MBB: Centennial Conference

[diplomaniac1]

Folks -

Here are my picks for tomorrow evening's games:

F&M @ Ursinus: F&M (I bleed blue. Besides, it is time for the Dips to exorcise this demon!)

Dickinson @ McDaniel:  McDaniel (I really don't know what to think about these two teams. So, I give a slight edge to the Terror on their home court.)

Gettysburg @ Johns Hopkins:  Johns Hopkins (Another tough one! Jays need this win to stay alive. Again, I give another slight edge to the home team considering that the Bullets have had some tough times lately.)

Haverford @ Washington: Washington (I give a slight edge to the Shoremen on their home court since they are on a roll as of late.)

Swarthmore @ Muhlenberg: Muhlenberg (Another win for the home team in their "barn".)

I will add Monday night's game in with these games when I update the standings. Remember, all selections are due by tip-off time. Good Luck. Enjoy the games! Regards to all.

Eric

[BRCE4]

F&M @ Ursinus really tough pick but I'm going with the Dips
Dickinson @McDaniel, McDaniel in another tough road venue in the CC
Gettysburg @JHU another tough pick going with Gettysburg
Haverford @ Washington I like the shoremen in battle of 2 scrappiest teams in the conference
Swarthmore @ Muhlenberg Swat getting better but I like the Mules at home.

[division3]

wed picks

Ursinus
McDaniel
Gettysburg
Haverford
Muhlenberg

[gordonmann]

D3hoops will be broadcasting tonight's men's basketball game between Franklin & Marshall and Ursinus at 7:30 ET.  The direct link to our broadcast is copied below, though people can also find it off our schedule/scoreboard.

http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/stcasx/3c3winlive3370/play.asx

[D.B. Cooper]

It perplexes me that most of the National prognosticators think F&M must win every game or they are a major failure. This is a game by any measure that Ursinus should win & it would be a pleasant surprise of an upset if the Dips pulled it out. Below is some data of Dip-Bear games since 2002 that should make it clearer.

2002-3: Ursinus 83-82 (@FM), Ursinus 96-88 OT (@Ursinus) CC playoff finals
2003-4: F&M 106-71 (@FM), Ursinus 104-92 (@Ursinus)
2004-5: Ursinus 91-82 (@Ursinus), F&M 91-60 (@FM), Ursinus 72-70 (@FM) CC playoff finals
2005-6: Ursinus 86-80 (@FM), Ursinus 75-59 (@Ursinus)
2006-7: Ursinus 64-52 (@Ursinus), Ursinus 75-69 (@FM)
2007-8: Ursinus 69-60 (@Ursinus), Ursinus 77-60 (@FM)
2008-9: F&M 83-80 (@FM), F&M 87-81 (@Ursinus)

Ursinus leads series 6-1 in Collegeville & 11-4 overall. Who should be the historical big favorite?

If anyone remembers I declared before last years game at Ursinus that if the Dips won that game on the road I would need to take off for the Sweet Sixteen NCAA round & in spite of the Gettysburg loss in the CC Final they did end up doing the improbable deep NCAA run. I have seen enough games in Helfferich to say that it is a tougher place to win than anywhere else in the CC for multiple reasons.

[BTEXPRESS]

My picks for tonight:

F&M
Washington
Ursinus
McDaniel
Hopkins

[diplomaniac1]

BTEXPRESS -

I am confused regarding your picks. Please check them. Since F&M plays at Ursinus tonight, I don't think that both F&M and Ursinus can win! I don't see any pick for the Muhlenberg game. Please review, revise, and re-post. Thanks.

Eric

[BTEXPRESS]

Eric, Let's try this again. Thanks. I was actually looking at Saturday's games.

F&M over Ursinus
Muhlenberg over Swartmore
McDaniel over Dickinson
Gettysburg over Hopkins
Washington over Haverford

Hopefully these are the right games for tonight.

[Reserved Seat]

In a very exciting game before a loud and enthusiastic crowd at Ursinus, F&M won a game that they led from start to finish.  Brooks slammed down a dunk to show the crowd that he had come to play.  Brooks ended with 19 points and contributed several steals on defense.  F&M ended with 14 steals to Ursinus' 7.  F&M raced to an early 8 point lead(10-2) which was the final margin(70-62).  The game was well played by both teams especially the first half when the officials were not a factor.  Fouls were minimal for both teams in the first half.  The game was more physical in the second half as Ursinus fought to get back into the game.  The officials got more involved in the game and F&M got more than their portion of fouls  as F&M was whistled for 11 to Ursinus' 6.  The gap closed as Ursinus was forced to foul.  The game ended with the fouls about even.  In a surprising move Robinson started Justin Driver(his first varsity start) to play defense.  He ended with no points but played excellent defense.  McNally lead all scorers with 20 points.  Despite struggling offensively, Milligan scored 15 points, numerous points on follow ups of his own misses.  F&M caused 21 turnovers.  Foul shooting F&M 13/19--Ursinus 17/19.  Three point shooting F&M 1/9--Ursinus 5/16.  Rebounds were almost equal.  Cousart lead Ursinus with 15 points.  Two other players , Hilton and Ward, contributed double figures.
F&M needs to get their students more involved in the games, because Ursinus' fans gave the game a more sportive atmosphere.
Ursinus will still be the team to beat in the play-offs.

Gabriel, what's the significance of the chicken.

[Gabriel]

Reserved Seat,

Pretty much agree with your synopsis of the game.  Essentially it was 21 turnovers by the Bears converted into 24 points by the Dips.  Give credit to F&M, it is their defense that keys everything else.  Defensively---they are really good.  They were not about to give up the any easy threes.  They gamble, jump passing routes and continually poke at your dribble.  You can't teach speed and quickness and the Dips have it.

For some reason, Jon Ward gets no breaks from any of the officials.  On his fifth foul he did not even so much as touch the offensive player--the official made the mistake of anticipating.  Other teams mug him and he gets by with nothing.  He fouled out after having only one at halftime---limiting him to 27 minutes. Same thing happened at Hopkins on Saturday.  If you watch McNally, a big part of his game is pushing and shoving----much of it from the waist down.  For Jon, this is part of being a freshman I guess.  He is a good freshman and will be a force the next few years.

The Ursinus students were great---the "Helferrich Hooligans".  All the students were asked to wear gold---the color of this year's Hooligans t-shirts.  That seems to be the only significance of the chicken----the color gold.  Guess that's what he had in his closet.

Hope these two teams meet again in the playoffs.  The Bears will play better---they can't play worse.

[BTEXPRESS]

Helferrich is a fantantsic place to watch a game, especially if the Hooligans are out in force in large numbers. Congratulations to the Red Devils for pulling off another upset over McDaniel last night. Don't think any of us saw that win coming for our pickems. I think we are in for some severe weather this weekend, not sure how it will effect traveling for Saturday's games. Here are my Saturday picks:

F&M over Muhlenberg ( This should be a tough close game)
Washington over Dickinson ( The Shoreman have been up and down, on paper this should be a win)
Gettsburg over Ursinus( The Bears might have spent too much engery against the Dips)
Haverford over McDaniel ( Lost to the Devils stings, the Fords hang another L on McDaniel)
Hopkins over Swathmore( The Jays are also a streaky team)

[diplomaniac1]

Reserved Seat and Gabriel -

Kudos for the excellent reviews of the F&M-Ursinus game. They were almost as good as actually being there and were remarkably similiar from two different perspectives and two different rooting interests.

Eric

[old ends]

Picks for Sat 2/9

F & M
Washington
Gettysburg
Haverford
John Hopkins

enjoy

[division3]

saturday picks

F&M
Washington
Gettysburg
Haverford
Swarthmore

[Gabriel]

Picks for Saturday 2/6/2010

F&M (should be a close game but home team prevails)
Washington (Dickinson improving but not enough)
Ursinus (can't drop two bombs in a row--hopefully)
Haverford (Fords improving---the Terror going the other way)
Swarthmore (tough at home)

Hope the weather allows the games to be played.