First, I have to agree with the point by "CC" that Ursinus should be very good next season. I'd even go so far as to say they are the team to beat in the Centennial Conference. I think they played underclassmen exclusively against F&M, so they definitely have a lot to look forward to.
That being said, I have a trivia question:
Who was the last Centennial Conference team other than F&M to win an NCAA Tournament game?
Give up? It was Johns Hopkins in 1998 ! They won a 1st round game over FDU-Madison by a score of 87-47 and then lost in the 2nd round 67-62 to Catholic. Here are some recent results:
2005 Ursinus lost 68-66 at home vs. NYC Tech.
2004 F&M got to Elite 8 round after a 1st round bye and wins in the 2nd round and Sweet 16.
2003 Ursinus lost 77-75 at Scranton in the 2nd round after a 1st round bye.
2002 Gettysburg fell apart, losing 78-59 at home in the 1st round to Lycoming.
2001 Gettysburg lost 60-52 in the 1st round at Hampden-Sydney.
2000 F&M got to the FINAL FOUR and lost a heart-breaking, last second thriller (on a "no-call" foul) to eventual National Champion Calvin.
1999 F&M beat Johns Hopkins 81-66 in the 1st round and then got paid back at Wilkes in a 77-58 crushing (the term "paid back" refers to the Diplomats 107-70 annihilation of the Colonels in the 1996 Elite 8)
1998 The CC Champion Muhlenberg Mules lost 77-61 to Scranton in the 1st round. Johns Hopkins, with an at-large bid, beat FDU-Madison 87-47 in the 1st round. Johns Hopkins then lost 67-62 in the 2nd round to Catholic.
I can't remember the last time a CC team other than F&M won a game in the 2nd round or later. I guess it would have to have been in 1997 if ever (but doubtful) when Dickinson won the CC, because F&M dominated the CC from it's inception in 1993 through 1996. In those 4 years, they went to the Sweet 16 in 1993, 1994, and 1995. In 1996 they got to the FINAL FOUR where they ran into some unfortunate bad timing of illness and injuries.
My point out of all this is that F&M is the ONLY team in the Centennial Conference that has proven it can go DEEP into the NCAA Tournament. Granted, they probably did not deserve an at-large bid this year; but I think they definitely did not deserve to be snubbed in 2002 and 2003 when they had great regular seasons but lost at the wrong time. Like they say, you gotta win your conference. We'll see what Glenn Robinson can come up with next year -- he never ceases to amaze me how he wins year after year after year ..........
p.s. F&M also won the ECAC in 2002 & 2003, the only 2 times I remember them being in that tournament. There should be some great competition there this weekend, as the Dips host the semis and finals after beating Lincoln 116-100 in the quarters on Wednesday.
(Message edited by Diplonut on March 4, 2005)
