We welcome you to the last full, regular-season edition of McCaffrey’s Musings. In honor of the Academy Awards this past Sunday, we’ll take a look back at “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” There is a lot to talk about, but we begin with a men’s game involving Bridgeport and LIU Post.
I received several messages about UB’s 144-76 win over the Pioneers while I was driving home from announcing a game last Wednesday. We’re going to handle this in three parts. First, I’m going to lay out the facts. Then, I’ll have quotations from Purple Knight basketball coach Mike Ruane, whom I had the opportunity to talk to the day after his game. Finally, I’ll give my take on the situation.
Bridgeport was buoyed by Floyd Prieto’s 55 points, including 15-22 from three-point range. That total was a regional season-high, a UB scoring record, and more points than Prieto had scored in his two-year Purple Knight career to that point. Credit to him! Most athletes couldn’t make that many three-pointers in an open gym, let alone during a game. Prieto garnered his first career start on Senior Night and came in with 38 career points, 143 minutes played and just four field goals in 16 attempts from beyond the arc on the campaign. He played 10 first-half minutes and scored 16 points, making four of six threes. This is every senior role-player’s dream. With the score 57-29 at intermission, Ruane gave his senior extended minutes in the second half. Prieto was on fire after the break, scoring 39 points in 18 minutes on the hardwood, one more than he had scored in his ENTIRE career entering the day. Pretty cool moment. Before UB drilled two triples in the closing seconds, Prieto jacked up 14 of his team’s 17 shots going back for about seven minutes. At the time, the score was 108-59 and Prieto had recorded 34 points. Over his shooting spree, Prieto tallied another seven threes for 21 additional points. He took four shots in the final minute, and by the end of the night was 20-31.
I conducted an interview with Ruane the next morning.
Tim McCaffrey (Tmac): Mike, that’s one heck of a game yesterday.
Mike Ruane (MR): Thanks, Tim It’s been a pretty tough year for us.
Tmac: Take me through the idea of scoring that many points and jacking up shots so early in the shot clock against a decimated LIU Post team.
MR: First of all, we’re not trying to embarrass anyone. That’s how we play. We press for 40 minutes and it’s a competition. We play, as you know, a high-possession style. People have been bashing what I do at UB and our program for years.
Tmac: Mike I’ve known you for over 15 years and I’ve never said anything bad about the program, and as far as I can tell, you’re one of the most respected coaches in the region. I’ve always thought your job is twice, if not three, times as hard with how you bring in transfers every year. However, I do think it was a little excessive.
MR: Thanks, Tim. I appreciate that, but you have to understand we’re trying to maintain a level.
Tmac: Is it hard to maintain that level against a team that has players who never played high school basketball?
MR: We had a packed house and our fans were cheering them. The real story here is what Erik Smiles has had to through there. What they did (LIU Post) is terrible. They were going to have a really good team.
Tmac: Were you trying to make a point to the LIU Administration?
MR: Absolutely not. It’s a competition. We’re competing. They’re competing.
Tmac: Mike, I watched the tape and noticed that you were not defending them in the late stages of the second half and there was only one guy in the backcourt to either rebound or throw the ball in. Can you give me your thoughts on that?
MR: People are going to say whatever they want. You’re going to write whatever you want and you’re entitled to do that.
Tmac: Did you fear losing to LIU-Post?
MR: Absolutely. They had just come from playing at Roberts Wesleyan, a team ahead of us in the standings and it was a one-possession game with six minutes to go. Anything can happen at any time.
Tmac: Do you have any regrets about how the shots were being chucked up in the final few minutes?
MR: I wasn’t entirely pleased with the shots late. I felt like most of the game we were in flow. Floyd had one heck of a game. I hope nobody takes away what he did. The team was trying to get Floyd shots. The team was having a great time and it was a little bit of happiness in a not-so-happy season.
Tmac: I know Erik played for you and the handshake was quick at the end of the game.
MR: Not only did he play for me, but he was on the search committee to hire me. I consider him a good friend. I have so much respect for his team and his guys, and the real story here is how a once-storied program with all the great coaches that has been taken away by their administration. I’ve coached against them at NJIT, Textile (Jefferson), and now at UB, and it saddens me what has happened there.
Tmac: You mentioned you thought a few shots were taken late that didn’t need to be. Do you think there was anything you could have done?
MR: Maybe, but I just didn’t want to kill the enthusiasm.
Tmac: Will Floyd start Saturday against NYIT?
MR: I think it’s something we’ll look at. He just hasn’t had the kind of success here that we had hoped. Maybe this game can give us some momentum.
Tmac: We’re going to have to agree to disagree on a lot of this, but I can’t thank you enough for your time and answers. Good Luck the rest of the way.
MR: No Problem. Thanks, Tim
Floyd Preito did start Saturday versus the New York Institute of Technology (more on that team in a moment). He scored two points in 24 minutes on 1-5 shooting (0-2 3FG’s). UB won, 103-84.
The Musings is very disappointed with this situation. Several people have reached out to me and called this bullying. At the very least it goes against everything the NCAA promotes. It's unsportsmanlike and it's clearly running up the score. The video definitively shows three UB players for a large portion of the second half not making it past half court while allowing the Pioneers to run fast breaks. Heck, the UB announcer on the broadcast said, "Bridgeport is doing everything they can to allow Post to score." This isn’t basketball and I don’t care how bad the season goes, it’s not right. I have never had a problem with a group gunning for 100 but LIU Post is a glorified intramural team. I talked to over a dozen coaches in and out of the region who all told me that you never need to score 144 points and win by nearly 70. They explained that you walk the ball up and bench any kid who takes a shot before 10 seconds are on the shot clock. I’ve been told you don’t press against a helpless team, and that, above all else, you respect the game. I feel as though the game was disrespected, and while I understand that players love playing at UB because of the up-and-down style Ruane employs, it does take some common sense to understand that the Pioneers aren’t a competitive group. I hope that Mike realizes at some point that this was excessive and that he will not do it again. He’s better than that, but if he’s not, one has to wonder what kind of example he’s setting for both sets of student-athletes, fans of his program and any kids who may have been in attendance. That wasn’t basketball. That was a massacre. Mike Ruane called Erik Smiles a friend. If that’s what he does to friends, I’d hate to be his enemy.
Speaking of Smiles, who is a class act and has handled his situation with grace, he’ll lose his job after the season. As luck would have it, NYIT fired Kevin Hamilton on Friday. This would be a great hire for the Bears. It would turn a potentially devastating situation for Smiles and his family into one that works out perfectly. It would also extend his commute by one traffic light. This is a puzzle piece that fits perfectly.
Finally, we stay in the ECC and look back at the terrific week the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans had. In a time when many teams in the top 8 are struggling, Tobin Anderson and company are rounding into form. They dissected Daemen Friday night with the Musings in the house. The officiating crew in this game of Mike McCloskey, Ed Corbett Jr. and Steve Ruppenthal was tremendous. It’s always hard to officiate in the "toll booth," where one wrong move can result in a close encounter with a wall, or send one flying into the stands. The game had intensity and the referees were the best I’ve seen at any level this season.
We have a new #1 in the Tmac Definitive Top 8:
1) St. Anselm (21-4) - The Hawks are on top, for now, with an undefeated week. Daemen isn’t out of chances to host but at this point Keith Dickson and his charges are in control of home-court destiny.
2) Daemen (22-4) - The Wildcats went 1-1 on their UDC/STAC southern swing. They finish the regular season at home.
3) New Haven (18-7) - Chargers Head Coach Ted Hotaling is pulling double duty as East Region Committee Chair and he has still managed to coach his group into a LOCK NCAA team.
4) Le Moyne (16-8) - The Dolphins enter the LOCK category thanks to an undefeated week. The Game of the Week features UNH and Le Moyne (see below).
5) St. Thomas Aquinas (21-5) - The Spartans could get as high as four, but they’d need Le Moyne to lose at UNH Tuesday and then also lose its quarterfinal game in the NE10 tournament. Either way, congrats, STAC... you are a LOCK NCAA Team!
6) Merrimack (18-9) - I could go either way with six and seven.
7) Adelphi (19-8) - The Panthers (@ AIC) and Warriors (@ St. Mike’s) can NOT lose Tuesday.
8) Bentley (18-9) - The Falcons are on the outside looking in. This spot is reserved for the CACC tournament champ. Bentley hosts Franklin Pierce Tuesday in a must-win. The loser of that game gets to host Pace in the dreaded NE10 first round. The winner gets a bye into the quarterfinals as the three-seed in the Northeast Division and a game at one of UNH, Le Moyne or Adelphi.
We moved Jefferson out of at-large consideration in the Midweek Musing. Six, seven and eight are the three teams battling for, at most, two spots. There is a chance that all three could get knocked out if teams in the top eight don’t win the ECC or NE10. If there was a nine in my rankings, it would be Bloomfield. The Bears' motto should be ‘In Gerald (Holmes) we trust’. They are on the verge of clinching their ninth division crown in 12 years as an NCAA CACC member. In addition, the group is peaking at the right time, having captured eight straight.
GAME OF THE WEEK:
Tuesday, February 27 @ 7:30: # 4 Le Moyne @ #3 New Haven
This may very well be a battle for the three-seed in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA National Committee has put a premium on Strength of Schedule, and both of these teams have gone out and played up, but the Dolphins have gone anywhere and played anyone. A win here would mean a sweep for Pat Beilein's team over the Chargers.
The NE10 first round will begin Friday on both the men’s and women’s sides. The 4SW will host 5NE and the 5SW will travel to 4NE. The quarterfinal round on Sunday will have 1NE hosting the Winner 4SW/5NE, 3SW @ 2NE, 3NE @ 2 SW, and the winner of 4NE/5SW @ 1SW. Got all that? Good!
Tmac’s Definitive Top 8 on the women's side:
1) Sciences (26-1) - The Devils have won 15 in a row against the CACC. They control destiny to host the regional
2) Bentley (25-2) - The Falcons keep on truckin’. However, they’re going to have to go through Le Moyne and hope the Devils slip in order to host the regional.
3) Le Moyne (21-4) - Speaking of the Dolphins, they move up one spot. They are 8-0 versus regionally ranked teams.
4) Jefferson (24-2) - The Rams are 2-1 vs. regionally ranked teams. They don’t win enough boxes against Le Moyne. This is as low as they can drop. All of the top four are LOCKS to dance.
5) St. Thomas Aquinas (24-3) - On Friday, the Spartans dominated Daemen, which had won 11 straight. The bottom line is the women’s committee doesn’t emphasize SOS as much as the men. STAC rates 291st out of 310 in that department.
6) Stonehill (18-8) - The Skyhawks avoided getting swept by Assumption by two points. That should be enough to hold on to six, but a season-defining game comes on Tuesday vs. St. Anselm.
7) St. Anselm (18-7) - The Hawks completed an undefeated week but they are featured below in the Game of the Week.
8) Merrimack (18-9) - Let us hope the committee doesn’t take a nap this week after it picks the top seven. In case that happens… shall we take a look at the numbers between SNHU and the Warriors? Yes, let’s!!
Merrimack takes five primary categories (overall win %, win % in region, SOS, RPI, Performance Indicator) while SNHU takes one (record versus winning teams). The only advantage the Penmen have is that they swept the season series. It’s not enough to destroy the Warriors’ body of work. I hope I don’t have to go deeper into the numbers Thursday in a Midweek Musing. The committee needs to do what’s right.
GAME OF THE WEEK:
Tuesday February 26 @ 5:30: #7 St. Anselm @ #6 Stonehill
This game is for the six seed in the region and second place in the Northeast Division of the NE10. How important is this game? The loser will play on the road in the quarterfinals against the winner of Tuesday’s Adelphi-AIC contest in Springfield. The Panthers and Yellow Jackets jockey for second, as well, on Tuesday, but in the Southwest Division.
That puts a bow on this edition of the Musings. We’d like to thank the athletic department at St. Thomas Aquinas for being so accommodating.