Quote from: deiscanton on March 19, 2026, 09:55:27 PM

Quote from: saratoga on March 19, 2026, 09:47:19 PMLike 2 heavyweights going at it round for round.

Survive & advance baby!

Heard the entire mens LAX team showed up tonight. 

As they should!  Hats off to them for rerouting the trip and representing and supporting.

Well done ladies!!

Congratulations, Scranton, you are the new Women's Belt^TM champion!

The Lady Royals's first defense of the Women's Belt^TM is on Saturday vs Denison.  The Scranton men's LAX team got mentioned in the ESPN+ stream. 

The Scranton Times has had tremendous coverage of the Royals this past week. If you haven't checked the paper out, do so!

Good Luck to the Royals tonight!

Just a thought for any baseball fans, and stay with me here for a moment. If you are picking up mlb.tv, ESPN threw their hat into the ring with it, and you now have to sign up for ESPN Unlimited. Which You can cancel after purchasing and not be stuck with it. So, if you do not have ESPN + already, look for that as a workaround if picking up the baseball package through MLB this year.

Quote from: NEPAFAN on March 17, 2026, 08:41:41 AMOh man, your lips to God's ears.


If you aren't going to Salem, make sure you have ESPN +!

Won't it be streaming on NCAA.com as well, or just ESPN+?

Transylvania's failure to file paperwork to host ensured that they could not help fix some of the geographic challenges in this bracket. Anyone in Indiana, Ohio or Kentucky who might qualify for the NCAA Tournament should always file to host.

Ursinus - March 2003 has a friend. I am sure there have been other examples, but, how?!?!

Quote from: scottiedawg on March 02, 2026, 11:22:16 AMI would agree that it's a good thing overall but I think it can also be true that it can limit flexibility for "more fun" matchups.

Just like I think NPI is a way better system because it (a) allows everyone to know exactly where they stand at any point in time, (b) removes subjectivity.

But that doesn't mean at all that NPI is perfect, or doesn't have rough edges. And I think moving to NPI has made the final week and Selection Sunday less fun FOR THE FANS.

As with many things in life, more than one thing can be true at the same time.

It has certainly taken away any of the fun from Selection Monday.

Isn't this a good thing overall?  In March, the right teams are playing each other seeding-wise. If I need a "unique match-up," I'll hope for that in March or December.

I agreed. After seeing every opponent in person, top to bottom, the league was better than years gone by.

Quote from: ronk on February 26, 2026, 11:34:55 AMThe Royals will be playing in a special holiday tourney/classic? format next season in the Richmond area involving "historically good" basketball programs: Babson, Christopher Newport, and Randolph-Macon. All 3 should be in the NCAA tourney this season.

I forgot about that!  Excited to see that play out

Quote from: stlawus on February 25, 2026, 09:09:12 PM

Quote from: stlawus on February 12, 2026, 01:46:12 PM

Quote from: saratoga on February 12, 2026, 01:02:53 PMAll I can say to that is:

The NCAA better revert back to the eye test. 
Either mens basketball as a whole is horrible this year (which I don't think is true) or...
Scranton is way, way over-rated (which I think is true).
I mean my God, they're barely beating teams with 2 conference wins right now. 

If you look at their rating on Massey their actual rating is 50 spots higher than their power rating. So far it hasn't happened yet but a disparity that big usually means regression to the mean. Just something to keep an eye on.

I noted this a couple weeks ago.  I think it was just unfortunate timing with regression to the mean. After the last game there is still a 44 point delta between the actual rating and power rating. If it's like a ~20 spot difference between ratings there's not much difference, but a disparity that big can bite you without coaching adjustments.  I have tuned into Scranton games when I can since I appreciate the large and involved fanbase engagement on here, and I have to agree with some that the coaching is suspect at times.

All points nailed on the head.

They have to play a more challenging non-conference schedule. You only get 7 non-conf games. Get rid of the non-competitive opening tournament. I know the locals hate this, but drop Kings. You have not been challenged by them in years. Hit the road and go play some teams. You can't wait until late January to start being challenged.

It is like in Rocky III where Rocky realizes Mick has been carrying him for years through junk fights.

Quote from: KnightSlappy on February 24, 2026, 12:34:42 PMBeing an NCAA Provisional team, they are not yet eligible for the NCAA Tournament. In these situations, most leagues award the AQ to the tournament runner-up if they win. So a team might enter a final vs. Brandywine knowing they've won the AQ already.

If I recall, this happened in the SCAC when St. Thomas TX was a provisional.

Yes, I recall those. I did not ask this properly. Why would a conference want a provisional team participating in post-season play?  Or is it a case of they have to?  Or is it in conference bylaws, and changes from conf to conf?

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on February 22, 2026, 08:00:06 AM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 22, 2026, 07:47:43 AMPS Brandywine is playing in the UEC conference tournament. They are in the semis, but aren't even listed in the standings page. If they win the conference tournament, does the losing finalist get the AQ?

Yes.  Both teams on the other side are definitely rooting for them!

Can you explain this please!

Quote from: saratoga on February 21, 2026, 01:35:09 PMVegas line just closed.
Catholic +4.

You missed a zero.

Looking like by 40.

Whiteeeeeee flag a-waiving!

Wilkes' top two performers (24 and 23 pts) took 30 of the 47 shots. Clearly, man defense was not working.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on February 18, 2026, 01:07:53 PM

Quote from: saratoga on February 18, 2026, 12:04:39 PMKind of a relative statement as the eye sometimes only sees what it wants to see. 

Per Ryan's mock bracket, should the Lady Royals win the first weekend they'd be off to JHU.
Goldfarb is a very drab middle school gym & that whole area is sketchy at best.

I pray he's wrong.

If you think the JHU neighborhood is sketchy, can I introduce you to "literally anywhere else in Baltimore?"

Let's not act like a stones throw from the Long Center isn't sketchy in Scranton!