MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Getting ready for the 2013-14 season here ... most of the SUNYAC schedules are posted:
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Brockport_State/men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Buffalo_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Cortland_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Fredonia_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/New_Paltz_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Oneonta_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Oswego_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Potsdam_State/Men/2013-14/index

You can see partial schedules for the rest:
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Geneseo_State/Men/2013-14/index
http://www.d3hoops.com/teams/Plattsburgh_State/Men/2013-14/index

[magicman]

Just when I was going to start looking to see which YAC teams had posted their schedules, you go and post these links to make it easy for me. Damn mind reader...Plus K.

[Bengalsrule]

Just when I was going to start looking to see which YAC teams had posted their schedules, you go and post these links to make it easy for me. Damn mind reader...Plus K.

So Magicman...who do you see as having the toughest Non-conference schedule??

and the 2nd toughest??

..3rd??

T- 48 days until the 1st "Offical  balls hit the court""

[magicman]

Guess what day it is!   I'll give you a hint, it's not hump day.

[Bengalsrule]

Massey has SUNYAC ranked 17th. I can't ever remember the 'Yac being ranked that high at the beginning of the season. Usually around 27 is where they have traditionally began ( if memory serves me correctly).

Plattsburgh is also ranked 37th in the D3 pre-season rankings! I'm sure that Magicman is smiling somewhere in the North Country!

T- 17 days to the "Official" season opener!!

[thebear]

Cortland is ranked 28th, which is improbable given their grad losses. 

The pre-season rankings are based on last year, and don't necessarily factor in grad losses and attrition.  I know the Cards are loaded with most of the key parts returning, while Cortland lost a ton of talent.

The Massey ratings usually settle down around Christmas, once teams have 7-10 games under their belts.

But then again D3Hoops has Morrisville ranked in the top 25, as they've added some jucos who also had strong HS credentials including two former Jamesville-Dewitt starters.  In their league strength of schedule will kill them, so they had better run the table.

[Bengalsrule]

Cortland is ranked 28th, which is improbable given their grad losses. 

The pre-season rankings are based on last year, and don't necessarily factor in grad losses and attrition.  I know the Cards are loaded with most of the key parts returning, while Cortland lost a ton of talent.

The Massey ratings usually settle down around Christmas, once teams have 7-10 games under their belts.

But then again D3Hoops has Morrisville ranked in the top 25, as they've added some jucos who also had strong HS credentials including two former Jamesville-Dewitt starters.  In their league strength of schedule will kill them, so they had better run the table.

Cortland ranked 28th?  Where didu see that my friend?  On the D3 preseason ranking its Emory at 28th withWittenberg in front of them! Unless Im reading something wrong.

[magicman]

Cortland is ranked 28th, which is improbable given their grad losses. 

The pre-season rankings are based on last year, and don't necessarily factor in grad losses and attrition.  I know the Cards are loaded with most of the key parts returning, while Cortland lost a ton of talent.

The Massey ratings usually settle down around Christmas, once teams have 7-10 games under their belts.

But then again D3Hoops has Morrisville ranked in the top 25, as they've added some jucos who also had strong HS credentials including two former Jamesville-Dewitt starters.  In their league strength of schedule will kill them, so they had better run the table.

Cortland ranked 28th?  Where didu see that my friend?  On the D3 preseason ranking its Emory at 28th withWittenberg in front of them! Unless Im reading something wrong.

I think that thebear was looking at the final rankings from last year instead of the preseason rankings of this year when he mentioned Cortland at #28 and Morrisville in the Top 25. (They (Cortland) actually ended the year at #27 and Mo State was ranked at #20.)

Or he could have been on drugs.

[magicman]

Bengalsrule,

You are correct, the magicman was smiling when he spotted his Plattsburgh State Cardinals getting some recognition in the D3hoops Top 25 preseason poll that came out earlier this week.  Preseason polls can be way off base as thebear mentioned with some teams getting recognition that are based on last year's success which doesn't translate into the hoped for results of the current season. The Rochester team of 2011-12 was probably the best example of that in recent memory. Ranked in the Top 10 that year in the preseason poll (#7) and coming off a 22-6 record in 2010-11 they were out of the Top 25 by week #5 and finished with a 17-8 record and missed the NCAA tournament that year. While a preseason ranking or mention doesn't guarantee a team anything, it is nice to have that early recognition and if the team does get off to a good start they can move into the Top 25 much quicker than a team that isn't in the "others receiving votes"  category.

Plattsburgh State returns almost everyone on the roster from last year including their entire starting 5 and 9 of their top 10 players. Most importantly 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder, senior forward John Perez, who was lost to the team down the stretch last year, when he went out with a broken leg and missed the final month of the season, is back and appears to have healed nicely. The Cardinals only have 3 new faces on the team this year and once again Coach Curle's biggest problem will be trying to find ample playing time to keep everyone happy. The Cardinals hope to improve on their 2nd place SUNYAC finish and have to be considered the early season favorites to win the conference crown. Last year they made the NCAA tournament for the 5th time in the past 8 years, which is the best record of any team in the East Region in that span. A 2nd round loss to eventual national champion, Amherst ended the Cards season and this year the team is hoping to advance even further in the Big Dance.   

[Ethelred the Unready]

Cortland is ranked 28th, which is improbable given their grad losses. 

The pre-season rankings are based on last year, and don't necessarily factor in grad losses and attrition.  I know the Cards are loaded with most of the key parts returning, while Cortland lost a ton of talent.

The Massey ratings usually settle down around Christmas, once teams have 7-10 games under their belts.

But then again D3Hoops has Morrisville ranked in the top 25, as they've added some jucos who also had strong HS credentials including two former Jamesville-Dewitt starters.  In their league strength of schedule will kill them, so they had better run the table.

Cortland ranked 28th?  Where didu see that my friend?  On the D3 preseason ranking its Emory at 28th withWittenberg in front of them! Unless Im reading something wrong.

I think that thebear was looking at the final rankings from last year instead of the preseason rankings of this year when he mentioned Cortland at #28 and Morrisville in the Top 25. (They (Cortland) actually ended the year at #27 and Mo State was ranked at #20.)

Or he could have been on drugs.

While I won't debate Bear's alleged use of medication, Moo-Ville is actually ranked #20 in the pre-season. 

[magicman]

Cortland is ranked 28th, which is improbable given their grad losses. 

The pre-season rankings are based on last year, and don't necessarily factor in grad losses and attrition.  I know the Cards are loaded with most of the key parts returning, while Cortland lost a ton of talent.

The Massey ratings usually settle down around Christmas, once teams have 7-10 games under their belts.

But then again D3Hoops has Morrisville ranked in the top 25, as they've added some jucos who also had strong HS credentials including two former Jamesville-Dewitt starters.  In their league strength of schedule will kill them, so they had better run the table.

Cortland ranked 28th?  Where didu see that my friend?  On the D3 preseason ranking its Emory at 28th withWittenberg in front of them! Unless Im reading something wrong.

I think that thebear was looking at the final rankings from last year instead of the preseason rankings of this year when he mentioned Cortland at #28 and Morrisville in the Top 25. (They (Cortland) actually ended the year at #27 and Mo State was ranked at #20.)

Or he could have been on drugs.

While I won't debate Bear's alleged use of medication, Moo-Ville is actually ranked #20 in the pre-season.

thebear and I knew that Ethelred as he had emailed me several days ago when the preseason rankings came out. I think that's how thebear mixed up the rankings because of the fact that Morrisville was ranked #20 in both rankings. Then again I'm on drugs, I'm certainly in enough pain right now that I need them.

Plus k to everyone on the this page for taking the time to post.

[thebear]

Actually the only drug I am on is my carefully rationed dose of wine.  I was speaking to the Massey ratings, which are invalid until there are 10+ games played.

Bears play an exhibition on Monday against a loaded Canadian Algonquin team that features great athleticism.  We shall see.

[magicman]

Actually the only drug I am on is my carefully rationed dose of wine.  I was speaking to the Massey ratings, which are invalid until there are 10+ games played.

Bears play an exhibition on Monday against a loaded Canadian Algonquin team that features great athleticism.  We shall see.

I knew there was a logical explanation. 

I'll see the Cardinals scrimmage Saturday against Castleton State. Castleton plays a "modified Grinnell" style offense where they hoist up a lot of 3 pointers often as quickly as they can. Not a lot of defense to be found. We usually handle them fairly easily. Cards will be without the services of big man Reggie Williams until after the Christmas break as he recuperates from a fractured foot. Hope he continues to heal without any setbacks. Reggie moved into the starting lineup last year when John Perez went down and played some of the best ball of his career down the stretch. He will provide valuable minutes when he is able to rejoin the team. 

[magicman]

Buffalo State got an early start to the season Friday night as they visited Division I Niagara University for an exhibition game against the Purple Eagles. Buff State lost 96-71 but putting up 71 points against a DI team is a decent effort. The Bengals kept it close in the early going and actually had a 10-8 lead, but Niagara went on an 11-0 run to open up a 9 point lead at 19-10. Bengals got within 5 points at 23-18 but the Purple Eagles slowly pulled away and ended the half up 49-29. Niagara continued to build their lead at the start of the 2nd period and were up 55-31 with 17:42 left to play. The Bengals mounted a charge however and outscored Niagara 16-0 over the next 3 minutes led by Rod Epps, Jordan Glover and Justin Mitchell.  When Buff State started their run all 5 starters for Niagara were in the game. The Purple Eagles basically used an 8 man rotation while the Bengals had 10 different players average double digit minutes. Eventually the superior height advantage of Niagara proved to be too much for the Bengals to overcome and the lead once again grew to double figures. Over the final 10 minutes Niagara pulled away to post the final margin of victory. That 16-0 run by the Bengals though, must have had the Bengal faithful on their feet. Hard to outscore any D1 team 16-0 at any point in a game, even against their end of the bench players, much less their starters.   

Some interesting observations from Friday night's game.

1. Justin Mitchell, the Bengals All Conference performer from 2010-11 and 2011-12 is back for his final season. The 6'5' senior forward averaged 14 pts and 8 rebounds his sophomore year while making the YAC's All Conference 2nd team. He followed that up his junior year with 13 ppg and 7 rpg  but missed the final 8 games of the season with a fractured hand. He still was named to the All Conference 2nd team once again. In Friday night's game against Niagara it looks like he hasn't missed a beat as he scored 14 points and had 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.

2. Rod Epps also scored 14 points Friday night and there's a good chance he will be an All Conference selection at the end of this season. The 6'4" junior guard averaged 20 ppg and 3.8 rpg last year and will form a potent 1-2 punch with Mitchell.

3. Coach Ansari seems to have pulled another rabbit out of his hat as newcomer Chris Thompson a 6'5" junior transfer (I think) came off the bench and led the Bengals with 18 points in his first contest in a Bengal uniform. Thompson was 7x12 from the field, 1x2 from 3 point land, 3x4 from the line and grabbed 5 rebounds in 29 minutes. If this effort against a Division I team is any indication of his ability on the hardwood, the Bengals just became a three headed monster and opposing defenses will be hard pressed to contain Mitchell, Epps and Thompson.

4. Another new face for the Bengals is freshman Jordan Glover, a 6'2" guard who the coaching staff must be pretty high on as he started against Niagara Friday night. Glover scored 8 points in his debut

5. Kirkland Legree, also got a start against Niagara and also appears to be a transfer to the Bengal program. Legree is a 6'4" junior guard.

6. Off the bench came Lovell Smith, a 6'3" freshman guard (2 pts, 3 assists, 3 steals in 11 minutes), Sean Buckley a 6'6" freshman (7 pts in 8 minutes), Johnathan Belton, a 6'0" freshman guard (2 pts in 11 minutes) and Rey Jordan, a 5'10' freshman guard (1 assist, 1 steal, and a rebound in 10 minutes)

7. So 1 freshman started and 4 others came in and got significant minutes. Plus the 2 transfers, one of whom started and the other one claimed scoring honors. Lots of new faces, lots of guards and only 3 players listed as forwards. That sounds like a lot of athletic guards with leaping ability.

8. Noticeable absences from Friday night's game: Junior Maurice Miles who had cracked the starting lineup last year but went down with a fractured foot only 6 games into the season. Also no sign of senior Chris Castren. Both players are listed on the 2013-14 roster so I'm assuming they were nursing some injuries that kept them out of the game.

9. I think Plattsburgh State will be duking it out with the Bengals once again.     

[magicman]

Plattsburgh State looked ready for action as they scrimmaged Castleton State at midday on Saturday. Cardinals were firing on all cylinders as they won the 1st 20 minute session 43-18. Castleton, surprisingly, did not play the modified "Grinnell style" offense that they have used in the past. In fact it was Plattsburgh State who had the greater number of 3 point attempts in the first period. Nine different players saw considerable floor time in the opening stanza as Coach Curle went with his primary rotation and all of them broke into the scoring column. Plattsburgh had a considerable lead in the 2nd 20 minute period as well, but with 10 minutes left to play and the Cards up by 20 in that period he had all the new faces on the floor at the same time and the Castleton regulars were able to cut into that big lead. The Cardinals ended up winning the scrimmage by a 91-62 score. Sophomore Ed Correa found his shooting stroke early and often as he led Plattsburgh with 19 points. Ed hit 5 3 pointers, several from NBA range, and all of them were nothing but net. John Perez looked like his old self, as he attacked the basket with a variety of inside buckets and short jumpers to total 18 points. He added 11 rebounds to lead all players in that category. Point guard Chris Manning had 15 points, 7 steals, (continuing where he left off last year as he led the nation in total steals and steals per game), and 5 assists. Ezra Hodgson added 12 points, Shavar Fields had 10 points, while Shamoy McIntosh, Jordan Moody and Mike Mitchell all finished with 8 points. Plattsburgh ended up with 12 three pointers in the contest as 5 different players hit from long distance. The Cards annual Red & White scrimmage will be on Wednesday the 6th and then the team will travel to Union next weekend for their final tuneup  as they scrimmage the Dutchmen.

Plattsburgh was scheduled to open the season on November 15th against the D3hoops preseason ranked #21,  Alvernia Crusaders, in the 1st game of the Richard Stockton Tip Off Tournament. Apparently Alvernia  had agreed to play in 2 different tournaments at the same time and they backed out of the Stockton tip off, leaving that tournament with a 3 team round robin. I'd like to think that Alvernia was trying to avoid us as they chose to play in the Franklin & Marshall tournament and will open up against Middlebury instead of taking on the Cardinals in the Stockton tourney. Since I think we will beat Middlebury this year on their home court in our annual contest against the Panthers, I'm convinced  Alvernia chose the easier team to start the season.

So the Cardinals won't play on the 15th. Bridgewater State will play host Richard Stockton on the 15th, we'll play Bridgewater State on the 16th, and then face host Stockton on the 17th. Notice how Stockton got a day off between their 2 games while both Bridgewater and Plattsburgh have to play on back to back days. And the Cards have to play at 1 PM on Sunday after a 5 PM game on Saturday evening. Sure nice to be the host team in these tip off events.