Hardwood - Conference Forum: V.1

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date

#12925	01/04/2021 4:46:33 pm	Nov 26th, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Matchday 2 results Shepherd 73, Niagara 61 Big home win for Shepherd (10-2, 2-0), which slowed up the tempo and held Niagara (6-6, 1-1) to 29% shooting, with a 48-38 rebounding edge and a 44-26 edge in points in the paint. Grand Canyon 85, Sam Houston 45 Easy home win for GC (5-7, 2-0), which made 25 of 27 foul shots to 7 of 14 for SH (0-12, 0-2). Andrew Guest had a huge game with 35 points (10-13 FG, 3-5 3s, 12-12 FT). GC had a 33-22 rebounding edge and forced 19 turnovers while committing 11. Marist 80, Nebraska-Kearney 62 Good road win for Marist (9-3, 2-0), which started fast and built a 38-26 halftime lead. Each of Marist's starters scored 13 or 14 points. Marist won the paint battle 36-24, forced 16 turnovers, committed just eight and made 10 more FTs than N-K (6-6, 1-1). Lincoln-MO 64, NJIT 54 Lincoln (4-8, 1-1) takes care of business on the road against an inferior opponent, outscoring NJIT (2-10, 0-2) 36-25 in the second half. Lincoln attempted only seven 3s and was outrebounded 35-25, but forced 20 turnovers (committing 14) and made 11 more FTs. Seattle 82, Princeton 68 Seattle (8-4, 2-0) only led by three (41-38) at the half before pulling away, mainly by forcing 17 turnovers while committing only six. Seattle also made nine more FTs. That helped overcome a 46-33 edge on the glass by Princeton (0-12, 0-2). Urbana 94, Texas Tech 82 Urbana (7-4, 1-1) gets a significant road victory by shooting 61% from the field (31-for-51), including 6-for-12 on 3s, and made 26 of 38 free throws compared to 12 of 20 for TT (5-7, 0-2). Six players scored in double figures for Urbana, which held a 31-24 rebounding edge and a massive 34-10 edge in points in the paint. TT shot 52% (29-for-56) and 52% from 3-point range (12-for-23), but it didn't matter because the defense bled points. Upper Iowa 78, Dartmouth 67 Host UI (8-4, 2-0) beat Dartmouth (3-9, 0-2) on the inside with a 36-27 rebounding edge and a 34-20 edge in points in the paint. UI also shot 54% from 3-point range (7-for-13). Saint Anselm 68, Wayne State 61 SA (7-5, 2-0) outscored WS (9-3, 0-2) 37-28 in the second half to pick up a big road win, leaving WS 0-2 in conference play after a 9-1 non-conference campaign. SA enjoyed a 46-35 rebounding edge, and the defense held WS to 36% shooting, including 25% from 3-point range (5-for-20). That made up SA's own off-shooting night (6-for-27 from 3, 22%). Matchday 3 schedule Shepherd (10-2, 2-0) @ Upper Iowa (8-4, 2-0) — The only matchup of 2-0 conference teams, and a good test for both. Saint Anselm (7-5, 2-0) @ Dartmouth (3-9, 0-2) Marist (9-3, 2-0) @ New Jersey IT (2-10, 0-2) Nebraska-Kearney (6-6, 1-1) @ Sam Houston (0-12, 0-2) Niagara (6-6, 1-1) @ Seattle (8-4, 2-0) — Another tough early-season road test for Niagara Princeton (0-12, 0-2) @ Texas Tech (5-7, 0-2) — A must-win for TT to get on track. They will get key starter Albert Serra back from injury. Grand Canyon (5-7, 2-0) @ Urbana (7-5, 1-1) — Interesting matchup here. Urbana will be down a key player. Lincoln University MO (4-8, 1-1) @ Wayne State College (9-3, 0-2) — WS needs to hold serve at home Updated Monday, January 4 2021 @ 5:36:57 pm PST Updated Monday, January 4 2021 @ 5:39:23 pm PST

#12933	01/05/2021 12:07:15 pm	Dec 1st, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Matchday 3 results Shepherd 94, Upper Iowa 86 I'm really happy to get this road win. Shepherd (11-2, 3-0) forced 27 turnovers with its full-court pressure and shot 52%, including 41% from deep, and had a 44-34 edge in points in the paint. UI (8-5, 2-1) also shot the ball well (53%, though only 33% from deep), but had 10 fewer field goal attempts because of the turnovers. Dartmouth 84, Saint Anselm 75 I'm sure SA (7-6, 2-1) is disappointed with this loss, even if it comes on the road. Dartmouth (4-9, 1-2) got 30 points from Grant Blankenship (11-17 FG, 6-10 3s) and shot 52.5%, including 52% from deep (13-for-25). SA killed itself with 9-for-20 foul shooting and made just 28% from deep (8-for-28). Marist 90, NJIT 61 Easy road victory for Marist (10-3, 3-0) against an overmatched NJIT (2-11, 0-3). Marist shot 59%, forced 21 turnovers (committing just nine) and won the paint 42-18. Nebraska-Kearney 80, Sam Houston 65 N-K (7-6, 2-1) takes care of business on the road against winless SH (0-13, 0-3). The big differences came in 3-point shooting (N-K was 7-for-16, SH was 2-for-8) and foul shooting (N-K was 13-for-18, SH was 7-for-13). N-K also was plus-6 in turnovers. Niagara 90, Seattle 88 What a battle, as to be expected here. Jack Ridley's putback dunk with 3 seconds left won it for Niagara (7-6, 2-1), which had an 82-73 lead late before host Seattle (8-5, 2-1) rallied to tie it on Jeffrey Huntley's inside basket with 27 seconds left. Ridley had 17 points and 16 rebounds. Huntley finished with 23 and 10. Texas Tech 81, Princeton 45 TT (6-7, 1-2) had to win this game against woeful Princeton (0-13, 0-3) and got it done by forcing 16 turnovers (committing seven) and shooting 50% (45.5% from deep) while holding Princeton to 36% shooting. TT made 15 of 25 free throws; Princeton made just 1 of 3. Grand Canyon 87, Urbana 59 This was over early, as GC (6-7, 3-0) went into Urbana's gym and raced to a 53-20 halftime lead. Andrew Guest scored 30 points and GC forced 23 turnovers (committing 10) and won the paint 44-26, shooting 57% Urbana (7-6, 1-2) made just 4 of 17 from deep. Wayne State 72, Lincoln MO 56 WS (10-3, 1-2) put away Lincoln (4-9, 1-2) with a 38-19 second-half performance. Preston Gray had 15 points and 18 rebounds, helping WS to a 45-34 rebounding edge and a 28-16 edge in points in the paint. Lincoln shot just 33%, including 6-for-23 from 3-point range and 10-for-20 from the foul line. Matchday 4 schedule Shepherd (11-2, 3-0) @ Saint Anselm (7-6, 2-1) — I get another road test Princeton (0-13, 0-3) @ Grand Canyon (6-7, 3-0) Dartmouth (4-9, 1-2) @ Lincoln University MO (4-9, 1-2) — It's pretty early to start thinking about relegation stuff, but this has the feel of an important game for those purposes Nebraska-Kearney (7-6, 2-1) @ New Jersey IT (2-11, 0-3) Texas Tech (6-7, 1-2) @ Niagara (7-6, 2-1) — Tough ask for TT here Seattle (8-5, 2-1) @ Upper Iowa (8-5, 2-1) — Both are coming off a loss. Great matchup Sam Houston (0-13, 0-3) @ Urbana (7-6, 1-2) Marist (10-3, 3-0) @ Wayne State College (10-3, 1-2) — Marist looks like the best team in the conference, and can further cement that here

#12939	01/06/2021 10:38:56 am	Dec 3rd, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Matchday 4 results Shepherd 102, Saint Anselm 80 Another road win for my guys (12-2, 4-0). My goal was simply to avoid relegation. I stay healthy, that should be easily attained. Anyway, our full-court press forced 27 turnovers and we had a 52-26 edge in points in the paint. We were horrible from deep (4-for-23, and my guys should never have attempted that many), but it didn't matter. SA (7-7, 2-2) got 32 points from Ned Mahon. Grand Canyon 79, Princeton 44 Easy victory, as expected, for GC (7-7, 4-0) over hapless Princeton (0-14, 0-4). Ethan Hunter had a monster game with 24 points and 21 rebounds (10 offensive). GC was +17 in turnovers. It actually should have been even more lopsided, but GC made just 22 of 41 free throws. Lincoln MO 76, Dartmouth 69 Dartmouth (4-10, 1-3) keeps playing solid teams tough but falling a little short. Lincoln (5-9, 2-2) got 32 points (on 13-for-14 shooting) and nine rebounds from Darren Swan, and was +13 on the glass. Dartmouth made just 37% from the field, including 4 of 21 from deep. Nebraska-Kearney 72, NJIT 55 N-K (8-6, 3-1) picks up the road win against overmatched NJIT (2-12, 0-4), building a 35-18 halftime lead. N-K finished +9 in turnovers. They had a +10 edge in points in the paint as well. Niagara 83, Texas Tech 72 Niagara (8-6, 3-1) places all five starters in double figures, led by Jack Ridley, who had 22 points (8-for-10 shooting), 14 rebounds and five blocks. Niagara had a +16 edge in points in the paint and a +9 rebounding edge. Tech (6-8, 1-3) got 16 points and 17 rebounds from Wade Brooks but shot just 34%. Upper Iowa 89, Seattle 63 I was surprised this was a blowout. Maybe Seattle (8-6, 2-2) had a hangover from losing a heartbreaker last time out. UI (9-5, 3-1) got 29 points and 13 rebounds from Genaro Reyes and was +13 on the glass and +12 on point in the paint, shooting a robust 56% overall and making 9 of 17 3s. Seattle shot 37.5%. Urbana 62, Sam Houston 56 That SH (0-14, 0-4) made a game out of this can't be encouraging for Urbana (8-6, 2-2), but a win is a win. Urbana got 23 points and six assists from Rafael Pearson and had a +14 rebounding edge, which overcame a 40% shooting night. SH shot 54% but made just 2 of 11 foul shots. Yikes. Wayne State 82, Marist 74 BIG victory for WS (11-3, 2-2) to avoid a three-game skid, and doing it against a tough opponent. Rick Glynn led the way with 24 points (8-for-12 shooting) and WS shot 52% while holding Marist (10-4, 3-1) to 44%. Matchday 5 schedule Shepherd (12-2, 4-0) @ Lincoln University MO (5-9, 2-2) — Third straight road test for my guys. Marist (10-4, 3-1) @ Dartmouth (4-10, 1-3) Wayne State College (11-3, 2-2) @ Nebraska-Kearney (8-6, 3-1) — WS just pulled off big home win, now can it get one on the road? Sam Houston (0-14, 0-4) @ New Jersey IT (2-12, 0-4) Grand Canyon (7-7, 4-0) @ Niagara (8-6, 3-1) — Big early-season tussle between two of the better teams Saint Anselm (7-7, 2-2) @ Seattle (8-6, 2-2) — Both will try to bounce back. Neither wants to be sub-.500 Texas Tech (6-8, 1-3) @ Upper Iowa (9-5, 3-1) — Tech's recent schedule has been tough. Princeton (0-14, 0-4) @ Urbana (8-6, 2-2)

#12953	01/07/2021 4:10:04 pm	Dec 8th, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Matchday 5 recap Shepherd 90, Lincoln MO 74 I now have the only undefeated team in conference play and have won three straight on the road, none of them gimmies. I can't say I expected that. Mike Caswell scored 23, Toni Chacon scored 21, Didier Le Moine had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Shepherd won the paint (44-32), the glass (37-31) and the foul line (28-for-38 compared to 17-for-25) while shooting 54%. Darren Swan had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Lincoln (5-10, 2-3). Marist 82, Dartmouth 63 Marist (11-4, 4-1) led 37-22 at the half and got a 20-point, 13-rebound effort from Norm Buckley. Marist was +20 in points in the paint and +12 on the glass. Host Dartmouth (4-11, 1-4) made only 3 of 21 from deep. Wayne State 67, Nebraska-Kearney 63 WS (12-3, 3-2) looked like it would cruise to victory after building a 37-19 halftime lead, but host N-K (8-7, 3-2) rallied and took a 63-61 lead on a Terry Spears 3-pointer with 1:45 left. WS closed on a 6-0 run as N-K's last three possessions resulted in a turnover, an offensive foul and a miss. WS shot 46% while holding N-K to 37%. NJIT 67, Sam Houston 54 NJIT (3-12, 1-4) outscored winless SH (0-15, 0-5) 38-25 in the second half, and finished with a +9 edge in turnovers. Niagara 73, Grand Canyon 71 This was as good as I expected. Trailing by one, Niagara's Paul Hawley had a shot blocked with 5 seconds left, but Jack Ridley got the rebound, scored and was fouled, making the free throw. Rodger Hibbard — who played less than one minute — missed a long 3 at the buzzer. Niagara (9-6, 4-1) won despite getting outrebounded 46-30. Andrew Guest scored 27 and Ethan Hunter had 12 points and 21 rebounds for GC (7-8, 4-1). Seattle 96, Saint Anselm 80 Seattle (9-6, 3-2) blistered SA (7-8, 2-3) in the second half, scoring 59 points. Seattle had three starters score at least 22 points each, forced 21 turnovers (committing 13) and had a 46-28 edge in points in the paint. Seattle also made 9 of 17 from deep. Texas Tech 99, Upper Iowa 77 Solid road win for TT (7-8, 2-3), which raced to a 56-37 halftime lead. Six players scored in double figures, three of them reserves, as TT shot 61% and forced 22 turnovers (committing 11). UI (9-6, 3-2) shot the ball well but its bench was outscored 47-10. Princeton 76, Urbana 74 Boy does this one sting for Urbana (8-7, 2-3) which was hosting then-winless Princeton (1-14, 1-4). Not anymore. Princeton took a 69-68 lead with 3:51 left, and led 75-71 before Cameron Brown made a 3 with 12 seconds left to cut Urbana's deficit to 75-74. Rafael Pearson's buzzer-beater missed. Princeton shot 49% compared to 44% for Urbana. Matchday 6 schedule Marist (11-4, 4-1) @ Shepherd (13-2, 5-0) — My toughest test yet. At least I'm home. Nebraska-Kearney (8-7, 3-2) @ Dartmouth (4-11, 1-4) Seattle (9-6, 3-2) @ Lincoln University MO (5-10, 2-3) Wayne State College (12-3, 3-2) @ New Jersey IT (3-12, 1-4) Urbana (8-7, 2-3) @ Niagara (9-6, 4-1) Sam Houston (0-15, 0-5) @ Princeton (1-14, 1-4) Texas Tech (7-8, 2-3) @ Saint Anselm (7-8, 2-3) — Feels like a big home game for SA Grand Canyon (7-8, 4-1) @ Upper Iowa (9-6, 3-2) — Both need a win to feel in the thick of the conference race

#12959	01/08/2021 12:34:19 pm	Dec 10th, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Matchday 6 recap Marist 84, Shepherd 52 I had a gut feeling I was going to get hammered. Marist (12-4, 5-1) held Shepherd (13-3, 5-1) to 25% shooting and just 12 paint points. I'm a little miffed that I gave up 84 points using a slow-ball strategy, but whatever. Marist pretty much was better in every way, and has established itself as the top team in the conference. Dartmouth 90, Nebraska-Kearney 59 Geez, I'm not shocked that Dartmouth (5-11, 2-4) won, but by 31?!? Well, that's what happens when one team wins the turnover battle by +19 and takes 22 more shots. N-K (8-8, 3-3) should be playing better given the roster. I could say more, but I play N-K next. Seattle 66, Lincoln MO 58 Seattle (10-6, 4-2) gets it done on the road, rallying by outscoring Lincoln (5-11, 2-4) 36-22 in the second half. Seattle finished +8 in turnovers, which was the primary difference. Mathieu Betancourt (23 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) had a nice game. Wayne State 82, NJIT 60 WS (13-3, 4-2) takes care of business on the road, shooting 56%, winning the paint 46-20 and holding NJIT (3-13, 1-5) to 33% shooting. NJIT made just 1 of 16 3-pointers. Ouch. Urbana 103, Niagara 70 Whoa! Urbana (9-7, 3-3) is solid and all, but what happened to Niagara (9-7, 4-2) at home?!? Urbana had a +20 edge on the glass and shot 53.5%, including 9-for-20 from 3-point range. Kike Avila (19 points, 14 rebounds) and Ray Spahn (12 points, 16 rebounds) led the bludgeoning. Princeton 77, Sam Houston 48 Princeton (2-14, 2-4) has won two straight! SH (0-16, 0-6) is terrible! Bradley Bell (who I always think is Bradley Beal) scored 27 on 11-of-17 shooting (5-of-7 3s) for Princeton, which shot 52%, including 10 for 21 on 3-pointers. SH shot 33%. Texas Tech 89, Saint Anselm 76 Tech (8-8, 3-3) rolled to a 56-33 halftime lead on the road, and shot 54% (including 10-for-22 on 3s) with edges of +12 points in the paint and +7 rebounds. Ned Mahon had 26 points and eight rebounds for SA (7-9, 2-4), which shot 45%. Upper Iowa 83, Grand Canyon 40 Ooof, GC (7-9, 4-2), what happened? GC shot 32%, got outscored 46-8 in the paint and didn't attempt a single free throw. UI (10-6, 4-2) shot 59%, had a +12 rebounding edge and got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Genaro Reyes. Matchday 7 schedule Shepherd (13-3, 5-1) @ Nebraska-Kearney (8-8, 3-3) — I'm surprised N-K has struggled (relatively) as much as it has. I kind of fear this game. Saint Anselm (7-9, 2-4) @ Grand Canyon (7-9, 4-2) — GC needs to rebound after being humiliated. Dartmouth (5-11, 2-4) @ New Jersey IT (3-13, 1-5) Niagara (9-7, 4-2) @ Princeton (2-14, 2-4) — If Niagara loses this one, time to worry ... Wayne State College (13-3, 4-2) @ Sam Houston (0-16, 0-6) Marist (12-4, 5-1) @ Seattle (10-6, 4-2) — This one is interesting, if Seattle brings its 'A' game. Lincoln University MO (5-11, 2-4) @ Texas Tech (8-8, 3-3) — Tech is starting to figure things out. Urbana (9-7, 3-3) @ Upper Iowa (10-6, 4-2) — Good matchup. Updated Friday, January 8 2021 @ 6:18:31 pm PST

#13044	01/14/2021 6:10:28 pm	Dec 31st, 2016
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	A look around the conference, aside from the bottom three teams which are not worth the time, with 40% of the games in the books (I would have waited for the halfway point but I may not have time then … I had to discontinue the daily updates due to, well, having half a life): MARIST Record: 17-5, 10-2 Conference PD: +23.3 RPI: .583 (15th nationally) SOS: .497 Notes: They are in the driver's seat to win the regular-season title and in a great position to earn an at-large tournament berth should they get upset in the conference tournament. Five players are averaging double figures, with Norm Buckley (13.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Geraldo Destrade (13.0 ppg, 6.7 apg) and Greg Tillman (10.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg) the main cogs. As a team, they have 51/35/72 shooting splits, are killing opponents in the paint with a +16.7 edge, and have a +5.7 turnover rate. Their defense is only allowing opponents to shoot 42%, and 29% from deep. UPPER IOWA Record: 16-6, 10-2 Conference PD: +16.9 RPI: .523 (86th nationally) SOS: .460 Notes: They are in the same boat I am in as far as making the national tournament, due to a weakish RPI (although their strength of schedule is significantly better than mine). They may have to win the conference tourney to get in. Genero Reyes (18.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg), Craig O'Reilly (16.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 spg) and Joseph Payne (13.1 ppg, 5.0 apg) are the leading trio, with Carson Price (10.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Russell Butler (7.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg) adding more inside muscle. They have 50/37/73 shooting splits and have small positive season margins in points in the paint, rebounding and turnovers. SHEPHERD Record: 17-5, 9-3 Conference PD: +14.0 RPI: .519 (94th nationally) SOS: .419 Notes: Of 256 Division II programs, I rank second-to-last in SOS. Whoops. I'm not making the national tourney without winning the conference one. Note to self: Do NOT play “Schedule: Down” ever again. (In fairness, I thought my team would be middle-of-the-road this season and wasn't remotely thinking about contending for any titles.) I'm winning mostly by pressing the hell out of any opponent I don't think can handle it, resulting in a +9.1 turnover margin by forcing 21.6 per game. I also have a +12.8 margin in points in the paint, led by Didier Le Moine (16.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and Mike Caswell (12.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg). The thing I'm most happy about is road victories over Upper Iowa, Saint Anselm, Lincoln, Wayne State and Dartmouth — all teams I definitely could lose to. I only have one home loss, to Marist (which waxed me). Overall, I'm completely thrilled. Of course, my team is going to get in a huge brawl soon (see my PRs). WAYNE STATE Record: 17-5, 8-4 Conference PD: +5.3 RPI: .535 (69th nationally) SOS: .465 Notes: They will have to have a big finish to the season, but I could see these guys working their way to an at-large berth. They have five guys averaging at least 11 points per game, led by Rick Glynn (17.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Martin O'Brien (14.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and Ernie Nobles (13.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg). Dale Briggs (11.0 ppg, 7.3 apg, 1.8 spg) and Preston Gray (7.9 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg) are making significant contributions. They have small positive margins in points in the paint and rebounds. Their defense is only allowing opponents to shoot 42%, and 29% from deep. NIAGARA Record: 13-9, 8-4 Conference PD: +4.8 RPI: .514 (104th nationally) SOS: .482 Notes: Honestly, I thought this team would be a little better. Not that they've been bad, but I think the biggest reason why they haven't excelled is because they're only playing even against opponents in the paint, with a small positive scoring margin and a small negative rebounding margin. They are shooting 37% from deep on a moderate number of tries, with leading scorer Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (15.6 ppg, 1.6 spg) especially effective at 47% on four attempts per game. Jack Ridley (14.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg) and Paul Hawley (11.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) are good interior players, which is why I remain a bit surprised they aren't better statistically down low. Well, I do know one reason why: This team gets very little help from the bench. NEBRASKA-KEARNEY Record: 12-10, 7-5 Conference PD: +4.8 RPI: .471 (181st nationally) SOS: .465 Notes: These guys should be too good to have an RPI this bad. Their top eight players are all 130+ SI. Five of them have at least a 10 in both OS and range, yet they are only shooting 31.5% from deep on a relatively modest 17.5 attempts per game. Gabriel Gilbert (20.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Terry Spears (15.9 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg) have been good and Alden Hendricks (10.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.6 bpg) is a solid third banana, but the rest of the roster has pretty much stunk. I don't know, maybe they get hot and roll from here. TEXAS TECH Record: 12-10, 7-5 Conference PD: +4.7 RPI: .516 (100th nationally) SOS: .492 Notes: They've figured things out after a bit of a rough start, going 7-3 since a four-game skid. I've got them at home tomorrow, and I'm not particularly looking forward to it because they have decent passing and ball-handling skills (which hurts my press). Wade Brooks (14.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg) is the star here and basically keeps their interior from completely collapsing. This team gets it done offensively by spreading the wealth. They have solid 48/36/70 shooting splits and their 3-point shooting is the primary positive (with Eric Parker, at 11.3 ppg, the main guy who can catch fire). SEATTLE Record: 13-9, 7-5 Conference PD: +2.3 RPI: .491 (152nd nationally) SOS: .467 Notes: I also believe these guys are better than their RPI (what do you expect, I just lost to them). They almost have six players averaging double figures (Nos. 5-6 are just under). Joel Newton (16.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Jeffrey Huntley (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 bpg) lead the way and, combined with Mathieu Betancourt (12.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg), make a pretty solid frontcourt. Shayne Richmond (9.8 ppg, 7.4 assists) is a really good point guard with better than a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and I'm surprised he's not looking for his own offense more (he's an outstanding finisher, though not a great shooter). URBANA Record: 13-9, 7-5 Conference PD: +0.9 RPI: .505 (121st nationally) SOS: .467 Notes: First, welcome to spl1nter, who just joined the game as Urbana's president. Urbana has a home win over Marist, yet just lost to a terrible NJIT squad. I can't even conceive of that being possible, but it happened. Their top six are good and then the depth plunges off a cliff. Rafael Pearson (15.9 ppg, 7.7 apg, 50/43/74 shooting splits) is, for my money, the conference's top point guard. Kike Avila (14.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 1.6 bpg) is one of the best bigs, and Ray Spahn (10.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg) is no slouch down there. It shows, as the team is +7.2 in points in the paint and +5.6 on the glass. They are shooting 49% overall and 37% from deep on moderate attempts. The foul shooting (64%) is a little bricky, but this seems like a team that's much closer to Marist than NJIT. The bench must be killing them. DARTMOUTH Record: 8-14, 5-7 Conference PD: +1.9 RPI: .497 (139th nationally) SOS: .544 Notes: Tyreke Scruggs (19.0 ppg, 5.4 apg) has played pretty well, but he can't compensate for a real hole on the interior. These guys are being outscored by an average of 11.7 points in the paint, and that's tough to overcome. Their top inside guy, Sammy Miller (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg), isn't even averaging six boards. They also commit too many turnovers. Basically, their top four guys have to shoot the lights out from deep — which they can do sometimes, but not consistently enough. GRAND CANYON Record: 8-14, 5-7 Conference PD: +1.7 RPI: .501 (129th nationally) SOS: .528 Notes: That they have a positive point differential despite being in a relegation position really shows how horrible the very worst teams in this conference are. These guys have four legit players, and then just a bunch of nothing. That's a shame for Andrew Guest (21.8 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Ethan Hunter (15.8 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg), who are good players stuck trying to carry this squad. (I do think Guest is a little overrated based on his 43% shooting.) SAINT ANSELM Record: 9-13, 4-8 Conference PD: -4.8 RPI: .485 (160th nationally) SOS: .518 Notes: These guys are suffering from the same thing as Grand Canyon: Zero depth. At least they can battle in the paint, with Ned Mahon (17.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.4 bpg) and Lonnie Bush (14.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg) both solid down there. Tyrell Thomas (9.7 ppg, 9.5 apg) is a good playmaker, too. But this team still gets outscored down low by 7.1 points per game, and doesn't force enough turnovers (just over 10 forced per game). The dangerous thing with them is they can shoot a little from deep (35% on a pretty high number of attempts, with Micah Marshall the primary bomber), so if they get hot, it can hurt. LINCOLN UNIVERSITY MO Record: 7-15, 4-8 Conference PD: -5.1 RPI: .440 (211th nationally) SOS: .498 Notes: Honestly, I'm a little surprised they are THIS bad. They have six decent-to-good players and at least a couple others who could give them something. But after the top four scorers, it falls completely apart. They are shooting under 45%, including a miserable 28% from deep. Added note: Princeton, NJIT and San Houston are all in the bottom 17 nationally in RPI, with winless Sam Houston the worst team. Sam Houston is one of four winless teams.

#13046	01/14/2021 7:26:12 pm	Dec 31st, 2016
naph Joined: 02/29/2020 Posts: 578 St. Marys Gaels II.1	Props to you Kaufdaddy. Great content for anyone in your conference here. Good luck with the rest of your season.

#13105	01/19/2021 5:07:15 pm	Jan 19th, 2017
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	Some individual standouts to date. (Stats listed include non-conference games.) Andrew Guest, Sr., PG, Grand Canyon — 21.9 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 44.1% FG, 35.2% 3s, 79.1% FT The top scorer in the conference is also a beast defensively, holding opposing players to 38.5% FG. The knocks are that he could be slightly more efficient offensively (although his high-volume 3-point shooting helps) and maybe he could cut down on the turnovers just a touch. Tyreke Scruggs, Jr., PG, Dartmouth — 19.5 ppg, 6.1 apg, 2.0 spg, 44.3% FG, 35.1% 3s, 69.7% FT His scoring has gone way up (with only slightly worse efficiency) while his defensive stats have remained very good (40.7% OFG). His 4.2 turnovers per game hurt, though. Gabriel Gilbert, Jr., SG/C, Nebraska-Kearney — 19.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 49.2% FG, 35.6% 3s, 78.9% FT So out of curiosity, I checked N-K's depth chart. Gilbert, who is 6-7, is the starting SG and the backup C. That's pretty freaking unique, eh? His numbers across the board are pretty good and his defense (41.3% OFG) is much improved. Another 2-star doing well. Genaro Reyes, Sr., C, Upper Iowa — 19.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.2 spg, 67.8% FG, 88.4% FT The three-time all-conference player is well on his way to a fourth honor, and may be the frontrunner for MVP. Not bad for a 2-star recruit, though he's pretty poor defensively. Ned Mahon, Sr., PF, Saint Anselm — 17.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 1.3 spg, 48.4% FG, 31.7% 3s, 89.7% FT He earned freshman of the year honors as a freshman (EDIT: I can't believe I wrote that. That's embarrassing.) and all-conference honors last season (both of those coming in D-3), so it's no surprise this 2-star is rolling again. However, his OFG (55.6%) is U-G-L-Y. Joel Newton, Sr., SF, Seattle — 16.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 spg, 46.7% FG, 33.1% 3s, 76.1% FT Another solid 2-star performer, who was a freshman of the year in D-1 and an all-conference performer last season. His offensive efficiency has improved, and he's holding opposing players to 41.8% FG. Didier Le Moine, Sr., C, Shepherd — 16.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 1.1 spg, 60.4% FG, 67.7% FT He's easily my team MVP, and has been rock solid on both ends. He has drastically improved defensively, sporting a 41.8% OFG. He's a 2-star who gets it done because he's 6-11 with an insane 7-7 wingspan. Terry Spears, Jr., PF, Nebraska-Kearney — 15.9 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 1.1 spg, 49.6% FG, 75.3% FT He sure plays bigger than his 6-foot-6 size (with 6-9 wingspan) as the conference's leading rebounder. He's not the most efficient post scorer, but he's still pretty solid on both ends. Rafael Pearson, Sr., PG/SG, Urbana — 15.6 ppg, 7.7 apg, 46.5% FG, 39.3% 3s, 77.4% FT He was an all-conference player in D-3 last season and has been significantly better this year, especially as a playmaker. His defense (41.5% OFG) remains tough, though not as insane as his 35.1% OFG from last year. Ethan Hunter, Sr., C, Grand Canyon — 15.3 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 58.0% FG, 52.6% 3s, 77.6% FT He was good last year and has made another leap this year. (It should be noted that he's trying less than one 3 per game, so don't go completely nuts over that development.) Offensively, he's figured things out. Defensively … eh, not so much. Lonnie Bush, Sr., C, Saint Anselm — 15.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 58.8% FG, 60.2% FT Yet another 2-star playing well (I'm starting to get the feeling low-rated big post players have more of an ability to excel than low-rated wings/PGs). He's still a work in progress on defense, though. Kike Avila, Sr., C, Urbana — 15.2 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 57.4% FG, 48.5% FT He brings some stuff to the table (post scoring and rebounding), but also takes some stuff off it, such as free throw shooting and a surprisingly poor defensive performance (52.8% OFG this season after a 45.0% OFG in D-3 last season). Wade Brooks, Sr., C, Texas Tech — 15.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 50.6% FG, 30.8% 3s, 67.7% FT An all-conference player in D-3 last season, some of his numbers have slipped just a touch in D-2, but he has improved in assists and OFG (though he's still not dominant defensively). Overall, I have to say he's someone who demonstrates that it's maybe better to be a 2-star with 6-10-plus height, than a 4-star post player who's only 6-6 (which is what he is). Norm Buckley, So., PF/C, Marist — 14.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 58.6% FG, 71.3% FT Lots to like here He's high efficiency on offense and is also stout defensively, holding opposing players to 43.2% FG (it helps to have a 7-5 wingspan). And he gets to bully people for two more seasons. Joseph Payne, Jr., PG, Upper Iowa — 14.0 ppg, 5.2 apg, 1.3 spg, 50% FG, 35.4% 3s, 84.6% FT Another 2-star who has blossomed into a really nice player, with both offensive efficiency and defensive chops (holding opposing players to 42.5% FG). The only nitpick is a few too many turnovers (probably caused by a 4 in IQ). Geraldo Destrade, Jr., PG, Marist — 13.3 ppg, 6.9 apg, 1.5 spg, 45.4% FG, 32.9% 3s, 77.1% FT His size (5-11) probably keeps him from being a more effective scorer, but he's still a very good player, a stud athlete who has always been a fantastic defender (40.6% OFG this season, 39.4% for his career) and whose assist-to-turnover numbers keep improving. Updated Wednesday, January 20 2021 @ 6:21:22 am PST

#13115	01/20/2021 10:44:57 am	Jan 21st, 2017
kauffdaddy Joined: 11/30/2020 Posts: 693 Inactive	You have to love when you lose two straight games and actually move up on the tournament bracket projections after the second one.

#20689	10/30/2023 6:36:42 pm	Feb 8th, 2035
Starkvillian Joined: 02/15/2023 Posts: 5 Alcorn State Braves V.1	There's a stunning race between Lincoln University MO and Alcorn State for for first this year, both teams have 3 losses and a 500 point differential. They each have games on the schedule against each other. As well as California Lutheran and North Florida, who have 5 losses each.