We’ve reached the beginning of the best that college basketball has to offer in terms of spending, attendance, etc. Our first “Power Five” conference team appears in conference 12. Continue reading “Realignment Conferences 12 Through 8”
Going to be reviving this semi-regular feature to recap what happened around college basketball on big nights of the week. Considering there were 163 games on opening night, it seems like a great time to recap all the action. Continue reading “About Last Night: Nov. 11, 2016”
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Monmouth University men’s basketball team, a 90-80 winner over Bucknell in an opening round NIT game Wednesday, probably won’t be lacking for incentive in Round 2. Continue reading “Monmouth Opens NIT With Victory Over Bucknell”
LEWISBURG, Pa. – It’s never easy for first-year head coaches, but that can be doubly true when trying to step in at a program that’s used to having success.
Nathan Davis has plenty going for him at Bucknell, not the least of which is his tenure as an assistant coach on the most successful Bucknell teams of all-time: the 2004-05 team that upset Kansas (and won an ESPY for doing so), and the squad the following year that went undefeated in the Patriot League (and 28-5 overall), getting a No. 9 seed in the NCAAs and beating Arkansas in the first round.
Continue reading “Fairfield 101, Bucknell 91: Tough Start For Nathan Davis And Bison”
For a few minutes Thursday evening, it looked as if the Patriot League quarterfinals might have little drama. All four home teams led by multiple possessions at halftime, and three extended their advantages to double digits early in the second half.
But this year’s Patriot League has found excitement at every turn, and its postseason is no exception. One game went to overtime, another was decided in the final minute, and the only true blowout came between teams with identical records in the 4-5 game. A recap:
#1 Bucknell 90, #8 Holy Cross 83 (OT): Malcolm Miller wouldn’t end his career quietly. After a lethargic first half, the Crusaders trailed by as many as 16 points in the second before their star senior turned it on. Miller had four traditional three-point plays in a four-minute stretch, making seven straight shots to lead the visitors back in the game. After blocking two shots on one possession, Miller made two free throws to give Holy Cross the lead at the two-minute mark.
The Crusaders led by three with 30 seconds to play, but as he’d done all night, first-team all-conference guard Chris Hass answered. Eric Green, one of the league’s best defenders, bumped Hass from behind, turning Hass’ short floater into a game-tying three-point play. The Bison pulled away in overtime to avoid becoming the first 1-seed to bow out before the finals in Patriot League Tournament history.
Hass matched a career high with 32 points, while Miller set his own with 34 in his career finale. In contrast to his 30-performance at Boston U. last week, Miller got most of Thursday’s points inside. Nine of his 11 field goals came in the paint, and even with an inefficient overtime period, he needed only 24 shooting possessions to get his 34 points:
#2 Colgate 72, #7 Navy 62: Aided by garbage-time free throws, the Raiders scored 1.26 points per possession after the break to advance to the semifinals. Matt McMullen had a double-double in the second half alone, totaling 18 points and 15 rebounds, as Colgate advanced to its first semifinals since 2009.
Rookie Bryce Dulin scored a career-high 16 points at an opportune time, all in the second half, but the Midshipmen never pulled closer than six points down the stretch. After blocking a tournament record eight shots against Army, Will Kelly didn’t swat a single ball on Thursday. Limited by foul trouble, Kelly played only 23 minutes, and Navy was outscored by 12 points with him on the bench.
#6 American 68, #3 Lehigh 62: The Mountain Hawks will have a long offseason to stew on their first-round exit: As a home favorite, they lost by two possessions while shooting 7-16 from the free-throw line. Lehigh was actually one of the nation’s better foul shooting teams this year, ranking in the top 50 at 73%. Tim Kempton played like the league’s Player of the Year, scoring 20 points on 9-9 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds, but his teammates went 3-14 from three-point range.
Like many coaches, American’s Mike Brennan has shortened his rotation down the stretch; unlike many coaches, Brennan’s rotation was already limited to seven players, and is now down to six. Jesse Reed and Pee Wee Gardner each played the full 40 minutes, enough time for the former to score 24 points and the latter to notch 10 assists (against one turnovers). Marko Vasic posted a double-double despite spending 82 whole seconds on the bench.
#4 Lafayette 89, #5 Boston U. 64: After Holy Cross torched the Terriers with 13 three-pointers in their regular-season finale, Boston U. coach Joe Jones was frustrated with his team’s defensive inconsistency. “When you look at our defensive field goal percentage in our nine [conference] wins, we’ve held teams to 37%. In nine losses, it’s 48%,” he said. “We’ve been really up and down all year, just in our ability to be focused and connected.”
Thursday was another down night for the Terriers, as Lafayette posted a 77% effective field goal percentage, including a Patriot League Tournament-record 16 threes, en route to a blowout victory. No team expects to allow 55% shooting beyond the arc, but surrendering 29 attempts (many of which were open) is inexcusable against a team ranked in the top 10 nationally in three-point accuracy. Point guard Nick Lindner (5-8 from three) led the way with 23 points as one of five Leopards in double figures.
Lafayette avenged a similarly lopsided loss at Boston U. in last year’s quarterfinals. More remarkably, the Leopards scored their 89 points while only attempting two free throws, becoming the first team to do so since at least 2010.
Updated Bracket:
Semifinals (Sunday, March 8):
#4 Lafayette at #1 Bucknell
#6 American at #2 Colgate
Final (Wednesday, March 11):
#6/2 vs #4/1, at higher seed
Will St. Francis Brooklyn earn a berth into its first ever NCAA tournament? Maybe yes, maybe no. Continue reading “10,000 Sims: NEC and Patriot League Tournaments”
Those papers in the trash across the room are the discarded Patriot League scripts for the 2014-15 season. With some irony, I mentioned in my preview just before conference play started that the non-conference campaign had pretty much gone according to plan. Continue reading “Patriot League Tournament Preview (With Fearless Predictions)”
Yes, there has been some variety, but unlike many other conferences this season the Patriot League has played fairly close to form in the non-conference slate. Perhaps because of that, you can make a case for several horses in the field of 10 to cross the wire first at the end of the league race, which begins on Wednesday when the conference gate opens. Continue reading “Call To The Post As Patriot League Race Set To Begin”
If Fairfield wasn’t coming off a 7-25 season littered with many games similar to Monday, coach Sydney Johnson probably wouldn’t have been so disturbed, and could dismiss the Stags’ collapse against Bucknell in a 72-66 overtime loss Monday as an aberration, But the normally mild-mannered Johnson (now in his fourth year at Fairfield) held his team for a good 20 minutes in the locker room after the contest to try to figure out how to finish teams off. With MAAC play opening Friday and Manhattan and Quinnipiac looming as its first two opponents, the time for experimenting is just about over and Johnson’s mixtures just haven’t produced a finished product thus far.
Continue reading “Three Thoughts: Bucknell 72, Fairfield 66 (OT)”
Projecting the impact of freshmen and how they will perform in their first season playing Division 1 hoops – unless one happens to be a Top 100 recruit – isn’t exactly a foolproof science. While coaches are still in the process of deciphering what their regular rotation will look like once the season begins, the following eight freshmen project to be some of the better ones in the Patriot League, and will have an immediate impact for their respective teams. With the additions of Boston University and Loyola to the league last season, the influx of talent continues to become better and better. Loyola will be forced to lean heavily on its freshmen class, while Bucknell – who will have a few talented freshmen on its roster – should not be as reliant. Let’s begin with my preseason all-rookie team.
[One caveat: Given the high number of freshmen both Army and Navy bring into their programs and stash at MAPS (Military Academy Prep School) and NAPS (Naval Academy Prep School) it is often tough to gauge just how good each program’s freshmen class will be at the outset of each season. Your guess is as good as ours who the top freshmen will be for each team.]
Kahron Ross, Lehigh – Lehigh’s past two starting point guards – Marquis Hall and Mackey McKnight – were both four year starters at the position. Based on reports out of Bethlehem, it seems like Kahron Ross may be on that same track as he projects to start for Lehigh in their season-opener against Villanova.
Eric Johnson, Boston University – The second season in the Patriot League for Joe Jones will likely not go as smoothly as their inaugural one as the Terriers were picked to finish in the middle-of-the-pack; that’s what happens when D.J. Irving and Dom Morris graduate, and Mo Watson transfers. Having to replace much of the production in the backcourt, Jones will likely lean on Eric Johnson. Johnson has good size for a point guard standing at 6-foot-2.
Mitchell Hahn, Holy Cross – It’s no secret that Holy Cross is thin up front with graduation claiming Dave Dudzinski. The only proven forwards Milan Brown returns are Taylor Abt and Malachi Alexander. Mitchell Hahn, Holy Cross’ lone freshman, will be one of the first three of the bench for the Crusaders, and has an opportunity to receive immediate minutes at the 3 and 4 positions. At 6-foot-8, Hahn can fill it up from the perimeter.
Cam Gregory, Loyola – G.G. Smith has been fighting an uphill battle the day he accepted the head coaching job at Loyola prior to the 2013-14 season. His predecessor, Jimmy Patsos, took many of Loyola’s top recruits with him to Siena, which left Smith in a bind for his first season at the helm. Entering his second season, Smith will be without Dylon Cormier – the top player from last year’s team – along with senior point guard R.J. Williams, who is no longer listed on the roster. Playing time will be available from the outset for the young Greyhounds, and expect forward Cam Gregory to benefit from it. Gregory was a highly-coveted recruit in the Patriot League, and will be expected to produce immediately for Loyola. At 6-foot-8, Gregory reportedly has the ability to play with his back to the basket, something that isn’t always common for freshmen big men at the mid-major level.
Nana Foulland, Bucknell – Bucknell is fairly deep in their frontcourt this season, but minutes will be available with Brian Fitzpatrick having graduated. Foulland was perhaps the premier recruit in the Patriot League for the 2014 recruiting class, boasting offers from Delaware, George Mason, Fairfield, Old Dominion, UMass, and Seton Hall among others. Foulland is a big body who can run the floor, and excels on the defensive end with exceptional shot blocking and rebounding ability. Dave Paulsen got a good one.
Honorable Mention
J.C. Show, Bucknell – It would be funny to be a fly on the wall for a discussion between Bucknell’s head football coach Joe Susan and Dave Paulsen. Show, who was a tremendous high school athlete and excelled on the gridiron, could most definitely find himself contributing to the Bison’s football team in some capacity this season, but he elected to take his talents to the hardwood, instead. Paulsen may have found his point guard of the future in Show, but minutes may be hard to come by at the position with Steven Kaspar and Ryan Frazier both returning for their senior and junior seasons, respectively.
Cheddi Mosely, Boston University – Eric Johnson may take over for Mo Watson at point guard, but look for Cheddi Mosely to slide in – along with Wagner transfer Eric Fanning – and help fill the void D.J. Irving left in the two-guard position. The 6-foot-3 combo guard from St. Anthony’s in New Jersey excels from the perimeter, but also can go off-the-dribble. Joe Jones has set up Boston University well for the future with Johnson and Mosely manning the backcourt.
Colton Bishop, Loyola – G.G. Smith was thrown a curveball when starting point guard R.J. Williams was allegedly tossed off the team in October. Williams has struggled to stay in line at Loyola as he was suspended in October of 2012 for a violation of team rules that kept him sidelined for half of the season. Without Williams, and Jevon Patton transferring to Northeast Oklahoma A&M, Bishop will likely be forced into immediate playing time.
You can follow Kevin on Twitter @KLDoyle11
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