Miscellaneous Thoughts on Iona/Manhattan, Siena, Wichita State, Duquesne and Fordham

If you're a college basketball fan and you didn't watch Iona/Manhattan on ESPN2 last night, you missed an absolutely terrific game between two long time MAAC rivals.  The Jaspers won in overtime 80-77.  It was exciting, action packed, end to end, three point drilling (on Iona's side), small gym, capacity, loud crowd fun.  You could hear the crowd loud and clear on your TV.

Having been at Draddy for Iona vs. Manhattan previously for a SRO crowd between these two rivals, I can tell you how intense the Gaels-Jaspers rivalry is from a spectator's standpoint. And if you don't think this is a hot ticket, two years ago, tickets for the Iona- Manhattan game were going for $100, which is usually unheard of in NYC mid major basketball.  Jaden Daly of Daly Dose of Hoops was there last night and here's his writeup.

It's quite possible that Iona and Manhattan will face each other again in the MAAC Tournament.  Despite the loss, Iona has clinched the MAAC regular season championship and the #1 seed for the MAAC Tournament.   Manhattan is tied for second with both Quinnipiac and Canisius.  The Jaspers host the Golden Griffiths on Sunday for at least third place. 

Oh, one last thing.  If Iona wins at home over Rider on Sunday, it will be the fourth time in the four seasons Tim Cluess has coached in New Rochelle that the Gaels have won twenty games.  Four years ago, I gave a New York metro college advice on who to take as their head coach.  Iona took the advice instead and two NCAA Tournament later, with a possible third on the horizon, the Gaels must be quite happy with the decision.

Speaking of MAAC coaches, how about the job Jimmy Patsos is doing with Siena.  The Saints are now over .500 in the MAAC at 10-9 and with a win over Monmouth, will be the fifth seed in the MAAC Tournament.   Siena has already won six more games than all of last season and six more games in conference from last season as well.  Not surprising, given Patsos' history of success with Loyola Maryland.

One last MAAC note.  With Cluess, Steve Masiello, Patsos and Jimmy Baron, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has become a premier coaching conference.  MAACTION!

Wichita State has been getting a lot of flack lately on whether they are a #1 seed for the NCAA Tournament .  Several basketball "pundits" have questioned their non conference schedule (Yes, Jeff Goodman of ESPN, I am talking about you in particular).   Mark Adams, ESPN analyst, put this into excellent perspective on Twitter by stating that the eight power conference teams ranked in the top ten played eighty six percent of their non-conference games at either neutral site or home.   As I pointed out to Mark in a reply, I noted Wichita State only played seven of its twelve non-conference games at home (two were neutral site).  Saint Louis, the other non power conference team in the top ten played only six of its eleven games at home (two were also neutral site).

Furthermore, compare Wichita State's team to the last Missouri Valley team that went so far into the season undefeated, the 1978-79 Indiana State team.  That team of course was led by Larry Bird and went to the NCAA Championship game undefeated vs. Michigan State before losing to Magic Johnson and the Spartans.  

That 78-79 Sycamores team only played one NCAA Tournament team during the regular season, New Mexico State, which Indiana State beat twice in that season in conference.  In fact, the Sycamores had to have a 50 foot shot by Bob Heaton to force overtime on the road vs. the Aggies.  New Mexico State ended up getting an at large bid, losing to Weber State in a first round game.  At that time, only forty teams made the NCAA Tournament.  

Despite their lack of a signature non-conference win, Indiana State received a #1 seed.   Perhaps having Bird helped their chances of getting a #1 seed.  Still, Indiana State justified their seeding by making the NCAA Championship game.

This season, Wichita State has played two definite NCAA Tournament teams in their non conference; BYU and currently #10 Saint Louis.  The neutral site win over the Cougars was the championship game of the CBE classic and the win over SLU came on the Billikens home court.  Until their loss at home to Duquesne this week, Saint Louis had been undefeated in Atlantic-10 play, which is quite impressive considering there is a very good chance that there will be five A-10 teams in the NCAA Tournament (SLU, VCU, UMass, George Washington and St Joseph's).

Wichita State has also won over bubble team Tennessee, along with wins over Davidson, the Southern Conference regular season champion, who knocked off the current #2 team in the SEC, Georgia and NC Central, who won at North Carolina State and who at 22-5 and 13-1 in the MEAC, is the likely MEAC regular season champion (the Eagles have a two game lead over Hampton).  Throw in the fact that with basically the same team from last year's Final Four team, if the Shockers can make it through the rest of the Valley regular season and the MVC Tournament undefeated, they should definitely be a #1 seed and have serious consideration as the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Gregg Marshall is my coach of the year (and Jaden Daly, I knew about Marshall for years even before his Winthrop team knocked off Notre Dame).

On Thursday night, I watched on TV two bottom A-10 teams play, Fordham and Duquesne.  Both teams played good first halves against their respective opponents, VCU and St Louis, as I noted, two definite NCAA Tournament teams.    In their respective second halves, only one team maintained their composure and heart.  The road team Dukes withstood the Billikens and gave St Louis their first loss in A-10 play.

Duquesne at one time was tied with Fordham in the A-10 standings.  Yet, Jim Ferry's 12-15 team has not given up and won two of its last four games.   Of their four conference wins, three of those are on the road, including a win over the Rams.  The Dukes have lost fifteen games on the season, nine of those fifteen losses have been by nine points or less, including six A-10 conference games.  Duquesne's scoring margin on the season is - 0.3.  You can certainly say the Dukes have been competitive for the most part this season.

I'm not surprised by Ferry's Dukes playing so hard.  His successful LIU teams were high scoring, yet very gutty.  I was there when the Blackbirds won over Wagner at a hostile, sold out Spiro Center two years ago in what was quite possibly, given the game was on ESPNU on a Saturday night, the biggest regular season game in the history of the NEC (see picture of the game on the left).

Ferry's LIU teams made the NCAA Tournament two years in a row before he took the Duquesne job. Already the Dukes have a four win improvement from last season.   Given his ability to recruit nationally (several of his LIU players came from Texas), Duquesne is in good hands.

Meanwhile, VCU went on an early second half run and Fordham looked like they got run over by a truck.  They looked clueless on defense, showed no fundamentals on boxing out as VCU got offensive rebound after offensive rebound (in fact VCU had twenty four offensive rebounds) and basically showed no heart the last twenty minutes of the game.  VCU scored FIFTY ONE second half points beating Fordham 85-66.   One team looked Ram Tough and another looked Rammed.

Then to top it, Fordham Coach Tom Pecora just torched his team's effort after the loss, as per another great Jaden Daly writeup.   Yet not anywhere in the post game press conference notes does Pecora accept any blame for his team's failures that night.  He even notes that "Teams that win find ways to win, teams that lose, they know how to lose".

Well who's responsibility is for that demeanor and play?  It's the coach. 

I have already written about Fordham's struggles this season, in fact, it's been my most read article of the season, and taken Pecora to task.  So yes, it's like beating a dead horse.  But after his VCU post game press conference comments, the dead horse needs to beaten some more.

Fordham has lost five straight games, all by double digit margins.  In their last nine A-10 conference losses on the season , the Rams have lost each game by double digits and by an average margin of NINETEEN POINTS.  In fact, in Fordham's seventeen losses on the season, thirteen have now come by double digit margins.    

Think about that.  In only four of their seventeen losses was Fordham even close to winning.  

And even the defensive intensity that Pecora's Hofstra teams used to have is now gone.  He now goes with a four guard lineup, yet laments that "You can't let them beat you up on the offensive glass".  The Rams are DEAD LAST in the A-10 in scoring defense, allowing seventy nine points per game.  They are also dead last in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot forty six percent from the field.  The Rams also allow teams to score fifty two percent of their two point field goal attempts.

I think this last quote about Pecora when there is a question about his team's effort sums it up best  

"Oh, without a doubt, and I think that's been an issue for us throughout the season. There's been two major issues in my mind: One is getting that kind of team effort for 40 minutes consistently..." 

That comes down to one person and one person only.  The coach.

The Things I Miss This Time of Season

"Halleujah. Noel.  Be it Heaven or Hell.
The Christmas we get, we deserve." 

"I Believe in Father Christmas" By Greg Lake

For the longest time, I truly believed in those words in "I Believe in Father Christmas" (kind of also helped that I am a huge ELP fan).   There were a couple of years in the early Nineties where I spent Christmas alone, due to what I now wrongly believed was what I deserved for mistakes of the heart.

Now married for seventeen wonderful years with two adorable boys, this time of season is special in many ways for me, from a family standpoint as well as a college basketball standpoint. For forty five years, I spent Christmas as a New York resident.  For as long as I can remember, I had the time between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day off from work, when I worked for Hofstra.  I still do, now working for the University of South Carolina.   It's one of the perks working for an academic institution.

And around the holiday season is a great time to see college basketball games in New York.  There's the annual Holiday Festival at MSG, the new tradition, the Barclays Center Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival and a good number of local New York teams that are home during the holiday season break.

But this time of year also reminds me of what I miss about the rest of the college basketball season now that I am a resident of Columbia, South Carolina.

First, I miss the close proximity of local New York Division I colleges.  Stony Brook, St John's, Fordham, Iona, Wagner, Manhattan, LIU and of course Hofstra were schools whose games I went to with quite regularity.  They were all within an hour's drive.  Then you had Madison Square Garden, which was an hour train ride into the city. Writing for Mid Majority in 2011-12 as part of the 800 Games Project, from a commuting standpoint, it was relatively easy and quick to get to a college basketball game (well except parking at Manhattan College).  It helped greatly in my coverage of fifty nine Division I men's basketball games that season.

Now, outside of the University South of Carolina, which is the same distance and time for me as it was traveling to Hofstra games, there are only two other schools that are an hour away; Winthrop and Presbyterian and due to scheduling, I haven't seen a game yet at either school.   The other schools I have been to locally; Wofford, Coastal Carolina, Davidson, Charlotte and College of Charleston are at least ninety minutes away from me.  So, unlike a quick evening jaunt to Iona or Stony Brook, those schools I have to catch on a weekend.

But it's more than just the proximity of local teams I miss.  It's the camaraderie that is lacking.  Thankfully, I have my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew to now go to games with here in South Carolina.  That helps a good deal.  But it doesn't make up for not seeing my friends on a regular basis.

First, Hofstra home games were something out of "Cheers".  After twenty four years of being an administrator on campus, I knew a good number of people at Hofstra who I would see on a regular basis there; my former boss and longtime friend Howard Graves, my good friend at the University Computer Center, Marty Gross, my colleagues and friends from the Plant department, Paul Romano and Kenny Tyler, and many others.  I even got to know former Hofstra coach Mo Cassara, one of the true good guys in the coaching profession, who was always kind enough to see if I needed a ticket for a road game.  Glad he is doing well as analyst for ESPN.

University of Delaware Concessions Barbeque. YUM!

Then there was my good friend Defiantly Dutch, Jerry Beach, who I got to know from Hofstra basketball.  I make fun of his age on Twitter and Facebook.  But truth be told, I am older than him by a long shot and this will be the last time I make fun of his age, though I still think I am younger than him mentally.  Beach is also a terrific writer, far better than me.  He has a wonderful wife, Michelle, who I have become friends with (all great women are named "Michelle", ask my wife) and they have the cutest daughter on the planet, Molly.  Finally, he is also a hilarious travel companion, the John Candy to my Steve Martin.

Through Beach, I have got to know several other Hofstra folks like Lee Warner and the lovely Missy Van Brocklin, who I hope will make baked goods again for us when I am there on December 30.  There's Bob, a season ticket holder who I used to sit across from (and my friends still do, since I still have Hofstra season tickets) and we would trade travel stories and betting lines for other games during the Hofstra game.  And of course, there is nothing like rival blogger trash talk with Beach during a Hofstra game.

Also, due to my friendship with Jerry and my coverage for the Mid Majority and local NY hoops, I have become friends with many NYC college basketball beat writers like the omnipresent Jaden Daly of Daly Dose of Hoops, Ray Curren, the one man force that is the Mid Majority this season,  the stat machine Jon Templon, founder of Big Apple Buckets and the dynamic Iona Women's basketball broadcast duo of Nick Guerriero and John Stanko (Nick is now at Dartmouth).

But what I miss most about not being at the Hofstra games is not seeing my dear friends Tony Terentieff and Mal Galletta.  We sat together for years in Section 111, Row D and before that in Section 102.  The banter between the three of us was often truly hysterical.    And from our vantage point in Section 111, we could pick things up being across from the player benches.  You knew when Tom Pecora, former Hofstra Head Coach, was going to put someone in his doghouse or when Bruiser Flint would go off on his players or referees when Drexel visited Hempstead.

One of my all time favorite Hofstra memories is from the 2004-05 season, when I was still sitting in Section 102 ( We moved to Section 111 after the 2005-06 season).   There was an older gentleman who sat by us who use to occasionally fly off the handle, often at the expense of Pecora.  Adrian Uter was in his first season with Hofstra, after two years of JUCO and came off the bench for the Pride, er Flying Dutchmen (sorry, Jer).   In one game, during one particular stretch, Uter was blocking every shot in sight and tearing down rebounds with authority.  Inexplicably, Pecora took him out of the game.   This older gentleman blurts out  loud "PECORA, WHY ARE YOU TAKING UTER OUT?  HE'S AN ANIMAL!"  Our whole section burst out laughing to the point of tears.

Eight years later, it still sticks out in my mind.  That's what you get in a mid major game, fans making comments like that you will always remember.  Mind you, Frank Martin makes up for some of that in Gamecocks' games, because you can often hear him as clear as a bell.  But it's still not the same.

Then there is my good friend Tony Bozzella.  Over the years, Tieff, Mal and I have gone to so many Iona Women's home games sitting with Tony's wife Maria, his very funny daughter Samantha, and the brains behind Bo's fantasy baseball team, his son Joseph.  So many times, we sat in Bo's office after the game talking with Bo and the awesome Lauren DeFalco, going over the game highlights.  We even traveled to Marist to see them play in a gym right out of Hoosiers.  So many memories.

But it's not just the Hofstra or Iona home games I miss with Tieff and Mal.  It's the countless road trips to Delaware (complete with Delaware Concessions Barbeque!), Towson, Drexel, Iona, the train rides into MSG, the long annual trips down to Richmond to the CAA Tournament, including one year going to Atlantic City before the CAA Tournament ("DO YOU THINK I PLAY CRAP HANDS!" - only Mal and Tieff will understand that one) and heck even our trip to Raleigh to see the now famous Stephen Curry Show at the NCAA Regional in 2008.

When Mal and Tieff came down for a sports weekend this November to see our good friend Bo's Seton Hall Women's team play South Carolina, as well as take in a College of Charleston game and the Florida-USC football game, it was like the three amigos were back in business, albeit for one weekend.  Those are things that I miss most about being down here in South Carolina.

Perhaps someday, I will have that camaraderie here at South Carolina.  The road trips to Davidson, Wofford and Charleston are fun, but it's not the same. Plus now that I am a Little League Baseball coach, so the college basketball season seems shorter to me now.

The good thing is that I will be back in New York for the Holiday season and some college basketball.  I hope to be at Stony Brook on December 22.  On December 28, I will be at the Seton Hall- St John's women's basketball game, then at the Barclays Center for the nightcap of the tripleheader as Boston  College takes on VCU.   Then December 30 it's back to Hofstra for a Pride home game.

But this holiday season though has some sadness.  My sister in law's husband, a great guy, lost his mom last week due to cancer.  Only a few months prior, he lost his dad to cancer as well.   It will be good to see my sister in law and him and hopefully my family will bring them some much needed cheer to their Christmas.

Also on Tuesday night around midnight, I woke up to the sound of fire trucks.  My neighbor's house across the street was on fire.  My neighbor, Richard, an older gentleman who's on disability, happened to be in the hospital for heart surgery, for a stroke he suffered only a few weeks back.  His daughter thankfully was not hurt.   But their house seems to be either a total loss or at least needs major work.  They won't be able to spend Christmas at home this year.

Over the past several years, the above "I Believe in Father Christmas" lyrics have not rung as true for me.  I have learned that people often do not get the Christmas they deserve. These two above examples remind me of that.

In my case, I am just happy that I will be back in New York for the holidays with my family, to bring warmth and consolation to loved ones, to spend time with friends I haven't seen in a while and see some college basketball with good friends that I miss.  It will be good to be back in a "New York State of Mind", albeit for a brief time.

To everyone, as Greg Lake was so correct in singing - "I wish you a joyful Christmas.  I wish you a brave New Year.  All anguish, pain and sadness leave your heart and let your road be clear".

And if you can, catch a live college basketball game.  No better sport to watch live.

Happy Holidays from The College Hardwood!

A Scouting Report of Manhattan for South Carolina Fans by Jaden Daly

As has become custom here at The College Hardwood,  Jaden Daly of "A Daly Dose of Hoops" and I will be doing guest blog articles on each other's site this season for a game that involves teams we each cover on a regular basis.  Today, Jaden gives a scouting report on Manhattan, who will be playing South Carolina tomorrow night at Colonial Life Arena.

***

Hello again, everyone, this is Jaden Daly from A Daly Dose Of Hoops, previewing the Manhattan College Jaspers before they come to Colonial Life Arena this Tuesday to take on South Carolina. Through my work covering many of the programs in the New York metropolitan area, I have been fortunate to cover Manhattan since Steve Masiello started his tenure on the bench in Riverdale in 2011, and am in the midst of my third season covering the Jaspers, who I have already seen six times during this young season.

Game Reviews

Enclosed are game stories for four of the six Manhattan games I have covered this season, as well as a preseason feature on senior guard George Beamon:

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/jaspers-express-rolls-to-2-0-start.html (Manhattan at Columbia)

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/creek-submerges-jaspers-as-gw-scores.html (Manhattan vs. George Washington)

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/rams-win-rumble-in-bronx-behind-severes.html (Manhattan vs. Fordham)

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/fordham-79-manhattan-75-quotes.html (Postgame quotes from Manhattan vs. Fordham)

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/fordham-79-manhattan-75-quotes.html (Manhattan vs. Monmouth)

http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2013/11/beamon-jaspers-in-search-of-special.html (Feature on George Beamon)

Starting Guards

The Manhattan offense begins and ends with George Beamon, the Jaspers' fifth-year senior from Long Island who has returned to the form that made him a first team all-MAAC honoree before a severely sprained ankle cost him all but four games last season. With an average of 20.7 points per game, Beamon had only scored 29 points in his previous three games before his game at UNCW yesterday.  Beamon responded with 23 points in the victory over the Seahawks, which makes it six games already this season where he has scored at least 23 points.

Alongside Beamon, who needs just three points to move into seventh place on Manhattan's all-time scoring list, fellow senior Michael Alvarado has experienced an uptick in productivity by virtue of playing off the ball more frequently despite still leading Manhattan in assists, with an average of over four helpers per game. Alvarado will still run the point when the game matters most, but do not be surprised to see him off the ball to start, with either CJ Jones or Tyler Wilson getting the start alongside the two seniors in the backcourt. Speaking of Jones and Wilson, the pair of underclassmen bring two different styles of play to the court. Jones, a sophomore from Chicago, is a tough on-ball defender who is the perfect fit for Masiello's system, which places suffocating defense at a premium, whereas Wilson; a homegrown freshman talent from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, the alma mater of Regis Philbin, (GOOGLE IT!) is a gifted floor general who sees the court better than some NBA players do, and is coming off a career-high 15-point effort against Monmouth.

Starting Forwards

You can't mention Manhattan's front line without first bringing up the name of Rhamel Brown, the Jaspers' senior big man and shot blocking sensation. With all due respect to Chris Obekpa, Brown is among the best shot blockers in the nation, already Manhattan's all-time leader and second on the same list in MAAC history. At only 6-7, Brown will not intimidate you with his size, but rather his muscle and physicality, coupled with his hard-nosed ability to grab a rebound out of seemingly nowhere. Simply put, Brown is the mid-major version of DeJuan Blair, the former Pittsburgh Panthers forward who has moved on to success in the NBA ranks with the San Antonio Spurs.

Accompanying Brown would normally be junior Emmy Andujar, but he has come off the bench in recent games to give freshman Rich Williams some more exposure. Williams, a former Hofstra commitment who opened his recruitment after the firing of Mo Cassara, is among the most efficient Jaspers in his limited action, shooting 64 percent from the field to back up the claims by both his teammates and coaches that he could be more than just an integral piece of the puzzle in Riverdale.

Bench

Leading the charge for Manhattan's reserves is sophomore sharpshooter Shane Richards, the reigning MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year who shoots 42 percent from three-point range and is a lethal weapon when left unprotected. Expect Richards to get a couple of open looks from one of the corners in the opening minutes, especially from Andujar, whose passing skills for a small forward do not get anywhere near enough credit. In addition, Maryland transfer Ashton Pankey is being used brilliantly as a reserve to protect against both he and Brown getting into foul trouble simultaneously. In his first sason of eligibility since leaving College Park, Pankey is averaging 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in just 16 minutes, numbers that equate to 14 points and over eight rebounds when averaged out over 40 minutes. He also shoots 54 percent from the field, one of four Jaspers with a clip of 50 percent or greater. Guards RaShawn Stores and Donovan Kates only add to the mounds of backcourt depth, with Stores capable of knocking down a three-point shot to supplement his point guard abilities, while the junior swingman Kates is Manhattan's best free-throw shooter, with a lethal mid-range jumper and knack for grabbing offensive rebounds to boot. Big men Adam Lacey and Carlton Allen have also seen action, albeit sparingly.

Strengths/Weaknesses

Much like South Carolina, Manhattan's depth keeps the Jaspers fresh throughout the game, as Steve Masiello also maintains an eleven-man rotation that he admittedly looks to refine leading into the resumption of MAAC play next month. The Jaspers' rebounding is also very beneficial to their success, and even more so given their lack of dominant size after the 6-10 Pankey. Manhattan averages 39 rebounds per game, 14 of which are on the offensive end, a key to their dominance in the paint on putbacks and second chance opportunities, not to mention their willingness to take mid-range jumpers at will when the ball is in George Beamon's hands.

On the contrary, Manhattan can be a little too trigger-happy from outside, as evidenced by their 6-of-32 showing from beyond the arc against Fordham last month. However, when the Jaspers are clicking from long range, they are as good as anyone in the nation. The key is taking shots in moderation, something this team is still trying to do.

Coaching

Now in his third season, Steve Masiello is finally starting to get the respect he deserves for turning the program around since replacing Barry Rohrssen in 2011, and has transformed Manhattan into a scrappy team that takes no prisoners on defense with their Rick Pitino-inspired press, coupled with a frenetic pace offensively that seeks to push the ball up as fast as possible and catch their opponents off guard on both ends of the ball, which he learned as an assistant to Bobby Gonzalez during the Jaspers' first taste of glory in Riverdale. Manhattan is a team that will keep attacking their opponents until they are methodically worn down, and even then will continue to work until the final buzzer. This team does not quit, a credit to the unbridled intensity and competitive fire of their coach, which will be fun to watch against Frank Martin after the two put on quite the show at the Barclays Center last season in a game that South Carolina emerged victorious from after a Masiello technical in the second half turned the momentum in the Gamecocks' favor.

Intangibles

Manhattan will be playing its second game in three days for the second time this season, having done it last week to open MAAC play, first traveling to Marist on December 6th before defeating Monmouth at Draddy Gym two days later. Coupled with the UNC Wilmington game prior to this one, the trip was something Masiello admittedly scheduled to prepare his team for MAAC play when I asked him about it during the offseason after Manhattan's schedule was released. The Jaspers are also 5-0 (again, feel free to update this after the UNC Wilmington game) on the road this season, and are off to their best start since the 2001-02 season, when Bobby Gonzalez's team started 7-1.

Keys To Victory

Manhattan will have to match South Carolina's backcourt, and also limit the touches of newcomers Tyrone Johnson and Sindarius Thornwell, who were not around for the meeting between these two schools in Brooklyn last December. It will, however, be interesting to see what Michael Carrera does against Rhamel Brown, who will likely be his matchup at some point during the game. If Carrera, who had one of his many breakout games in the win over Manhattan last season, is neutralized and forced to rely on his backcourt for support, Manhattan has the game playing right into their hands. All in all, it should be another defensive battle, with the first team to reach 60 points likely walking away the winner.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

After winning a tournament championship, a coach is normally in a good mood, discussing the aspects of the game.  However after defeating Oklahoma to win the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Michigan State's Tom Izzo decided to vent about the new NCAA rules in regards to defense.

"Everybody is going to think points are up. They’re up because free shots are free shots!” Izzo said. “What I’m worried about is are we going to teach [players to] just dribble in and get fouled? Is that good basketball? We had a two hour and 32 minute game tonight. Is that going to be good for basketball?”

Izzo went even further about what his new offense will be after his win over the Sooners.

“What are we going to teach? Are we going to teach the kids to just drive in there? I’m going to coach it this week. Just drive in. I’m going to put on football pads again this week. Not to rebound, but offensively. Just go in there, full back dive, three yards and a cloud of dust.” 

It's never good when a basketball coach decides that his offensive philosophy should be something out of a Woody Hayes' playbook (Google "Woody Hayes").  But is Izzo overreacting or is he on point about what the state of college basketball is with the new rules on defense, specifically the end of the hand check and more difficult to pick up a charge?

To further Izzo's point, my friend Dan Crain, author of the terrific new blog "Dragons Speak", went a little further by breaking down the NCAA rules and how it has affected teams' offenses.  In his post "The New NCAA Rules: Why Dribble Drive is Your Friend", Dan specifically points that scoring inside the arc is up ten percent from last season.  As an example, he points out William and Mary as a team that has changed it's offense from a three point driven squad to one of the better two point field goal teams in the country.   I can verify Dan's point, having watched William and Mary use the two point field goal to their advantage on Thanksgiving Eve.

However, I am going to come at this at a different angle than Dan.  I want to come at it from the angle of how it has affected teams' defensively.   Below is a list of fourteen teams with their fouls per game currently from this season and last season, along with their ranks currently from this season and last season (stats are as of 12/2 and are courtesy of Basketball State). Most of the teams listed I know for the most part play pressure or physical defense.

Team	2013-14 FPG	2012-13 FPG	FPG Diff	2013-14 FPG Rank	2012-13 FPG Rank
Niagara	27.9	19.7	+8.1	350	304
Georgetown	24.5	17.3	+7.2	332	151
North Carolina	21.2	14.6	+6.6	248	11
Stony Brook	22.1	15.6	+6.5	282	33
Wagner	25.8	20.5	+5.3	344	331
Marshall	24.6	19.3	+5.3	334	282
Manhattan	26.3	21.1	+5.2	347	340
Drexel	23.7	18.6	+5.1	321	241
Seton Hall	23.8	18.8	+5.0	322	253
Cleveland State	24.6	19.6	+5.0	334	301
Richmond	22.5	19.4	+3.1	295	287
VCU	22.7	19.7	+3.0	302	304
Ohio	22.7	19.7	+3.0	302	304
Michigan State	16.6	16.1	+0.5	28	60

Based on the above, several teams - Georgetown, North Carolina and Stony Brook have been significantly affected by the new rules based on their rankings in fouls per game from this season as compared to last season.  Others have been moderately affected, such as Seton Hall, Drexel and Niagara (who had the biggest jump in fouls on this with +8.1).  Others, such as VCU, Ohio, Richmond and Cleveland State already had a high rate of fouls per game have seen a slight uptick in fouls, though their rankings have remained relatively the same.

Even if you have a slight uptick in the number of fouls, it increases the number of foul shot opportunities. If a team such as Niagara averages 28 fouls per game now as opposed to nearly 20 last season, that averages to 14 per half.  Double bonus starts with the 10th foul, so teams could now be getting possibly at least five double bonus opportunities per half on the Purple Eagles.

Ironically, Michigan State, whose coach has most notably complained the most about the rules, has barely had any change in foul calls.  Perhaps Izzo has already adjusted his team's style of play as opposed to other teams.

But Izzo hasn't been the only head coach to comment about the rules' enforcement.  Manhattan's Steve Masiello commented on enforcement of the new rules after his team lost at Fordham in their annual Battle of the Bronx.

"Tom Izzo said it best. I believe his quote, I don't want to misquote him, but he said after the Barclays Center games that he's going to just tell his players to drive in, create contact, throw the basketball up and worry about foul shooting, because it's taking away defensive advantages for schemes and scouting purposes. I have to learn the rules better and try to do a better job, and I'll do that. If you ask me how I feel, just take Tom Izzo's article, whatever he said, I agree. Steve Masiello agrees with Coach Izzo."

Bashir Mason, "the closest thing you'll find to a wallflower" head coach of Wagner, was so frustrated by the number of fouls called in the Seahawks' loss to UIC (a combined 44 fouls were called in the game, including 5 technical fouls on Wagner), he was ejected during the game after receiving two technical fouls.  Mason commented the following after the game;

"I’ve never been thrown out of a game in my life. Not in high school, not college, not as an assistant and not as head coach...I’d never even had a technical called on me.”

Hmmm. And I saw many of Mason's games vs. Hofstra when he was at Drexel, so I can vouch for him not being the type to get a technical foul.  So if you have several coaches commenting about the enforcement of the rules and one coach so frustrated that he gets the first two technical fouls of his life, there's something wrong.  During last night's Indiana-Syracuse game, commentator and former coach Dan Dakich even noted about how taking away the charge is taking away a defensive style of play.  Dakich finished with "What, you can't even touch someone now?"

Here are some more statistics for you.  Last season, 317 out of 347 Division I NCAA teams averaged less than 20 fouls per game.  This season, only 177 out of 351 Division I NCAA teams are averaging less than 20 fouls per game.  That's a difference of ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY teams.

Think about that for a second.  More fouls means there's more stoppage of play, which means longer games.  I would love to know the average length in time for a basketball game this season as opposed to last.  You would think it has to be longer this season.  Izzo noted that his game vs. Oklahoma took two hours and thirty two minutes.

Three yards and a cloud of dust might be the new offense for college basketball.  A lot of people found that football offense pretty boring during Woody Hayes' time. One has to worry if it will make college basketball pretty boring too.

My Top Ten College Basketball Games of 2012 As Seen In Person

Sometimes, you need to get out of the house and just take a drive.  Such was the case Saturday night.  After staying indoors much of the day, I got stir crazy and went out for a bit.  I was supposed to have plans with a friend as well, but they fell through.  The bright side was that it forced me out of the house for a little while.  I got coffee to keep me going so I could write most of this article, money for Sunday's activities and gas for the car.  There's a bright side to everything, even failed plans.

What transpired Saturday night was that it also got me thinking on my year in review.  I had seen about sixty Division I and Division III men's and women's games in the calendar year of 2012.   I got to see several good NCAA Tournament men's teams in VCU, Iona and LIU.  I got to see the #1 women's team in the country, Stanford, play recently against a very gutty #19 South Carolina.  I saw many talented players, two of which ended up in the NBA; Kent Bazemore and Scott Machado.  Finally, I saw many exciting games and ten of them have made my Top Ten Games of 2012, one of which was a late year addition.  I also note some unique things I remember about each game.

Number 10 - St. Peter's vs. Iona -  The Gaels' Leave an Indelible Mark - I know what you're saying, what is a thirty seven point win doing in my Top Ten? Well, it's for the very simple fact that Iona went on a 31-0 run in the second half to turn a close seven point game into a blowout.  It was one of the most awesome displays by one team I had ever seen in a game.  Perhaps the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee was impressed too, as the Gaels eventually got an at large bid to the Big Dance.

What I always will love and now will miss about Iona games since I am now in South Carolina for the most part, is the Iona pep band.  They are an old school band.  They are the only pep band I know that plays Steely Dan's "Peg", a bouncy version of the theme song from "I Dream of Jeannie" and several Earth Wind and Fire songs, which are excellent songs for pep bands.

Number  9 - Iona vs. Manhattan - The Gaels Gain Revenge on the Jaspers - It was the final game of a Hofstra themed tripleheader, culminating at a raucous Draddy Gymnasium.  The Gaels were trying to extract revenge for the Jaspers' amazing come from behind rally at the Hynes Center earlier in the season. Iona would pull away for a convincing 81-71 win that wasn't even that close as the final score indicated.  But the atmosphere and a close first twenty minutes made the evening fun.

That night leaves several indelible memories.  First, you always have to be at Draddy early for a game, otherwise you will end parking in another state.  Thus was the case that night.  Second, the truly bizarre configuration of Draddy resulted in the only game I had ever had a partial, obstructed view of a basketball game.  Third, my little trouper of a color analyst, my now seven year old son Matthew making it through three games on the day.  He was still very much into watching basketball at Draddy that night and was bothered that he didn't have a full view of the game.  That folks is a basketball fan.

Number 8 - Stanford vs. South Carolina Women's Basketball Game - The Cardinal Withstand the Gamecocks in a NCAA Women's Tournament Quality Game - This is the only game from the 2012-13 season that has made my 2012 Top Ten and it was a dandy.  Imagine the 2010 Butler vs. Duke national championship men's game played as a women's game. It was a physical defensive struggle and the South Carolina fans made it a great atmosphere.

Here's the kicker.  It was the second game of a twin bill with the men's game vs. Appalachian State as the first game.  There was a late arriving crowd for the women's game.  How cool is that?  Dawn Staley has slowly but surely built a strong program in Columbia.  And once Frank Martin builds his program at South Carolina, the fans will be there for the men's game too.

Number 7 - Maine vs. Stony Brook - Seawolves win the Regular Season America East Championship - Perhaps the Black Bears-Seawolves game didn't have as large of a crowd of either number 9 or number 8 on my list, but it was still a sold out Pritchard Gym on Senior Day and the game had more meaning than those two games because a conference championship was on the line.  Plus it had a national TV audience thanks to CBS Sports Network.  Seeing the Seawolves win in front of their home crowd and hoist the regular season championship trophy in front of their fans made it extra special.

One of the things I most remember about this game is that legendary broadcaster Don Criqui broadcasted this game.  If you know your basketball from the seventies and eighties, Criqui broadcasted many college basketball games for NBC on Saturdays.  Heck, I remember fondly Syracuse's Roosevelt Bowie, Louis Orr and Don Criqui.  CBS gave the Stony Brook game a very cool retro feel with Criqui there.

Number 6 - Loyola Md vs. Fairfield - In the MAAC, It's Never Over Til It's Over Part Deux -  This game is memorable for me for several reasons- One, I got to go to Frank Pepe's before the game. Two, you had the Evil Black Curtain.  Three, you had a great rally by the Greyhounds late to knock off the Stags on their home court twenty four hours after Manhattan rallied to take down Iona in New Rochelle.  And finally,you had one Jimmy Patsos, quite possibly the craziest cat to coach Division I men's college basketball.  It made for a truly entertaining night in a contest that was televised to a national audience, even if only 2,000 people showed up for the game live.

I will always remember the end of the game.  After Loyola wins, Patsos is so fired up, he's yelling at the Loyola fans. He yanks his tie off and tries to throw into the Greyhounds fan section behind the Loyola bench.  The problem is the tie doesn't go very far.  Doesn't stop Patsos.  He goes behind the bench, picks up the tie, puts it around a Loyola fan and then gives him a hug.  It was a huge win for Loyola, which eventually made the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAAC Tournament.

Number 5 - LIU Brooklyn vs. Wagner - This Isn't Your Father's NEC -  A nationally televised NEC game.  First place in the Northeast Conference on the line.  The defending NEC champs, LIU vs. Team Hurley.  A sold out Spiro Center. Yes, sign me up for that please.  Dandy of a game too as the Blackbirds held off the Seahawks to win.  I truly believe it was the springboard for the eventual second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for LIU Brookyn.

There were several things that stood out at Spiro. First they have a basketball club called the College Hardwood.  How awesome is that!  Second, the Wagner student section did a terrific job that night.  Third, the PA system didn't do such a good job.  It was waaaaaay too loud and the game so needed a pep band there.  Pep band music > Canned music every time.  More schools should take after LaSalle.  The pep band plays the entire night.  No canned music (at least that's what it was at Gola Arena back in December 2005 when I was there for a Hofstra-LaSalle game).

Number 4 - UMass vs. Drexel NIT Quarterfinals - Minutemen Rally to Take Down the Dragons at the DAC - There is nothing like a sold out DAC for a basketball game.  Drexel looked like they were going to again show the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that they truly messed up by not taking the Dragons, as they went out to a seventeen point second half lead.  But the Minutemen rallied to give the Dragons their first home loss of the season.  It was one hell of a game.

It was memorable for several reasons.  First, obviously a huge UMass comeback down seventeen in the second half that stunned the home Drexel crowd.  Second, it was the night I found out that I didn't get a job in Colorado, which actually worked out better for me.  Third, how often do you get a parking spot literally right in front of the arena?  Yup that was the night.

Number 3 - Manhattan vs. Iona - It's Never Over Till It's Over in the MAAC -  One of the wildest games of the regular season.  The Gaels leading at home in the Hynes Center by seventeen points with seven minutes left.  Manhattan rallies late and hits a three pointer at the buzzer to win.  It was surreal.

This Jaspers-Gaels classic was unfortunately a foreshadow of a problem that Iona would have throughout the season, blowing huge leads.  The Gaels would do this again at Siena later in the regular season.  Finally, Iona blew a huge lead in their first round play in game against BYU.   The sense of "I have seen this before" dread watching the Cougars rally in the second half against the Gaels started from this game against the Jaspers.

Number 2 -  Georgia State vs. George Mason - Byron Allen's Game Winning Shot in CAA Quarterfinals -  You had your classic CAA knockdown rockfight with the Panthers and the Patriots. Georgia State rallies late to tie the game, only to lose in heartbreak fashion with Allen's basket with 3.4 seconds left, which I captured on video from my seat on press row.

What I will always, always remember is Panthers' Head Coach Ron Hunter's emotional post game press conference.  It was truly honest, raw and heartbreaking.  It's a shame that Ron Hunter was only in the CAA a couple of years (Georgia State leaves for the Sun Belt after this season).  I got to meet with him after the press conference and he is genuine, funny and was really kind to Jerry Beach and me. He even joked with us about the IUPUI - Hofstra CBI game seen by only 952 people.  Class act.

Number 1 -  George Mason vs. VCU - The Patriots Stage a Near Impossible Comeback But Fall Short  -  In the second game of the CAA Semifinals, VCU rolls out to a 22-0 lead, then actually extends it to 32-4.  The sold out "neutral" Richmond Coliseum crowd was DEAFENING.  It looks like George Mason is going to be blown out of the building.

But the Patriots didn't fold up their tent.  They actually whittle that twenty eight point lead down to six with three minutes left before eventually losing by ten 74-64.  Yes, there were closer games than this in the countdown.  But considering the raucous "neutral" crowd (yes there were a good number of Mason fans, but it was mostly a pro VCU crowd) and the huge deficit, what George Mason did was nothing less than heroic

What I will always remember is the perspective you get sitting on the court.  I had been going to the CAA Tournament for years starting in the 2002-03 season.  Until this past March, I always sat in the stands.  This time, I was on press row.  You truly don't have an appreciation of how loud a sold out crowd in Richmond Coliseum is until you are on the court.  It was truly an incredible atmosphere.  It was also the last time I would see in person VCU in the CAA.

2012 was a great season college hoops wise.  May 2013 be just as good for all college hoops fans everywhere.  Happy New Year!

An Arena Grows in Brooklyn Part 2 (Recap of South Carolina vs. Manhattan)

Four months ago, I left my position at Hofstra for the University of South Carolina.  For twenty eight years of my life, I had spent most of my days on the campus located in Hempstead, New York.   Now I spend my work days on the campus located in Columbia, South Carolina.  I went from a mid major basketball school to the heart of the SEC, home of big time college football.  So it was ironic that on Saturday, I would be attending a tripleheader where my two worlds collided.  

In the first game, I proudly wore my Hofstra Basketball sweatshirt. My alma mater had played well for twenty minutes, only to see it be on the receiving end of a 20-0 run at the start of the second half before losing to Tulane.  But right before the tip-off of South Carolina vs. Manhattan, I took off my sweatshirt as I was wearing underneath a Gamecocks Basketball T-shirt.  I wasn't the only one in the Northeast CAA contingent wearing Garnet.  Mike Brodsky was proudly wearing USC athletic wear to support his friends at South Carolina.

Both Manhattan and South Carolina were missing their best players for the game.  The Jaspers' George Beamon has been battling injuries all season and sat out the game as Coach Steve Masiello wanted to get him ready for MAAC conference play. Meanwhile, Gamecocks' guard Bruce Ellington didn't make the trip as he was preparing with his fellow football teammates for the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day. 

Once again, I was sitting with Tieff, Mike Brodsky, Victoria Rossi and Alex Faust for this second game.  I was joined by Ray Curren, who was covering the third of four games for the Mid Majority on the day.  We were going to see a much closer game than the first game of the tripleheader.

South Carolina came out strong.  As I had seen already several times this season, other than Ellington, the Gamecocks' two other best players are Michael Carrera and Brenton Williams.  Williams nailed two three pointers, while Carrera added a three pointer and a layup as well. They combined for all of South Carolina's points early as the Gamecocks went up 11-3.  

But also as I had seen several times this season, the Gamecocks allow their opponents to stay in the game. The Jaspers responded with 18-7 run over the next six minutes.  Shane Richards hit his second of six three pointers on the day to put Manhattan up 21-18 with 10:19 left in the half.

Neither team would score for nearly three minutes until Lakeem Jackson hit a layup to bring South Carolina within a point, 21-20.  It would be part of a Gamecocks' 9-2 spurt capped by a layup by Carrera to put USC up 27-23.  After Manhattan rallied to tie the game at 27, the Gamecocks had another spurt as Brian Richardson nailed two three pointers and Carrera added a free throw to put South Carolina up 34-27.  They would enter the half up six, 36-30.

Carrera was already impressing our group as he had twelve points and six rebounds, which helped South Carolina to a 23-9 rebounding edge at halftime.  He is undersized as far as SEC forwards at six foot five inches.  But Carrera plays with the heart of a six foot nine kid and has a high basketball IQ.   

Someone at the Barclays Center has a twisted sense of humor.  At halftime, they posted the score but listed it with Hofstra and Tulane instead of South Carolina and Manhattan.  The scoreboard folks were rubbing salt into a fresh wound for Pride fans like me.

The second half saw South Carolina extend its lead to seven points, 38-31 on a Jackson layup.  But Manhattan responded with a 10-0 run.  Again, Richards was in the mix, nailing another three pointer.  The Jaspers led 41-38 with fourteen minutes left.

But the Gamecocks came back with a 10-0 run of their own.  South Carolina forced five Manhattan turnovers over a four minute span. Richardson scored five of those ten points and the Gamecocks were up 48-41 with ten and a half minutes left. 

The next several minutes became the Brenton Williams show.  Williams scored eight straight points, the last of which was a three pointer that gave the Gamecocks their first double digit lead of the game.  South Carolina was up 58-47 with five minutes left in the game.

The Gamecocks would go scoreless for the next two and a half minutes.  But Manhattan only managed four points during that span.  Williams assisted on a Jackson jumper and South Carolina was back up nine, 60-51 with just under two and a half minutes left in the game.

But Manhattan refused to quit.  Mohamed Koita and Richards each hit a three pointer and the lead was down to three, 60-57 with 1:21 left.  The Jaspers got the crowd back in the game. 

However the Jaspers turned the ball over on each of their next two possessions and would not score again. Richardson, Williams and Carrera, the three leading scorers on the day for the Gamecocks, would each hit one of two free throws.  It wasn't pretty, but it was effective for South Carolina, as they won 62-57.

Williams led South Carolina with seventeen points.  Carrera, whose only point in the second half came on that free throw, still had thirteen points and Richardson added twelve points.  Jackson just missed a double double with nine points and eleven rebounds.

Richards led all scorers with eighteen points on six of twelve shooting from beyond the arc.  Rhamel Brown just missed a double double with ten points and nine rebounds.  He would have easily had more points if he was better than two of ten from the free throw line. Donovan Kates, however, had a good day at the line as he was eight of ten, which helped him score thirteen points for the game.

It was the eighth win on the season for Head Coach Frank Martin, who at times on the sideline looked like he needed some Pepto Bismol.  His team gave him reason for an upset stomach with nineteen turnovers, but they still won.  In fact, they are only two wins away from matching last year's win total, ten.  The Gamecocks didn't win their tenth game last season until my birthday, February 15.  

And despite how fiery Martin is, it wasn't him that got the technical foul call.  Manhattan's Masiello got a technical in the second half, which contributed to that game changing 10-0 South Carolina run.  As for Masiello, he has to hope that George Beamon is ready for conference play.  Manhattan, the preseason favorite to win the MAAC, is only 3-7 so far this season.

I said my goodbyes to the Northeast CAA gang and Ray Curren, who was staying for the Seton Hall - LIU Brooklyn game for his canasta of hoops on the day.  Tieff and I made our way back to Atlantic Terminal, then said goodbye at Jamaica station as we each had separate trains to Bellmore and Hicksville respectively. 

I know what you're saying.  How could I pass up a third game of a basketball tripleheader?  After spending the rest of the evening looking at Christmas lights with my wife and two boys, I hope the picture to the left answers your question.  

Plus, the basketball season is still young.  I still had a game to see on Sunday with Iona hosting Norfolk State and there are plenty of more games left to see.  And oh yes, I am making plans to be at Barclays again in March for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. 

Also, after seeing your alma mater in the first game and then your new home team play the second game, that was a fitting end to my basketball day. Anything more would have been anticlimactic.

Besides, two is a nice even number, in basketball and in life. 

Six Degrees of Hofstra Separation - Part 3 - Cluess' Gaels Gain Revenge on the Jaspers

After watching Hofstra suffer another tough loss at the hands of Georgia State, Matthew and I bid adieu to Tieff, who couldn't make our last part of the Hofstra influenced tripleheader.  My six year old color analyst and I raced up north to the Bronx.  Our destination was Manhattan College, who were hosting Iona in a big MAAC conference game on Saturday night.

I have been to several games on the campus of the Jaspers.  Very simply put, you need to get there early, otherwise you will be taking a significant hike from your car to Draddy Gymnasium.  Sure enough, the small parking lot for Draddy was already full.  There was a sign in front of the entrance that said "No parking".  This game was the hottest mid major ticket in New York.  Tickets to the game were actually going on Stubhub for about $100.

Think about that for a second.  Iona vs. Manhattan going for scalper prices that you would only see in this area for St John's teams in their prime.  Needless to say, I was glad I had tickets waiting for me at Will Call.

But to get to those tickets meant parking several blocks down on Tibbett Street.  Matthew and I made the long walk to Draddy Gym to the Will Call for our tickets.  As we got close to the street entrance for the gym, we passed the Marist Red Foxes bus.  

It turns out that this was a doubleheader, with a women's game between then undefeated in conference Marist and Manhattan.  I asked one of the Marist players how they did and in a matter of fact but demoralized way she said they lost.  Marist now had one loss in conference and the Manhattan fans must have been giddy about the fact they could knock off another first place team on Saturday night.

Once we got our tickets right at game time, we found that the choice of seating was limited since many people were there early for the women's game.  Also, Draddy's bleacher seat configuration is quite, well, bizarre.  First, only half the gym is used for basketball.  When you walk in for a basketball game, it's a large open concourse. That's because the gym is also used for indoor track.

As for the basketball court itself, a section of the bleachers behind the Manhattan basket is offset from the court.  So if you are sitting low in this section, your view is that of the corner of the Jaspers bench.  You need to sit high in this section to get the whole view of the court.  If I were overseeing facilities at Manhattan, I would push back the season ticket section bleachers thirty feet and give it a better squared off view.

Unfortunately for Matthew and me, the only seats available were in the second row of this offset section.  Thus the pictures you see of the game are from our end of the basket.  Luckily for Matthew, there was a large projection screen that hung high above the one section of general admission seating opposite the team benches.  That was showing the game action and Matthew and I could follow along there when we needed it.

Like other school gyms, Draddy Gymnasium is quite warm with no AC.  If you are a single guy in college, you take appreciation in the fact that this means the female students in attendance prepare for this by wearing tanktops and t-shirts.  This was little comfort to a married man wearing a hoodie sweatshirt and his equally warm six year old son.  Throw in the fact that people often were standing in front of you blocking the view, and the result was a slightly dampened experience as a whole.

Still seeing a loud, full house of green clad students and other Manhattan fans made this a great atmosphere. A good number of Iona fans also made the trip and I happened to be sitting with a number of them.  It was quite possibly the biggest regular season college basketball game in New York City this season

You had two teams tied for first place in the MAAC, Iona and Manhattan, squaring off in a rematch of their first game, won on a buzzer beater by the Jaspers.  I was at that game in New Rochelle, where Manhattan rallied from a seventeen point deficit with eight minutes left, winning on a three point shot and stun the Iona home crowd..

So for some of you, you are probably wondering where the Hofstra Six Degrees of Separation comes to play in this game.  It's very simple.  Iona Head Coach Tim Cluess is an alum of Hofstra.  Cluess went to Hofstra after transferring from St John's and got his degree.

After a very successful career as a high school coach at St Mary's on Long Island, he later became the head of coach of Division II C.W. Post, where he took the Pioneers to the Elite Eight.  And yes, someone made a very strong case that Cluess should be the head coach of Hofstra before Tim Welsh was hired and eventually Mo Cassara became head coach.  Ultimately, Cassara becoming head coach turned out to be a very good move for Hofstra.

Likewise, the move by Iona to hire Cluess turned out just as well.  In his first season, Iona was 25-12. They lost in the MAAC Tournament finals to St. Peter's and made it to the championship game of the CIT.  This season, entering last night, the Gaels were tied for first in the MAAC with the Jaspers and the Greyhounds of Loyola Maryland with a 10-2 record.  Entering the game, Iona's overall record of 18-5 has given it serious consideration for an at large bid and they have a televised home BracketBuster game vs. Nevada.

The game got off to a roaring start for the home Jaspers as they quickly went out to a 5-2 lead on a three pointer by George Beamon.  The Gaels scored the next six points to take an 8-5 lead. From there both teams would exchange the leads and the game was very close for most of the first half.  Manhattan did most of their damage on the outside, while the Iona's Scott Machado really focused on getting the ball to Michael Glover or Lamont Jones driving in for layups.  The Gaels would score twenty four points in the first half in the paint and Machado was his usual self with six assists.

Iona would go on a 9-3 spurt to end the half up 44-38.   Manhattan hit six three pointers in the first half with  Beamon hitting three of those as he had seventeen first half points. But the Gaels countered by hitting ten of twelve free throws.  It looked to be another barn burner with the two teams.

However, Iona came out and scored the first seven points of the second half to make the score 51-38.  But Manhattan responded with an 8-0 spurt  to cut the lead to five, 51-46 with exactly fifteen minutes left.  Draddy Gym was rocking now.

But once again, the Gaels responded.  They proceeded to go on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes.  Glover scored eight of those ten points as the Jaspers had no answer for him,.  Iona was up 62-46 with about twelve minutes left.

The lead actually swelled to eighteen and hovered around that for the next four minutes.   A Lamont Jones layup made the score 71-53.  Manhattan again was staring down the barrel of a large deficit with eight minutes left.

But just about everyone in the crowd knew that the Jaspers had rallied from seventeen points down with the same amount of time remaining at the Hynes Center to defeat the Gaels, so surely hope was not lost yet.  The Manhattan fans implored their team on for one more run.

However, this time the Jaspers couldn't make their shots.  Over the next four minutes, Manhattan missed eleven of the next fourteen shots.   The deficit was still eighteen as Iona was ahead 80-62 with three and half minutes left.  

The Jaspers did force a couple of turnovers and went on a 9-1 run to cut the lead to ten, 81-71.  But there was only a minute left and not enough time for Manhattan to pull off another comeback.  The Gaels would end up winning 85-73.  Iona was now one game ahead in the MAAC standings, tied with Loyola Maryland.

Glover, Jones, Machado and Sean Armand combined to score sixty nine of Iona's eighty one points.  Machado had nine assists, one off another double double.  Beamon led all scorers with twenty six points but no other Jasper scored in double figures.

Coach Tim Cluess had to be pleased with the big road victory.  There is still a long road ahead for him and his team.  There is the first place game vs. the Greyhounds on Loyola's home court on February 10, then the game against Nevada on national television, followed by the rest of the conference regular season with the MAAC Tournament as the cherry on top.   And oh yeah, if the Gaels get through all that unscathed, there's that little thing known as the NCAA Tournament.  

That's Cluess' ultimate goal.  It would be quite a feat in your second year of coaching Division I basketball.

It's Never Over Till It's Over (Recap of Manhattan vs. Iona)

Entering last night's game with Manhattan, Iona had been on a serious roll since their loss at Hofstra at the end of December.  The Gaels won three straight conference games by a combined total of seventy two points.  And I had seen two of the wins in person, the 95-59 dismantling of Siena at Madison Square Garden and a 73-61 win at home over Niagara.   They were looking to make it four straight with a win over the Jaspers and remain unbeaten in the MAAC.

Manhattan was coming off a big win themselves, a hard fought 53-51 win over Fairfield, the team considered by many to be the biggest challenger to Iona.  It was a much needed win for the Jaspers after losing two straight conference games.  But Manhattan has been playing well as their 10-7 record indicates.  I also saw them win impressively at Hofstra.  Now the Jaspers were facing their biggest challenge so far this MAAC season.

And the fans for both teams came out in droves to the Hynes Center to see the battle between the two New York City metro teams.   The game was sold out and near halftime, the PA announcer stated to the crowd that they must have their ticket stubs when they leave the gym, otherwise they were not allowed back in.  That actually is the case for all Iona games.  They just were making sure to tell the 4,125 fans in attendance that they were truly enforcing it last night due to the sell out.

As Matthew, my friend Tony and I made it into the gym right before the national anthem, I figured Steve Masiello's Manhattan team would be in its typical press defense, considering how Hofstra forced eighteen turnovers on Iona in the first half of their game.  But the always intrepid John Templon of Big Apple Buckets correctly predicted that the Jaspers might be better off playing half court defense.  And sure enough, the Jaspers settled in half court early in the game not risking a transition game with the Paul Westhead influenced Gaels.

However, Iona seemed prepared for Manhattan and came out firing from three.  Sean Armand decided to channel his record breaking performance at MSG by burying four three pointers in the first six and half plus minutes.  The Gaels were already up 19-7 with twelve and a half minutes left in the first half.

Iona was not done yet from long distance.  When Armand went to the bench, Kyle Smyth took his place and just picked up right where he left off  from beyond the arc.  Smyth canned three three pointers of his own and the Gaels were up 35-20 with three plus minutes left in the half.   The Gaels hit nine of sixteen three point attempts in the first half.

But the best part of the Gaels' offense is the conductor that runs it, one Scott Machado.  Machado is the rarest of birds, someone who is averaging a double double on the season with points and assists.  And last night, he was in top form.  If you watch Iona regularly, not a game goes by without the Machado alley oop pass to Glover for the dunk.  And sure enough not even five minutes in, Machado lob, Glover dunk.

However he was far from done.  There were eight other assists in the first half.  Most of Iona's three pointers were setup by Machado.  He also threw some sweet passes inside for layups.  The last basket of the half by Randy Dezourve was of course assisted by Machado, who had nine assists in the first twenty minutes alone.  The Gaels were up 39-22 at the half and seemed well on their way to another dominating victory.

The Jaspers couldn't contain the Gaels from the perimeter in the first half.  Nor could they score in the first twenty minutes.  Iona had effectively shutdown the Jaspers inside. George Beamon (eleven points) and Emmy Andujar (five points) combined for sixteen of Manhattan's twenty two points as the team shot only twenty eight percent from the field in the first half.

Manhattan decided in the second half to break out their press.  And immediately Iona, thanks to Machado, broke the press for an easy layup to put the Gaels up 46-29 with about seventeen and a half minutes left.  There didn't seem to be an answer to shutting down Iona.

The bright side for the Jaspers was that they were moving the ball around much more effectively in the second half.  They got the ball inside to Rhamel Brown for layups.  Manhattan was hanging in the game and actually had cut the lead back to twelve, 46-34.

Machado kept responding for Iona.  He continued to find open Gaels for baskets and the assists were piling up.  His fifteenth assist was a pass to Smyth for another three pointer that put Iona back up by seventeen, 65-48 with a little less than eight minutes left.  I turned to my friend Tony and said "Dagger", channeling the great Bill Raftery.  I thought the game was over.

But someone forgot to tell Manhattan that.  Their press was starting to throw the Gaels off.  Right after that Smyth three, the Jaspers went on a 10-0 run with help from Iona becoming passive on offense to cut the deficit to seven.  The score was 65-58 with five minutes left.  The Jaspers' fans in attendance for the first time all night started cheering. A Let's Go Jaspers chant was started, which got the Gaels fans in attendance to start a louder "I-O-N-A Iona Gaels!"  chant.   The Hynes Center was now really rocking.

Manhattan continued to chip away at the lead as they were getting Iona into foul trouble. Glover picked up his fourth foul and now had to be careful inside.  And the Jaspers took advantage as Brown and Andujar hit layups.  Then Brutus buried a three pointer and Machado picked up his fourth foul.  After Andujar hit his two free throws, the Iona lead was down to two, 69-67 with two minutes left and the tension was peaking.

Then the unthinkable happened.  Perhaps the best point guard in the country, Machado turned the ball over on the inbounds pass.  Michael Alvarado stole the ball from him and hit a layup.  The Manhattan fans went crazy.  In the span of six minutes, the Jaspers had gone on a 21-4 run and tied the game at sixty nine.

Iona called timeout to try to regroup.  But after the timeout, the Gaels seemed to have no clue how to get an open look on Manhattan's zone.  With only a couple of seconds left on the shot clock, Smyth forced a three pointer and Manhattan grabbed the rebound.  The Jaspers could have taken the lead but Beamon was called for an offensive foul.

Machado then drove the lane and missed a tear drop jumper.  His fancy tip in try missed but the ever present Glover was there for the offensive rebound and got hammered when trying the putback.  He went to the line but only hit one of two free throws to put Iona up 70-69 with thirty seconds left.

Manhattan now had a second chance to take the lead. Andujar missed a layup.  But Brown, who was so dominant down the stretch for the Jaspers with fifteen second half points, got the offensive rebound, hit the putback and was fouled.  Brown hit the free throw and the Jaspers had their first lead since the first thirty seconds of the game, 72-70 with eight seconds left.

Iona called timeout to setup a play to tie or win the game. With all the Iona fans on the edge of their seat, I am pretty sure the Gaels had not drawn up the prayer that Momo Jones hit with three seconds left.  The game was tied at seventy two and the Hynes Center was incredibly loud.

But instead of running out the clock and force overtime, Masiello wisely called timeout with 1.3 seconds left on the clock with the ball at midcourt.  My friend Tony turned to me and said "Great timeout".   The Jaspers had to either throw an alley oop pass or it was a quick catch and shoot.  Tim Cluess wisely put his tallest forward, Taaj Ridley out on the inbounds pass.  Manhattan barely got the ball into Andujar before five seconds was called.  He turned and with the Iona player directly in his face shot the ball from way beyond the three point line.

With everyone in the arena standing and watching the shot, the buzzer sounded.  The ball banked in to the net.

The Manhattan players rushed the court and mobbed Andjuar.  Outside of the screaming Jaspers' fans, the Gaels' fans were stunned in disbelief.  However, the game wasn't over yet, despite all the Manhattan players leaving the court.  The officials gathered at the scorers table to review the shot.  The Jaspers came back on the court as you could see Masiello apologizing profusely to one official for having sent his players in the locker room.

Iona fans were hoping that the shot went off after the clock hit zero. It took an usually long time to review the shot. I guess the officials wanted to make sure they were right.  And finally they made their decision.

The shot was good.  Ball game.

Manhattan had completed one of the most amazing comebacks I ever witnessed.  The Jaspers outscored the Gaels twenty seven to seven over the last nearly eight minutes of the game.  Beamon had twenty one points to lead Manhattan. Brown had a double double with seventeen points and eleven rebounds. And the man of the day, heck maybe the man of the season for Manhattan, Andjuar had fifteen points.

For the Gaels, Glover had eighteen points. Smyth and Armand each had twelve points, all on threes.  Finally, Machado had eight points and sixteen assists, but only one assist came in the last almost eight minutes of the game.

It might be the last time I ever say "Dagger" with eight minutes left in a basketball game. I now know better.  Yogi Berra was right. "It's never over till it's over."