MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[amh63]

Magicman....best of luck in the games ahead.  Noticed that there are a number of teams with the mascot...Cardinals.  Have to be careful if I post Go Cardinals.....oh what the heck....Go Cardinals!    Applie alsoto the WBB team that goes to Maine, I see.   Will not ask the "Elephant in the room" question wrt the Cardinals WBB team

[Denny McKinney]

Hey Folks. We have question up in the SLIAC / Midwest room looking for a eastern poster.

[Bengalsrule]

Hey Folks. We have question up in the SLIAC / Midwest room looking for a eastern poster.

I just went there ( Midwest/SLIAC) and can't really see something unique to SUNYAC. Williams Amherst etc question might be better placed in the northeast or p m magican or repost the question here. We (sunyac boards) have, arguably, the most knowledgeable person in D 3!  Lose the question and he will "magically" appear!!!

[magicman]

Magicman....best of luck in the games ahead.  Noticed that there are a number of teams with the mascot...Cardinals.  Have to be careful if I post Go Cardinals.....oh what the heck....Go Cardinals!    Applie alsoto the WBB team that goes to Maine, I see.   Will not ask the "Elephant in the room" question wrt the Cardinals WBB team

Thanks amh63 but I noticed on the NEWMAC board you were rooting for MIT? I posed a question for you there but see you haven't bothered to respond.

I'm rooting for Amherst as well since I drafted Connor Green for my Fantasy Team and I'd like a rematch of last year's contest.


With regard to the Elephant in the Room question. I'm assuming you mean Coach Curle and his daughter.

If his daughter's team, Bowdoin, meets the Plattsburgh State Women's team in the 2nd round, I'm sure that the Plattsburgh State men's coach will root for her to have a well played game. If Bowdoin Women should win that game then he's happy his daughter gets to play another game in the NCAA tournament. If the Plattsburgh Women win the game then he's happy his school gets to play another game in the NCAA tournament. That's what you call a WIN-WIN situation.    

[Denny McKinney]

Quote from: Denny McKinney on Today at 03:23:02 pm
Hopefan? I have been asking very curiosly how going to the NCAA Tourament back east Was looked at and handled? Yjak info was great cause I get RMC games on my collegesportstv.com account. I'll discuss that later. So we have a Midwest / West feel. I shared the Southern Hospitality. We even got TN. Covered. I 'll open it up Amherst, Williams and uhhh Cinderela of your choice? What is the overall feel of the environment handled when you go to the Dance? I'm in basketball euphoria on multi levels and I can't know how it feels to be a back East program this time off year. "You will complete me..."  and get a + plus + Ik  # WhynotWebster?

One paragraph from Pat Coleman would be Sweeet!

There it's is Magicman. ThanksModify message

There you go Bengalsrule, Thanks for the response!

[Bengalsrule]

Magicman... It's after 12 noon. I assume that you are getting dressed for the game?  I imagine your prognostications should be appearing soon?? Dont want you to be late for the warmups!

Good l7uck old due. I'll be pulling for your cards....and the Golden Eagles and the Knights! I'm predicting double digit wins for all 3 because...........

The Yac is back !!!!

[amh63]

Magicman....just read your post on the NEWMAC board.  Will best plead innocent due to ignorance on the matter.  Never expected MIT would get to the dance....then be put into your bracket.  Also did not expect Amherst to get a bye and the question of hosting after the second round is still clouded by the WBB team at Amherst wrt to NCAA  rules.  Enough excuses...basically did not want to hurt your feelings if our teams do meet.   Did you notice that Amherst meets York(NY) on Saturday....they are also called the Cardinals!

[magicman]

First Round Friday has arrived. Time to look deep inside my crystal ball to see what might happen in today's action.

The Brockport Regional

Hobart Statesmen  21-6   vs  #21 Scranton Royals  24-3    5:30 PM

The Statesmen are in the NCAA tournament for the 3rd year in a row. They are coming in with a 21-6 record and it is the 4th straight year that they have won 21 or more games. They won the regular season crown and the tournament championship of the Liberty League for the 2nd year in a row. Last year they lost in the 1st round to Rhode Island College in overtime and 2 years ago they lost in the 2nd round to Cabrini in overtime. That was the year Cabrini almost won the National Championship, losing to Whitewater in the final game 63-60. So Hobart is 1-2 in their last 3 games at the Big Dance and they haven't had a bad game in the 3 outings.

Scranton is making their 3rd trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last 6 years. The Royals have a 3-3 record to show for their playoff appearances. They won both the regular season crown and the tournament championship of the Landmark Conference and this is the 10th year in a row that the Royals have won between 18 and 24 games. In 2 of their recent NCAA tournaments Scranton lost in the first round but in the 2011-12 season they won 3 games, advancing to the Elite Eight where they ran into the same Cabrini team that defeated Hobart in overtime. They lost to the Cavaliers in that game 78-58. Clearly Hobart was the better team in 2011-12 than the Royals. But that was then and this is now. Scranton comes into this game on a 14 game winning streak and has risen to #21 in the D3hoops Poll. The Royals are picked by D3 hoops to be the surprise team in this quadrant and believe they will come away as the winner of this regional. The oddsmakers have listed the Royals as a 6 point favorite in this game and I think they will come away with a win in a closely contested game. Neither team is very deep and the starters will play a lot of minutes. If one team gets in foul trouble that could be enough to sway this contest. I think the final will be Scranton 77 Hobart 70.


Morrisville State Mustangs  19-8  vs   #11 Brockport State Golden Eagles  24-3   Approx. 7:30

The Mustangs return to the NCAA tournament for the 3rd year in a row as the representative of the North Eastern Athletic Conference. Mo State came in 2nd during the regular season and won the automatic bid when they defeated top seed Lancaster Bible in the championship game of their tournament. Two years ago the Mustangs lost in the 1st round to Middlebury by a 75-49 score, but last year won 2 games against Ramapo and Rhode Island College, to advance to the Sweet 16, where they were defeated by St Mary's 84-66. Still, it was a banner year for the Mustangs and they'd like to show that last year was no fluke.

Brockport is  returning to the Big Dance for the first time since the 2008-09 season. That was the year the Golden Eagles stunned the SUNYAC by capturing the automatic NCAA bid by winning the conference tournament as the 8th seed. They lost a close game to Carnegie Mellon 75-70 in the 1st round and will be looking to advance a little further this time around. Brockport captured both the regular season title and the conference tournament crown to win the automatic bid to the NCAA's. The huge 19 point comeback they had against Plattsburgh in the championship game last weekend has provided the team with a huge confidence builder, which was sorely needed, after the loss of All American John Ivy to a season ending injury several weeks ago. Brockport is a deep team, however, and they have responded with 4 straight wins since they lost their star. It would appear that the "win one for John" story may have some legs. The most recent D3 hoops Top 25 poll has the Golden Eagles at their highest placement of the season putting them in the #11 spot. Yet a front page article yesterday,  previewing the tournament, says Brockport, because of the loss of Ivy, will be the biggest disappointment in the top right quadrant of the bracket. The articles states that: "Without John Ivy, Brockport goes from a Sweet 16 or even Elite Eight favorite to a team that's just better than ordinary." On the surface that may be a fair assessment, but I think the emergence of several other players on the team has helped to compensate for John Ivy's loss to some degree. Will it be enough to get the Golden Eagles to a 2nd weekend of the tournament? We'll find out in the course of the next 2 days. Senior point guard Brandon Caruthers, the MVP of the SUNYAC tournament, will once again need to provide the leadership necessary, while freshmen Clifton Lyerly and Aaron White will have to put points on the board. Big man Patrick Coyle will be counted on more than ever and the sharpshooting of Matt Lee along with Bobby Bell has to help out as well.   

The oddsmakers have installed Brockport as a huge favorite in this game expecting them to win by a 24 point margin. That point spread doesn't take Ivy's absence into consideration though and I don't think the Mustangs will lose by that many points. But I do think that their hopes for springing more upsets at the Dance this year will come to an early end and Brockport will win this game by a score of  81-67.                   

   

[Bengalsrule]

....And Geneseo??

[magicman]

First Round Friday  Continues with the 2nd host site.

The Plattsburgh Regional

Husson Eagles 26-2  vs  Eastern Connecticut Warriors 22-6  5:30 PM

Husson is getting quite familiar with the Plattsburgh area as the Eagles make a return visit to Memorial Hall for the first round of the NCAA tournament. Last year they were sent here to play a game against Plattsburgh with the winner advancing to take on eventual National Champion Amherst. Plattsburgh won that game 84-63 over the Eagles but this year's team has had one of the best years in school history and will be looking to get an opening round win. The Eagles were also in the tournament in 2010-11 losing to Williams in the first round. Husson won the regular season and tournament championship from the North Atlantic Conference to claim their ticket to the Dance. According to my sources they were once again matched up against Plattsburgh until someone in the room realized that they played Plattsburgh last year and at the last minute they switched the opponent for the Eagles to Eastern Connecticut.

The Warriors come into the NCAA's with an at large bid after losing to Rhode Island in the championship game of the Little East Tournament. They did win the regular season title and the Warriors were ranked in the Top 25 at various times throughout the year. They were last in the NCAA tournament in 2011-12 and won 2 games to advance to the Sweet 16. That was the year they played the Chad Burridge led, Oswego State team, and won that classic double overtime game, 70-69, on a last second 3 pointer by Brian Salzillo who is a senior on this year's Warrior team. Eastern lost to Cabrini in the Sweet 16 that year.

The oddsmakers have indicated that despite the difference between the strength of these two conferences (the North Atlantic Conference comes in dead last in Massey's ratings) this game will be a fairly close contest and has made Eastern Connecticut a 6 point choice. I think Husson could pull off the upset here and it wouldn't be a big surprise but I also believe the Warriors will have too much firepower for the Eagles to overcome. Husson does own a win over Little East team Keene State 81-76. The Warriors defeated Keene State twice during the regular season but only by a 72-69 score the 2nd time they met. I look for a decent game but see the final as an Eastern Connecticut win by an 83-75 margin.


MIT Engineers  20-8  at Plattsburgh State Cardinals  22-5   Approx.  7:30 PM

It's safe to say that the Engineers are quite happy to receive an invitation to the dance. I should correct that statement...they didn't receive an invitation they went out an stole one. The Engineers were in 4th place in the NEWMAC standings at the end of the regular season with an 8-6 conference record. They had to win a play in game to get to the semifinals and then beat the  #1 seed, WPI, and the #3 seed, Springfield College, to grab the automatic bid and go dancing. This turn of events gave the NEWMAC a 4 team entry into the NCAA tournament, the most of any conference in the country. WPI, Babson, and Springfield all received at large bids to the tournament much to the chagrin of some schools that got left out.

The Engineers are making their 6th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament having lost in the first round to St Mary's last year. It was the 2011-12 season, however, when MIT had the best season in school history where they made a run that took them all the way to the Final Four where they finally lost to eventual champion Whitewater. They ended that year with a 29-2 record. Over the past 5  years the Engineers have racked up a 6-5 record in the NCAA tournament.

They are coming in on a roll once again and this team will present the Cardinals with a lot of problems with the height they will put on the court. Especially with Plattsburgh missing their biggest player and leading scorer 6'6" Shavar Fields. The NCAA didn't do the Cardinals any favors by matching them up with MIT.

Plattsburgh is dancing for the 2nd straight year having received an at large bid as the runner up in the SUNYAC regular season and conference tournament. The team was very disappointed they didn't get it done last weekend against Brockport especially after leading the Golden Eagles by 19 points early in the 2nd half. And the way the game ended left a sour taste in everybody's mouth, I'm sure. Even the winners would have preferred to win it with a last second jumper as opposed to a free throw from a technical foul. The Plattsburgh coach reminded his players that from disappointment can come good things. Getting a bid to the tournament and the opportunity to host a regional will hopefully lead to those goals. The Cardinals are dancing for the 6th time in the past 9 years. That's more than any other team in the East Region. Their overall record at the dance during that time is 3-5 and they will be looking to make some noise again this year. The lineup will be bolstered by one of the 2 missing players from last weekend as Shamoy McIntosh, who was the leading scorer for Plattsburgh for most of the season, but is now 2nd on the team with a 12.8 ppg average, is back for tonight's contest.

The oddsmakers had made the Cardinals a heavy (in my opinion) 13 point favorite. This game will feature the Cardinals athleticism and speed against the size and rebounding advantage of the Engineers. MIT will start a lineup of 6'8". 6'8", 6'8", 6'6", and 5'11".  MIT is usually involved in games in the 60's and low 70's as they use a lot of clock. I think my Cardinals will pull off a win here but I'll be surprised if the margin is as large as the oddsmakers think it is. I see this one as a 73-66 Cardinal win.     

[magicman]

I'm off to the Plattsburgh Regional  and have run out of time to do any more long winded predictions so Geneseo gets the short end of my shtick today.

I will however predict that the Knights will be on the long end of a hard fought game, as they take on the Dickinson Red Devils down in Wooster Ohio. Final score should be something like Geneseo 76 Dickinson 74.  Go Knights


I also think Hartwick will be a tough luck loser to SUNY-Purchase  by an 85-70 score.

[middhoops]

m-man, your Cards are cruising.  happy for you.

[Cards7580]

WTF BRockport - Overtime   

Nice to see full gyms at both Plattsburgh and Brockport. 

Brockport announcers are so bad....   

[magicman]

Morrisville State pulls off the upset of Brockport State 83-80 in triple overtime.  The Mustangs are at it again. Tough loss for the Golden Eagles who had an 18 point halftime lead and let it slip away.

[magicman]

Just back from the Plattsburgh State game where my Cardinals defeated MIT by a 76-53 final score.