Bashir Mason Optimistic Youthful Wagner Will Compete In NEC Play

One win versus a Division I opponent in 10 tries. Six of those losses ending in lopsided fashion. A once vaunted defense that finds itself near the bottom of college basketball having allowed 106.9 points per 100 possessions. An offense that has struggled to find its way with a team loaded with underclassmen expected to absorb a sizable chunk of possessions. Continue reading “Bashir Mason Optimistic Youthful Wagner Will Compete In NEC Play” →

Big East Breakdown: A Primer For Conference Play

The Big East conference kicks off in earnest today, and based on how the league performed during the first two months of the season, it’s quite clear that the Big East’s obituary was premature. Continue reading “Big East Breakdown: A Primer For Conference Play” →

Three Thoughts: UMass 87, Iona 82

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On the surface, Iona’s 87-82 loss to UMass at the Mullins Center Tuesday night wasn’t a terrible one. First, UMass is an Atlantic-10 team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year, and is probably better than its 6-6 record (and No. 94 KenPom ranking), having played an ambitious schedule, and picking up a couple of close losses (at Harvard and BYU) that might have turned the tide for them.

In addition, UMass picked Tuesday to break out of a prolonged shooting slump from three-point range, particularly junior point guard Trey Davis, who came in shooting an ice-cold just 33.6% from the field, and was just 11-for-47 from behind the arc since the season opener. All he did against Iona was score 25 points on 10-of-11 from the floor, 5-for-6 from three-point range.

Continue reading “Three Thoughts: UMass 87, Iona 82” →

Call To The Post As Patriot League Race Set To Begin

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” →

Three Thoughts: Quinnipiac 81, Maine 64

In each team’s final non-conference matchup of 2014, Quinnipiac defeated Maine 81-64. The final margin may be indicative of the quality gap between these two squads, but the Black Bears showed toughness as they nearly erased a 17-point first half deficit. Here are three thoughts from Quinnipiac’s victory. Continue reading “Three Thoughts: Quinnipiac 81, Maine 64” →

Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Dec. 29

What Happened Last Week: The Ivy League went 0-4 against major-conference competition, headlined by Columbia’s competitive loss to UConn and Harvard’s 56-46 defeat at Arizona State. But the Ancient Eight took care of everyone else, going 5-1 in its other games; Ivies have now won 10 of their last 13 games against mid-major opponents. Continue reading “Ivy League Weekly Roundup: Dec. 29” →

Three Thoughts: Loyola (MD) 61, Fairfield 59 (OT)

At some point – as Dennis Green so emphatically pointed out years ago – you are what you are, and with the 2014 portion of Fairfield 2014-15 campaign now complete, we’re pretty sure the Stags are a solid defensive team with pretty good size, but one that is going to struggle offensively, especially when leading scorer Marcus Gilbert is not as his best.

That combination is likely going to result in a lot of low-scoring, close games in MAAC play, and Fairfield was already able to win its first two conference games that way. Alas, they’ve now lost all three non-conference games since after a particularly physical (some might call it unattractive) 61-59 overtime loss (Fairfield’s fourth OT game this season already) to struggling Loyola (MD).

Continue reading “Three Thoughts: Loyola (MD) 61, Fairfield 59 (OT)” →