All five Muhlenberg winter sports teams will be competing for Centennial Conference titles next weekend. This weekend, they get their final tuneups.
Men’s Basketball at Ursinus (Saturday, 3:00)
In the CC preseason poll, Franklin & Marshall was picked to finish first, Muhlenberg second and Dickinson third. And even though Dickinson started out 2-4, and Muhlenberg was 4-6 just four weeks ago, that’s exactly the way things could wind up.
If the Mules (16-8, 10-7) beat the Bears (9-15, 8-9 and out of playoff contention), and Dickinson loses to Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg will earn the No. 2 seed and face Dickinson in a CC semifinal next Saturday. If Muhlenberg and Dickinson both win, they will play each other with the Red Devils as the No. 2 seed.
With a loss, the Mules slip to the No. 4 seed, and they would host the loser of the Johns Hopkins-Washington game on Wednesday.
The first pair of Muhlenberg teammates to each score 400 points in a season in 16 years, senior Spencer Liddic and freshman Malique Killing are approaching milestones. Liddic is 22 rebounds away from 1,000, and Killing needs 20 points to break the school freshman record of 419 set by Bob McClure in 1967-68.
Ursinus won the first meeting, 63-61, overcoming a 14-point deficit with 14 minutes to play. The Bears have won the last three regular-season meetings in Collegeville, two in overtime and the other by one point.
Live stats/video: http://livestats.prestosports.com/ursinus/
Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html
Women’s Basketball at Ursinus (Saturday, 1:00)
The Mules are locked into a semifinal playoff game against Franklin & Marshall. They can earn the No. 2  seed with a win and the right combination of other results, but all that impacts is what color jersey they’ll wear in their first playoff game.
There are some team and individual milestones on the horizon. Muhlenberg (19-5, 14-5) will reach the 20-win plateau for the fifth straight year by beating Ursinus. In the College’s athletic history, the only team to post five consecutive 20-win seasons was volleyball (1991-95).
Senior Alexandra Chili, who on Wednesday broke the school record for field goals made by a basketball player (male or female), is within 57 points of the CC career record of 1,965. She hit game-winning last-second shots in two of the three games she’s played at Ursinus.
Ursinus (13-11, 12-7) has clinched a playoff berth but needs a win to secure a first-round home game. The Mules won the first meeting, 72-55, but the Bears are a different team at home, where they are 8-1.
Live stats/video: http://livestats.prestosports.com/ursinus/
Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html
Track & Field at Keogh Invitational (Friday, 5:00)
The Mule teams will try to get a few more athletes qualified for the CC Championships at the site of last year’s conference meet.
Wrestling at Scranton with Johns Hopkins (Saturday, noon)
The wrestlers complete their pre-championship circuit of CC opponents. The Mules are 15-12 in contested matches against CC foes.