MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[rmc1982]

Jackets advance 80-56 behind Buzz with 22 and Josh Talbert with 17..... Roanoke advances with a win over the Gennies to set up a Saturday showdown with the Jackets..... Tonight should be interesting also!

I don't have much faith in my Maroons but we played pretty well against W and L.  If we play like we did yesterday we stand a chance but I think for a 3rd consecutive season our season will end because of Randolph Macon.

Last night the #1 seeds in two conferences here in the midwest lost semi-final games. Anything can happen. I hope the Jackets are ready because I'm sure the Maroons are.

I don't have much faith in my Maroons but we played pretty well against W and L.  If we play like we did yesterday we stand a chance but I think for a 3rd consecutive season our season will end because of Randolph Macon.
[/quote]Remember?? Two years ago they had us on the ropes and we came back and won at the end just by the skin of our teeth! Should have lost that one......Oh yeah I bet theyre ready for us.....EVERYBODY gives us their best shot! the 2nd game between Hasa's Quakers and VWC should be a good one ,also!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I don't know.  Roanoke has played them as close as anybody.  I wouldn't think Roanoke was a particularly difficult matchup for RMC, personnel-wise, but they certainly seem to show up every time they play.  I think it'll be a good one.

[rmc1982]

The toughest matchup for the Jackets IMHO is Guilford ! We have a hard  time with Liam Ward for some reason and Polumbo's   boys always seem to be able to hang around long enough to cause us trouble.... I'm afraid if we play them again..... hard to beat a team 3x in a season, especially a team as good as Guilford!

[Seatfiller]

The toughest matchup for the Jackets IMHO is Guilford ! We have a hard  time with Liam Ward for some reason and Polumbo's   boys always seem to be able to hang around long enough to cause us trouble.... I'm afraid if we play them again..... hard to beat a team 3x in a season, especially a team as good as Guilford!

Don't have to worry about that VWU beat Guilford by 3. Roanoke got destroyed by Macon today, we came out flat and missed a ton of FTs....things you can't do to have a shot at beating the #1 team.  3 years in a row we got booted by Macon, Buzz played great but man I'm happy that's the last time he destroys my Maroons.  I got Macon in the championship again it's going to be hard to pick against them in the NCAA tourney.

[Macon]

First off, congrats to the Jackets for a strong performance this past weekend and another ODAC championship.  A quick look at the NCAA brackets looks favorable to the Jackets.  While I don't know a lot of these teams and given that any team can beat any other team, I think the other quadrants are more challenging for the top seeded teams.  For example, I was convinced that CNU and JHU would be in the RMC quadrant.  Tell me if I'm wrong.  I'm clearly not saying that RMC will have an easy time of it and anything can happen. 

[rmc1982]

First off, congrats to the Jackets for a strong performance this past weekend and another ODAC championship.  A quick look at the NCAA brackets looks favorable to the Jackets.  While I don't know a lot of these teams and given that any team can beat any other team, I think the other quadrants are more challenging for the top seeded teams.  For example, I was convinced that CNU and JHU would be in the RMC quadrant.  Tell me if I'm wrong.  I'm clearly not saying that RMC will have an easy time of it and anything can happen.

AGREED!! ALL games at this level are tough but I also thought we got about as favorable draw as we could have!! All of the Wisconsin teams plus Yeshiva, CNU, and JHU are in the other brackets! Not saying it's an easy draw.... ALL are tough at this level , but it could have been MUCH WORSE!!

[y_jack_lok]

The entire left side of the bracket appears, overall, to be stronger than the entire right side of the bracket.

[y_jack_lok]

Someone went to a lot of trouble to figure this out. It confirms that R-MC got a very favorable draw.

FWIW - I plugged in Ken Massey's analytics to the first round bracket:

Oshkosh Bracket
Biggest predicted margin - 29.5 pts Blackburn @ Oshkosh
Closest Games - Chapman @ Mary Hardin-Baylor -4.5 pts & Calvin vs. St. John's MN -4.5 pts
Smallest combined Massey rating - Calvin (29) vs. St. John's MN (17)

Emory Bracket
Biggest predicted margin - 17.5 pts Franklin @ Illinois Wesleyan
Closest Game = Berry vs. Wabash -5.5 pts
Smallest combined Massey rating - Heidelberg (27) vs. UW- Lacrosse (7)


Marietta Bracket
Biggest Predicted Margin - 33.5 pts Medaille @ Marietta
Closest Game - Susquehanna vs Rowan -5.5 pts & Yeshiva vs Johns Hopkins -5.5pts
Smallest combined Massey rating - Yeshiva (35) vs. Johns Hopkins (11) 

Randolph Macon Bracket
Biggest Predicted Margin - 33.5 pts Mitchell @ Randolph-Macon
Closest Game [in the entire round] Nichols vs. Rensselaer -0.5 pts
Smallest combined Massey rating - Emerson(65) vs. Mass-Dartmouth (23)

Strongest Bracket - WI-Oshkosh - average Massey of 47
Weakest Bracket -  Randolph-Macon - average Massey of 81

[hasanova]

Good luck to RMC.  Rooting for the YJs and the ODAC!

[y_jack_lok]

Was anybody in Crenshaw last night? I'd be interested in observations about the Jackets' win, since watching online is a less than satisfactory way to assess a game. One stat of note -- the Jackets were 16-16 from the free throw line. That would have been really important in a closer game. Anyway, from a midwestern computer screen the Jackets looked pretty good, with fouls and early game turnovers been the main blemishes.

[rmc1982]

Was anybody in Crenshaw last night? I'd be interested in observations about the Jackets' win, since watching online is a less than satisfactory way to assess a game. One stat of note -- the Jackets were 16-16 from the free throw line. That would have been really important in a closer game. Anyway, from a midwestern computer screen the Jackets looked pretty good, with fouls and early game turnovers been the main blemishes.

Im in San Antonio for work so I didn't go a couple if my SAE frat bros had my tix....my plane was
Delayed coming in so I only caught the last half.... Looked like Crenshaw was ROCKING  and we played well but like you it's not the same as being there! Josh Merkel did come over and thanks the student section for their enthusiasm after the game!...lol... sure hope they can pull it out tonite!! Snowing in Ashland all afternoon and it could hurt the crowd- especially the alumni crowd coming from o er an hour away- like me! It's a 90 minute drive for me and the temps are gonna plunge into the teens this evening so whatever is on the roads isn't going anywhere.... But most of the local Richmond alumni would definite make it..... got an email from YJ Club this am that 200 tix remained that would go on sale in Crenshaw at 6pm I think!! Hoping they can pull it out!! GO JACKETS!!

[y_jack_lok]

Ryan Scott of D3hoops.com on Twitter https://twitter.com/RyanAlanScott/status/1503005658681118727 replying to this Tweet from the UMass Dartmouth PA announcer https://twitter.com/PuckmanRI/status/1502855397245337600.

For those not on Twitter, Baker of Umass D says: "Wow, Randolph Macon just beat UMass Dartmouth and WPI by 23 points on back-to-back nights to reach the D-3 Final Four. This team is no joke! #D3hoops"

Scott responds: "This is my scariest takeaway from the trip to Ashland. Macon played two, very, very good teams, and it wasn't close. They're incredibly, almost unbelievably good. Fort Wayne is gonna be fun. #d3hoops"

Huge expectations to live up to. Marietta is also "no joke" and every bit as good a second half team as the Jackets. I've watched a number of their games this season. The Jackets' win over them in November only gives them greater motivation.

[rmc1982]

Taking off to Fort Wayne on Thursday- driving in with some fellow Yellow Jacket buddies from my class of 1982!!! Looking forward to this once in a lifetime opportunity!! GO JACKETS!!!

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ I went in 2019, the first (and so far only) year it was in Fort Wayne. The venue seemed (if my memory is accurate) quite similar to the one in Salem that I went to for the 2008 Final Four. Would love to go see the Jackets this weekend, but not gonna take the Covid risk. My wife recently caught it (5 weeks ago) just spending a little more than an hour in a restaurant. She is not yet back to full energy level. Will cheer on the Jackets from the comfort of home. Have a great time!

[y_jack_lok]

D3hoops.com article on R-MC from several days ago.

https://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2022/yellowjackets-just-execute