MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[magicman]

New D3hoops Top 25 poll was released and as expected both Oswego State and Buffalo State have dropped off. Oswego fell from #22 into the others receiving votes category. Their point total dropped from 102 down to 47 which puts them in 27th place. The Lakers need another long winning streak like the one they put together at this time last year. Doing so will push them back into the lower spots of the Top 25, but I don't think they'll ever get higher than #20. A few wins in the NCAA's of course, could change that. Getting there, however isn't guaranteed. Last year their 2nd half run carried them to the top of the East Region. Losing in the SUNYAC tournament only took a little luster off that sparkling campaign as they were a shoo in for an at large bid. With several teams in front of them at the present time, that Pool C bid may become elusive this year. The unexpected loss at Medgar Evers last week was a hiccup that could lead to indigestion. Luckily with all the inconsistency in the region this year, the Lakers are still in the mix for a Pool C bid should they get upset in the playoffs.     

Buffalo State took one of the biggest falls of the week in terms of their point total as they lost 110 points. That was every point they had. It appears that the voters either don't know or don't care about the injury to Justin Mitchell. Missing Mitchell was a big reason they went 0-2 over the weekend. The complete disappearance of the Bengals from the poll at this stage of the season will prevent them from a return into the Top 25. A long winning streak may see their re-emergence into the ORV category but I don't see them gaining enough support to actually crack the Top 25  again, unless they get into and make a run in the NCAA tournament to make the final poll.
Just a short while ago it looked like both the Lakers and the Bengals had a solid shot at making the dance. Now Buffalo State has left themselves with a slim margin for error. They need to hope that Hobart, Hartwick and especially NYU do real well and win Pool A bids or very poorly and fall behind them in the regional rankings. Right now the Bengals have fallen so low, they aren't even in the projected regional rankings. They have an upward climb but not impossible to attain. They do need Mitchell back though and in a hurry. NYU, with no conference tournament to decide that league's Pool A bid, could be front and center for a Pool C if they fail to win the UAA regular season. That could hurt both SUNYAC teams down the road.

NYU had 2 big wins over the weekend. They knocked #4 Emory from the undefeated ranks with an 89-73 win on Friday and came back on Sunday to blow out previously ranked Rochester 74-50. Those two victories catapulted the Violets from 0 points to 87 and into the #23 spot. They are now the only East region team in the Top 25 and with Oswego are the only two teams in the region getting any recognition. Their stay in the rankings may be a short one, however as they hit the road this weekend for two tough games at Chicago and then Washington University. I can see them winning the Chicago game, but the game against Wash U could be for 1st place in the conference and I think the Bears will win that one.

Rochester with 3 straight conference road losses and a 9-5 overall record has slowly seen all their support disappear as well. The Yellowjackets along with Emory were picked to win the UAA crown. Now they find themselves in last place in a tough conference. Their pre-season #7 ranking and subsequent tumble out of sight is remniscent of Chicago University's Top 25 pre-season placement a few years ago. The Maroons were ranked #22 had a ton of returning players but opened the season with 12 straight losses. While Rochester's fall isn't quite that dramatic and there's still time to turn the season around they will need one heckuva run to make the NCAA tournament. Not having a conference tournament puts them behind the 8-ball, and 1 or 2 more losses could make an at large bid impossible to attain.

Hartwick also fell from the ORV category. They weren't getting a lot of support in the polls even when they were 12-0. But some recognition is better than none and now with back to back losses they have dropped off the radar completely. In a year where Ithaca, St. John Fisher, and Nazareth seemed to be struggling, the Hawks, with all their returning talent, looked like the team to beat in the E8. Maybe they can right the ship and win the E8 crown. If not, they still have a pretty good in region record and currently would be among the top 3. They just need to stay up there.

Hobart, Nazareth, Stevens, and Medaille, are 4 other teams that merit watching in the region. Of the four only Hobart has received some support in the Top 25 poll. The Statesmen garnered points in the 1st four weeks of the poll with a high point of 34 in week two. After a loss to Rochester on December 10th, they barely got a mention and then dropped completely out after week 4. With a 10-2 record and currently in 1st place in the Liberty League, Hobart could have a strong enough record that they could gain a Pool C bid in the event they don't win the Liberty League tournament. The Statesmen are hungry as they missed the dance last year when they owned the best regular season record but lost to Hamilton in the playoffs. And that loss occurred in the semi finals instead of the championship game, which probably cost them a Pool C bid.

Stevens has quietly put together a 12-2 mark and their win over Ithaca College on Saturday left them in sole possession of 1st place in the E8. The Ducks host Nazareth this Friday with 1st place on the line. If one of these teams wins the Pool A bid from the E8, then the other one could be in line for an at large bid.

Medaille also 12-2,  is leading the AMCC conference and already owns a win over Nazareth. Their strength of schedule usually drags them down in the regional rankings but if they keep winning, and there's no reason to think they won't, they could challenge for a Pool C bid should they need to go that route to make the dance.           
   

[magicman]

Brockport's Kyheem Green has been named as the SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending January 14th. Green who went on the injured list back in December and missed the Golden Eagles final 2 games of the first semester returned to the lineup on January 3rd and led the team in scoring with 17 points in a win at St. Lawrence. Last week Brockport won 2 conference games over Buffalo St and Fredonia to climb back into the SUNYAC race. In the 3 games since his return he has led the Golden Eagles in points scored (50) and rebounds (15) as the team has improved their record to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The Eagles will be on the road this week with 3 league games at Geneseo on Tuesday, New Paltz on Friday and Oneonta on Saturday. Currently in 3rd place in the YAC, Brockport is tied with Cortland in the loss column. A sweep this week, which is a definite possiblity, and they will host the Red Dragons one week from today, with 2nd place at stake.

Here is the press release from the SUNYAC website announcing Green's selection:

Senior forward Kyheem Green (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) of The College at Brockport Men's Basketball team has been named the State University of the New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Player of the Week following the Golden Eagles 2-0 conference weekend.

During the weekend, Green averaged 16.5 points, six rebounds, 2.5 blocked shots and 2.5 steals. Green shot 71.4 percent from the field on 15-21 shooting in the two games.

In a 94-70 upset victory over No. 21 Buffalo State on Friday night, Green scored a team-high 21 points, his second highest total of the season. Green shot 10-14 from the floor while grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots.

On Saturday, Brockport defeated Fredonia State 79-64. Green scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting. Green also grabbed six rebounds and collected four steals against the Blue Devils.

Green is averaging 15.8 points per game this season, good enough for fifth in the SUNYAC conference. His 8.2 rebounds per game are fourth in the conference and 1.90 blocks per game are third. Green leads the conference in field goal shooting at 62 percent.


   

[magicman]

Three games scheduled for tonight.

Running late so I'll have to make these short.

Potsdam at St. Lawrence   7:00 PM

Both teams lost to Plattsburgh, both teams lost to Clarkson, both teams lost to Brockport. Bears lost to Oswego State, Saints didn't. That's enough for me. Line has the Saints favored by 8. Slu wins it 67-61. Might be more if Bear's Pierce is out. Hope I'm wrong and the Bears grab a W here.

Utica at Cortland State   7:00 PM

The Red Dragons are clearly the better team in this matchup. With home court advantage they should handle a struggling Pioneers' team. Utica is 4-10 overall and yet to win a game in the E8. Cortland 10-4 and 2-1 in the E8. Oddsmakers have Cortland favored by 12. Red Dragons win this one 83-70.

Brockport State at Geneseo State 8:00 PM

Brockport on a roll, winners of last 3. Geneseo has won 3 of last 4 with zebragate against Fredonia their only loss. Pointspread favors the Golden Eagles by 3. Tough call here as both teams finding their rhythm, but I think Brockport will win a close one 81-78. 

[jdex]

Cortland 38, Utica 20 at the half ......J. Winter 11 pts

[jdex]

Potsdam trails St. Lawrence 37-21 at the break

[magicman]

Potsdam trails St. Lawrence 37-21 at the break

And what I thought might happen-no Curtis Pierce. Doubt the Bears will keep this one close.

[magicman]

Cortland wins 73-62

[magicman]

Potsdam gets buried by St. Lawrence 73-42

[jdex]

Cortland topples Utica 73-62. Leads by 20 starting second half. UC within eight midway and late. B. Manning 19 pts(9x15fg), 4 reb for 11-4 RDragons, whose J. Winter collects 17 pts(7x14fg, 3x9 3s), leading 6 rebs, 4 assts; J. Smith 14 pts. Ward paces Pioneers with 13 pts but 5pf with 6' left. Only UCer in double figures pointwise. J. McClendon with 11 rebs, 8 pts. UC 4-11. Corts 29x65fg, 7x29 3s, 8x13ft, 34 rebs; UC 22x55fg, 2x9 3s, 16x23ft, 42 reb

[magicman]

Geneseo leads Brockport at the half 36-25.

[magicman]

St. Lawrence 72 Potsdam 42

Bears knocked out in the 1st round as SLU jumps out to a 17-4  advantage. Lead stays between 12 and 16 throughout the period. Potsdam down at the break 37-21. Second verse same as the first as Bears only manage 21 points in this period. At least they were consistent. Saints up by 20 with half the period to go and stretch it to 36 with 3:19 left. No Bear player hits double figures. Watched Rob Duquette tear it up last Saturday in Plattsburgh with 20+ points and thought he'd be hard to stop as the Saints aren't that stong in the paint. Cards had trouble stopping him with their bigs but tonight he practically disappears with only 5 points and 2 rebounds. Bears shot terrible. 14x43 fg, 0x12 3's, 14x26 ft. Brad Drysdale with 9 points was the high scorer for Potsdam.

Terry Parham led the Saints with 14 points and Ralph Temgoua added 13. Saints 27x55 fg, 7x19 3's, 12x17 ft. SLU with rebounding edge 39 to 27.

[magicman]

Brockport and Geneseo go down to the wire with the Blue knights up 65-61 with 1:15 to play. Brockports Gerald Williams hits a three to make it 65-64 with a minute to go and 15 seconds later Geneseo turns it over. Brockport misses a layup with 27 seconds left and they are forced to foul with 15 seconds to play. Blue Knights Gordon Lyons makes both free throws to make it a 3 point lead. Port scores a layup with 3 seconds to go and then gets a turnover on the inbounds pass with 2 seconds left. They take a timeout to set up a final shot but Lyons gets a steal and the game is over. Final score 67-66 Geneseo. Fitting that Lyons stole the ball on the game's final play because he was the one who turned it over after the last Brockport basket with 3 ticks left.

Geneseo was in control for most of the 1st half as they took the lead 4:20 into the period. Eagles would tie it up several times but could never get the lead. Tied at 12, the Blue Knights opened some daylight with a 12-2 run and extended their lead to 13 points on several occasions before settling for a 36-25 halftime edge. Port opened the 2nd period with an 11-3 burst and closed to 39-36 but the Blue Knights always had an answer to keep them at bay. Brockport had it down to a two point 46-44 deficit, but again, back to back buckets by the Knights gave then some breathing room. Down 60-53 with 5:49 left the Eagles made a final push and got to within a single point at 62 to 61. Knight's Mike Hoy made 1 of 2 foul shots and perhaps the key play of the game occured with 1:44 left on the clock when Lyons stole the ball on the Eagles next possession. A Brockport foul sent Lyons to the line and he made them both to make it a 65-61 two possession lead. Without that steal it's possible that the Eagles tie it up or take the lead with a 3 ball, but instead find themselves down by four with 1:15 to play to set up the finale.

Geneseo was led by Ryan Riefenhauser with 16 pts (7x9 fg, 2x4 ft) and 6 rebounds. Gordon Lyons almost equaled that with 16 points (5x9 fg, 6x7 ft) and 4 rebounds. Matt Curry and Mike Hoy both added 10 points, and Curry led the team with 8 boards. Knights were 22x49 fg, 3x7 3's, and 20x26 ft. Blue Knights dominated the boards 34 to 21 and had 18 turnovers to 14 for the Eagles.

The Knights went to the line for 26 attempts while Brockport only had 8 attempts. It's the 2nd straight outing that Geneseo had a huge advantage from the charity stripe, which helped them win 2 extremely close games, . Buffalo St. and Brockport were on the short end of those scores. Geneseo has had 67 free throws in those 2 games. The opponents have had 29 attempts.

Brockport was led by Jon Ivy with 20 points (10x15 fg, 0x1 3's) 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Gerald Williams had 17 points (7x14 fg, 3x7 3's) while Kyheem Green and Donnell Jackson both scored 11. Eagles were 28x55 fg, 4x17 3's, 6x8 ft).

Geneseo ups their record to 6-8 for the season. They move into a three way tie for third place in the SUNYAC with Plattsburgh and Buffalo State at 4-3, but currently hold the tiebreaker against both of these teams. They travel to Oneonta, then New Paltz this weekend.

Brockport has their winning streak end at three games and falls to 5-8 overall, 3-3 in the conference. They will return to action this Friday at New Paltz.       

[Bengalsrule]

   67-66 Geneseo.

...And as we head to the midpoint of the season this weekend (actually next Tuesday) 3rd to 6th place are in a virtual tie (separated by half a game). Gotta love this time of the season.

1 question? Can anyone catch Oswego? Dying to see what the pundits predict

[magicman]

   67-66 Geneseo.

...And as we head to the midpoint of the season this weekend (actually next Tuesday) 3rd to 6th place are in a virtual tie (separated by half a game). Gotta love this time of the season.

1 question? Can anyone catch Oswego? Dying to see what the pundits predict

I don't know if I'm the pundit you're dying to see, predict, but,

THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS.....NO THEY CAN'T!

[Bengalsrule]

I don't know if I'm the pundit you're dying to see, predict, but,

THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS.....NO THEY CAN'T!

Magicman....Why don't you tell me how you REALLY feel??

P.s. nice choice of colors!