MBB: MAC Freedom League

Started by ljk, March 14, 2005, 09:28:34 AM

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NEPAFAN

Quote from: kate on February 15, 2022, 10:41:31 AM
What the heck, Bill - we're all together on here  :), and NEPA fan, i told you i liked your posts - even when we were together & i was sparring with the Scranton fans.   Now, after a quick glance on your page, i see that Scranton fans are still the predominate posters - please believe me when i say my Hubby and i miss those trips to Scranton and grabbing a hoagie at the Subway across the street from the gym.   Thanks for the football compliment - that football program took a long time to build, but it sure is fun to watch now.

You are dating yourself with the reference to the Subway. Ha. I went there when I was looking at attending the university.
A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.
Vince Lombardi

kate

Many trips down Mulberry Street for this 78 year old!   Thanks again NEPA fan!

Dave 'd-mac' McHugh

Host of Hoopsville. USBWA Executive Board member. Broadcast Director for D3sports.com. Broadcaster for NCAA.com & several colleges. PA Announcer for Gophers & Brigade. Follow me on Twitter: @davemchugh or @d3hoopsville.

kate

In our basketball world last night where there were three sad losses, the Aggie Men prevailed in a huge win over ranked DeSales, 75 to 67!     Huge Congratulations!

jmcozenlaw

Quote from: Stretch4 on January 17, 2022, 05:28:12 PM
Thank you for sharing Bill.  I did see that announcement.  A little odd they didn't allow previously forfeited games to be re-scheduled (as I believe there were only 4 or 5 before 1/13).  So DelVal pick ups two freebie covid wins while Kings picks up two covid losses. We will see how the rest of the season shakes out. I can tell you that Stevens and Wilkes played a game this past weekend with 9 and 8 players available respectively, with both missing starters.  So teams are willing to play short handed to ensure the games are played.

"So DelVal picks up two freebie COVID wins". Let's see how that statement marinated over time! ;)

DelVal had a "freebie win" in a game scheduled at home against Stevens. AT Stevens, the Aggies took Stevens into overtime.

DelVal had a "freebie win" in a game scheduled at Wilkes. At home, DelVal beat Wilkes.

Without 3 players expected to play significant minutes this year (6'6" Damian Washington - All Conference type of player, 6'5" Dwayne Caine Jr and 6'4" Jordan 'Baby Barkley' Tucker) rendering them, by quite a margin, outside of FDU, the smallest team in the conference...................

DelVal went on the road and beat Lycoming!!

DelVal also beat a 13-1 DeSales team at home!!

I don't think DelVal got any freebies whatsoever!

My take:

New coach was hired too late to do any recruiting. New staff assembled late. First 9 or 10 games played on the road (gym was flooded out and practices were held in a makeshift, non-regulation sized gym), the unexpected departures of two starters with size (and one with bulk) and their probable 6th man..........with two of them playing the first two games before they bid adieu........and given that DeSales was loaded with seniors (4 who started and were arguably their best players).........

I could make the argument for DelVal head Coach Kaba for MAC Freedom Coach of the Year. I know it's unlikely, but the circumstances certainly warrant it. We'll see!! I do know that it should be interesting to see what the coaches are able to bring in with their first full recruiting cycle.

Stretch4

I have a slightly different take on how it marinated over time.  Del Val was 6-4 in its first 10 games (all on the road) and 8-5 in actual games played since then (with 8 of 13 games at home).  In the conference they are 8-6 in actual games played.  Throw in two forfeit conference wins and they get to 10-6 in conference play. Those two forfeit wins clearly helped put them in a position to possibly grab the 4 seed (depending on Arcadia and Lycoming results this Saturday) and host a home playoff game.  Say they go 1-1 in those two games (a very fair assumption) then they are sitting at a 5 seed and on the road for the playoff opener.  By contrast, Arcadia and Lycoming (the two teams Del Val is fighting for playoff positioning with) had zero forfeit wins. So did Del Val benefit from the "freebie" forfeit wins ... absolutely they did.   

Unless I am reading things incorrectly (or players may be returning for an additional year of eligibility), Del Val starts 3 (sometimes 4) grad students or seniors and has 7 of their top 10 guys as grad students or seniors.  So not following the DeSales 4 senior comment.  For what its worth, DeSales typically starts 3 seniors and have 5 of their top 10 guys as seniors.  Regardless, it was a nice win over DeSales.

I think Del Val has had a nice season and likely exceeded expectations a bit given the departure of a couple of starters. I agree that Coach Kaba was hired too late, but he has done a nice job of adjusting the style of play to fit the roster he has and getting his players to commit to playing hard every night. 

Stretch4

MAC Freedom playoffs end with an outstanding game between Stevens and Lycoming.  Congrats to Stevens who really executed well in the final 5 minutes and just would not be denied on their home court.  Great game to watch with big plays coming one after another, and a ton of drama playing out throughout the game.  DiPietrantonio grabs a well-earned playoff MVP, and Coach Bobby Hurley adds to his resume with a tremendous coaching job over the last month plus of the season. 

Stretch4

Lycoming coaching vacancy has been filled ... https://lycomingathletics.com/news/2022/5/20/mens-basketball-linebaugh-named-lycomings-10th-mens-basketball-coach.aspx

Nice hire for Lycoming as Linebaugh has had a good deal of success at some really strong academic schools.  He was an assistant at d3's Dickinson and Hobart, as well as at d1's Rice and Colgate (where he was Director of Basketball Operations while former Lycoming head coach McGarvey was an assistant on Matt Langel's staff).  Linebaugh is a PA native and has a reputation for being a strong recruiter, as well as a positive influence on his players.

kate

Happy Thanksgiving to all on the site and as always, GO AGGIES!

Stretch4

Nice work by FDU last night.  After going winless in the conference last season, and 0 for the season so far this year, they pull out an exciting one point win over Arcadia last night ... great example of perseverance from these guys.  Also really surprised to see pre-season #1 Lycoming get absolutely hammered by Wilkes in the conference opener (Lycoming's second straight loss by 30+).  A very talented team for sure, so not clear if this is just a bad week for these guys or there is more to the story. 

Stevens picks up 3rd straight win and looking like they have started to gel after a few early season sub-par performances. Should be an interesting game Saturday when Misericordia makes the trip to Hoboken. DeSales looking like they have reloaded very nicely after graduating several standout players from last year with the only blemishes on their record coming in very narrow defeats at the hands of nationally ranked Stockton and Swarthmore.  Coach Coval is as good as any coach in the country, so look for his team to be right in the thick of the battle for the conference championship as the season progresses. 

NEPAFAN

Quote from: Stretch4 on December 01, 2022, 01:08:58 PM
Nice work by FDU last night.  After going winless in the conference last season, and 0 for the season so far this year, they pull out an exciting one point win over Arcadia last night ... great example of perseverance from these guys.  Also really surprised to see pre-season #1 Lycoming get absolutely hammered by Wilkes in the conference opener (Lycoming's second straight loss by 30+).  A very talented team for sure, so not clear if this is just a bad week for these guys or there is more to the story. 

Stevens picks up 3rd straight win and looking like they have started to gel after a few early season sub-par performances. Should be an interesting game Saturday when Misericordia makes the trip to Hoboken. DeSales looking like they have reloaded very nicely after graduating several standout players from last year with the only blemishes on their record coming in very narrow defeats at the hands of nationally ranked Stockton and Swarthmore.  Coach Coval is as good as any coach in the country, so look for his team to be right in the thick of the battle for the conference championship as the season progresses.


Stevens has those twin towers that can cause havoc.
A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.
Vince Lombardi

d3hoopstories

Stevens was 0-4 on Nov 22 as they headed to Baruch. After an awful first half there, it appeared they'd drop to 0-5.

With 12:58 to go in that game, the Ducks trailed 52-22. Behind two newcomers (Matt Leming and Alex Ratner), they clawed back and sent the game into OT thanks to a 31-10 run over the last 6:30. Leming, who had only played briefly in one game prior to that night, hit 7 3's and the Ducks won by 3.

Since that time, they have looked like the defending champs of the Freedom League. Those two newcomers have joined returning regulars Spellman, Coffey and Goodall to form a solid nucleus. Bischoping gives them solid minutes up front. The key will be figuring out who else can be productive off the bench. Crowley's minutes are down significantly from last year but he brings experience and grit. Strambi is a grad transfer from D1 Santa Clara and could help with rebounding.

Major test at Middlebury next weekend.

Stretch4

DeSales and Lycoming with a couple of nice wins today over two teams previously receiving votes in the national rankings.  DeSales takes down a 1 loss Muhlenberg team in a thriller.  Extremely efficient shooting and great execution down the stretch by the Bulldogs.  Lycoming takes down previously undefeated Scranton with a late 3 pointer off of an offensive rebound.  Great job by these two teams.

d3hoopstories

Tomorrow night, each of the two remaining unbeaten teams faces a team with one loss. So, if DeSales and Stevens notch wins, they will hold a two-game lead in the loss column over the remainder of the league. They play each other in Hoboken on January 18.

DeSales looks to be the class of the MAC Freedom, having won eight straight including the win over Muhlenberg mentioned by Stretch4 as well as victories over Montclair St and Ursinus over the last two weeks. All three of those opponents are in the top 80 in efficiency rankings.

Stevens has not yet achieved a notable win and neither has Wilkes, its opponent tomorrow. The game at Castle Point appears to be a toss-up.

Lycoming has faced a very difficult schedule to date. Aside from the win over Scranton, they were close in the Nov 19 game with Johns Hopkins (down 1 with 33 seconds). That should prepare them well for the test against DeSales.

d3hoopstories

Some questions and answers at the halfway point in league play:

(1) Can anyone beat DeSales?
Both Wilkes and Lycoming came close but the Bulldogs stand at 8-0. It will be tough to go through the second half unscathed but there is little doubt that DeSales will be the #1 seed for the conference tournament.

(2) Who will grab the #2 seed?
Lycoming sits at 6-2, a game ahead of Stevens (who they beat) and Wilkes (who beat them). The Warriors ought to be favored in at least five of their remaining games and it might be difficult for their competition to get to 11 conference wins. In the games we have watched, they have appeared to be the second best team in the league.

The "bye" this weekend comes at a great time for Wilkes (5-3). The Colonels travel to Lycoming next Wednesday before hosting Stevens and DeSales the following week. If they can grab two of three, they will be in the mix for the second seed. Wilkes has the top offense (ppg) and second best defense in the league. The loss to Misericordia was a bit of a head-scratcher but the Colonels shot just 42% from the field and Misi took 33 free throws.

For the Ducks, just one of their next six opponents has a winning record in league games so the next few weeks might be a time to build momentum before traveling to DeSales on Valentine's Day and closing the regular season at home against Lycoming. This Hurley team has been more inconsistent than most of his recent squads so a slip-up is not out of the question. The Ducks would love to grab the 3 seed and avoid having to play in the 4/5 game.

(3) Who will win player-of-the-year?
Watkins, Spellman, Harward and Lesko seem to be the favorites at this point. Their head-to-head matchups in the second half should provide clarity about the ultimate winner.