 15 years or so - should be a bare-knuckle, desperate affair - and a lot of fun to watch!

You are correct Enginerd about RHIT always seeming to play well in Lexington, even when RHIT has had a down year. I didn't think this Transylvania team was as talented as some in the past 5-10 years, but they seem to play better as a unit than some of those more individually gifted teams. The win at preseason #7 Tufts was a thing of beauty in teamwork. Add in the two wins this past weekend against Berea by 20 (Jester1390 tells me they are a top 20 team) and Piedmont by 30 who was 26th in preseason voting and they look like a team clicking at the moment.

Transy opens at Franklin before the big showdown with RHIT on Saturday.   

[Jester1390]

ok baldini calm down they are in the rankings with a few votes so dont get to heavy on me lol. And Transylvania beat number 7 so ripping berea for losing to them is not out of question. if Hein had been playing we would have beaten berea.  my main point was that the first game the majority of rose girls ever played they were destroyed and lost by 41 and its 2 year slater and they should have won. I see they lost to alma have no ideal who they are so i will use my right to say bad take lol.

[Baldini]

ok baldini calm down they are in the rankings with a few votes so dont get to heavy on me lol. And Transylvania beat number 7 so ripping berea for losing to them is not out of question. if Hein had been playing we would have beaten berea.  my main point was that the first game the majority of rose girls ever played they were destroyed and lost by 41 and its 2 year slater and they should have won. I see they lost to alma have no ideal who they are so i will use my right to say bad take lol.

Haha, just a little friendly ribbing was all that was meant Jester. All is good.   

[Roundball999]

ok baldini calm down they are in the rankings with a few votes so dont get to heavy on me lol. And Transylvania beat number 7 so ripping berea for losing to them is not out of question. if Hein had been playing we would have beaten berea.  my main point was that the first game the majority of rose girls ever played they were destroyed and lost by 41 and its 2 year slater and they should have won. I see they lost to alma have no ideal who they are so i will use my right to say bad take lol.

Alma is the 5th best team (by coach's poll) in the MIAA, 5-3 noncon record so far

[Jester1390]

Dont know if it shows anything but the conference is 23-19. I know Rose and Transylvania have played a pretty hard schedule but not sure about the teams the others have played

[Jester1390]

predictions for this week and weekend

Transylvania over franklin

defiance over Manchester

Saturday

Manchester  over Earlham
Mount saint joe over Anderson
Franklin over Defiance
Hanover over Bluffton
Rose over Transylvania.  as baldini said even 2 years ago we gave them a game and i believe with the length of our perimeter players it might help stem the 3 point shooting advantage they will have.

[Jester1390]

Franklin where r u i have been banished back to the desert by the old guard  oh oh here comes another run on sentence . They wanted me to go back to the children's table Ill just have to sit here and do predictions with you and wonder what it would be like to be enlightened oh oh still running on to be not understood when sarcasm is dripping and the wind is at my back as a Rose team rises to new heights and when this page this desolate page that was for such a long time  was unwatered and barely having fruit come from its loins  ohoh im running out of steam on the run on to have it shrivel back to the wasteland it once was  am i to return in 11 years and see that this page like the united east conference has not had a post in 11 years.  I shudder and am saddened  at what could have been but realize the wheel spins as the wheel wants

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

I'm always lurking. Been focused more on D3 basketball as a whole and football season which is winding down now. Haven't had too much to say so far this season. Grizzlies are last in the conference in turnovers at more than 22 a game but 2nd best in rebounds at 48. Pioneers look like the team to beat, but should be a good fight between Bluffton, Hanover and Rose for the 2nd tier, with Anderson, Defiance, and Manchester looking like the 3rd tier. I think Franklin has the talent to be mid pack but haven't shown it yet.

Wed
Transylvania over Franklin
Defiance over Manchester
Sat
Manchester over Earlham
Anderson over MSJ
Defiance over Franklin
Bluffton over Hanover
Transylvania over Rose

[Jester1390]

wow you went with anderson interesting what happened with franklin 2 years ago you guys were quite young and athletic

[Baldini]

I'll play along.

Transylvania over Franklin
Manchester over Defiance

Manchester over Earlham
Transylvania over RHIT
Anderson over MSJ
Defiance over Franklin
Hanover over Bluffton

[Baldini]

Transylvania is 18th in the poll is week, no other HCAC teams received a vote.   

[Jester1390]

I don't think any other team deserved a vote maybe if we had beaten DePauw would have been worth a vote

[Jester1390]

Baldini with the early lead. Franklin i watched a lot of the game they had them on the ropes and didn't step on the throat. I hate to say i wasn't overly impressed by Transylvania and then have us  get  rubbed out Saturday but with the length of  the Rose Guards on the  perimeter i think they will have a hard time getting off open 3s like they did against franklin and i think we will kill them on inside matchup.