jkrun80
Postdoc
Posts: 3305
Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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02-25-20 08:44 PM - Post#301750
This game deserves it's own thread. Bucknell can clinch their 4th straight regular season title, along with the #1 seed, with a win against 2nd place Colgate. It's the league's #1 offense vs. the #1 defense. Last time the Bison completely shut them down at Sojka, holding them to 43 points.
The game may also decide the PL Coach of the Year - Woodruff vs. Cleary. Colgate has probably overachieved more, but hard to argue with the job Woodruff has done, especially losing your starting point guard early in the league schedule.
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Bison137
Professor
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02-25-20 09:33 PM - Post#301762
In response to jkrun80
Agree on all counts. COY definitely could be at stake. Bucknell was picked for 3rd preseason and Colgate 6th, so both teams clearly have overachieved. But if the Bison are able to win and end up three games in front, I think that makes Woodruff COY.
It is a huge game. As you say, the Bison clinch the title if they win. BUT if they lose, their lead shrinks to one game and they could fall to the two seed if they were to also lose to Boston U. If the Bison lose these two games, then Colgate would own the tiebreaker for top seed.
One other interesting item is the battle for POY. There appear to be four candidates: HC forward Lauren Manis, LC center Natalie Kucowski, Colgate guard Rachel Thompson, and Bison Ellie Mack. Manis may have the most talent and the biggest stat line - but HC has once again underachieved and may finish in the second division. Kucowski also has been a dominant player, and LC has a shot for a surprising 4th place finish. Thompson leads the league in assists and steals, and is 2nd in scoring - so she definitely will draw some votes. And finally, Mack doesn't have the stats of the other three - but that is largely because the Bison are more team-oriented (and also play at a slower pace). If the Bison win the league, she also will merit consideration.
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MrPhillie
Postdoc
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02-25-20 09:54 PM - Post#301764
In response to Bison137
Good luck to the Bison! But I’m also happy that Coach Cleary is having a great season with his team. He is such a nice guy and a knowledgeable coach...did an absolutely awesome job at Bloomsburg.
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jkrun80
Postdoc
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Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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Bison WBB at Colgate
02-25-20 10:16 PM - Post#301767
In response to MrPhillie
Good luck to the Bison! But I’m also happy that Coach Cleary is having a great season with his team. He is such a nice guy and a knowledgeable coach...did an absolutely awesome job at Bloomsburg.
He's done an awesome job at Colgate considering what he started with. Damon-Olson (LC) and Mosely (BU) have also had great seasons. In a normal year, they'd be in the running for COY. The old guard of PL coaches have fallen behind, at least this year.
Edited by jkrun80 on 02-25-20 10:16 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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Bison137
Professor
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Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Bison WBB at Colgate
02-25-20 10:47 PM - Post#301770
In response to jkrun80
Good luck to the Bison! But I’m also happy that Coach Cleary is having a great season with his team. He is such a nice guy and a knowledgeable coach...did an absolutely awesome job at Bloomsburg.
He's done an awesome job at Colgate considering what he started with. Damon-Olson (LC) and Mosely (BU) have also had great seasons. In a normal year, they'd be in the running for COY. The old guard of PL coaches have fallen behind, at least this year.
It will be interesting to see how Cleary does going forward. His top four scorers, including Thompson, are seniors whom he inherited. They were all recruited by Nicci Hays Fort, whose contract was non-renewed in March 2016. Colgate had improved somewhat under Hays Fort, but not by enough for her to keep her job. But it's interesting to speculate how they would have done had she had been able to coach the current class of seniors for a few years.
The program that worries me the most is that of Boston U. Moseley, a Boston U alum and former UConn coach, has done a great job of recruiting so far. They will likely be picked for a top two finish next year, as almost all of their key players will return.
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Bison137
Professor
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Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: Bison WBB at Colgate
02-26-20 12:04 AM - Post#301772
In response to Bison137
Good luck to the Bison! But I’m also happy that Coach Cleary is having a great season with his team. He is such a nice guy and a knowledgeable coach...did an absolutely awesome job at Bloomsburg.
He's done an awesome job at Colgate considering what he started with. Damon-Olson (LC) and Mosely (BU) have also had great seasons. In a normal year, they'd be in the running for COY. The old guard of PL coaches have fallen behind, at least this year.
It will be interesting to see how Cleary does going forward. His top four scorers, including Thompson, are seniors whom he inherited. They were all recruited by Nicci Hays Fort, whose contract was non-renewed in March 2016. Colgate had improved somewhat under Hays Fort, but not by enough for her to keep her job. But it's interesting to speculate how they would have done had she had been able to coach the current class of seniors for a few years.
The program that worries me the most is that of Boston U. Moseley, a Boston U alum and former UConn coach, has done a great job of recruiting so far. They will likely be picked for a top two finish next year, as almost all of their key players will return.
One more thought. LC's Damon-Olson is in much the same position as Cleary. She is in her 3rd season, and her top four scorers were all recruited by her predecessor, including POY-candidate Natalie Kucowski. Kucowski leads the PL in rpg (also 1st in both offensive and defensive rebounds), leads by a wide margin in BPG, is 6th in ppg, and 10th in apg. She also won DPOY last year as a soph. Once she graduates, I doubt LC will be a serious contender since their last few recruiting classes don't appear to have been very strong.
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bison63
Postdoc
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Reg: 01-23-06
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02-27-20 03:36 PM - Post#301964
In response to Bison137
Oh and by the way Bison win 76-65. Nothing like the earlier game at Sojka, and they led by just one after 3 quarters, but they did lead most of the way, and never let things get out of control, and asserted themselves in the 4th.
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jkrun80
Postdoc
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Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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02-27-20 03:52 PM - Post#301969
In response to bison63
Another regular season championship and #1 seed. Congrats to Coach Woodruff and the team! Let's keep the momentum rolling into the playoffs.
https://bucknellbison.com/news/2020/2/26/womens -ba...
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jkrun80
Postdoc
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Age: 65
Reg: 05-07-12
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02-27-20 04:01 PM - Post#301972
In response to jkrun80
Bucknell is back in the mid-major top 25 this week at #23. A win over Boston along with last night's win should move us up a few spots.
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bison75
Masters Student
Posts: 487
Reg: 01-26-06
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02-28-20 10:18 AM - Post#302003
In response to Bison137
ESPN calls Mack the frontrunner for POY, with Thompson the closest challenger.
http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basket ball/stor...
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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Bison WBB at Colgate
02-28-20 10:52 AM - Post#302009
In response to bison75
It all depends on whether the coaches decide the POY should come from one of the top teams - which they usually do. Both Manis and Kucowski have had better statistical years, but their teams have not done so well. Manis in particular. She is one of the league's top four statistical players of all time, but her HC teams have underachieved every year she has been there. A lot of that is due to poor coaching, but it still will affect her in the voting. HC, btw, is currently in 5th place after having been picked for 2nd, just behind Lehigh.
In the last 25 years, only twice has the POY not come from the 1st place or 2nd place team. The most recent time it happened was in 2004.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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Bison WBB at Colgate
02-28-20 10:53 AM - Post#302010
In response to Bison137
Duplicate Post
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atlantabison
PhD Student
Posts: 1835
Loc: Atlanta, GA
Reg: 01-25-06
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 Re: Bison WBB at Colgate
02-28-20 12:15 PM - Post#302025
In response to Bison137
Duplicate Post
That's how you get over 14,000 
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