As the end of the season draws closer, the contests grow bigger in importance. And that’s certainly the case this weekend, with only 15 days left in the regular season.
Men’s Basketball vs. Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 4:00)
Franklin & Marshall is 19-1, ranked eighth in Division III and closing in on the top seed for the Centennial Conference playoffs. Muhlenberg is 13-7 and tied for fourth place in the CC, just a game ahead of two other teams with five games to go in the regular season.
While it’s obviously a big game for the Mules, what makes this the Marquee Matchup is the history of the series. Muhlenberg has five wins against nationally ranked F&M teams at Memorial Hall since the early 1990s, including a 71-67 win last year when the Dips were ranked 19th. The Mules have won nine of the last 14 against F&M at home, and only one of F&M’s wins was by more than five points.
Then there’s the presence of two of the “marquee” players in the CC. On the league’s all-time lists, F&M senior Georgio Milligan is second in assists and steals, seventh in scoring and 11th in blocked shots. Muhlenberg senior Spencer Liddic is second in rebounds and double-doubles, 10th in scoring and tied for 16th in blocked shots. He needs 12 rebounds and a double-double to tie the CC all-time marks.
Live stats: www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/mbblive/xlive.htm
Live video: www.livestream.com/muhlenberg
Live audio (WMUH): www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html
Women’s Basketball vs. Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 2:00)
This is a key CC matchup between two teams that are tied for second place in the loss column, two games behind Johns Hopkins. Franklin & Marshall is 14-6 overall, 11-4 in the CC, while Muhlenberg is 15-4, 10-4.
The Mules, who won the first meeting, 62-54, looked like their former selves in beating Swarthmore, 81-46, on Wednesday. The Diplomats are coming off two impressive wins of their own, by 13 points at home vs. Haverford and by 14 points at Washington.
The top three scorers in the CC will be on display in F&M junior Alexa Barbush (17.2 ppg), Muhlenberg senior Alexandra Chili (16.5 ppg) and Muhlenberg junior Alita Zabrecky (15.4 ppg). The Diplomats haven’t won in Memorial Hall since 2000.
Live stats: www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/wbblive/xlive.htm
Live video: www.livestream.com/muhlenberg
Live audio (WMUH): www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html
Track & Field at New Balance Collegiate Invitational (Friday) and DeSchriver Invitational (Saturday)
Muhlenberg will send a women’s distance medley relay to the Armory tonight for one of the most prestigious indoor meets. The Mule quartet is the only Division III team in its heat. The rest of the team will also compete against athletes from higher divisions at East Stroudsburg on Saturday.
New Balance entries: http://www.armorytrack.com/armory/nbci-women-2012
Wrestling at Washington and Lee with McDaniel and NYU (Saturday, 10:00)
The Mule wrestlers will get to preview more of their opponents for the upcoming Centennial Conference Championships. New York University is in its first year as an associate member of the CC in wrestling.