McCaffrey’s Musings - CACC playoff preview - 2/25/18
The CACC Conference tournament field is set so let’s take a look at the week ahead...
First, on the men's side.....Special thanks to the CACC staff for sorting it all out...and it needed sorting!!
SEEDS
North Division
1. Bloomfield College (17-2)**
2. Dominican College (13-6)
3. Caldwell University (13-6)
4. Felician University (9-10)
South Division
1. Goldey-Beacom College (15-4)
2. Jefferson (13-6)
3. Wilmington University (11-8)
4. University of the Sciences (11-8)
** - No. 1 Overall Seed
SCHEDULE
First Round (Tuesday, Feb. 27)
S#4 USciences at N#1 Bloomfield (7:30 p.m.)
N#3 Caldwell at S#2 Jefferson (7:30 p.m.)
N#4 Felician at S#1 Goldey-Beacom (7 p.m.)
S#3 Wilmington at N#2 Dominican (7 p.m.)
Semifinals (Saturday, March 3)
Bloomfield/USciences vs. Jefferson/Caldwell (5 or 7 p.m.)
G-B/Felician vs. Dominican/WilmU (5 or 7 p.m.)
* - Highest remaining seed will play in the night's first game
Championship Final (Sunday, March 4)
Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner (2:30 p.m.)
The first round games have a lot of intrigue. We'll begin with the top overall seed, Bloomfield, who will host USciences. These two teams are meeting in the First Round for the third time in four years (second at Bloomfield). Each home team has won the playoff matchup and the expectation here would be for the Bears to continue that trend. Bloomfield won the first meeting between these two schools on its home floor 81-64. The Bears are the only CACC team solidly in the NCAA field, but a loss here could lower their potential seed. Sciences, like the six other teams below, will only be dancing via an automatic bid by winning the tournament.
The hottest team in the field is Caldwell. The Cougars have won eight of nine with the only setback a one-point decision to Dominican. Caldwell has been an NCAA-caliber team of late and came from several games back to tie the Chargers for second in the CACC North. They lost the tiebreaker because DC swept the season series. Jefferson has home-court advantage for as long as they are in the CACC Tournament but this is a tough assignment for the Rams who are coming in from the polar opposite of their opponents. The former Philadelphia University snapped a four-game winless drought with a win in its regular season finale over Holy Family but they had to come from behind in the second half to do so. One thing is certain, both teams will be prepared, as Herb Magee (Jefferson) and Mark Corino are the two winningest active coaches in the CACC. If you're the kind of person who likes teams who are trending well Caldwell is your pick, however, Jefferson is 11-2 at home.On the flip side, Caldwell won at home over Jefferson 73-63 last week. So this is a tough one to predict, which means it has all the makings of being the game of the night.
Goldey-Beacom won the South Division title and will host Felician Tuesday. On paper this game favors the Lightning. Felician has been able to compete but struggled to beat teams of a higher caliber. The only win it has gained over a team with a winning record this season was Dominican. It is the time of year where stunning results occur but it would be a surprise if the Golden Falcons go into Wilmington and come out with a win.
Finally, Dominican has played its way out of at-large consideration due in large part to two head-scratching losses this past week. Frankly, I'm not sure I see any path for the Chargers to get into the NCAA field unless they cut down the nets next Sunday. The opponent for DC is a Wilmington squad that would love to avenge a nine-point loss to the Chargers that occurred about two weeks ago. The Wildcats have been banged up, but if they are healthy they are capable of ending Dominican's season. It's been a tale of two years for the Chargers, who have the quality wins to get into the field (the best of times) but lately have been overshadowed with what the NCAA Regional Committee will call bad losses (the worst of times).
As we switch over to the women's side of the fence, don't adjust your eyes. Yes, Bloomfield came out of nowhere to win the CACC North and it may have given Chestnut Hill a life raft in the process.
SEEDS
North Division
1. Bloomfield College (16-3)
2. Caldwell University (16-3)
3. Dominican College (10-9)
4. Felician University (8-11)
South Division
1. University of the Sciences (17-2)**
2. Jefferson (16-3)
3. Chestnut Hill College (15-4)
4. Holy Family University (9-10)
** - No. 1 Overall Seed
SCHEDULE
First Round (Tuesday, Feb. 27)
N#4 Felician at S#1 USciences (7 p.m.)
S#3 Chestnut Hill at N#2 Caldwell (7 p.m.)
S#4 Holy Family at N#1 Bloomfield (5:30 p.m.)
N#3 Dominican at S#2 Jefferson (5:30 p.m.)
Semifinals (Saturday, March 3)
USciences/Felician vs. Caldwell/CHC (12 or 2 p.m.)
Bloomfield/HFU vs. Jefferson/Dominican (12 or 2 p.m.)
Championship Final (Sunday, March 4)
Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner (12 p.m.)
Chestnut Hill defeated Sciences on the last day of the regular season to complete a season sweep of the Devils but it was Bloomfield's win over Caldwell that may have moved the meter the most. Here's the breakdown:
Chestnut Hill has the opportunity to pick up two more super quality wins. If the Griffins were able to defeat their first round opponent, Caldwell, and somehow defeat Sciences in the conference semifinals they would be in the mix for an at-large bid. That scenario would mean it is possible for four CACC teams to make the NCAA’s. It's a long shot, but if CHC has four wins over .750 + win % teams, two of which were on the road, it may be hard for the committee to pass on in the Griffins for the eight-seed as compared to Southern Connecticut. Roberts Wesleyan is also in the mix (more on that in the ECC Preview Monday), but as we say so often, all you need is an opportunity and it's there for the Griffins.
Caldwell is a lock for the NCAA’s. The loss by Caldwell may have benefited CHC in being able to pick up more power points (as opposed to playing Bloomfield), but it's also a really tough game. Caldwell won the first meeting between these two schools, 80-68, without home court. This time they have home court, where it is 10-1 on the campaign.
South Division champ USciences likely lost its chance to host the regional after losing Saturday, but on Tuesday the Devils begin their quest to defend the CACC Tournament crown. Felician hung with their first round opponent when these two teams met on January 20th at Job Gym. The Golden Falcons trailed 52-51 with just over four minutes remaining before the visitors ended the affair on an 11-0 run. Sciences is 14-1 in the Bobby Morgan Arena, where this game will be hosted, with its only loss to Chestnut Hill on December 9th.
When Jefferson traveled to Dominican on January 27th, they left with a 63-62 win. Last season, Dominican entered the CACC First Round as a three-seed and captured a road win over Goldey-Beacom. Will history repeat or will the Rams, who are solidly on the bubble and who have home court advantage for the duration of the CACCs emerge victorious? I like where Jefferson is positioned (currently #7 in the regional rankings) but a loss here could prove costly. Interestingly enough, the Rams swept the season series with Chestnut Hill. So if CHC were to make a run it may not be the worst thing for Jefferson. The Griffins seem to factor into every game! Jefferson is 15-1 at home on the year.
Lastly, the North Division winner, Bloomfield will get to host Holy Family. If I had told you around Christmas this would be a first-round CACC Tournament game you probably would have suggested I go for random drug-testing as these two units combined to start the season 1-17 and additionally lost 19 of 22 games at the Christmas break. Both teams have had remarkable second half turnarounds. The Bears have won 15 of 18, while the Tigers had won nine of 12, before concluding the regular season on a three-game skid. Tough assignment for Holy Family, but its initial trip to Bloomfield was a nail-biter until the closing minutes where the Bears pulled away and won by ten. Home court hasn't been much of an advantage to BC on the season, where they are 8-6.
Summary: On the women's side I like form to hold in the first round, but I feel there could be a surprise on the men's side. Home court is so important for these games, but you have to go with the team riding the wave and that team is Caldwell. They have finally hit the stride that so many expected. My gut tells me that Dominican will right the ship versus Wilmington and I firmly expect form to hold in the other two games.
PLEASE NOTE: This summary was written Saturday night and a lot of things can change with Sunday's ECC games and the NE10 quarterfinals. We'll cover all that in Wednesday's Edition of the Musings. Monday, we'll be back for the ECC Preview, so until then Happy Hooping!!