Commonwealth Coast Conference

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D3ball1845

And we've now closed out the second to last week in regular season CCC conference play. No real surprise results today, unless you want to count the RWU 86-82 win over Endicott as an upset.

RWU finally put together a strong second half after trailing 37-41 at halftime. The two leading scorers in the CCC, Austin Coene of RWU and Keith Brown of Endicott, both played well, scoring 29 and 30, respectively. Additionally, RWU had major scoring contributions (14+ points) from 3 other players. Coene also had 16 rbs, 3 asts, 1 stl, and 1 blk. Senior guard Jake Heaton may have had his best overall game of his career today, with 20 points and solid defense on Keith Brown in the second half of the game. The biggest team stat line of the game was the 38-27 rebounding advantage for RWU, who has struggled on the glass for the majority of the season.

It's a huge win for RWU who now is tied with Endicott for 3rd place in the CCC, both sitting with 9-5 conference records. I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC, but I'd have to assume if the season ended today Endicott would still take 3rd as they have the better overall record despite losing to RWU twice this season. Both teams have two games left, Endicott with WNE and Gordon, and RWU with Curry and WNE. Endicott easily has the tougher of the remaining two games and I would bet to see RWU sitting in sole possession of 3rd place in the CCC after the regular season comes to an end next Saturday.

We also have a battle for 1st place in the CCC between Gordon and Nichols. I'm sure both would love to have that first round bye in the CCC tournament. The two teams will meet Wednesday night at Gordon in a game that will likely decide the regular season champ of the CCC. However, Gordon also has Endicott remaining while Nichols faces Wentworth in their last regular season game. I would expect to see both Nichols and Gordon move up in the regional rankings this week after Williams and MIT both lost their most recent games. In an ideal world, I would love to see RWU take home the CCC championship and see both Nichols and Gordon get at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. I'm not sure if the CCC has ever received 3 bids to the NCAA tournament. But, we still have quite a bit of basketball to play before we can even consider that possibility. At the bottom half of the standings, we have Wentworth, Salve Regina, and UNE fighting for the remaining two playoff spots. As of now, it looks like UNE has the highest chance of being eliminated, yet there is a chance all 3 teams could finish 5-11 in the conference standings. If that was the case, again I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC. Clearly, this will be a very exciting end of the CCC regular season.

Smitty Oom

Quote from: D3ball1845 on February 10, 2019, 12:48:55 AM
And we've now closed out the second to last week in regular season CCC conference play. No real surprise results today, unless you want to count the RWU 86-82 win over Endicott as an upset.

RWU finally put together a strong second half after trailing 37-41 at halftime. The two leading scorers in the CCC, Austin Coene of RWU and Keith Brown of Endicott, both played well, scoring 29 and 30, respectively. Additionally, RWU had major scoring contributions (14+ points) from 3 other players. Coene also had 16 rbs, 3 asts, 1 stl, and 1 blk. Senior guard Jake Heaton may have had his best overall game of his career today, with 20 points and solid defense on Keith Brown in the second half of the game. The biggest team stat line of the game was the 38-27 rebounding advantage for RWU, who has struggled on the glass for the majority of the season.

It's a huge win for RWU who now is tied with Endicott for 3rd place in the CCC, both sitting with 9-5 conference records. I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC, but I'd have to assume if the season ended today Endicott would still take 3rd as they have the better overall record despite losing to RWU twice this season. Both teams have two games left, Endicott with WNE and Gordon, and RWU with Curry and WNE. Endicott easily has the tougher of the remaining two games and I would bet to see RWU sitting in sole possession of 3rd place in the CCC after the regular season comes to an end next Saturday.

We also have a battle for 1st place in the CCC between Gordon and Nichols. I'm sure both would love to have that first round bye in the CCC tournament. The two teams will meet Wednesday night at Gordon in a game that will likely decide the regular season champ of the CCC. However, Gordon also has Endicott remaining while Nichols faces Wentworth in their last regular season game. I would expect to see both Nichols and Gordon move up in the regional rankings this week after Williams and MIT both lost their most recent games. In an ideal world, I would love to see RWU take home the CCC championship and see both Nichols and Gordon get at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. I'm not sure if the CCC has ever received 3 bids to the NCAA tournament. But, we still have quite a bit of basketball to play before we can even consider that possibility. At the bottom half of the standings, we have Wentworth, Salve Regina, and UNE fighting for the remaining two playoff spots. As of now, it looks like UNE has the highest chance of being eliminated, yet there is a chance all 3 teams could finish 5-11 in the conference standings. If that was the case, again I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC. Clearly, this will be a very exciting end of the CCC regular season.

Tie break criteria for CCC. Scroll down for basketball.

If RWU has the season sweep of Endicott and RWU gets to play Curry and WNE while Endicott players Gordon and WNE, I would be very surprised to see Endicott get the 3 seed over your RWU team.

As for the potential 3-way tie towards the bottom of the standings... you can do the work yourself on that one  ;D :D

D3ball1845

Quote from: Smitty Oom on February 10, 2019, 01:00:04 AM
Quote from: D3ball1845 on February 10, 2019, 12:48:55 AM
And we've now closed out the second to last week in regular season CCC conference play. No real surprise results today, unless you want to count the RWU 86-82 win over Endicott as an upset.

RWU finally put together a strong second half after trailing 37-41 at halftime. The two leading scorers in the CCC, Austin Coene of RWU and Keith Brown of Endicott, both played well, scoring 29 and 30, respectively. Additionally, RWU had major scoring contributions (14+ points) from 3 other players. Coene also had 16 rbs, 3 asts, 1 stl, and 1 blk. Senior guard Jake Heaton may have had his best overall game of his career today, with 20 points and solid defense on Keith Brown in the second half of the game. The biggest team stat line of the game was the 38-27 rebounding advantage for RWU, who has struggled on the glass for the majority of the season.

It's a huge win for RWU who now is tied with Endicott for 3rd place in the CCC, both sitting with 9-5 conference records. I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC, but I'd have to assume if the season ended today Endicott would still take 3rd as they have the better overall record despite losing to RWU twice this season. Both teams have two games left, Endicott with WNE and Gordon, and RWU with Curry and WNE. Endicott easily has the tougher of the remaining two games and I would bet to see RWU sitting in sole possession of 3rd place in the CCC after the regular season comes to an end next Saturday.

We also have a battle for 1st place in the CCC between Gordon and Nichols. I'm sure both would love to have that first round bye in the CCC tournament. The two teams will meet Wednesday night at Gordon in a game that will likely decide the regular season champ of the CCC. However, Gordon also has Endicott remaining while Nichols faces Wentworth in their last regular season game. I would expect to see both Nichols and Gordon move up in the regional rankings this week after Williams and MIT both lost their most recent games. In an ideal world, I would love to see RWU take home the CCC championship and see both Nichols and Gordon get at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. I'm not sure if the CCC has ever received 3 bids to the NCAA tournament. But, we still have quite a bit of basketball to play before we can even consider that possibility. At the bottom half of the standings, we have Wentworth, Salve Regina, and UNE fighting for the remaining two playoff spots. As of now, it looks like UNE has the highest chance of being eliminated, yet there is a chance all 3 teams could finish 5-11 in the conference standings. If that was the case, again I'm not sure how the tie breaker works in the CCC. Clearly, this will be a very exciting end of the CCC regular season.

Tie break criteria for CCC. Scroll down for basketball.

If RWU has the season sweep of Endicott and RWU gets to play Curry and WNE while Endicott players Gordon and WNE, I would be very surprised to see Endicott get the 3 seed over your RWU team.

As for the potential 3-way tie towards the bottom of the standings... you can do the work yourself on that one  ;D :D

Glad you're seeing eye to eye with me on RWUs chances of finishing 3rd in the CCC at the end of the regular season. Fingers crossed. I actually reviewed the CCC tiebreaking criteria this past week and was a bit confused about the wording of the initial statement, "In the event of a tie in winning percentage in the regular-season standings, the following procedure shall be applied in the designated order to break all ties for seeding or to determine the final team(s) that will qualify for the conference championship." Does this mean in-conference record or overall record? The remaining criteria does not include mention of either which is why this is confusing to me.

Smitty Oom

It would be only the in-conference record, unless otherwise noted, such as in the third statement.

So two or more CCC teams would have to have the same conference record in order to go down the tie break list that is given.

D3ball1845

Thank you for clearing that up. So if I'm correct, overall record carries no weight in the tiebreaking criteria for the CCC tournament seedings?

AllStar

#4700
Quote from: D3ball1845 on February 10, 2019, 01:16:46 PM
Thank you for clearing that up. So if I'm correct, overall record carries no weight in the tiebreaking criteria for the CCC tournament seedings?

Right.  Overall record usually has no bearing on conference tournament seedings.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)

Quote from: AllStar on February 10, 2019, 03:05:05 PM
Quote from: D3ball1845 on February 10, 2019, 01:16:46 PM
Thank you for clearing that up. So if I'm correct, overall record carries no weight in the tiebreaking criteria for the CCC tournament seedings?

Right.  Overall record usually has no bearing on conference tournament seedings.

Sometimes leagues will include some non-conference games way down the tiebreakers - especially if there's a non-conference common opponent or something like that.
Lead Columnist for D3hoops.com
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Dave 'd-mac' McHugh

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D3ball1845

The second to last night of CCC regular season play significantly impacted the standings, solidifying conference position for some and almost eliminating post season play for others. Results from last night and their implications can be seen below:

Nichols 107 @ Gordon 93
Endicott 76 @ WNE 104
RWU 96 @ Curry 76
UNE 93 @ Wentworth 80

1. Nichols takes sole possession of first place and clinches their sixth straight regular season championship of the CCC after taking care of business at Gordon last night, winning 107-93. It was a battle of the stars, as Bruton and Echevarria combined for 53 points for Nichols while Duvivier and Demers combined for 66 in the loss. Nichols gets a 1st round bye in the CCC tournament and Gordon finishes at 2nd in the CCC and will play the #7 team (TBD, see below) in the first round.

2. Endicott struggled at WNE and was unable to put together a comeback in what was probably their worst loss of the season. I actually got something right for once (referencing my first post of the season which covered 3/4 of the season). I predicted that Endicott would falter and WNE would be on the rise at the conclusion of the regular season. Endicott has lost two straight, while WNE has won their last 6/7 games. With the loss to WNE, Endicott drops to fourth in the CCC and cannot reclaim third place in the final game. They will meet WNE in the first round of the CCC tournament, location yet to be determined. Here's how this can play out. If Endicott wins at home against Gordon on Saturday, they clinch 4th place in the CCC and a first round home game against WNE. However, if they lose to Gordon and WNE beats RWU, the two will be tied with 9-7 CCC records. Tie breaker goes to WNE as they beat Gordon at home just a couple weeks ago. Endicott would then have to return to WNE for a first round playoff game after just losing to them by 28 last night away from home. If I were Endicott, I'd be pretty nervous right now and praying for RWU to beat WNE at home for their Senior Day on Saturday.

3. RWU easily beats Curry on the road by 20 points. Austin Coene probably had his worst shooting performance of the season last night, but looked very relaxed and seemed to be having fun getting his teammates involved and taking a night off from leading the team in scoring. Jake Heaton and Rich Pugliese of RWU combined to shoot an astonishing 14-17 from the 3 point line in the game. If they can continue this hot shooting into the post season I'd be very surprised if we didn't see RWU in the CCC Championship game. With the RWU win and the Endicott loss, RWU clinched third place in the CCC and will play the #6 team in the CCC (TBD, see below) in the first round of the conference tournament. Curry falls to 1-22 on the season, but does have a chance to eliminate Salve from postseason contention on Saturday.

4. UNE wins their final regular season game away at Wentworth, 93-80. This game had the biggest implications for the two remaining playoff spots being fought for between UNE, Wentworth, and Salve Regina. Conference standings today have UNE at 5-11 with no games remaining, Salve Regina at 4-11 with one game remaining at home versus Curry, and Wentworth at 5-10 with one game remaining away at Nichols. It would appear that Wentworth has the highest chance of grabbing one of the final two postseason spots. However, looks can be deceiving, especially with the tie breaking criteria of the CCC. The two remaining games involving the three teams and the Massey Ratings prediction for the respective games can be found below:

a. Wentworth @ Nichols, 3:00 PM on 02/16/2019 - Prediction: Nichols 99%, 84-57
b.  Curry @ Salve Regina, 3:00 PM on 02/16/2019 - Prediction: Salve Regina 94%, 86-69

If these games play out like they should, these three teams will all sit at 5-11 for their conference record. Even though three way ties can be tricky, I think I've determined who gets the remaining playoff spots and the corresponding seeds based off the tie breaking criteria.  There are five steps to the tie breaking criteria for CCC Men's Basketball. The first criteria is head to head competition. UNE is 2-0 vs Wentworth and 1-1 vs Salve. Wentworth is 0-2 vs UNE and 1-1 vs Salve. Salve is 1-1 vs both teams. Because of this, you would start a new tie between UNE and Salve, as Wentworth was the only team to finish 0-2 in head to head competition out of the three teams. Head to head, Salve and UNE are both 1-1. The second tie breaking criteria is record against other conference teams from the top of the standings down. UNE and Salve lost both of their games against Nichols, Gordon, RWU, and Endicott. However, 5th in the conference standings is WNE. Salve finished 1-1 vs WNE, while UNE finished 0-2 vs WNE. Thus, Salve would take home 6th place in the CCC and play RWU away in the first round of the CCC tournament. Then, we begin another tie with UNE and Wentworth. UNE won both games against Wentworth and thus would take home the final playoff spot at #7 in the CCC. They would face off against Gordon away in the first round of the conference tournament. Please reference the CCC tie breaking criteria if you want to double check if I've calculated things correctly.


Dave 'd-mac' McHugh



It is now or never.

The last week of the Division III basketball regular season is here. Conferences will decide who will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Tournaments and teams try and position themselves for at-large bids, hosting opportunities, and bracketing considerations.

For teams who have been faltering, this is the last chance to right the ship. For programs which have underachieved, this is the last opportunity to live up to expectations. And of course for those with Cinderella dreams, this is the chance to try on the glass slipper.

Sunday's Hoopsville will cover it all in a special, extended, episode which for the first time (outside of Marathon programming) will feature a guest from each of the eight regions. We will also discuss which teams may be on the bubble, who has most likely secured at-large bid, and which teams need to win the AQs. Plus, we talk about how regions as we know it now could very well change in the future.

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. Sunday's show will hit the air at 6:00 p.m. ET. It can be watched live right here: http://bit.ly/2EeG5ZE (and simulcast on Facebook Live and Periscope).

If you have questions about Division III basketball, feel free to send them and we will answer them on a the show. Email them to dave.mchugh@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options below.

Guests Schedule (order subject to change):
- Katherine Bixby, Johns Hopkins women's coach
- Jonathan Crosthwaite, Occidental men's junior
- Marc Brown, NJCU men's coach
- Justin LeBlanc, Millsaps women's coach
- Jamie Seward, SUNY New Paltz women's coach
- Marcos Echevarria, No. 17 Nichols men's senior
- Herman Carmichael, La Roche men's coach
- Klay Knueppel, Wisconsin Luthern women's coach
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D3ball1845

First round of the CCC Tournament begins tonight. The pairings for the three games, followed by my predictions and brief thoughts on the matchups can be found below:

#2 Gordon (21-4, 13-4) vs. #7 Wentworth (8-17, 5-11), 7:00 PM

This has the potential of being the upset of the tournament. Gordon is 2-0 vs Wentworth this season, yet their most recent game a few weeks ago was just a 2 point victory, 73-71, for the Scots on their home court. Wentworth plays at a very slow pace and that is how they are often able to remain in striking distance in games. We get a matchup of the two best big men in the CCC in Azums of Wentworth and Duvivier of Gordon. If Wentworth is to pull off the upset, Azums will undoubtedly have to win this matchup and put up about 20 points and 10+ rebounds. Wentworth will also likely need a 20+ point effort from wingman Gavin Keough to get the victory. If Wentworth is unable to contain Eric Demers and the Gordon shooters it could be a very long night for them. Gordon will have a huge crowd at home for the game and I'm sure senior Garrison Duvivier will be playing with a chip on his shoulder after being snubbed from the 1st Team All-CCC selection.

Prediction: Gordon 71 - Wentworth 64

#3 RWU (14-11, 11-5) vs. #6 UNE (7-18, 5-11)

I really don't think UNE has much of a chance at RWU tonight. The Hawks are playing great basketball right now and have the home court advantage, where they average almost 7 ppg more than they do away. Additionally, the Hawks are 2-0 vs UNE this year. Of note, this is a rematch of last year's first round game, and UNE actually put quite a scare into RWU that game, only losing 83-88. However, RWU has been shooting lights out from beyond the arc in their last three games where they have averaged 50% from downtown. UNE plays in a Grinnell type system and may be in danger of losing by 30+ if RWU continues their hot shooting. I really think that UNE is going to switch it up tonight and try to throw something different at RWU to see if they can shake them. If that is the case, we will just have to see how RWU responds. Regardless, I don't think RWU seniors Austin Coene and Jake Heaton will let the Hawks play sloppy or step off the gas tonight. I'm expecting a big victory by RWU.

Prediction: RWU 97 - UNE 73

#4 Endicott (17-8, 10-6) vs. #5 WNE (11-14, 8-8)

Endicott gets the chance to redeem themselves after a blowout loss to WNE less than a week ago. Lucky for them, they were able to hold on to the 4th seed and get a home game for the first round. This has huge implications for the results of this game, as Endicott has one of the best home court crowds and WNE averages 16 less ppg away than they do at their home court. WNE beat Gordon and Endicott on their home floor this year and lost to Nichols and RWU by less than 3 points each at home. WNE lost to these four teams by an average of 18 points away this season. I was at the WNE vs RWU this past weekend and was not particularly impressed by them and was surprised they could have beaten a team like Endicott by 30 points. Don't get me wrong, WNE has had a great second half to the season, but they have such a massive disadvantage playing away from home. I expect Keith Brown of Endicott to score 30+ in this one, as there is really no one from WNE that can guard him defensively. WNE will need 25+ point games from Pettway and maybe one of their shooters (likely McGuire) if they want to have a chance in this one. WNE is really just in an unlucky spot as Endicott is also coming off a huge victory at home vs Gordon. However, you can't ignore the 30 point victory over Endicott, so you'd have to think that WNE will be coming into this game with some confidence that they can play at a similar level tonight.

Prediction: Endicott 86 - WNE 71





D3ball1845

It's time for the semifinals of the CCC tournament and my rather long takes and predictions on what should be two very interesting games tonight. We have #1 Nichols, coming off a first round bye, hosting a rather hot and volatile #5 WNE team tonight at 7:00 PM. My predictions from earlier in the season are finally coming to light, as I saw Endicott falling and WNE rising as the final third of the season came along. Also, I correctly predicted CCC POY and could even be right about the CCC championship depending on the results of the two games tonight. So, it only took me 4 years to finally get a firm grasp on the upward bound CCC. We also have #2 Gordon hosting #3 RWU tonight at 7:00 PM. My comments and predictions can be seen below:

#1 Nichols (23-2, 15-1) vs. #5 WNE (12-14, 8-8), 7:00 PM

Nichols will be well rested after coming off a first round bye in the CCC tournament. They have not played a game in a week, which could be a double-edged sword if they have to shake off some rust in the first half. On the other hand, WNE rolls into Dudley after beating Endicott twice in the past week. Nichols has beaten WNE twice this season, with wins of 99-96 (away) and 83-62 (home). WNE has actually done a pretty good job handling two-time CCC POY Marcos Echevarria, as he only averaged 16.5 ppg in their two games this year. On the other hand, DeAnte Bruton has averaged 21.5 ppg against WNE this year and will undoubtedly be the leader of the Nichols team next season given Echevarria's impending graduation. WNEs real issue has been handling the Nichols' big men, specifically Matt Morrow and Jerome Cunningham, as the two have combined to score 21.5 ppg and grab 20.5 rbpg in two games against WNE this year. Sophomore big man, Zach Tavitian, will have to do a better job battling them on the glass and also produce on the offensive end if WNE is to pull off the upset. WNE is really going to have to lean on senior guard and 1st Team All-CCC player, Mikey Pettway, who is coming off a 34 point game against Endicott. Pettway has averaged 17.5 ppg, 4 rbpg, 2.5 apg, and 1 spg against Nichols this year. WNE will also need production from their two 3 point shooters who are often overlooked. I can see junior guard, Mike McGuire, having a big performance tonight if WNE is to advance to the CCC championship. I should also mention WNE freshman guard, Antonio Brancato, who has averaged 15.5 ppg against Nichols this season. However, it seems as if teams have figured the freshman out for the time being as he has only scored in the double digits once in the past seven games. In regards to game flow, I see Nichols coming out a bit overconfident and slow, taking a couple point lead or even being down by a few at halftime. Then, I expect to see the talented backcourt of Nichols to take over and slowly pull away from WNE in the second half, fueled by the what I expect to be rather large home crowd attendance to the game. WNE has shown they have the ability to play with Nichols, but I still can't ignore the fact that they average almost 16 less points away from home, even after their first round upset over Endicott. But who am I kidding, I would love to see WNE knock off Nichols so my RWU Hawks get a home game for the CCC championship. Spoiler alert at who I'm predicting to win the other game.

Prediction: Nichols 87 WNE 73

#2 Gordon (22-4, 13-3) vs. #3 RWU (15-11, 11-5), 7:00 PM

This game is going to be an outright battle for who will move on to the CCC championship. RWU has to win the CCC Championship to get an NCAA tournament bid and Gordon would likely become a bubble-out team if they lose tonight. Before I get into the game, I want to congratulate senior swingman, Austin Coene of RWU, for being selected as CCC POY. It is well deserved and I'm hoping this results in him being considered for an All-American selection at the conclusion of the season. Additionally, I wanted to touch on the fact that Garrisson Duvivier of Gordon was robbed of 1st Team All-CCC honors. He had an outstanding season this year, as he led the CCC in rebounds and blocks while still averaging 18.5 ppg. Also, he is now only 23 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in Gordon Men's Basketball history. Keep that on your radar in what could be the final game of his career if things don't go Gordon's way tonight. Gordon has bested RWU twice this season, winning 94-91 in OT (home) and 103-94 (away). I usually never blame officials for the result of a game, but RWU was subjected to some of the worst officiating I've seen in their OT loss to Gordon. I've expanded upon this in an earlier post from this year, but the series really should be at 1-1 this season, not that it matters at this point in time. RWU is undoubtedly going to need a huge game from CCC POY, Austin Coene, who has averaged almost a triple double against Gordon this year, putting up 34.5 ppg, 9 rbpg, 7.5 apg, and 1.5 spg. However, Coene did take a ridiculous amount of shots in their last game, going 15-36 from the field. I don't think he will need to shoot as much tonight and I predict he will be around 20-25 FGA. Gordon plays a high pressure zone defense and I think Coene will have to continue facilitating on drive and kicks if RWU is going to pull this one out. RWU has been on fire from outside in the last four games, shooting 47-93 (515) from deep. If shooters Jake Heaton and Rich Pugliese continue to shoot well, I think RWU has a really good chance of coming out as the victors in this one. The key to getting open 3s against the Gordon zone is to have them collapse on drives by Coene and having him dish to his shooters on the wing or in the corner. I also want to give a shout out to sophomore big man, Drew Hart, who earned 3rd Team All-CCC distinction this year. He will take on the daunting task of matching up with Duvivier tonight. Sophomore JJ Pfohl will continue to take the reigns as RWUs floor general and a solid defender, although I would not expect him to take on Demers defensively tonight. Speaking of Demers, he has averaged 35.5 ppg, 4.5 rbpg, 4 apg, and 2.5 spg in two games vs RWU this year. He will likely be defended by RWUs Jake Heaton tonight, in what should be a great battle between these two. If Demers continues having his way against RWU, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gordon advance to the CCC championship. Gordon also has a couple of good shooters in Jake Haar and Noah Szilagyi that will need to be watched by RWU. If either of them scores above 15 points, I really don't like RWUs odds in this one. Garrisson Duvivier has averaged 28.5 ppg, 13 rbpg, 2.5 apg, 2 spg, and 4 bpg against RWU this year. This is not surprising whatsoever, as RWU has struggled to contain big men all year. They have actually done pretty well against the 6' 11" center, Parker Omslaer, keeping him at bay with 6 ppg, 7.5 rbpg, and 2.5 bpg in two games this year. Of note, RWU has gone into halftime with 9 point leads in both games against Gordon this year. RWU has really struggled as a team in the second half this season, which has cost them multiple games. If that is again the case tonight, look for them to come out with energy, a strong defensive mindset, and looking to control the pace of the game in the second half as it is do-or-die time for the Hawks. With respect to game flow, I would expect the Hawks to come out strong away from home and build up a 5-10 point lead by half time. Gordon will make their run in the second half and it will really be up to RWUs will power and determination to see if they can pull off the upset against the Scots tonight. I'm expecting huge games from Coene and either Demers/Duvivier, but I would expect one of the latter two to be held below 20 points tonight. I'll be in attendance at this game and if you're in the North Shore area you should consider coming as it will be a good one to see in person. Go Hawks!

Prediction: RWU 91 Gordon 86