Hardwood - Conference Forum: IV.7

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date

#15124	05/22/2021 9:33:57 am	Feb 21st, 2019
dcon_28 Joined: 02/11/2021 Posts: 21 Inactive	You've got that right. It doesn't seem to be letting up either, the promotion race just keeps getting closer.

#15153	05/23/2021 5:05:20 pm	Feb 28th, 2019
dcon_28 Joined: 02/11/2021 Posts: 21 Inactive	I don't know how much sleep I'm getting tonight cause I'm gonna be gameplanning so hard for this Bradley game. Somehow it's more stressful to be playing a team like Bradley that's on the verge of getting demoted but also just beat a very strong Central Washington team. We've won 5 in a row now and beat Methodist, Indianapolis, and Illinois-Chicago but this Bradley game is the most scary for me. Good luck to all the teams fighting for promotion (even though I want you to lose so that I get promoted)!

#15186	05/25/2021 2:58:50 pm	Mar 7th, 2019
dcon_28 Joined: 02/11/2021 Posts: 21 Inactive	Good luck tomorrow Methodist! Gonna be a fun game to see play out. Our series has been very close and evenly matched so far and I know this game will be no different.

#15215	05/27/2021 8:38:58 pm	Mar 9th, 2019
grayman Joined: 04/15/2020 Posts: 66 Methodist University Monarchs III.3	I was hoping we might sneak into the natty but the loss today pretty much ended all that. It's been an exciting run, but now it's down to #1 v #2; Regina21's Central Washington Wildcats vs PrivateSnowflake's Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincy has won both of their previous matchups this season, but they've been pretty close.

#15219	05/28/2021 8:34:07 am	Mar 9th, 2019
dcon_28 Joined: 02/11/2021 Posts: 21 Inactive	It's definitely going to be entertaining. On paper, Cincinnati is clearly the stronger team but Central Washington has been a surprisingly great team for the entire season. My prediction would be Cincy coming out on top but I really think it could go either way.

#15294	06/03/2021 4:32:25 pm	Apr 1st, 2019
Ced Joined: 02/14/2018 Posts: 471 Indiana Hoosiers IV.5	Thanks for a great season. Indiana lost the first 15 straight conference games. Which means that we lost to each and every team the first run through. Can’t believe we finished in 14th out of 16 however. Moral victory. Good luck. See you around.

#20603	10/05/2023 8:24:26 am	Nov 8th, 2034
Ced Joined: 02/14/2018 Posts: 471 Indiana Hoosiers IV.5	Scott with the triple double against Framingham State, church, he's on 'em. 28 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds. http://onlinecollegebasketball.org/game/813541

#20607	10/05/2023 10:45:21 am	Nov 11th, 2034
El Jefe2 Joined: 10/08/2021 Posts: 29 Goldey-Beacom Lightning IV.5	Exceedingly rare!

#20648	10/13/2023 8:40:39 pm	Dec 9th, 2034
Ced Joined: 02/14/2018 Posts: 471 Indiana Hoosiers IV.5	Oklahoma Panhandle State away, 12 dimes and the game-winning trey with 2 seconds left from...Teddy Scott.

#20799	11/29/2023 6:32:06 pm	Nov 7th, 2035
AbeFroman Joined: 09/05/2022 Posts: 24 Ferrum Panthers IV.7	2036 Preview - #1 West Georgia - The Wolves placed 1st in V.13 last year and made it to the D2 Sweet 16. SG Brody Willis led the team in minutes last year as a Junior, averaging 20 points per game on 51.8% shooting. Defensively he held opponents to 40.8% FG% and averaged 1.4 steals per game. Combined with returning Senior PG Lew Brown, who dished 5.2 assists per game last year, West Georgia will be looking to make another promotion this year thanks to their offensive firepower. #2 Greenville - Unlike West Georgia, the injury-plagued Panthers entered IV.7 through demotion from III.4 last year. However, now in year 3 under President DILL0110, star Senior Tory Allred is ready to shine after having to sit for 9 games last year. Allred is arguably the most talented player in the conference this year, leading all returning players in Efficiency. At 6'10" he's a threat from anywhere on the court, averaging 19.4 pts on 57.9% shooting while pulling down 10.7 boards and making 2.5 3s per game (on conference leading 52% shooting!) as well. Supported by Senior PG Casey Coleman who dished 6.9 APG last year, Greenville will be one to watch. They are Senior-heavy this season but it will be interesting to see what they can do. #3 - Notre Dame - After 10 seasons, President ProudScot finally finds his Fighting Irish in D1. Led by Senior SF Cameron Smalls, this well-conditioned team will rely on solid inside defense and a well-rounded offensive attack. Notre Dame held opponents to 42.4% shooting last year, leading the conference, and Smalls' opponents shot just 35.7%. Center Toren Laney shot a whopping 62.9% while Notre Dame led VI.14 in FG% at 51.2%. Efficiency is the name of the game for Notre Dame this year. #4 - Western Kentucky - Western Kentucky just missed promotion last year, taking 4th in Conference while winning the Conference tournament. President Derflet has led the team for 21 seasons and looks poised to make another run at promotion. Although last year's team captain, Rodney Mathis, has gone on to play now for the Raptors, he leaves the team in the capable hands of Senior Joe Norwood and Junior Brett Marshall. Both players sport solid offensive and defensive prowess and the team has benefitted from great mentorship: they have high basketball IQ and they've hit the gym. Although predicted to take 4th again this season, they will be make a strong push to take one of the top 3 spots. #5 Michigan Tech - If you want to see fireworks this year, make sure you catch a Huskies game! You won't see much rebounding or inside scoring, but if you want to see a team drop bombs, Michigan Tech will deliver. The team will be challenged as far as height, but Senior PG Keenan Lane is coming off a solid season and looking to continue to show he can score from deep and dish the ball in equal measure. #6 South Dakota State - President Gaelic Ale has seen his Jackrabbits rise from D3 up to I.1, so a demotion this year to IV.7 will not shake the confidence of him or his players. The team plays hardnose basketball, leading III.4 in fouls and disqualifications last year, and look for Senior PF/C Marvin Erb to dominate the boards again this year. Offensively, SR Dalton Kennedy will lead the team with his solid shooting and rebounding. #7 Buffalo - The Bulls have spent 8 of the last 10 seasons in the middle of the pack in IV.7 and this season looks like it will be more of the same. Not that it's any small feat to stay in D1, and in order to do that, Buffalo will rely on Senior SG Stanley Whitfield. Expect Whitfield to lead the team on both ends of the floor, as last year he held his opponents to 39.8% shooting while putting up 12.7ppg and almost two 3 pointers per game. Buffalo should have a solid showing this season. #8 Iowa - The Hawkeyes took 8th in conference last year and will probably end up around the same place again this season. Small Forward Ethan Payne is looking to have a breakout season this year and may be one of the most electric players in the conference. Watch to see what he does with this team this year supported by the deep threat shooting of SG Bill Glass. If they can keep other teams from running wild in the paint and avoid unforced errors, they could go farther than predicted. On the other hand, they have some liabilities that could see them on the bubble this season. #9 Ferrum - Darkhorse conference winners right here! Ok, I'll be honest: The Ferrum Panthers are not the best team in the conference. They're not even the best Panthers in the conference. They do, however, have the #2 best player in the conference in Lanny "Beltway" Eller, and he's supported by a very young, hungry team. As the only senior this year, Lanny will continue to build on a career that has seen him elevate his long-range game (leading the conference last year with 3.3 3pg on 45% 3p%) while he hopes to relinquish the inside role as 6'11.5" RS FR Jimmy Shaw gets his first shot at starting center. What he won't relinquish is minutes, as he's predicted to sit for only 60 seconds per game. What the team lacks in experience they make up for in height (the 2nd tallest team in conference) and strategy: President Abe Froman hired a new coach this offseason and also sat down with his former rival, Xavier president Strom Starhammer, for some in-depth scouting and planning support. The algorithms they developed came out looking more complicated than a press release written by AI, but they seem misguidedly confident in their work. #10 North Alabama - Led by 28-year veteran president Dggh, this marks UNA's 6th season in IV.7 in the last 10 years and the team looks like they have a decent chance to stick around if they play well. The Lions will rely on the twin towers of Bobbie Kelley and Vic Reilly to shut down the interior on defense while working the high-low offense. They aren't the biggest team in the conference but have the right role players where they need them. #11 Eastern Connecticut State - ECSU promoted on the back of their solid defense, but without a president this year (Kauffdaddy?) their prospects are a little dimmer. The team will rely on their speed and inside game on both sides of the court behind Senior Center Ted Sargent. Don't expect the 6'10.5" tower to put up a lot of points, but expect to see him on the leaderboard for rebounds and blocks this season. If ECSU can continue to run their slow-paced game, they could sneak by for another season in D1. #12 King - With 32 seasons under their belt, president jmvda23 is the most tenured president in the conference. This is their first appearance in D1 in 19 years, but unfortunately, even after winning V.14 last year, the team may only stick around one season. The internationally diverse roster (7 international players from 6 countries) is young with their best seasons ahead of them. Youngsters to watch are sophomores Sebastian King and junior Roy Earnhardt who will look for mentorship from senior 6'10" center Grigor Nikolov. They will likely struggle this year, but their future is bright. #13 Lee - The Flames placed 5th last season in IV.7 but graduated two impactful seniors and saw the departure of their president after only 1 season. The team is a bit rudderless heading into the season, which is a disappointing situation for junior PG Johnny Steiner, who is one of the best underclassmen in the conference. If Steiner and fellow speedster SG Clark D’Ignoti can stay healthy, knock down their shots, and get steals, Lee has a shot to stay in D1, but without a president guiding the team strategy, I wouldn't bet on it. [editor’s note: Lee hired a president after I wrote this. Welcome BillMurray] #14 Cedarville - President El Jefe is no stranger to winning, but Cedarville struggled last year and unfortunately looks poised to continue their slide down to D2. The bright side is the Yellow Jackets are a young team, sporting two 4 star freshmen coming off a redshirt season. The upside potential of Paul Shepherd and John Schiller is huge and we can expect them to be a menace next year, whether that's in D2 or, if El Jefe's got some tricks up his sleeve, maybe in D1. #15 Penn State - PSU escaped demotion last year with a .500 record, but they are unlikely to sneak by again this year. Like Cedarville, they have a bright future with 5-star sophomore Elwood Burgess and two 4-star players, sophomores Fabian Esquivel and Darren Morelli, but this year will be challenging for these guys. Don't be surprised to see this team back in IV.7 in 2038 as contenders, though. #16 Luther - As we all learned in Ted Lasso, the most common result for promoted teams is demotion the next season. Unfortunately for Luther that looks very likely the case. SG Tevin Christy and C Norm Barber return as seniors and will try to rally their teammates around them, but it's going to be a long season for a team that just doesn't have the height and strength to compete in D1 this season. It will be a time of rebuilding as the Norse have 3 redshirt freshmen and 4 true freshmen scholarship players on the team.