MBB: Centennial Conference

Started by swish, March 01, 2005, 04:51:33 PM

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Hoopdog14

Gabriel- I think it is fair to say that in large part the CC is going along as I expected with 2 notable exceptions.  I will admit I completely missed Ursinus.  They look well rounded and tough.  I am surprised with how poorly Gettysburg is playing given the returning players

CentCraze88- Yes and no surprise. Look at the "strong start" of the Mules. The quality of teams  they beat early would struggle against some high school teams.  The have gone to the zone and any team that can shoot is giving them fits.  McClary went to a zone because most of the players got beat consistently or ended in foul trouble. Offensively,  unlike previous years, he doesn't have a player that can shoot or go strong to the rim.  He's made a big bet on a couple he thought could---he is flat wrong.

Give the games the past week, it is going to be a dog  fight with the notable exception of 2 or 3 teams.

PS Swat please tough defense, hard but not dirty-- McDaniel brings a similar attitude to the defensive end

Reserved Seat

Swat Fan #1
Several individuals that watched the game on line asked me in church what was up with Swarthmore.  I said Swarthmore seemed frustrated by their play this week and were going to take it out on some one.
Another person email with the following comment--"I watched the whole thing on my computer. Looked like Cam Wiley was on a mission to take someone out. Swat looks frustrated -- they got waxed by JHU and F&M in back to back games."

Does anyone have an explanation for why the elbow to Phelps wasn't intentional? I realize the officials didn't call it, because they didn't see it. It was a shot to the head away from the ball. No foul was called because the officials were watching the play, not the players in the back court.  Phelps immediately fell to the floor, and despite the fact Swarthmore had the ball, the official almost immediately blew the whistle to stop the play.

HoopGuru

Didn't watch that Swat/F&M game but from what's being said it makes them come across as fake tough. Things aren't going their way and they act like that isn't a good look. Hope that stuff wasn't intentional. If it was intentional, the swat player definitely benefited from lack of replay.
"Separation is in the preparation"

CentCraze88

What a year in the Centennial!! We have two clear heavyweights - Swarthmore and Franklin & Marshall. I know F&M got off to a slow start -  but given the week they just had (an absolute slaughter of the Mules and a double digit win over Swartmore) I can't imagine the conference final doesn't come down to those two. 

Honestly, very disappointed with the performance of both Gettysburg and Muhlenberg.  I thought both of these teams would be vying to jump in to the upper echelon of the conference, but from what I've seen online, they both appear to be dire situations.  Gettysburg's decline is truly shocking; although they lost some key pieces from last year, I thought they would be able to hang tough.  Given their recent success, I kind of assumed a strong culture had been established in that locker room.  On the other hand, the Mules season seems to be just in line with recent years.  Although they sit at .500 in the conference, they have also been absolutely DEMOLISHED by F&M and Swat, and just had an absolutely disgusting lost against McDaniel at home.  With trips to Hopkins and McDaniel and Swarthmore still coming up, I can't see a scenario where this team bounces back.  While they aren't truly a bottom feeder, no progress has been made in this program in recent years as they toil away in a wasteland of mediocrity (which might be generous term for describing recent developments in Allentown).

Excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us!


Dave 'd-mac' McHugh

Not sure how anyone can say F&M is a heavyweight. They started horribly in conference and don't forget their performance against McDaniel. I know they have had a couple of good games of late, but I need to see a bit more before jumping on their bandwagon seems like the right idea. I think the conference is a free for all this year.
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.

HoopGuru

#5945
It could very well come down to those 2 teams but by no means are they both heavyweights in the conference. A Heavyweight doesn't go 0-2 in a week where the games weren't even that close. I agree. Free for all this year
"Separation is in the preparation"

CCD3Basketball

Way too early to be calling F&M a heavyweight, especially after starting 1-4 in the CC. Sure, a 3-0 week looks nice, and the win at Swat was fantastic, but to call them a heavyweight is way too premature, especially with a home loss to Ursinus already on their slate, and 2 games yet to come against Dickinson, plus a trip to Ursinus.

As has been said, this conference is a free for all. Is it great from a national, conference to conference comparison standpoint? No, probably not. But, is it entertaining? You bet it is.

Only three games of separation between first and eighth place, about halfway through the conference slate, is crazy.

The league is still wide open, as far as it looks to me. There's definitely not a clear cut heavyweight.....especially after how Swat got dominated twice this week.
Broadcaster. Writer. Analyst. Fan. Voter. Centennial Conference focus, with an eye on D3 as a whole. D3 Basketball runs my life for over a quarter of the year and I have no problems with that. My wife feels differently about that last part.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)


It'll all center around whether putting McGrath in the starting line-up will continue to pay off.  It's working right now, but it is just one week.
Lead Columnist for D3hoops.com
@ryanalanscott just about anywhere

CCD3Basketball

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on January 16, 2017, 12:48:06 PM

It'll all center around whether putting McGrath in the starting line-up will continue to pay off.  It's working right now, but it is just one week.

Indeed. Looks great for now, might be the answer they need in the post.

Interesting round of games coming this week. Dickinsonat F&M, McDaniel at Gettysburg, and Ursinus at Muhlenberg highlights Wednesday's action. We'll see if the Bears can keep their 4-0 CC road record intact. And Swarthmore at Dickinson is the big one Saturday.

Although, quite frankly, with as jumbled as the standings are, every game this week could be big (that's a blanket statement, I suppose).
Broadcaster. Writer. Analyst. Fan. Voter. Centennial Conference focus, with an eye on D3 as a whole. D3 Basketball runs my life for over a quarter of the year and I have no problems with that. My wife feels differently about that last part.

Hoopdog14

CentCraz88  You correct that it is hard to see the Mules moving higher.  Their record even in the CC is a bit deceiving.  They lost to McDaniel at home, crushed by a F&M team who struggled and now will play some of the top teams as away games.  Overall record a bit dubious as they have 4 early season wins against teams that had a combined record of 16-43 (37%).  They have no leaders on the court or the  bench. 

It will be interesting to see what Swat is made of after the past week.  And is the ship righted at F&M.  It will be a dogfight for the top 4 spots

Reserved Seat

Using McGrath gives up height, but his athleticism should compensate for that difference.  Owana, Phelps, and Lior can provide key minutes in the paint.  Stoma could be back in a couple of weeks.  F&M needs both Tate and Wright to be healthy to have depth at the point.  With Sylka able to back up Federici and Hunter and all 3 staying injury-free gives F&M depth at 2/3.  Osley can add improve minutes on defense and drives to the basket.  Rice and Jimenez can add help in case of foul trouble.

Gabriel

UC Bears improved results are due somewhat to improved play of their forwards Janicot, Quattro, Stark and Big Joe LoStracco.  They have been defending, rebounding and even scoring a bit.  Biggest factor, however, is that Matt Knowles has returned to being the player he was prior to his ACL tear at Dickinson last year.  It just takes at least a year to recover fully from that type of injury and it looks like he has.  Nobody works harder.

saratoga

Gabriel:

Not sure if you knew this or not but Matt also tore his ACL midway into the season his junior year in HS at Scranton Prep.

Extremely hard working young man who's now fought through & rehabbed this injury twice.

I think his best game as a collegian may have come at the Pallestra vs. Penn.

Reserved Seat

Looking forward to the F&M/Ursinus rematch at Collegeville.  The Bears looked great against F&M in the first match up.  They're the best team I've seen so far, but I won't see Dickinson until Wednesday.

CCHoopster

There are no heavywheights in the CC. Swat is a really good team with only two noteable wins: Mis and Catholic. Heavywheights are teams that have proven the ability to win now and win in the tournament. Dickinson has proven to be the only heavyweight in recent years. They will be there in the end again. Heavyweight teams play better non conference opponents than SWAT did outside of Catholic/Rown. Swat is a tough team in the CC, if they have to play length and athleticism with tough gritty playmakers, I don't see them able to compete- see Rowan. Until Swat does something outside the CC and on the national stage, reserve the heavyweight label. Christopher Newport is a heavyweight, not Swat.

Disclaimer- I really enjoy watching the CC. I follow MAC too.  Two examples would be Delaware Valley and Alvernia. In recent years they have been to the NCAA tournament multiple times but have not been able to get out of the first round at all. Even being blown out at times. So while some may call them heavy weights for dominating the conference they are not. Christopher Newport is the perfect example right now of a heavywheight.