MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[Bengalsrule]

Personally I think Oswego is a Top 4 team in the SUNYAC... Plattsburgh, Brockport, Geneseo, Buffalo State, Oneonta I think are the 6 that get in the tournament.
1. Plattsburgh
2. Brockport
3. Buffalo State
4. Oswego
5. Geneseo
6. Oneonta
7. New Paltz
8. Cortland
9.Fredonia
10. Potsdam

dcahill,

I think you missed reading this part of my post:

After looking at the non-conference schedules of all the teams in the SUNYAC I thought it was time to announce who had the strongest and most challenging schedules in the league. Last year the top team was Plattsburgh State followed by Buffalo State. Those 2 teams once again occupy the top 2 positions according to my rankings but the Bengals have supplanted the Cardinals in the #1 spot.


You're missing the point of what I posted. The rankings that I did aren't how I think the teams will finish. They are how I ranked the difficulty of their non-conference schedule. 

I ranked how I thought the teams would finish several weeks ago on November 14th, in this post.

Think the SUNYAC race may look something like this at year's end. Lots of new faces this year, with a number of transfers along with plenty of new recruits, anything can and probably will happen. It's always tough to win on the road in the YAC so as usual, the teams that protect their home court will be the ones that make the playoffs. Here's my take. I think the top 4 teams are solid teams with a lot of talent and any one of them could claim the SUNYAC crown. Also think Potsdam, Cortland and Oswego are interchangeable with some tough battles being waged there for the final playoff spot.                                     


1. Plattsburgh State
2. Buffalo State
3. Brockport State
4. Geneseo State
5. Potsdam State
6. Cortland State
7. Oswego State
8. Oneonta State
9. New Paltz State
10. Fredonia State
   

Beware Magicman. I thing dcahill has a "thing" for you! You may have to go undercover for a while!

[dcahill44]

Wendy College Classic Bracket 2013
1. Brockport vs 8. RIT Brockport wins by 13
4. Geneseo vs 5. St John Fisher Fisher wins by 6
2. Hobart vs 7. Rochester  Rochester wins by 3
3. Nazareth vs 6. Roberts Wesleyan Naz wins by 8
Semifinal Predictions
  3. Nazareth vs 7. Rochester Naz wins by 4
1. Brockport vs 5. St John Fisher Brockport wins by 6
Championship Game:
1. Brockport vs 3. Nazareth Naz wins by 2
Nazareth I think wins the Wendys Classic.

[magicman]

Six games on the schedule for today, 12-3.


Cortland State at  Ithaca      6:00 PM
The Red Dragons recently won their 4th straight game over the Bombers on the gridiron. Now they are looking to make it 3 in a row on the hardwood, as they take on Ithaca in the hoops version of the Cortaca Bowl. Bombers with 5 games already this season, off to a disappointing 2-3 start. Cortland, undefeated, but only 2-0, as the Utica game last week was postponed. Hard to believe that Ithaca is a 6 point dog at home but that's what the oddsmakers have posted as the line. Both teams coming off NCAA appearances last year. Both teams had their season end with a loss to the Middlebury Panthers, Cortland in the 2nd round and Ithaca in the Sweet 16. Both teams lost considerable talent through graduation, and will have a tough time repeating the success of last year's squads. And both teams are scoring considerably less than they did last year. I think both teams will have a Deja Vu moment and the Red Dragons defeat Ithaca 70-67.
   
Alfred  at  Fredonia State      7:00 PM
Difficult to say which of these 2 teams will come away with a W in this game. Both teams will be at or near the bottom of their respective leagues again. Alfred off to a 3-1 start this year but against less than stellar competition. Last year they lost to 1-25 Houghton. Fredonia coming off a last place finish in the YAC, was hit hard by graduation. They are 2-3 after 5 games but will have trouble matching the 7 wins they picked up in last year's campaign. Point spread favors the Saxons by a 3 point margin.  I sure hope the Blue Devils win this game, but I'm not convinced they will. I'll go with them even though I shouldn't. Defense won't be on display here as the final could be something like 89-86, Blue Devils.       
   
Potsdam State at  St. Lawrence      7:00 PM
Saints looking to finally record a victory in the YAC as they are currently 0-3 against our conference. SLU with a 1-4 record but could easily be 3-2 as they have a 2 point loss at Utica and an overtime loss to Oswego that didn't go their way. Bears with a similar problem as they couldn't hold onto 2nd half leads on several occasions and currently sport a 1-3 record. Oddsmakers have listed the Saints as a 5 point favorite and having seen both teams play several games already I'm going to concur with that and pick the Saints to get off the schneid against the YAC. SLU wins 75-71
   
Keene State at  Plattsburgh State      7:00 PM 
The Keene State Owls make their first trip to Plattsburgh in recent memory as part of a home and home that was started between the 2 schools last year. Plattsburgh won that initial encounter 70-64 and the Cardinals will be favored to win round 2 as well, with all the talent they return. The Owls lost quite a bit off last year's team and have struggled in the early going this year. They are still searching for their initial win, opening this season with 4 losses. Cards are favored by 13 points and I think they will cover that double digit margin. Plattsburgh 83 Keene 69.
   
New Paltz State  at   Eastern Connecticut      7:30 PM
It must be the Little East-SUNYAC Challenge night this evening, as Eastern Connecticut is also an LEC member along with Keene State. Just about everything I said about the above game will also apply in this game. Substitue New Paltz for Keene State as the Hawks are making their first trip to Eastern's home court. Hawks lost last year's matchup and lost a lot of last year's team. New Paltz struggling  offensively with 3 straight losses and averaging less than 59 ppg in those losses. Eastern, like Plattsburgh, returns many key players, has opened up 5-1 and putting nearly 80 ppg on the board. They are also favored by a double digits margin with a 12 point spread. I'm thinking these 2 conferences will split the games and the Warriors will ground the Hawks by an 82-65 final.

Oneonta State  at  Hartwick      8:00 PM
These Red Dragons are looking to break a 3 game losing streak to their crosstown rivals. Oneonta has lost 5 of the past 7 meetings and will be hard pressed to turn things around this evening.  Hartwick is 3-4 so far this year but could just as easily be 6-1 having lost 3  games by a total of 8 points. Oddsmakers have made the Hawks a 7 point favorite. The Red Dragons are certainly capable of pulling off the upset as evidenced by their road beatdown of the Rochester Yellowjackets. Oneonta has been without the services of point guard  Frankie Kelly, who has yet to see any action this year. With 2 weeks off snce their last game he might return tonight. Hope the Red Dragons can pull this one out but I think Jared Suderley will be too much for them to handle. Hartwick  86-Oneonta 77.

[thebear]

Just Back from Potsdam - SLU.  Saints win 69-67, as a last second three ball by Potsdam hits front iron.

Bears dug out from a 13 point first half deficit to tie at the half 28- 28.

Tough road trip this weekend at Cortland, at Oswego.

:-(

[magicman]

Just Back from Potsdam - SLU.  Saints win 69-67, as a last second three ball by Potsdam hits front iron.

Bears dug out from a 13 point first half deficit to tie at the half 28- 28.

Tough road trip this weekend at Cortland, at Oswego.

:-(

Once again the Bears come up short. I was hoping that my 75-71 prediction of an SLU win would turn out wrong but no such luck.

[magicman]

Just back from the Plattsburgh State game. The Cardinals won rather easily over Keene State 109-76, in a game that was even more lopsided than the final score indicates. Details to follow a bit later.

[magicman]

Other action so far tonight:

Cortland State defeats Ithaca in the Cortaca Bowl 79-63.

Hartwick defeats Oneonta 86-78 in overtime.

Alfred downs Fredonia State 100-90

New Paltz falls to Eastern Connecticut 77-53.

[7express]

Just back from the Plattsburgh State game. The Cardinals won rather easily over Keene State 109-76, in a game that was even more lopsided than the final score indicates. Details to follow a bit later.

I figured you'd have better recaps over here.  For the 3 people that actually take a look at the LEC board, I told them you'd probably have better recaps here on the Keene/Plattsburgh and New Paltz/Eastern game then I would.  Don't disappoint me 

[magicman]

Plattsburgh 109  Keene State 76

This game was over 5 minutes and 34 seconds after it began.  By then Plattsburgh had just finished off a 25-4 run with a steal and a dunk by Shavar Fields, along with another steal and a 3 pointer by Ezra Hodgson, in a 30 second span, that boosted their lead to 29-8. They would extend it to 34-8 before the Owls would finally get on the board again. Up by 24, with 12:23 left in the period, the Cardinals would reel off another 12 unanswered points, 5 more by Fields and 4 by Ed Correa, to boost the score to 46-10. With over 5 minutes left to go the Cardinals' coaching staff was substituting freely.

The Cards were on fire to start the game as they hit their first 11 shots from the field, which included 4 from behind the arc. Their perfection continued at the free throw line as they were 8 for 8 there as well. It took them over 7 minutes before they finally missed an attempt from the field. The Owls just couldn't keep up with the athleticism of the Cardinals and were called for numerous fouls which put Plattsburgh on the line and in the bonus situation relatively early in the half.  Plattsburgh shot 19x32 from the field, 16x18 from the line, and 5x10 from downtown in the first period. The Owls were on the other end of the spectrum as they were 7x29 from the field, only 1x8 from long range and only had 5 free throw attempts making 2. The halftime score of 59-17 would have been worse had Coach Curle not emptied his bench.

The 2nd half was really more of the same for the first 6 to 7 minutes, as the Cardinals extended their lead to a game high 52 points at 81-29 with 13:09 to go. Once again Plattsburgh's reserves were brought into the game. The only reason this game ended up with a 33 point differential instead of 50 was the Keene regulars were still in the game and full court pressing the Plattsburgh reserves over the final 7 minutes.

The Cardinals had 5 players in double figures led by Jordan Moody's career high of 23 points (7x10 fg, 2x3 3's, 7x8 ft). The Owls couldn't stay with Jordan who got to the rim with ease tonight. John Perez had his 4th straight double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. He was the high rebounder in the game despite the presence of the Owls' 7'0" Nate Howard, who was the NCAA Division III  rebounding leader, as he came into the contest with a 16.0 rebounds per game average. Howard only managed to grab 6 boards tonight, however, 10 below his average. Perez was ranked 13th in rebounding by the NCAA with 12.7 rpg and only played 18 minutes in this game while Howard was on the floor for 28 minutes for the Owls.

Shavar Fields continues to play well coming off the bench, as the big guy scored 16 points (6x8 fg, 4x6 ft) had 3 boards, 2 steals and a block in only 12 minutes of floor time. Both Shamoy McIntosh and Ezra Hodgson were credited with 14 points but there is an error in scorekeeping as McIntosh had a basket and was fouled at the 18:23 mark of the 1st period. The subsequent made free throw was somehow credited to Hodgson instead of McIntosh. So Shamoy had 15 points (4x8 fg, 2x4 3's, 5x5 ft) and Ezra finished with 13 points (5x8 fg, 3x5 3's, 0x2 ft). I'll have to talk to the SID and get that changed.

Point guard Chris Manning had his usual all around game, as he continues to amaze the Plattsburgh faithful with his speed, agility, and pinpoint passes. Tonight he only took 2 shots, made them both, was the 2nd leading rebounder in the game with 7 boards (despite being the smallest player on the floor among the starters for either team), had 8 assists and 3 steals. Manning once again leads the nation in steals with an average of 6.0 per game entering tonight's play.

The Cards ended up shooting 36x64 from the field (56.3%), 7x16 from downtown (43.8%) and 30x40 from the line (75%). They owned the boards, outrebounding the Owls 51-26, nearly a 2-1 margin. They did commit 24 turnovers which will give the coaching staff something to harp on, to keep them grounded, after putting up 109 points. This marked the first time the Cardinals had broken the century mark in over 3 years, the last time against Lyndon State on Nov 15th 2010, when they beat them 100-81 at Lyndon State. It was the first time the home fans got to see them break 100 since Nov 15 2009 when they defeated Lyndon State in Memorial Hall 103-81.

Keene State was led by their big man Nate Howard with 19 pts (7x12 fg, 5x6 ft) and 6 rebounds. Howard has a nice shot from the 8 to 10 foot range, that's pretty much unstoppable. I'm surprised they didn't go to him more often. Also exhibits decent footwork and is a solid free throw shooter. He needs to add some muscle and if he continues to develop will be a force over the next 2 years. Tre Tipton had 14 points (3x10 fg, 2x4 3's, 6x10 ft) and made some nice moves driving to the basket, just couldn't get the layups to fall. Did get to the line a lot though and had 4 steals. Lucas Hammel (4x11 fg) and Matt Sherlock 3x11 fg) both added 10 points for the Owls. Hammel also had 5 assists.

Keene ended up improving their shooting percentages after their poor first half stats. They ended up 24x62 from the field (38.7%), 4x14 from 3 point range (28.6%) and 24x33 from the stripe (72.7%) They ended up with 22 turnovers. The Owls are an extremely young team as they started 2 freshman, 2 sophomores, and a senior. The other 5 guys in their rotation tonight were 4 freshman and a sophomore. Their roster shows 14 players but only 10 guys were dressed tonight and all 10 had double digit minutes. These 10 guys, along with junior guard Tom Doyle, have been in the rotation all year. Doyle, normally a starter, has missed the past 3 games as he recuperates from an injury. This team should only improve over the next several years, as they gain experience and maturity.
The Owls drop to 0-5 for the season are next in action on Thursday Dec. 5th when they host Colby-Sawyer at 7:00 PM.

Plattsburgh State will be on the road this weekend to kick off conference play with one of their toughest road trips of the season. They will face Oswego State on Friday night at 8:00 PM and take on Cortland State on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM in a rematch of last years Conference Championship game. The Cardinals will be looking for a little revenge in that matchup. The Cardinals record  now stands at 3-1.                   

[magicman]

Eastern Connecticut 77 New Paltz 53.

The Warriors from Eastern Connecticut made sure that the LEC-SUNYAC challenge wasn't a sweep by the New York teams. Eastern didn't blow out the Hawks as badly as Plattsburgh handled Keene State and in fact, the Warriors came out of the gate rather slowly and allowed New Paltz to take a 12-6 lead on a 3 pointer by RJ Rosa about 5 minutes into the contest. That would be the highlight of the evening for the Hawks however as Eastern went on a 23-2 run over the next 9 minutes and held a 29-14 lead with 6 minutes left in the period. That run was fueled by a pair of 3 pointers and a jumper by Preston Trachone. It was then completed with 4 consecutive baskets by Mike Garrow the last of which was a resounding dunk. They built the lead to a 20 point margin and settled for a 40-22 halftime bulge. The Warriors continued to pile on in the 2nd half and slowly extended their lead until it reached a game high 30 points at 66-36 with 8 minutes to go. The Eastern coach emptied his bench and the final margin was 24 points.

Preston Trachone led the Warriors with a game high 18 points (7x11 fg, 2x3 3's, 2x2 ft) and also had a game high 6 assists. Mike Garrow was 6x11 from the field for 12 points, while Brandon Yarborough was a perfect 4x4 from the filed and 2x2 from the line for a 10 point night. He added 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Mike Garrow also had 6 rebounds. Kevin Leumene came off the bench and had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 19 minutes. Sharpshooter Brian Salzillo had a relatively quiet night only making 3 of 9 from the field and 1 of 6 from long range. He did have 5 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal to go along with his 9 points.

Eastern Connecticut shot 30x58 from the field (51.7%), 5x15 from 3 point range (33.3%) and 12x21 from the line (57.1%). They won the battle off the glass 39-34 and had 13 turnovers to 18 for the Hawks.

New Paltz placed 3 players in double figures led by 16 apiece from Andrew Seniuk (7x8 fg, 1x1 3's, 1x3 ft) and RJ Rosa (6x11 fg, 4x6 3's). Seniuk had 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while Rosa grabbed 5 boards, had 2 assists, a steal and a block. Alex Perlman had 10 points off the bench (5x8 fg). Andrew Joseph led the team with 10 rebounds.

Not a good night shooting the rock for the Hawks, as they were 22x61 from the field (36.1%), only 6x22 from long range (27.3%) and barely got to the foul line making 3 of 5 (60%). The Hawks offensive woes continued as they once again couldn't reach the 60 point mark.  Their past 4 games have resulted in a 57.2 ppg scoring clip. Unless you're playing some great defense that won't get it done. 

Eastern's win moves them to 6-1 on the season with only a 4 point loss to Purchase keeping them from the unbeaton ranks. They will open conference play on Saturday 12-7 at 4:00 PM, when they host Rhode Island College in an early season matchup for LEC supremacy.

New Paltz drops to 2-4  and will also start conference play this weekend as they travel west to Fredonia on Friday Dec 6th at 8:00 PM before facing Buffalo State on Saturday afternoon at 4 :00 PM.

[magicman]

Hartwick 86 Oneonta St 78 in Overtime. I didn't predict overtime but did have the final at 86-77. Missed it by a single point. Would gladly trade my prediction for an Oneonta win however.

Tough loss for the Red Dragons. They had a chance to win it in regulation but couldn't get the shots to fall. In overtime they fell behind by a point at 78-77 on an old fashioned 3 point play by Joey Lufkin. Needing to score on their next possession they committed a turnover and then another hoop and harm left them with a 4 point deficit to make up with only 1:34 on the clock. Oneonta missed a 3 pointer on their next  attempt and now with time winding down had to resort to fouling in hopes of getting  back into the game. The Hawks hit their free throws down the stretch however going 6 for 6 and came away with the win.

Zac Mager had another big game for the Red Dragons with 29 points (8x18 fg, 3x7 3's, 10x11 ft) to lead all scorers and 5 rebounds. Dan Lee with a double double of 13 pts (5x13 fg, 2x7 3's, 1x1 ft) and 13 rebounds. Lee also had a game high 6 assists. Mikey McElroy added 10 points. Still no Frankie Kelly for Oneonta yet this year.

Jared Suderley had the hot hand for the Hawks with 23 points (8x18 fg, 7x8 ft) and just missed a double double with 9 rebounds, as did Kyle Bradley, who  tossed in 17 points (7x12 fg, 3x5 ft) and grabbed 9 boards. Mike Gessier had 11 points, and Joey Lufkin added 10.

Oneonta falls to 1-3 and travels west to take on Buffaslo State for the start of conference play on Friday night at 8:00 PM. Then it's pn to Fredonia Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM.

Hartwick evened their record at 4-4 and won't be back in action until Monday 12-30 when they host Hobart at 3:00 PM

[magicman]

Two games on tap tonight in the Wendy's Classic

Brockport vs RIT at Geneseo

This game pits the #1 seed against the #8 seed. Brockport should win this game by double digits probably something like 83 -61



St. John Fisher at Geneseo

Should be a close game in this matchup with the 4 and 5 seeds squaring off. I like the fact that Geneseo has a solid core of returning players and they execute their offense with a great deal of discipline. The oddsmakers have made the Blue Knights a 6 point favorite. I think they will defeat the Cardinals by a 74-70 score.   

[magicman]

Cortland State 79 Ithaca 63      Tuesday 12-3

The Red Dragons continued their recent dominance over the Ithaca Bombers as they won their 3rd straight game in this central NY rivalry. Ithaca was down by 7 points early on at 16-9 but they went on a 16-0 run fueled by 6 points from Frank Mitchel, a triple from Christian Jordan and 7 of 8 free throws made over the next 3:30 to make it a 25-16 Bomber advantage, the largest lead in the first half by either team. Each time the Red Dragons would cut the lead to a single possession the Bombers' Sam Bevan, Tom Sweeney or Mitchell would connect on a basket or 3 pointer to boost the lead back up a notch. This went on right up to the final 1st half buzzer and the Bombers went into the break with a 37-29 advantage.

Cortland came out of the break with a 15-3 run of their own to regain the lead at 44-40 with 4 minutes gone by in the period. After the Bombers hit a 3 pointer to pull within 1, Cortland went on another 12-3 spurt to move in front by 10 points at 56-46. Still up by 12 at 71-59 with 2:13 to go the Bombers were forced to foul and Cortland didn't miss as they opened up their largest lead of the night at 18 points, 79-61. Cortland got a big night from Kevin McMahon with 27 point and 12 rebounds. Lamard Herron was close behind with 26 points while Garen Spendjian had 10.

Cortland shot the ball a little better than Ithaca as they were 25x59 from the field (42,4%), 11x22 from 3 point land (50%) and 18x27 (66.6%) from the line. They had 38 boards to 33 for the Bombers and only had 8 turnovers to 14 for the Bombers.

Ithaca was led by Sam Bevan with 17 points, and Christian Jordan with 14 points. Frank Mitchell had 12 points with 12 rebounds. Bombers shot 23x56 (41.1%) 6x20 from long range (30 %) and 11x15 (73.3%) from the stripe. 

Cortland improved to 3-0 and will start conference play this weekend as they host Potsdam on Friday night and Plattsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

Ithaca is now 2-4 and will host St. Lawrence on Saturday at 4:00 PM.

[magicman]

Wednesday night action:

Brockport defeats RIT 83-61   The Golden Eagles grabbed an early lead and were never headed as they coasted to a win


Geneseo falls to St John Fisher 87-79 as the Blue Knights blow an 11 point 2nd half lead.

[NYHOOPS8]

SJF gets a good 2nd half from Ryan, Ambielli and clutch plays from Hart to get the win over Geneseo.