Four on the Floor For the Week of December 3

Once again, it's time for our new weekly segment "Four on the Floor", which highlights four teams either playing very well or not so well.  In this week's segment, all the teams featured are so far having successful seasons.

Stony Brook

The Seawolves are 6-2 on the season with half their wins coming on the road.  They also led for a good portion of their game against UConn before eventually losing to the Huskies at Storrs. I got to see Stony Brook at home as they defeated Canisius.

Stony Brook does it with defense. They are nineteenth in the country in two point field goal percentage defense at 40.1 percent.  The Seawolves are also fifteenth in the country in block percentage at 15.4 percent. Late in the game, the Seawolves hit their free throws.  Only eleven teams in the country have a better free throw percentage than Stony Brook's 77.1 percent from the line.

Two players stand out in particular for the Seawolves.  Freshman Jameel Warney has been an absolute find for Coach Steve Pikiell. He averages eleven points, nearly eight rebounds and over one block per game. Warney is also shooting 59.6 percent from the field. Impressive.

And of course, there is Mr. Stony Brook himself, Tommy Brenton.  Brenton is the ultimate one man stat machine.  He averages eight points, eight rebounds, nearly five assists per game and over two steals per game.  Brenton seemingly has never met a loose ball he hasn't sprawled out for on the court.

The Seawolves have a huge test in front of them.  Their next five games are on the road and they won't play a home game until an America East conference game vs. New Hampshire.  If they can somehow win four of the five games, they will be in great shape for conference play.

Charlotte

The 49ers are putting the Atlantic 10 on notice.  They have got off to a tremendous start at 8-0 with a big win last night at Davidson over a very good Wildcats team. Charlotte also won the Great Alaska Shootout earlier in the season and gave East Carolina their only loss so far this season last Saturday.

It's all about defense for the 49ers.  They are twenty fourth in the country in two point field goal percentage defense at 40.5 percent.  Charlotte also ranks in the top fifty five in three point field goal percentage defense, block percentage defense and steal percentage defense.

Charlotte is a very deep team.  They have ten players that average ten minutes or more per game.  The 49ers are led by Chris Braswell who averages fifteen points, six rebounds per game and shoots fifty one percent from the field.  The senior Braswell surprisingly averages only twenty three minutes per game and it's not because he fouls a lot.  He only averages 2.3 fouls per game. Just shows you how deep Charlotte is as a team.

If the 49ers can win at Miami next Friday, they stand a very good chance of being undefeated come conference play in January.

Lehigh

The Mountain Hawks have picked up right where they left off from the NCAA Tournament when Lehigh knocked off Duke in the second round.  The Mountain Hawks are 7-2 with their only losses at Baylor and at Pittsburgh.  Their average margin of victory is nineteen points.

The Mountain Hawks are an offensive juggernaut.  They are eighteenth in the country in scoring, averaging 80.2 points per game.  Lehigh is second in the country in three point field goal percentage at 43.2 percent and sixth in the country in free throw percentage at 78.9 percent. They are twenty fifth in the country in field goal percentage at 48.2 percent and are number thirty in the country in assists, averaging 16.4 assists per game.  The Mountain Hawks are fifteenth in effective field goal percentage at 55.2 percent.  And they do all this without turning the ball over as they are ranked number twenty four in the country in turnover percentage on offense at 16.7 percent

But what's most impressive about Lehigh is one C.J. McCollum.  He averages twenty four points, five rebounds, three assists and one and half steals per game, while shooting over fifty percent from the field and an insane fifty three percent from beyond the arc .  Supposedly there will be nearly forty scouts for the Lehigh - North Texas game on December 20th to see McCollum play.

They might also want to watch his teammate Gabe Knutson.  Knutson is a 6-9 forward averaging fifteen points and five rebounds per game.  He also shoots fifty eight percent from the field and forty three percent from beyond the arc.  Little wonder why the Mountain Hawks are on pace for at least twenty two wins.  Game to watch is their January 5th road game at VCU.

New Mexico

Steve Alford really has the Lobos picking up where they left off from last year's 28-7 team that barely lost to Louisville in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.  New Mexico has solid wins over Davidson, George Mason and UConn.

The Lobos don't really stick out in any statistical team category except in two categories.  They are tenth in the country in free throw percentage at 78.1 percent and are twenty sixth in offensive rebound defense percentage at 26.3 percent.  Basically, they hit their free throws and they limit their opponents' second chance opportunities.

New Mexico has eight players who average about sixteen minutes or more per game.   Their offense is a three headed attack of Kendall Williams, Tony Snell and Alex Kirk, who combine for thirty eight points per game.  Williams also averages five assists per game, while Snell  adds three assists per game and shoots over ninety percent from the free throw line.  Kirk averages nine rebounds per game and shoots fifty three percent from the field.

The Lobos, with one of the best home court advantages in the country in "The Pit", will have some significant tests in the next seven games ;Valparaiso at home , home and home with New Mexico State, home to Nate Wolters and South Dakota State, then at Cincinnati, then at St  Louis, then home to UNLV.  By the end of the game vs. the Rebels, Alford should know where his team stands as far as NCAA hopes.

Seawolves Win On Super Saturday (Recap of Canisius vs. Stony Brook)

Being able to come to New York for Thanksgiving to see my wife and kids gave me the opportunity on Saturday to see one of my favorite teams, the Stony Brook Seawolves. The Seawolves were hosting the Canisus Golden Griffins as part of Stony Brook's Super Saturday.  The men's basketball game was moved up to a noon start time because the football team was hosting a game of their own, a FBS playoff game vs. Villanova.

If you follow Stony Brook Athletics, you could say it was not just a Super Saturday, but a Super Year for the Seawolves.  In the beginning of the year, the men's basketball team won the America East Regular Season Championship, then lost in the tournament final at home to Vermont.  It was their only loss of the season at home, but they did get a NIT bid, their second in the past three seasons.

Then the baseball team had one of the more amazing runs ever in the history of NCAA Division I college baseball postseason.  The Seawolves stunned LSU in Baton Rouge to qualify for the College World Series.  Now the football team was hosting another playoff game after making the Football Subdivision playoffs last season.

As noted, the men's team has been very successful the last three seasons.  Including the two NIT appearances in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons, the Seawolves also made the America East championship game in the 2010-11 season as well.  Stony Brook would lose that game in the last seconds to Boston University.  Coach Steve Pikiell has built a strong program and he is looking to finally break the glass ceiling and make the NCAA Tournament this season with a veteran team.

Pikiell's 2012-13 Seawolves have several returning players including Dave Coley, Ron Bracey, Anthony Jackson, Marcus Rouse and Alex McAllister.  But the one returning player my color analyst,aka my seven year old son Matthew, was looking forward to see again was the preseason America East Player of the Year, senior forward Tommy Brenton, the hardest working man in college basketball.

Brenton is a man in constant motion. He averages five assists per game. If he is not setting up a player for a basket, he is setting a pick, or blocking out for a rebound, or hustling for a loose ball. Or in the case of the beginning of this game, Brenton was causing turnovers.  Brenton caused a turnover by pressuring a Golden Griffin player to step out of bounds on the opening tip.  He then stole the ball another two times early in the game.  Meanwhile, Jackson buried two three pointers and the Seawolves were up 11-2 not even four minutes into the game.

A season ago, this likely would have been another thrashing for Canisius.  Last season, the Golden Griffins team won all of five games.  But in the offseason, Tom Parrotta was fired and former Rhode Island coach, Jimmy Baron was brought in.  Baron brought his son Billy with him. The Barons already have given the Canisius faithful some hope.  The Golden Griffins came into the game undefeated at 3-0 with wins over Boston University, Saint Bonaventure and Buffalo.

Canisius showed why they are 3-0 by responding with a 12-3 run over the next four plus minutes. The Griffs, as they are known as, used their size advantage with Jordan Heath and Freddy Asprilla.  The Canisius big men helped cut the deficit to one, 15-14.

But a Stony Brook big man responded with a run of his own.  Freshman Jameel Warney would score the next nine Seawolves points. His three point play would make the score 24-14 with just less than nine minutes left.  Varney is quite impressive, with good post moves, a nice touch, relentless on the glass and plays as if he is a junior or senior.  Pikiell has a real find in the six foot eight inch forward from Plainfield, New Jersey.

A Rouse three extended the Stony Brook lead to 27-16.  But Canisius refused to go away.  Led by Harold Washington, Alshwan Hymes and Billy Baron, the Griffs and cut the lead down to six.  The Seawolves would lead 36-30 at the half.

Early on in the second half, my color analyst pointed out to me something that I believe would lead to some chippy play and frustrations later on in the half.  About three and a half minutes into the second half, Matthew pointed out to the scoreboard and said "They already have five fouls?!" Sure enough, the Griffs had been called for five fouls and the Seawolves only one.  A few Griffs' fans behind me had been chirping about the foul calls the entire game.

This might have led to some tempers flaring when Coley and Jordan Heath had an altercation near the Canisius basket after a foul by Carson Puriefoy.  Simultaneous technical fouls were called on Coley and Heath.  Also, Griffs' freshman Tyrel Edwards was ejected for leaving the bench.  Billy Baron made two free throws and Canisius was now down only two 43-41.

But Brenton and Warney made sure the Griffs would get no closer.  Led by the senior and the freshman, the Seawolves went on a 15-3 run over the next four minutes.  It would be capped by a floater from the freshman Puriefoy. I remember watching his dad, who was a three year starting guard at Bucknell and  I have got to know over Twitter (@CarsonPuriefoy).  His dad came over to meet me before the game.  As I noted on Twitter, it was my honor to meet him.

During this run, Coach Baron received a technical, likely frustrated by the foul call situation.  But his team did not lose its fighting spirit.  The Griffs would cut the lead down to six with a little over a minute left.  But Canisius would not get any closer as the Seawolves would hit their free throws, going 27 of 31 for the game.  Stony Brook would lead wire to wire and win 82-75.

Brenton, was the ultimate stat sheet stuffer on the day.  He just missed a double double with nine points, fourteen rebounds, six assists and three steals.  Jackson led Stony Brook with twenty one points. Warney added eighteen points while Coley contributed fourteen points.  The Seawolves also outrebounded the Griffs 40-26.

Billy Baron led all scorers with twenty two points, including ten of eleven from the free throw line. Jordan Heath had fifteen points and Washington added fourteen. The Griffs are now 3-1 on the season.

On Super Saturday, the men's basketball team held up their end of the bargain. Then the football team held up their end as well, defeating Villanova 20-10 in the first round of the Football Subdivision playoffs.  Miguel Maysonet, the nation's leading rusher in yards per game, had one hundred and sixty yards rushing.

For Stony Brook, it was truly a Super Saturday.