Atlantic Region brackets

[Golden89]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

Fairmont got upset by VA State last year...it was a 6 over 3, if I recall correctly.

There will be an average of one upset per region in the first round I surmise...

And, of course, 8-seeded Mercyhurst knocked off top-seeded Wheeling Jesuit last year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

I can't remember somebody called that Mercyhurst win last year ....

[JDonAB92]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

Is this the strongest region in the country? I tend to believe so especially if you look at seeds 1-6. And Coach Brooks and his Bowie State Bulldogs always schedule tough during the season. They are a tough #8 right now as they have got hot. I know it is hard to compare regions, but it would be hard to find a tougher regional set up.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

Is this the strongest region in the country? I tend to believe so especially if you look at seeds 1-6. And Coach Brooks and his Bowie State Bulldogs always schedule tough during the season. They are a tough #8 right now as they have got hot. I know it is hard to compare regions, but it would be hard to find a tougher regional set up.

I think you can make that case this year. Good chance that the National Championship game will be the Atlantic Regional Final.

[IUP24]

I can't remember somebody called that Mercyhurst win last year ....

You certainly did. The same as I called the Slippery Rock win over Gannon in 2015.


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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

One could make a case for the Atlantic being the strongest region field this year. I wouldn't say the rest of the country would have the same opinion as us, however. The Atlantic was very top-heavy this year.

There are some awfully good teams out there. But, I tend to (cough, cough) agree with Boat ... this could be the year the Atlantic wins the whole thing.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

My last comment on the seedings....I think WL should have been 2 and Ship 3....

WL beat Fairmont 2x, Ship beat IUP 2x. Advantage WL bc Fairmont is #1.
WL beat WJ 2x, Ship beat Kutz 2x. Advantage Ship bc Kutz is better than WJ.
Concord beat WL, Millersville beat Ship. Both bad losses. Slight adv to WL bc Concord is 11-17 and M'ville is 9-17.
And while neither team played a murderous Non Conf schedule, Ship should absolutely be penalized for playing two puke PSU teams in the beginning of the season... So Adv WL.

I think WL deserved to be #2.

Enough of the sourgrapes, time to play the games that you have scheduled.

Throwing these numbers out there (go to this link and scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the raw numbers on which the selections were based):

Shippensburg's weighted SOS: .548; West Liberty's weighted SOS: .538
Shippensburg's RPI: .633; West Liberty's RPI: .628
Shippensburg's Performance Index: 16.407; West Liberty's PI: 16.258

Also worth noting: the national chair of the D2 men's basketball committee happens to be East Stroudsburg head coach Jeff Wilson. That said, the numbers favored Ship over West Liberty.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

One other question ... I was surprised to see East Stroudsburg coach as the chair of the men's basketball committee. Don't athletic directors typically hold this role? What if his team played on Saturday or Sunday? How would he perform both roles?

The regional committees are generally a mix of ADs and coaches, but if that situation arose, I'd suspect there would be an alternate appointed to replace the coach.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

Fairmont got upset by VA State last year...it was a 6 over 3, if I recall correctly.

There will be an average of one upset per region in the first round I surmise...

Yup. And I thought they gave West Liberty a good battle in the first half (from what I had heard; I was stuck on I-70 because a wreck at the bottom of the hill from the Cabela's exit shut down the road for a couple of hours, so I ended up missing said first half).

[IUPalum]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

I think you can make that case this year. Good chance that the National Championship game will be the Atlantic Regional Final.

Whoa... that's a big statement. It will be the toughest region to win BUT the region final is the national championship... I don't know about that.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

I think you can make that case this year. Good chance that the National Championship game will be the Atlantic Regional Final.

I wouldn't start planning the parade route just yet. Different regions tend to have different styles, and if a team's not ready for a particular style, then all the chest-pounding over winning the region will be for naught.

[boatcapt]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

One could make a case for the Atlantic being the strongest region field this year. I wouldn't say the rest of the country would have the same opinion as us, however. The Atlantic was very top-heavy this year.

There are some awfully good teams out there. But, I tend to (cough, cough) agree with Boat ... this could be the year the Atlantic wins the whole thing.

Moderator...Pin this for future reference!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

LOL ... come on ... we've been pretty cordial this year.

[LegalRam]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

I don't know a thing about Virginia Union's team, but I'm not penciling Ship into round 2 just yet. They have the talent to win the region and picked up 2 excellent wins this weekend, but in the last several years it hasn't been uncommon to see a 2 or 3 seed stumble in the 1st round. Ship's guys are going to spend the week getting patted on the back and told how great they are. They're going to see a matchup with mighty West Liberty looming in round 2. And this is their first go-round in the NCAAs. I'm rooting for them but they'd better be careful.

VUU might still be a year or two off, but I think they are about to be a force for years to come. Their coach played at VUU under the legendary Dave Robbins during the glory years along side Ben Wallace so he knows about the history of VUU basketball. He also lead UDC's women to some successful years not too long ago. In two seasons he already has VUU back in the playoffs after the previous staff saw them become a bottom feeder in the CIAA. They're coming off 2 straight losses, but prior to that they were on a 9 game winning streak. Again I don't know if they have enough to pull any upsets this year, but I have a feeling they are on track to becoming a mainstay at the top of the region.

[FlyHawk98]

Re: Atlantic Region brackets

That would be great if they could. This region needs a title contender from the CIAA as well.